About Archivist Bard

[Neyther]

Naturalist (Ex): An archivist who has identified a creature with a Knowledge check appropriate to its type can use performance to share strategies for defeating it with allies in combat. The archivist and any allies within 30 feet gain a +1 insight bonus to AC and on attack rolls and saving throws against exceptional, supernatural, and spell-like abilities used by creatures of that specific kind of monster (e.g., frost giants, not all giants or all humanoids). This bonus increases by +1 at 5th level and every six levels thereafter. This language-dependent ability requires visual and audible components.

This ability replace inspire courage but i wanna ask u a question.

If i fight with a Dragon, Devil and an Ooze(or other monster), i can take more Knowledge check to gain bonus for any creatures on the battle field?
Or it's just for one creature?
Because i know that Knowledge check are free action. So i can study all creatures in a round and take bonus against all of them.
And what about spell of a human mage or sorcerer? I can gain bonus to AC and TS against all prepared spells?

Please let me clarity...
Thanks :)

[Corlindale]

As I read it you can only use it on one particular type of monster per turn, as it clearly specifies you study a creature and give bonuses against a specific kind of monster. Changing the monster chosen would mean starting a new performance, losing the old bonuses.

And it won't give a save bonus against spells cast, because they aren't spell-like abilities. Although you would still get the Insight bonus to AC, since that applies against everything the creature in question attacks you with.

[Harley Quinn X]

Also, you can't use this ability to give bonuses to humans, because there is no knowledge check to identify specific humans.

You might be able to get away with it if the human you're fighting has an incredibly well-documented fighting style, which your character might know.

[Grick]

Harley Quinn X wrote:

Also, you can't use this ability to give bonuses to humans, because there is no knowledge check to identify specific humans.

Knowledge (Local): legends, personalities, inhabitants, laws, customs, traditions, humanoids

I would say humans are common, so the DC would be 5+CR. On success, they would learn things about creatures of the Humanoid type. (Since the Human Subtype has no useful information.)

Jason Nelson (Author of the archetype) wrote:

It works on any creature type; the Knowledge skill lists which creatures go with which type, but off the top of my head I think it's:

arcana = constructs, dragons
dungeoneering = oozes, vermin
local = humanoids
nature = animals, monstrous humanoids, plants
planes = outsiders
religion = undead

Doesn't matter of they're "people" or "monsters" in the common sense of the world, just their creature type. DC to identify is 10+CR as baseline, and can be modified if they are very common or very rare.

By the way...

I should tell you that the "Archivist can't take 10" thing is an error in the RAW. The Lore Master ability was meant to be just shifted in level, not actually changed. When I was writing the archetype, for some reason I didn't retype the full ability. I should've simply written it like this:

Lore Master (Ex): An archivist gains this ability at 2nd level rather than 5th level.

Just putting a pointer to the normal bard ability would've avoided any omission or ambiguity. If you are a player, you can tell the GM this is the RAI and an error by the author of the section that should've been the RAW. However, I am not the official errata-giver, so if the GM is a stickler for official errata (or none at all), you are out of luck.

[Cheapy]

Note that it's actually the following:

"The archivist and any allies within 30 feet gain a [+1 insight bonus to AC and on attack rolls ]and [+1 insight bonus (sic) saving throws against exceptional, supernatural, and spell-like abilities used by creatures of that specific kind of monster["

You do not get a bonus on spells, as those are not really intrinsic to the creature (well, some are...like Lillends. ask your GM on those, but it shouldn't work on human clerics casting spells for example)

Nice link Grick. Added to my list of dev posts :D