Qinggong Ki power activation?

[Krodjin]

Okay, so my question pertains to the "cost" of using or activating Ki Powers that cost 0 Ki Points.

PFSRD wrote:

Activation: Most ki powers require the monk to spend ki points; the exact amount is listed after the ki power. Ki powers that cost 0 ki do not require the monk to have any ki points in her ki pool to use the ability.

The 4th level Ki Power "Ki Stand" is one such power that costs 0 Ki points. So according to the RAW as written above it costs 0 Ki points to use this power and a Monk can continue to do so even when they have 0 Ki left in their pool.

However, when we look closer at the Ki Stand (Feats, General) ability this is what it says;

Ki Stand wrote:

Prerequisites: Ki pool.

Benefit: While you have at least 1 ki point in your ki pool, you can stand up as a swift action that provokes attacks of opportunity.

You may spend 1 point of your ki pool to stand up as a swift action without provoking attacks of opportunity.

So I guess what I'd like to know is does it cost a Qinggong a Ki point to stand as swift action without provoking an AoO? Or can they do it for 0 Ki, and can they continue to do so even without any Ki left in their pool?

Thanks in advance

[Krodjin]

Bueller? Bueller? Anyone?

So anyhow, I was taking another look at this trying to wrap my brain around it - which can be difficult given my Brains low Dexterity, and the excerpt from the Qinggong Ki power description caught my eye;

PFSRD wrote:

Feats: These ki powers duplicate the effects of specific feats. A monk does not need to qualify for a feat to select it as a ki power. For example, a qinggong monk can select Spring Attack as a ki power even if she doesn’t meet the prerequisites for selecting Spring Attack as a feat. Activating one of these ki powers is a free action on the monk’s turn; until the start of her next turn, the monk is treated as if she had that feat. Some of these ki powers that duplicate feats may also be activated as an immediate action; these powers are noted in the ki powers list

So everything in the Qinggong section of the rules seems to indicate that using Ki Stand would be a free action and cost 0 Ki points. Moreover, the Qinggong can use the ability with 0 Ki in his or her Ki pool.

This makes the actual feat "Ki stand" down right horrible in comparison as it costs Ki points to use, uses worse action economy (why not save that swift action for an extra attack?), requires the monk to have 1 point in their Ki pool and does not have the added flexibility of being useable as an immediate action.

So, with all that said am I reading it wrong?

[Rynjin]

As long as you have 1 Ki you can stand as a Swift action.

If you use 1 Ki you do so without provoking an AoO.

I don't see the confusion here.

Look at your bolded text. You HAVE THE FEAT as a Free action, using it is another thing altogether. And just because it costs 0 Ki doesn't mean it actually COSTS 0 Ki. You use 0 Ki to gain the Feat, it costs Ki as normal (or not) when you use it.

[Dragonchess Player]

General rule vs. specific case.

General rule: "Ki powers that cost 0 ki do not require the monk to have any ki points in her ki pool to use the ability."

Specific case: "While you have at least 1 ki point in your ki pool, you can stand up as a swift action that provokes attacks of opportunity."

Specific case trumps general rule.

[Kasur]

Maybe the key term here is "Swift" as apposed to immediate or free etc. You can't do it swiftly without a ki point to spend but that doesn't prevent you from doing it at all. Just wondering.