What kind of action is "Called Shot"?

[Kazaan]

What kind of action does a Called Shot require?

PRD wrote:

Making Called Shots

A called shot is an attack aimed at a particular part of the body, in the hope of gaining some extra effect from the attack. The smaller or better guarded the area, the more difficult the called shot. A called shot is a single attack made as a full-round action, and thus can't be combined with a charge, feats like Vital Strike, or multiple attacks with a full-attack action.

Here, it states that you spend a full-round action to make a single attack as a Called Shot. However;

PRD wrote:

Called Shot Feats

Improved Called Shot: You are skilled at landing blows right where you want to.
...
Normal: You can make one called shot per round as a standard action.

Greater Called Shot: You can make multiple called shots where others could land but one.
...
Normal: You can make only one called shot in a round as a standard action. A called shot that deals 50 points of damage is a debilitating blow.

Here, the associated feats state that the Normal state for Called Shot is that it takes a Standard Action to perform. There was an old threat started back in 2011 regarding the matter, Here that got 17 FAQ requests but the response, "No reply required". So the contradiction still stands. Now that the FAQ team is addressing these issues in earnest, can we get a more reasonable response?

[Kazaan]

Bonus question 1) Improved Called Shot allows you to turn one attack in "a full-round action or standard action that allows multiple attacks" into a called shot. Must it be an action that allows multiple attacks, or could you use this with an action that allows a single attack (ie. the Attack action or Iaijutsu Strike)?

PRD wrote:

Improved Called Shot: You are skilled at landing blows right where you want to.

Prerequisites: Int 13, Combat Expertise.

Benefit: You receive a +2 bonus on attack rolls when making a called shot. When taking a full-round or standard action that gives you multiple attacks, you can replace a single attack with a called shot. You may only attempt one called shot per round.

Normal: You can make one called shot per round as a standard action.

[Kazaan]

Bonus question 2) The Debilitating Blow level of a Called Shot specifies that you must deal half their HP worth of damage (minimum 50 points). Is this half of their max HP or half of their current HP?

PRD wrote:

Debilitating Blow: A called shot that deals half the creature's hit points of damage (minimum 50) or more (whether a critical hit or not) results in a debilitating blow that has extra effects. A debilitating blow inflicts major consequences and potentially permanent consequences.

[DM_Blake]

First, called shots are optional rules. Most GMs probably don't use them, so be sure your GM will use them or you're wasting your time.

It's obvious that there is an accidental oversight here, and it's almost certain that the oversight is in the "normal" text of the feat. They put lots of words into the general rule explaining called shots - it's nearly inconceivable that they thought up all that and typed it up and edited it and got all those words wrong. It's far more likely that someone just typed one wrong word in the feat (and not even in the feat rule, just in the reminder of what the normal rule is).

Yes, it's just a guess, but it's based on human nature and the amount of effort involved here. Sure, request the FAQ, maybe we'll get one, and it might even prove me wrong.

As for your bonus question, yes, it MUST because they went out of their way to write "When taking a full-round or standard action that gives you multiple attacks" - if you could just use it with any action that allows one or more attacks, they would have left all that stuff out. Nobody writes extra rules text in a printed book unless it's necessary to explain the rule and definitely nobody writes extra rules text in a printed book when it is the opposite of what they mean to say.

[MendedWall12]

I never even saw the text that said a called shot is a full-round action. I've always ruled it as part of a standard action attack. It would be nice to get a clear ruling on this. FAQ button hit.

[DM_Blake]

Bonus question #2. Many rules in this game use the term "maximum hit points". That is a game term. None of the called shot rules (your bonus question #2 as well as other hit point references) use this term; they all simply say "hit points".

Therefore, it must apply to current HP, not max HP.

Yes, this means you could knock a colossal dragon down to 10 HP and then debilitate it with just a 5 HP called shot, which seems a little strange. But then again it seems strange to debilitate it with 50 HP when it's fully healed, too, so go figure.

Either way, "variant" rules like these are purely up to each GM, so I guess the GM gets to decide if he thinks they meant "maximum hit points" or not.

[Are]

DM_Blake wrote:

Yes, this means you could knock a colossal dragon down to 10 HP and then debilitate it with just a 5 HP called shot, which seems a little strange. But then again it seems strange to debilitate it with 50 HP when it's fully healed, too, so go figure.

I'm pretty sure you're misreading that.

You must deal half the current hit points, but you must deal a minimum of 50 damage (in situations where half would be less than 50).

So, if the dragon has 10 hp, you must still deal the minimum of 50 to debilitate it (because 50 is the minimum).
If the dragon has 400 hp, you must deal 200 damage to debilitate it (because 200 is half).

[DM_Blake]

Good point, I had that backward. Ignore that part. Must not drink and post...

[Kazaan]

That makes sense. So even if they had 200 Max HP, and you have brought them down to 100, then half that (50) will trigger a debilitating blow whereas if he has 150 left, you'd need at least 75 damage for a debilitating blow.

[DM_Blake]

Yes, and you can never do a debilitating blow for less than 50 HP, even if they're down to just 1 HP remaining.

[Kazaan]

Well, at that point, you might as well just straight up murder them to death.