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Weird Words (Su): At 6th level, a sound striker can start a performance as a standard action, lashing out with 1 potent sound per bard level (maximum 10), each sound affecting one target within 30 feet. These are ranged touch attacks. Each weird word deals 1d8 points of damage plus the bard’s Charisma bonus (Fortitude half ), and the bard chooses whether it deals bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage for each word.
The question is whether or not you can attack the same target with multiple words. Saying specifically that each word can affect only one target seems to suggest that a word can't affect multiple targets, not that a single target can't be affected by multiple words.
The fact that you have to 1) succeed on a touch attack, 2) beat a Fort save and 3) overcome DR since it's slashing/bludgeoning or piercing damage seems to suggest that the ability would be basically worthless if the additional restriction of one word per target was placed on it... moreover, how often does a character have 6-10 different valid targets in a single round? I can't believe it was intended to be so incredibly limited.
And just out of curiosity, would Clustered Shots work with this feat, assuming a target can be affected by multiple words?
Finally, Wordstrike, from the same archetype:
Wordstrike (Su): At 3rd level, the sound striker bard can spend 1 round of bardic performance as a standard action to direct a burst of sonically charged words at a creature or object. This performance deals 1d4 points of damage plus the bard’s level to an object, or half this damage to a living creature.
What's the range on this?
Read clustered shots to find out why it won't work with this :-)
Read clustered shots to find out why it won't work with this :-)
Presumably because it specifies 'weapon' attacks, but that wasn't really the main thing I was concerned about...
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Weird Words potent sounds must rain down on different targets. It has been 'clarified' in another thread (searching for that thread is left as an exercise for the reader.)
Wordstrike, until it gets errata (which I have not found), has only got the limit of line of effect. So it is much like magic missile in that regard.
Edit: Fixed!
Not quite!
Clustered Shots (Combat)
You take a moment to carefully aim your shots, causing them all to strike nearly the same spot.
Prerequisites: Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, base attack bonus +6.
Benefit: When you use a full-attack action to make multiple ranged weapon attacks against the same opponent, total the damage from all hits before applying that opponent's damage reduction.
Weird Words (Su): At 6th level, a sound striker can start a performance as a standard action, lashing out with 1 potent sound per bard level (maximum 10), each sound affecting one target within 30 feet. These are ranged touch attacks. Each weird word deals 1d8 points of damage plus the bard's Charisma bonus (Fortitude half), and the bard chooses whether it deals bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage for each word. This performance replaces suggestion.
Clustered Shots requires a full-attack action. Weird Words is a standard action. So Clustered Shot definitively won't work with Weird Words.
And your other questions have been asked many times, to no answer. So I answered the one I knew.
If you have any idea where this thread is, I'd be interested in seeing it as I haven't seen such a thread. Since I don't have any of the data on what to search for to narrow it down from the dozen of threads on this topic, which you presumably have, that'd be wonderful to see.
If you have any idea where this thread is, I'd be interested in seeing it as I haven't seen such a thread. Since I don't have any of the data on what to search for to narrow it down from the dozen of threads on this topic, which you presumably have, that'd be wonderful to see.
Agreed - I'd love to see that. My searches have only resulted in finding inconclusive discussion.
How incredibly worthless (as a 6th level power no less) would Weird Words be if that were the interpretation?
Ok so not entirely officially clarified but "In JJ we trust": here.
The weird words does not specifically specify that it has to be different targets (which doesn't break the ability for me). But I can understand if the intent is for each sound to be a different target and would be more on par with the power level of other bard songs at this level.
So! I asked the original author about this.
He said that in his original turnover, this was meant to be only one word per target. His reasoning was that sonic spells are usually area of effects, so it made sense that it'd spread the damage around. If there were fewer targets than words, then he thought they'd either be wasted. It sounds like it was just a flat 1d8 per word back then, and that the various ways of reducing damage were added in development.
So I'm not sure what that means. But originally it was intended to be one word per target. And then it was heavily developed.
To me, it seems like adding all those ways to mitigate damage could indicate that it was meant to be able to focus-fire on one single target. But I'm going to wait on telling that to people until we hear something from Paizo. In the mean time, I'll just say 'it's complicated, but the original turnover had it being one target per word, and then it was heavily changed by paizo, so the original author's views may not apply'.
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Hmm, well I have a response from James Jacobs in which he clarifies that Weird Words can all hit the same target.
1) You can "shoot" 1 sound per level. Effectively, you shoot 1/level d8s at the targets. Each single sound (each d8) affects only one target. You can split those d8s up however you want between as many targets as you want... kind of like how magic missile works. This means you CAN shoot them all at one target... but each one has to make its own touch attack, and each one allows for a Fort save for half damage
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So here's a random find. Since "sounds" aren't weapons, does firing into melee apply?
so hopefully FAQing this post will get us an answer of "weapon or not" If it suffers firing into melee it has to be a weapon.
If you shoot or throw a ranged weapon at a target engaged in melee with a friendly character, you take a –4 penalty on your attack roll.
Do the "Sounds" from weird words suffer the firing into melee penalty?
Also we play so that "ranged touch" attacks use the full ranged rules. So -4 to AC for softcover/melee etc. But, haven't seen an official clarification on that one.
Technically not related to the topic at hand but I'd rather not start a new thread, so - is there a reason ranged touch attacks wouldn't be affected by the same modifiers (Cover, shooting into melee etc) as regular ranged attacks? We've always played it that way (ie ranged touch = normal ranged, only against touch AC), but your post made me wonder...
FAQ it! If they rule 'no response required', and it's still not clear, they've asked us to re-FAQ a new thread.
FAQ it! If they rule 'no response required', and it's still not clear, they've asked us to re-FAQ a new thread.
As far as I/we are concerned, they can all target the same foe. There are too many other ways for the damage to be mitigated for it to be even the slightest bit game-breaking. Besides... the fluff of it is going to be cool - an Aasimar Dervish of Dawn/Soundstriker, the 'words' manifesting as waves of sound created as the Dervish slices her scimitar repeatedly through the air.