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suppose we have a party with
1) druid with animal companion
2) summoner with eidolon
3) alchemist
4) monk
5) bard
the bard start using his "inspire courage"
1) all using weapons (including natural weapons) should be affected
but
is the eidolon able to "perceive" the bard song ?
and if the bard uses a "visual effect" only ? are all those in front of him affected by it ?
also
spells with hit requests (acid spray) are affected in the hit part of the process ? or since they are magical attacks they arent covered ?
the druid's wolf companion has his attacks enhanced by the bard bonus ?
are the alchemist bombs influenced by the song both in the hit and in the damage parts of the action ?
any clarification will be welcomed :)
1) Certainly the eidolon can perceive the effect, as can other summoned creatures, provided they are not immune to mind-effecting powers, e.g. an ooze. 1b) If a performance is a visual effect, it targets all creatures with a clear line of sight to the bard. So, if a bard has total concealment from an ally, that ally is not affected. There is no facing in Pathfinder.
2) All attack rolls are affected, even those made as part of a spell. Yes, the wolf is affected. Bombs are considered weapons, so both their attack rolls and damage are affected.
I would say it's debatable if an animal companion gains any benefit from inspire courage. By RAW they should be able to if the performance is based on visual components and they have line of sight to the bard. Audible components are language-dependent, though, so it's doubtful the AC gains any benefit from inspire courage in that case. Given that "understanding" has to take place, I would say if they don't gain the benefits from an audible performance they likewise shouldn't get it from a visual performance. YMMV.
I allowed inspire courage on the druid's animal companion only after the druid bumped the intelligence up to 3. It was a reasonable compromise for the party.
I would say it's debatable if an animal companion gains any benefit from inspire courage. By RAW they should be able to if the performance is based on visual components and they have line of sight to the bard. Audible components are language-dependent, though, so it's doubtful the AC gains any benefit from inspire courage in that case. Given that "understanding" has to take place, I would say if they don't gain the benefits from an audible performance they likewise shouldn't get it from a visual performance. YMMV.
Wrong. Not all audible components are language-dependent. Only some are.
Rules say:
Each bardic performance has audible components, visual components, or both.
If a bardic performance has audible components, the targets must be able to hear the bard for the performance to have any effect, and many such performances are language dependent [n](as noted in the description). [/b]
My bold.
Any creaure not immune to mind-effecting Powers are affected.
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so in your opinion the eidolon will always take full advantage of the druid buff ?
that's a good news, since i am the summoner in that party...
about the magic ? the bard inspire courage description says "+1 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls"
me (the summoner) in your opinion is entitled to get the +1 to hit bonus when using acyd spray and +1 damage bonus even if the acid spray is a spell and now a weapon ?
i will be more inclined to say +1 hit yes, +1 damage no
I read that as only affecting attack rolls and damage rolls made by weapons, so unless a spell has a weapon-like component (like Flame Scimitar), it would be unaffected.
spells with hit requests (acid spray) are affected in the hit part of the process ? or since they are magical attacks they arent covered ?
All attack rolls get the to hit bonus but only weaponlike spells get the damage bonus.
So ray of frost gets the damage bonus (because rays are weapons) but acid splash does not get the damage bonus.
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We've had the "What qualifies as a weapon?" question come up plenty of times on these forums in the past. The answer is anything with an attack roll. Thus, any attacks that require a d20 roll to hit benefit from Inspire Courage.
As for it being language dependent, that depends on what language the bard is playing his flute in. Or performing his dance in. Or beating his drum in. Yes, that's my snarky way of saying it's not language dependent, as Zark pointed out already. Some bardic performances, such as suggestion, are language dependent, because the target needs to understand the bard to obey. Inspire Courage isn't one of them.
Zark is correct, but easy mistake as that is a 6th Printing errata for the core rulebook. It previously said all audible performances were language dependent.
Natural weapons, and spells that have an attack roll and deal damage (acid splash and scorching ray, but not magic missile, fireball, or ray of enfeeblement) should be affected as well.
I'll be darned. Learned something new. Thanks!
It hasn't ever come up in our games, but good to know that inspire courage works on all allies who can perceive the bard's performance.