Two questions about Snake Style

[Douglas Muir 406]

1) The RAW says that "when an opponent targets you with a melee or ranged attack, you can spend an immediate action to make a Sense Motive check. You can use the result as your AC or touch AC against that attack." Now, that second "can" seems to suggest that you have a choice -- you can make your Sense Motive roll and then choose either to use it or, if it's very low, your actual AC. Is this correct? Or if you choose to make the Sense Motive roll, are you stuck with whatever you roll?

2) "Use the result as your AC... against that attack." There seems to be a general consensus that this means you do NOT apply any AC modifiers, good or bad. So, you don't get dex bonus, monk's wisdom bonus, or bonuses from spells or buffs. On the other hand, you don't lose AC from debuffs, being prone, being entangled or having other bad conditions, etc. You could have a 3 Dex, be prone and entangled and still have a 35 AC if your Sense Motive is high enough. Correct?

Thanks in advance,

Doug M.

[Zwordsman]

1)
I've always understood it as such.
they target you, :do i want to roll sense motive? (yes or not)
if yes, do I want to use this roll instead of my AC?
Thats by directly what it says, Likely it was intended to replace completely. but it uses the potential modifier thus it's a choice by English language.

2) Yeah it just straight up replaces your final AC after all that stuff. So yeah you could be upside down, leg tied, and roll amazingly and somehow dodge a club the size of your body. Pretty shiny mental imagery there.

this is just how i understand it, having looked up a ton of stuff for a combo a year ago (panther, snake, crane combo)

[thorin001]

The way that I have always seen it played is as such:
If the enemy hits your (touch) AC then you make the attempt to use Sense Motive to improve your (touch) AC.

It does not have the language that you must use this ability before the results of the attack are known that many other 'second chance' abilities do.