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Many of us who frequent the forums have our own unique "collections" of web links and quotes from Designers that we save and bring out whenever someone new inevitably asks a repeat question. Lacking any FAQ or errata, these quotes provide the next most "official" answer. When playing in a home game this is hardly an issue, because the GM can rule however they wish, but if you're playing in Pathfinder Society, in order to avoid table variation, sometimes you need an official answer.
Which brings us to this quote from Stephen Radney-MacFarland, one of our Designers:
Messageboard posts on subjects made by the design and development team are not "official rulings" on the games. Clarifications in FAQ posts and errata are official rulings.
This serves a couple of purposes.
First, it allows the design and development team to interact with fans, and have rules discussions with fans, in an exploratory, argumentative (and I mean that in a construct sense) and even sometimes a playful manner without the fear of taking such comments out of context. This is good for everyone.
Second, it does not force anyone playing the game to participate in or wade through message board threads (some of which can be a thousand or more posts long) in order to find official rulings. Many of us enjoy doing such things, but not everyone, and it should not be seen as a requirement for playing Pathfinder.
On the surface, this quote is very agreeable. Many people have "liked" it, and it's been quoted often recently. But Stephen's message is problematic for many of us who have come to rely on these quotes. Sometimes a Designer quote is all we have to answer a question. For each of us with a substantial collection of these answers, simply throwing them away isn't an option. It reverts us back to square one. At least when we were able to quote them, we had a tentative answer. Now, there's nothing.
As a solution to this problem I pose this thread as a place for all of us to "unload" our collections of these quotes, in one location, to better get them all added to the FAQ and/or errata. I'll propose my first comment below as a template we can all use.
Threads don't get FAQ'd. Individual questions do. What I'd like everyone to do, as you visit this thread, is to FAQ each poster's question, along with the Designer quote they're posting, so we can get ALL of them added to the FAQ. This process will shorten each of our own "collections" and put them in a place where they can be utilized by everyone.
Who's with me?
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Sample post:
QUESTION TO BE ADDED TO THE FAQ: "Do bonuses to damage, such as from a Bard's Inspire Courage, or the Point Blank Shot feat, add to spells that require an attack roll and deal hit point damage?"
Yes, correct.Ok... so since this is something I have to be able to point to from you Sean or the PDT FAQ in order to use it in PFS, as some GMs have been applying the penalty for firing into melee, but not allowing us to get the bonus to damage for things like point blank shot, Inspire courage, etc.
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If a spell or ability requires an attack or ranged attack roll, even if it is not necessarily a ray, it takes the normal ranged attack penalties for firing into melee/cover, and also recieves any bonuses to damage that would apply (only applicable to hit point damage, not spells like enervation etc).
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Correct?
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Can UMD be used to benefit from Ring of Revelations?
James had been previously quoted as saying the ring would not work for oracles, but as best I can tell this is his most recent view on the matter.
Yes. That's using the "emulate a class feature," in this case, the class feature of having the Ancestor mystery. I guess, in theory, you could do that if you were ANY class, though. Which may not be the way I've interpreted the ability before.
As always, though, your GM has the last say."
This post seems to say that any class could use UMD to gain the benifits of the ring.
LinkMore broadly a FAQ on what UMD can and can not do. There have been raging arguments about Ring of Revelations, Page of Spell Knowledge being used to gain divine spells and others.
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James Jacobs on Wild Armor, max Dex, and ACP
When a druid has the WILD enchant to his armor, does this mean when he wildshapes he is restricted to the dex cap of that type of armor?The armor, once you wildshape, no longer impedes your movement. its max Dex no longer applies, nor does its armor check penalty. This is what helps make the "wild" armor quality a +3 equivalent bonus and not +2 or +1.
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I'd like to see JJ's method of preventing Scry & Fry made part of the RAW. I suggested this in a Rules Question thread.
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I knew you had an extensive list, Cheapy. I hope a good selection of those get addressed eventually.
One of them makes me curious, though:
Currently we don't have a place to post FAQ/update material for books other than the Pathfinder RPG hardcovers, so I can't attach this to a permanent FAQ, but consider this an official ruling on this question.
I wonder if the inclusion of "consider this an official ruling" trumps the quote from Stephen in my original post?
I knew you had an extensive list, Cheapy. I hope a good selection of those get addressed eventually.
One of them makes me curious, though:
Currently we don't have a place to post FAQ/update material for books other than the Pathfinder RPG hardcovers, so I can't attach this to a permanent FAQ, but consider this an official ruling on this question.I wonder if the inclusion of "consider this an official ruling" trumps the quote from Stephen in my original post?
Yes, I think that if one of the devs says that on something outside the PRD, it's official. There's no other way to FAQ it.
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I knew you had an extensive list, Cheapy. I hope a good selection of those get addressed eventually.
One of them makes me curious, though:
Currently we don't have a place to post FAQ/update material for books other than the Pathfinder RPG hardcovers, so I can't attach this to a permanent FAQ, but consider this an official ruling on this question.I wonder if the inclusion of "consider this an official ruling" trumps the quote from Stephen in my original post?
By the way, the quoted post is from 2011, since then we got the Golarion FAQ added as a category, so I'm going to mail Jacobs and ask him to add a Boon Companion FAQ entry to the Golarion FAQ. I think he's on vacation right now, though, so it may take a few days.
That's only meant for PFS Leadership (Mike Brock and John Compton). It doesn't include the Designers.I may be remembering wrong, but there was a time when Sean was on a roll for great clarifications, and I asked for something in the PFS subforum, I think it was some kind of ruling about sleeping since it permanently affected a PFS character who wanted to spend several days straight without sleep to learn more spells forever (using a now-banned spell, but anyway...). Mike said that what was needed was a designer quote, which would be binding for PFS. Because he is awesome, Mike then asked Sean to weigh in, which Sean did quickly and with great panache.
I think this is the post you're referring to.
Thanks Sean! I went down the rabbit hole on that one and figured out the difference--back then (v4.2), the Pathfinder Society Guide to Organized Play stated that designer posts were binding in PFS, but the latest version restricts it to just Mike and John. So now I know for my future PFS games!
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I remember that issue. I remember it very well. Almost as if I was at the table when the issue came up.
I'm very surprised designer clarifications are no longer legal in PFS. I really hope that changes back. I liked being able to depend on designer comments for awkward rules areas before the faqs got around to being updated. Particularly when things showed up in the soft cover books which tend not to get FAQ'd.
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What is an Otyugh able to do on aoo's?
There are tree possibilities:
1. Aoo
2. Aoo + grab + constrict
3. Aoo + grab + constrict + release
All 3 if it wants.
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Can I use spell slots from class X to spontaneously cast spells from class Y's list; or can I use spell slots from class Y using spell combat form class X, even if the spell is on both spell lists?
The reply to the latter part is already in the FAQ, and I think that no sane person has doubts about the answer to first question. (A mystic theurge can do that, but that is a specific class ability.)
Magus, Spell Combat: What spells can I cast when using spell combat?
The relevant text of the ability is:
"As a full-round action, he can make all of his attacks with his melee weapon at a –2 penalty and can also cast any spell from the magus spell list with a casting time of 1 standard action (any attack roll made as part of this spell also takes this penalty)."
The spell you cast when using spell combat has to be a magus spell you know, and it must be a magus spell prepared with one of your magus spell slots.
(Other magus abilities may modify what spells can be used with spell combat. For example, the broad study magus arcana explicitly states the magus can use spell combat to cast spells from the selected non-magus spellcasting class.)
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Different question. Some people think you can switch out prepared Wizard spells for cure spells if you're a Wizard/Cleric.
You mean like obscure object? RIGHT?
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SKR's explanation of how charges work, complete with chart and everything.
The line does not need to point directly at or even pass through the foe.
Different question. Some people think you can switch out prepared Wizard spells for cure spells if you're a Wizard/Cleric.You mean like obscure object? RIGHT?
Don't forget secure shelter!