As Entryhazard points out, only paralysis was really in contention, since it could theoretically be a purely mental action. However, paralysis gives you 0 Dexterity, so you can't make Dex-based skill checks, of which the Fly check to stay aloft is one.
While a hard reading of the rules has this consequence despite being counterintuitive as I said for supernatural flight, it should be at least allowed to sidestep it by moving continuously in the air, as just going around doesn't require a Fly check outside of complex maneuvers
Hey Mark (and anyone else paying attention), I have a question about size bonuses. A few of my players think that if you are attacking or getting attacked by a creature the same size or smaller than you (example: a small creature attacking another small creature or a tiny creature), that you lose the size bonus to AC and attack. I don't know where they got this (or why they would even want this), because I looked through the Core Rulebook and I did not see any reason why a creature would lose their size bonuses.
Think you could help clear this up?
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Hey, Mark, I was wondering if the double crossbow from the APG replaces/supersedes the Minotaur double crossbow from Classic Monsters Revisited. Minotaur double crossbow is legal for PFS, and I prefer not to use the APG double crossbow.
It doesn't seem that one would necessarily supersede the other unless otherwise stated. That said, since CMR is very early in the lifecycle of the Pathfinder RPG and APG is from the RPG line, I would probably tend to defer to the APG version for double crossbow needs anyway.
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Mr. Mark Seifter,
In your estimation, what is a good fimbulwinter level event to be a story element as well as environmental hazard for PCs to face? Not to be confused with an equivalent event, but some something with the same magnitude.
Also, what was your opinion of the Avatar Crisis from Forgotten Realms? Specifically from a narrative point of view.
If you wanted a fimbulwinter ice age, I'd say probably use cold environmental hazards and decrease the temperature worldwide. If you mean generally any sort of apocalypse, there's lots of fun possibilities.
I actually started reading Forgotten Realms books and got more into that setting just around when the Avatar Trilogy came out, so I probably have a less negative view of that crisis than many who were deeply versed in the world before that. I still think the Helm/Mystra confrontation at the end of Book 1 was pretty weird and didn't ring true to me at the time. Also Kaiju Torm vs. Bane was a little weird. Other than that, it was new at the time and I liked it back then. The Shadow of the Avatar trilogy was pretty weird and confusing though, even having finished the Avatar trilogy first.
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Do you know who the primary designer of the Occultist was? I love the class, and was curious why scorching ray isn't on their spell list, despite the upgraded version, contagious ray, being there. Seems like a curious omission.
Jason was the primary designer of the occultist. However, due to timing constraints, Logan and I helped him add a few things; for instance, he reached a point where he was happy about the CRB spells available and I helped add some non-CRB spells into the mix. So you could ask me instead "Mark, why did you add contagious ray, since it seems like a curious inclusion." I don't actually remember; perhaps it was because the way the rays shoot out from the people hit by the previous rays reminded me on the sort of focus-powered magic of the occultist.
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Mark, will you be at Owlcon for the full event? If not which day(s) will you be there?Linda and I are there the whole time. We'll be overseeing the PFS Special, and we're also offering some even more exclusive games (one each of of a PFS thingy that's exclusive to staff members, and then I'm running an atmospheric RP/puzzle-heavy game).Hmmm, and how does one sign up for these games?
EDIT: And will there be pregenerated characters?
As I understand it, the sign-up is the same as other Owlcon games (I asked if they would do a special lottery and was told that wasn't the case), but I don't actually know how that works (if you've been there previous years, you know better than I do). You would bring a PFS character for the PFS ones, and Anagnorisis has "pregens." In fact, the Anagnorisis characters start with amnesia and you never see the mechanics behind the pregen, so from a player-centric PoV it's all about getting into character and making decisions; I also optioned First World Problems, but Owlcon organizers (wisely, in my opinion) leaned towards Anagnorisis due to First World Problems having complicated pregens that the players would probably need ahead of time or it would take a while to just read and understand them.
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As Entryhazard points out, only paralysis was really in contention, since it could theoretically be a purely mental action. However, paralysis gives you 0 Dexterity, so you can't make Dex-based skill checks, of which the Fly check to stay aloft is one.While a hard reading of the rules has this consequence despite being counterintuitive as I said for supernatural flight, it should be at least allowed to sidestep it by moving continuously in the air, as just going around doesn't require a Fly check outside of complex maneuvers
The trouble is "You generally need only make a Fly check when you are attempting a complex maneuver. Without making a check, a flying creature can remain flying at the end of its turn so long as it moves a distance greater than half its speed. " Since the flying wizard did not move a distance greater than half his speed, he can't remain flying at the end of his turn without making a Fly check (DC 10).
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Hey Mark (and anyone else paying attention), I have a question about size bonuses. A few of my players think that if you are attacking or getting attacked by a creature the same size or smaller than you (example: a small creature attacking another small creature or a tiny creature), that you lose the size bonus to AC and attack. I don't know where they got this (or why they would even want this), because I looked through the Core Rulebook and I did not see any reason why a creature would lose their size bonuses.
Think you could help clear this up?
David has it right; you do keep your size bonus to AC, but the opponents' bonuses will cancel yours out if you are both the same size.
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It makes sense to me. If you go unconscious or get dazed while flying you are technically still in control of the spell, you just aren't telling to to keep you in the air. It says that it takes concentration to fly after all. Seriously, do you expect a 3rd level spell to have a protective safety cushion against every possible downside or counter?The main thing is that there is a Fly check required each round with a requisite action to take that check. Nothing in the fly spell indicates that you can ignore Fly checks (indeed, if you could, it should be perfect maneuverability and/or there's no reason to give a bonus on them for the magic making it easy). Of the conditions mentioned here (dazed, stunned, and paralyzed), dazed and stunned clearly prevent all actions and thus prevent the action to make the Fly check. As Entryhazard points out, only paralysis was really in contention, since it could theoretically be a purely mental action. However, paralysis gives you 0 Dexterity, so you can't make Dex-based skill checks, of which the Fly check to stay aloft is one.
All that being said, I'm not convinced that making Fly a new Dex-based skill and making maneuverabilities basically not matter if you have ranks (compared to 3.5) works better than either the old system or an even-more streamlined version (when the clumsy dragon has 20 ranks and is more maneuverable than the hummingbird, I scratch my head a bit), but given how the Fly skill works, the fact that action denial makes you fall follows.
Hmm. Here's a question
1. Let there be a character with maximum ranks in Fly and the trait Wisdom in the Flesh, targeting Fly. Fly (for them) is now a Wisdom-based skill.
2. Let that character be paralyzed mid-flight.Does the character fall down?
That's a really cool idea; however, I would say they still would be, for the same reason that an oracle replacing Dex bonus to AC with Cha bonus and then paralyzed still loses that AC, even though Cha is a purely mental stat.
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I just wanted to say that I finally got a chance to play my kineticist this weekend and had more fun playing a character than I have had in a LONG TIME! (and that isn't to say that I haven't enjoyed it, but moving things with your mind is just awesome!)
Thanks! :)
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I just wanted to say that I finally got a chance to play my kineticist this weekend and had more fun playing a character than I have had in a LONG TIME! (and that isn't to say that I haven't enjoyed it, but moving things with your mind is just awesome!)
Thanks! :)
Yay! Glad you enjoyed. People are usually more likely to post about things that upset them than things they thought were cool, so it's always great to hear when something is really awesome.
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The trouble is "You generally need only make a Fly check when you are attempting a complex maneuver. Without making a check, a flying creature can remain flying at the end of its turn so long as it moves a distance greater than half its speed. " Since the flying wizard did not move a distance greater than half his speed, he can't remain flying at the end of his turn without making a Fly check (DC 10).
Why the assumption that the wizard didn't move?
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The trouble is "You generally need only make a Fly check when you are attempting a complex maneuver. Without making a check, a flying creature can remain flying at the end of its turn so long as it moves a distance greater than half its speed. " Since the flying wizard did not move a distance greater than half his speed, he can't remain flying at the end of his turn without making a Fly check (DC 10).Why the assumption that the wizard didn't move?
From Dexterity in the CRB: "A character with a Dexterity score of 0 is incapable of moving."
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From Dexterity in the CRB: "A character with a Dexterity score of 0 is incapable of moving."The trouble is "You generally need only make a Fly check when you are attempting a complex maneuver. Without making a check, a flying creature can remain flying at the end of its turn so long as it moves a distance greater than half its speed. " Since the flying wizard did not move a distance greater than half his speed, he can't remain flying at the end of his turn without making a Fly check (DC 10).Why the assumption that the wizard didn't move?
I now have the oddest image of Fly Lag.
The Wizard is paralyzed, falls 15ft, stops, falls 15ft, stops, falls 15ft, stops...
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Are there times of the year that are more busy at work than other times? Is it predictable when those are? Like, "Mays are really busy as we finish things to go out for July."
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I've never played PFS before, would I be able to play with a lvl 1 character? Or would it need to be on equal footing with the rest of the party? I know it works chronologically with a starting session and an "ending" session, unless I am completely misunderstanding it, which is entirely possible. Care to clarify the guidelines for signing up for a PFS game (in a general sense at least)?
You would be able to start a 1st level character as long as the level range included 1st level. Otherwise you would have to play a higher level pregen. But you can play scenarios in any order, so there is no need to get into specific scenarios when you start off. Just look for Tier 1-2 or 1-5 scenarios when you are signing up.
Any particular reason Wood Kineticists don't have Green Empathy?
Any particular reason Wood Kineticists don't have Green Empathy?
Space, probably? They were pretty constrained.
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I've never played PFS before, would I be able to play with a lvl 1 character? Or would it need to be on equal footing with the rest of the party? I know it works chronologically with a starting session and an "ending" session, unless I am completely misunderstanding it, which is entirely possible. Care to clarify the guidelines for signing up for a PFS game (in a general sense at least)?As I understand it, the sign-up is the same as other Owlcon games (I asked if they would do a special lottery and was told that wasn't the case), but I don't actually know how that works (if you've been there previous years, you know better than I do). You would bring a PFS character for the PFS ones, and Anagnorisis has "pregens." In fact, the Anagnorisis characters start with amnesia and you never see the mechanics behind the pregen, so from a player-centric PoV it's all about getting into character and making decisions; I also optioned First World Problems, but Owlcon organizers (wisely, in my opinion) leaned towards Anagnorisis due to First World Problems having complicated pregens that the players would probably need ahead of time or it would take a while to just read and understand them.Mark, will you be at Owlcon for the full event? If not which day(s) will you be there?Linda and I are there the whole time. We'll be overseeing the PFS Special, and we're also offering some even more exclusive games (one each of of a PFS thingy that's exclusive to staff members, and then I'm running an atmospheric RP/puzzle-heavy game).Hmmm, and how does one sign up for these games?
EDIT: And will there be pregenerated characters?
If you haven't played PFS, then the exclusivity of the scenario is probably of less concern to you than it would be to someone who played a whole bunch; you might be better off playing the big multi-table special where Linda and I are overseers, since that allows 1st-level characters (TOZ is right that you'd have to play a pregenerated character in the higher-level game). Anagnorisis, as a non-PFS game, is no problem.
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Are there times of the year that are more busy at work than other times? Is it predictable when those are? Like, "Mays are really busy as we finish things to go out for July."
That's a great question because, in fact, the example you gave is a common guess, but the Design Team's timetable is further ahead than that, given edit, layout, copyfit, more edit, approvals, and print times. For instance, I'm slightly ahead right now and am actually through with my design and development work on Horror Adventures for Gencon already, and the rest of the PDT will be done soon too and then off to editing (we actually submitted a bunch of the book to the editors already, and they have several chapters through the first edit pass and up to layout). We'll wind up back in Horror for a while after art does layout to copyfit it.
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Any particular reason Wood Kineticists don't have Green Empathy?Space, probably? They were pretty constrained.
Super constrained, and it would have likely been the same level as other utilities. Owen had to fight to get that second spread after I told him that Intro+Void+Wood+additional content was absolutely impossible for 1 spread; if the freelancer hadn't also been at the company (and the class's designer, I guess), I'm guessing they would have been forced to try to fit all that.
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Super constrained, and it would have likely been the same level as other utilities. Owen had to fight to get that second spread after I told him that Intro+Void+Wood+additional content was absolutely impossible for 1 spread; if the freelancer hadn't also been at the company (and the class's designer, I guess), I'm guessing they would have been forced to try to fit all that.Any particular reason Wood Kineticists don't have Green Empathy?Space, probably? They were pretty constrained.
Good to know. I was wondering if you thought Speak with Trees at all replaced it or was better or whatever.
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Are there times of the year that are more busy at work than other times? Is it predictable when those are? Like, "Mays are really busy as we finish things to go out for July."That's a great question because, in fact, the example you gave is a common guess, but the Design Team's timetable is further ahead than that, given edit, layout, copyfit, more edit, approvals, and print times. For instance, I'm slightly ahead right now and am actually through with my design and development work on Horror Adventures for Gencon already, and the rest of the PDT will be done soon too and then off to editing (we actually submitted a bunch of the book to the editors already, and they have several chapters through the first edit pass and up to layout). We'll wind up back in Horror for a while after art does layout to copyfit it.
So are you saying that the demand of your time is pretty consistent through the year, and no month(s) are lighter loads or heavier loads than the rest?
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So are you saying that the demand of your time is pretty consistent through the year, and no month(s) are lighter loads or heavier loads than the rest?Are there times of the year that are more busy at work than other times? Is it predictable when those are? Like, "Mays are really busy as we finish things to go out for July."That's a great question because, in fact, the example you gave is a common guess, but the Design Team's timetable is further ahead than that, given edit, layout, copyfit, more edit, approvals, and print times. For instance, I'm slightly ahead right now and am actually through with my design and development work on Horror Adventures for Gencon already, and the rest of the PDT will be done soon too and then off to editing (we actually submitted a bunch of the book to the editors already, and they have several chapters through the first edit pass and up to layout). We'll wind up back in Horror for a while after art does layout to copyfit it.
Essentially, designers have three big releases each year (this whole discussion has a very different set of answers for other teams, though), so we don't experience a crunch anywhere near to Gencon. That doesn't mean there isn't one at all, though with the way things divide, it usually isn't terribly different across months unless we happen to finish a book before the freelance is in for the next. The one constant, though, which you could probably predict given publication dates, is that there is a little more of a grace period before we work on the book for a spring release. That's because the releases tend to be Spring (April), Summer (August), Fall (November), meaning that the Summer to Fall books are a tighter turn-around of 3 months (often not a big deal because bestiaries and the like tend to be Fall and take less time) and then Fall to Spring is 5 months. Add to that math the fact that we often have outages for winter holiday season, which tends to be when we're working on the summer book, and right before and after winter holidays tend to be a little tighter (they were last year while working on Occult).
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Do you think the psychic major phrenic amplification Mimic Metamagic requires you to know the prerequisites for something like Verdant Spell or Coaxing Spell? There's no mention of prereqs in the ability.
I know you didn't design the Psychic, but I believe you've asked the guy who did on occasion.
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Do you think the psychic major phrenic amplification Mimic Metamagic requires you to know the prerequisites for something like Verdant Spell or Coaxing Spell? There's no mention of prereqs in the ability.
I know you didn't design the Psychic, but I believe you've asked the guy who did on occasion.
I just asked Logan about this, and he said that metamagic feats with prereqs weren't on the radar when designing that ability. He recommends requiring prereqs for full functionality, especially due to metamagic like Jinxed Spell that doesn't work at all if you don't have a halfling jinx, but the ability itself is silent, so he agrees it's ambiguous; it might fall back on the general rule of requiring prereqs to select a feat, but there's also a reasonable claim that could be made that since you're just choosing them, it doesn't entail prereqs.
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What is the funniest thing that happened to or near you in the last 24 hours?
Do you ever design an ironclad rule, grin manically, and say "FAQ this!"
Ever been to England?
What's your workday drink?
What's the most romantic thing you've ever done for your better half? What does she think it is?
What's the scariest thing that's ever happened to you?
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What other systems do you play besides Pathfinder, if any?
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What is the funniest thing that happened to or near you in the last 24 hours?
Do you ever design an ironclad rule, grin manically, and say "FAQ this!"
Ever been to England?
What's your workday drink?
What's the most romantic thing you've ever done for your better half? What does she think it is?
What's the scariest thing that's ever happened to you?
1) Hmm...I'm not sure. I'm sure that we were joking around at the office yesterday, but I can't remember too much funny business off-hand. I think Logan showed me a pretty funny bad AI-written Magic card yesterday, but there was probably something funnier than that.
2) Not exactly, but I certainly insert ambiguity-prevention clauses into things that I'm developing. That's one of the most common things I'll find when I'm the second dev pass after another designer has already fixed the biggest issues with the turnover.
3) I've been to England three times. Once in the late 90s for a vacation and a wedding, then again a little over 5 years later but only briefly for a wedding since it was during the semester at MIT, then finally a few years back for a family trip with my folks, my brothers, Linda, and my brother's fiancee (in the last one, we saw Ireland then flew to York and saw Northern England, Scotland, and the Orkneys).
4) My workday drink is usually an herbal tea or water.
5) I'm not sure there's any one big thing that stands out over the other. It's a lot of little things every day.
6) Aside from experiences involving my acrophobia, immediate-fear-wise (rather than long-term dread) it might have been the time that I was hit by a skier at the bottom of a ski slope and flew through the air off a hill. At the time, everything slowed down and I thought I was going to die, though I hit soft snow and didn't break anything, so I was lucky. I already didn't like skiing and was kind of afraid of the ski lift (acrophobia), but after that point, I significantly reduced the amount that I would let my family pressure me into skiing with them. This did once lead to my coming home to visit from MIT only to have everyone else leave for the rest of the week to go skiing, but w/e, I played Twilight Princess for most of that.
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What other systems do you play besides Pathfinder, if any?
Recently, I haven't played as many other games (or as much Pathfinder, for that matter, since old friends are far away now and officemates tend to be really busy), but in the past, I've played D&D 1e (barely), 2e, 3/3.5, and 4e, as well as other d20 games like Mutants and Masterminds, and some more narrative games like FATE. I've played one-shots of some others like Spycraft, True20, Hollow Earth Expedition, and Dread as well. We almost got a D&D 5e game started, but people were too busy. Then there's a fair number of systems that I've read but not played, and those go out to some pretty obscure ones with thanks to former Paizo Editor and Indie RPG Designer Ryan Macklin, who kept lending some of them to me for a week to read and thus increased the number dramatically. These include less obscure titles like Risus, Apocalypse World, Unknown Armies, Trail of Cthulhu/Gumshoe, and Leverage RPG/Cortex, but also some more obscure ones like Lady Blackbird, Refuge in Audacity (a parody RPG by fellow designer Logan Bonner), and Mythender (the last of which Ryan wrote, so I actually ran a game of it with Linda and it could be included in the played-once list except that I technically didn't have a full group of players).
FAQ today?
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Dead Shot: When it says you make the number of attack rolls based on your base attack bonus, would that also include extra attacks from things like haste or Rapid Shot?
No, dead shot only includes attacks from base attack bonus (so two attack rolls at 7th, three at 11th, four at 16th). Dead shot is meant more of a backup option for particular situations (such as shooting against something with high hardness or avoiding misfires).
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Dead Shot: When it says you make the number of attack rolls based on your base attack bonus, would that also include extra attacks from things like haste or Rapid Shot?
No, dead shot only includes attacks from base attack bonus (so two attack rolls at 7th, three at 11th, four at 16th). Dead shot is meant more of a backup option for particular situations (such as shooting against something with high hardness or avoiding misfires).
So continues the string of, "Why yes, this ability DOES do exactly what it says on the tin," I guess? :-P
Dead Shot: When it says you make the number of attack rolls based on your base attack bonus, would that also include extra attacks from things like haste or Rapid Shot?
No, dead shot only includes attacks from base attack bonus (so two attack rolls at 7th, three at 11th, four at 16th). Dead shot is meant more of a backup option for particular situations (such as shooting against something with high hardness or avoiding misfires).
It's always interesting to see what gets answered to know what's been at the top of the FAQ queue. Like I wouldn't have guess this or last weeks would be up there, but it's interesting to see them get answered.
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It's always interesting to see what gets answered to know what's been at the top of the FAQ queue. Like I wouldn't have guess this or last weeks would be up there, but it's interesting to see them get answered.Dead Shot: When it says you make the number of attack rolls based on your base attack bonus, would that also include extra attacks from things like haste or Rapid Shot?
No, dead shot only includes attacks from base attack bonus (so two attack rolls at 7th, three at 11th, four at 16th). Dead shot is meant more of a backup option for particular situations (such as shooting against something with high hardness or avoiding misfires).
It's not necessarily at the top of the queue though. Just because something is at the top of the queue, doesn't mean it's going to be answered. Based off what Mark has said in the past, the more complicated the answer to a FAQ is, the more likely it is to take longer to answer as it requires more time in a meeting with all of the designers; which is something that is hard to arrange.
This one seems like a very easy and straightforward answer. I almost think the FAQ team might be well suited to having their very own, private, internal forum for Mark to create FAQ topics on. Post up a topic like this one, let each person go over it and post responses/thoughts, and if it's easy to answer, it's answered. If it's more complicated, they can arrange a meeting over it.
Personally, that's how I'd handle the FAQ system so that easy FAQs can be easily answered, while harder ones can allow the designers to sink more thought into it before each meeting. Of course, you'd need someone like Mark to go over the FAQ threads and gather the various arguments and lay them out so each designer doesn't have to wade through a thread.
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It's always interesting to see what gets answered to know what's been at the top of the FAQ queue. Like I wouldn't have guess this or last weeks would be up there, but it's interesting to see them get answered.Dead Shot: When it says you make the number of attack rolls based on your base attack bonus, would that also include extra attacks from things like haste or Rapid Shot?
No, dead shot only includes attacks from base attack bonus (so two attack rolls at 7th, three at 11th, four at 16th). Dead shot is meant more of a backup option for particular situations (such as shooting against something with high hardness or avoiding misfires).It's not necessarily at the top of the queue though. Just because something is at the top of the queue, doesn't mean it's going to be answered. Based off what Mark has said in the past, the more complicated the answer to a FAQ is, the more likely it is to take longer to answer as it requires more time in a meeting with all of the designers; which is something that is hard to arrange.
This one seems like a very easy and straightforward answer. I almost think the FAQ team might be well suited to having their very own, private, internal forum for Mark to create FAQ topics on. Post up a topic like this one, let each person go over it and post responses/thoughts, and if it's easy to answer, it's answered. If it's more complicated, they can arrange a meeting over it.
Personally, that's how I'd handle the FAQ system so that easy FAQs can be easily answered, while harder ones can allow the designers to sink more thought into it before each meeting. Of course, you'd need someone like Mark to go over the FAQ threads and gather the various arguments and lay them out so each designer doesn't have to wade through a thread.
What I do is sort of the more physically direct version of that involving more talking and less tech. It helps that three of us share an office and Jason is right next door. Now, when it comes to our queue of which thing to FAQ, it's not based entirely on number of FAQ clicks, though that is one of the major components. We do have access to a list of stuff ordered by FAQ clicks to use in the process though.
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Hello Mark! Alas I haz questions.
Agents of Evil gives us this little treat:
Broken, Not Beaten (Combat): You automatically stabilize when reduced below 0 hit points. Once per day when brought below 0 hit points, you can accept 1 point of damage to regain consciousness for 1 round, though you remain staggered and only able to take a single move or standard action.
1) In regards to the bolded part, if you activate the trait ability but do nothing to incur further damage do you still fall back unconscious after the round? Or after you've been knocked out can you use the trait to will yourself back and crawl away to safety?
2) Or is the trait meant to be like Ferocity and you activate it the moment you would normally get knocked out?
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For spells and abilities that give boosts to Knowledge checks, such as moment of prescience or a lore oracle's focused trance, do they work for checks that take hours (or weeks!) per roll, such as researching true names or artifacts?
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Hello Mark! Alas I haz questions.
Agents of Evil gives us this little treat:
Broken, Not Beaten (Combat): You automatically stabilize when reduced below 0 hit points. Once per day when brought below 0 hit points, you can accept 1 point of damage to regain consciousness for 1 round, though you remain staggered and only able to take a single move or standard action.1) In regards to the bolded part, if you activate the trait ability but do nothing to incur further damage do you still fall back unconscious after the round? Or after you've been knocked out can you use the trait to will yourself back and crawl away to safety?
2) Or is the trait meant to be like Ferocity and you activate it the moment you would normally get knocked out?
It seems like the wording is pretty unusual here. The trigger is when you are brought below 0 (rather than any time you are hanging out below 0), so it looks like it has to be right when you are brought below, but it says "regain consciousness", so it looks like you fall unconscious (and drop stuff and fall prone) just before activation. Since the consciousness has a duration, you definitely go back to being unconscious afterwards (unless you get healed above negative during that round).
Then again, that's just my close read, and the PComps are not a line I'm involved with, so it could be that it's meant to do something completely different.
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For spells and abilities that give boosts to Knowledge checks, such as moment of prescience or a lore oracle's focused trance, do they work for checks that take hours (or weeks!) per roll, such as researching true names or artifacts?
This is definitely something on which the rules are silent, and it's an excellent question that came up in my home group years back and we had to make a call. The way we rule it is to never allow timing-based one-shot abilities to apply to long-duration versions of a skill where one roll is a simplification of lots of different actions (it's not an opposed roll, so moment doesn't apply anyway) since the rules for that timing (for Knowledge, for instance) seems based on the typical free action for Knowledge. A static bonus applying the whole time or a one-off that has a long timing that seems like it was intended to cover long-term applications (like say a day/level spell called librarian's assistant) gets to stay. Each GM will have to decide how they want to handle this.
Due to the fact that I think it's an excellent question and wish we gave more guidance, you've started to see since I've been here (and will continue to see in the RPG line) explanations when we create new weird subsystems that cause a skill to be applied on a different timescale about how and whether to apply these kinds of abilities.
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Hello Mark! Alas I haz questions.
Agents of Evil gives us this little treat:
Broken, Not Beaten (Combat): You automatically stabilize when reduced below 0 hit points. Once per day when brought below 0 hit points, you can accept 1 point of damage to regain consciousness for 1 round, though you remain staggered and only able to take a single move or standard action.1) In regards to the bolded part, if you activate the trait ability but do nothing to incur further damage do you still fall back unconscious after the round? Or after you've been knocked out can you use the trait to will yourself back and crawl away to safety?
2) Or is the trait meant to be like Ferocity and you activate it the moment you would normally get knocked out?
It seems like the wording is pretty unusual here. The trigger is when you are brought below 0 (rather than any time you are hanging out below 0), so it looks like it has to be right when you are brought below, but it says "regain consciousness", so it looks like you fall unconscious (and drop stuff and fall prone) just before activation. Since the consciousness has a duration, you definitely go back to being unconscious afterwards (unless you get healed above negative during that round).
Then again, that's just my close read, and the PComps are not a line I'm involved with, so it could be that it's meant to do something completely different.
Okies, Thankies for taking the time to answer :3
Would you happened you who might have made that trait?
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Hello Mark! Alas I haz questions.
Agents of Evil gives us this little treat:
Broken, Not Beaten (Combat): You automatically stabilize when reduced below 0 hit points. Once per day when brought below 0 hit points, you can accept 1 point of damage to regain consciousness for 1 round, though you remain staggered and only able to take a single move or standard action.1) In regards to the bolded part, if you activate the trait ability but do nothing to incur further damage do you still fall back unconscious after the round? Or after you've been knocked out can you use the trait to will yourself back and crawl away to safety?
2) Or is the trait meant to be like Ferocity and you activate it the moment you would normally get knocked out?
It seems like the wording is pretty unusual here. The trigger is when you are brought below 0 (rather than any time you are hanging out below 0), so it looks like it has to be right when you are brought below, but it says "regain consciousness", so it looks like you fall unconscious (and drop stuff and fall prone) just before activation. Since the consciousness has a duration, you definitely go back to being unconscious afterwards (unless you get healed above negative during that round).
Then again, that's just my close read, and the PComps are not a line I'm involved with, so it could be that it's meant to do something completely different.
Okies, Thankies for taking the time to answer :3
Would you happened you who might have made that trait?
We get things muddled up on here a lot, especially when the original freelancer comes in to talk about something that was changed in development, so I would recommend asking not the original freelancer who wrote it but Owen, who is not only a cool guy but also is in charge of the Player Companion line. He'll know if Amanda or Crystal (who sometimes assist him) worked on a particular thing, and if he worked on it, he'll know what he wants it to do. This is true for the Player Companions in general.
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Would you happened you who might have made that trait?I believe everything from Agents of Evil comes from the mind of Thurston Hillman. ^_^
Indeed, but I still recommend asking Owen, not Thursty, nonetheless, if you want a more "official" source for any given reason. Personally, I'd just say do what works for your group, in which case anybody's answer is useful data as long as it comes with an explanation of why.