Master Intellect vs True Inspiration: wtf?

[Raith, Lightlord]

Hey forums

I was looking a the empiricist archetype for the Investigator, and it struck me that the lvl 20 ability Master Intellect is purely a worse version of True Inspiration ability.

Master Intellect (Ex): At 20th level, an empiricist’s powers
of reason and deduction become almost superhuman, and he
is able to use them in nearly all aspects of life. At 20th
level, an empiricist can use inspiration on all skills (even
ones he is not trained in) and all ability checks (including
initiative checks) without spending inspiration. This
ability replaces true inspiration.

True Inspiration (Ex): At 20th level, an investigator can
use inspiration on all skill checks—even ones he isn’t trained
in—and all ability checks without spending inspiration.
In addition, whenever he expends inspiration on an
ability check, attack roll, saving throw, or skill check, he
adds 2d6 rather than 1d6 to the result. Some talents can
affect this. If using the amazing inspiration investigator
talent, he rolls 2d8 instead. If using this with empathy,
tenacious inspiration, underworld inspiration, or a similar
talent, he rolls two sets of inspiration dice and uses the
higher of the two results.

By this wording, Master intellect is purely a worse version of the core ability... Does anyone know of this is intentional, or if a paragraph is missing?

[chaoseffect]

It's a named ability that specifically calls out that it replaces True Inspiration... if it had the second half it would just be True Inspiration and no new ability would needed. I don't see any indication that it's not intentional, but all you can do is see if it gets errata'd. That said, getting a worse capstone is hardly the end of the world as Empiricist is essentially Investigator+ for 99.99% of game time.

[wraithstrike]

When you go into an archetype some things do go down in power.

[ElementalXX]

Many archetypes trade things for things that are worst, however they get good things, personally i dont mind losing an ability i would probably never use anyway

[Nazerith]

Sorry for Necromancy, but I wanted to point out one thing I noticed. Master Intellect allows Inspiration to be used on Initiative which doesn't appear to be possible otherwise.

[Aratrok]

Initiative is a Dexterity check.

True Inspiration allows you to use inspiration on ability checks.

True Inspiration allows you to use inspiration on Initiative checks.

[Natan Linggod 327]

Sorry to necro this but has this been errata'd or had any clarification made?

[merpius]

Well, the last statement is probably not empirically RAW. Initiative is a special type of check, so not everythign that could be used for a regular Dexterity check can be used for Initiative. For example, I've seen it ruled that you cannot use Moment of Prescience for Initiative.

That said, all that was relevant to was whether there was anything better about the replacement power. I'm pretty certain that it is still exactly as written; it is objectively worse (with the one exception), buit that is as per usual for archetypes; you often get abilities that are worse than the base class. Usually it is to make up for something that is superior than the base class, but sometimes some archetypes simply pretty much suck. A great example is the Familiar Adept wizard archetype. It is pretty much worse in every way than a vanilla Wizard (in some ways even regarding the familiar ability itself), and all it gets for it is a few extra uses per day of its 1st level school ability that are used via the familiar itself (1+1/5 levels of additional uses... so not many). That archetype is, categorically, a stinker.

[dragonhunterq]

Initiative is explicitly a bog standard dexterity check, not any special kind of check. Everything that can be used to improve a dex check can improve initiative.

For Moment of Prescience it shouldn't be about whether it's an ability check - it's a question of whether it's an opposed ability check (It isn't, so whoever ruled it that way was quite correct).

[merpius]

I guess I can see that logic, though you only "win" initiative if you get higher than everyone else.

But I guess no one fails initiative, so, in that sense, it isn't opposed.