Exactly the Subject.
No. RAW you can only suffer ASF from wearing armor.
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A somatic component is a measured and precise movement of the hand. You must have at least one hand free to provide a somatic component
A material component consists of one or more physical substances or objects that are annihilated by the spell energies in the casting process. Unless a cost is given for a material component, the cost is negligible. Don't bother to keep track of material components with negligible cost. Assume you have all you need as long as you have your spell component pouch.Focus (F)
A focus component is a prop of some sort. Unlike a material component, a focus is not consumed when the spell is cast and can be reused. As with material components, the cost for a focus is negligible unless a price is given. Assume that focus components of negligible cost are in your spell component pouch.
I would say, read as written, none at all. So long as you have one unbroken free hand. Spells without material or somatic components could be cast with both arms missing, never mind broken. Don't quote me on this though, I'd say most spells have one and/or the other. If the arm has been freshly broken that could impair someone's ability to concentrate.
IMOO: No, or a concentration check.
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There are no rules for a broken limb. The game simply doesn't support that level of detail and injury in game. Since gaining a broken limb is a house rule, any effects of that relating to spellcasting would be house rules as well.
A good start would be a 20% failure rate on spells with somatic components, similar to what the worlfscarred face oracle curse does for verbal spells.
No because broken bones are not covered. When a GM goes outside the norms of the game he has to make up his own rules to cover the situation.
If some AP/module author did this, and it is affecting the game, then the GM still has to make up rules for it unless the module/AP already has listed penalties.
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This seems pretty straightforward to me - spells that have a somatic component need one free hand.
One broken limb, you still have a spare that can cast spells with S components.
Two broken limbs, you can't cast spells with S components at all.
As others have suggested, Arcane Spell Failure is a mechanic that only has anything to do with armor - nothing else.
Bardic Performance: "Each bardic performance has audible components, visual components, or both." No bardic performances requires hands. Neither does any Musical instrument.
Climb. "You need both hands free to climb", so not being able to use both would stop it. Curiously, my merfolk has no issue with climbing...
Attack Rolls. No, why would they? They either have enough hands to use the weapon or not. How does being armless affect my ability to use armor spikes for instance?
Reflex Saves. Again, why? I still get my save when I'm asleep.
Any ability really... "Bardic Magic" was poorly phrased: It would only affects hands available. Nothing more.
For legs, look at peg legs: A peg leg reduces your base speed by 5 feet and imposes a –4 penalty on Acrobatics, Climb, and Swim checks.
Also check out Prosthetics. Chopping off an arm and having one allows shield use, no regular hand use and no minuses like ASF. Chop the whole leg and it just drops speed by 1/2.
Bardic Performance: "Each bardic performance has audible components, visual components, or both." No bardic performances requires hands. Neither does any Musical instrument.
Climb. "You need both hands free to climb", so not being able to use both would stop it. Curiously, my merfolk has no issue with climbing...
Attack Rolls. No, why would they? They either have enough hands to use the weapon or not. How does being armless affect my ability to use armor spikes for instance?
Reflex Saves. Again, why? I still get my save when I'm asleep.
Any ability really... "Bardic Magic" was poorly phrased: It would only affects hands available. Nothing more.
For legs, look at peg legs: A peg leg reduces your base speed by 5 feet and imposes a –4 penalty on Acrobatics, Climb, and Swim checks.
Also check out Prosthetics. Chopping off an arm and having one allows shield use, no regular hand use and no minuses like ASF. Chop the whole leg and it just drops speed by 1/2.
I think you're missing his overall point, even though some of these examples you might be able to get around. How does having a broken hand impact a fighter's ability to swing a sword? Does it matter if it's a two-handed weapon? Does a dislocated shoulder prevent the use of a shield? How does having extreme blood loss affect a Bard's ability to perform and concentrate? How does having a concussion alter a Druid's ability to wildshape?
The rules aren't set up to handle any of these situations at all; so any rules-based discussion is inherently fruitless. His point is why are we asking about broken arms affecting arcane spell failure if we're not also asking about broken jaws affecting how Witches can cackle? It's just laying bare the point that others have made that this is a home brew issue, not a rules issue.
How does having a broken hand impact a fighter's ability to swing a sword?: It affects that hand.
Does it matter if it's a two-handed weapon? As I said, it affects hands. With a hand unavalible, two handed weapons would be out.
Does a dislocated shoulder prevent the use of a shield?: Nope, as you can use one with a Prosthetics. If a wood arm can use a shield, your injured arm can.
How does having extreme blood loss affect a Bard's ability to perform and concentrate?: Nope!
How does having a concussion alter a Druid's ability to wildshape?:None!
The rules aren't set up to handle any of these situations at all: No, they can easily cover most of them. Blood loss equates to either hp or con lose. Neither does anything to abilities until you're KO'd. Others can easily be extrapolated from the Prosthetics. Only the concussion is questionably and could be emulated with a condition like staggered or nauseated.
Any rules-based discussion is inherently fruitless: Nope, there is a lot you can figure out. Something close is there for almost every question. You can use those rules elements instead of inventing new ones. The main issue here is NOT what happens when these things happen, but HOW these thing happen in the first place.
His point is why are we asking about broken arms affecting arcane spell failure if we're not also asking about broken jaws affecting how Witches can cackle?: Nothing affects cackle as far as I know other than anti-magic. Supernatural abilities just work when you spend the action. As to the broken jaw, Look at Ironbeard/Wolfscarred Face. Difficulty in speaking is listed as 20% spell failure chance with verbal components.
It's just laying bare the point that others have made that this is a home brew issue, not a rules issue: It's not so much home brew as looking through the rules. The main home brew would be how your GET those injuries.
I don't think this is something we need to dive into in great detail. All I'm saying is, that you could extrapolate from existent rules to cobble together a method to deal with these sorts of issues doesn't mean the rules actually cover them.
Attaching a shield to a prosthesis is not the same as functionally wielding a shield from a dislocated appendage. HP is necessarily an abstraction. So saying blood loss is irrelevant necessarily ignores the larger point that that same abstraction might cover fractured limbs or that it isn't intended in the first place to satisfy the realism that a question about blood loss suggests. Where in the rules does it say you can or cannot project a strong, clear voice through a newly broken jaw? That's what is necessary for cackling and spell casting. Does a broken jaw prohibit such actions or merely inhibit them? It's not just about adjudicating how the injuries might occur; there are no sufficient rules available to adjudicate the effect these injuries might actually have when they do occur. PF is intentionally abstract insofar as injuries are concerned. It gets exceedingly complex when you start fidgeting around with that stuff (for instance, an injured knee should necessarily detrimentally impact the damage you deal by swinging a sword).
PF isn't set up for this sort of realism, by design. That doesn't mean you can't try to do something about that, but doing so is entirely a proposition of home brew. And, you'de better be prepared to do it across the boards. So if a broken hand interferes with spell casting, an injured ankle should probably carry with it some dexterity damage (or at the very least, some penalties to relevant checks).
As a side point, the whole cackle thing makes no sense to me as it's a supernatural ability. The target doesn't have to hear you so why would it have to be done clearly? I'll add it to the list of things they've rules on that doesn't make sense to me.
As a side point, the whole cackle thing makes no sense to me as it's a supernatural ability. The target doesn't have to hear you so why would it have to be done clearly? I'll add it to the list of things they've rules on that doesn't make sense to me.
It's cackle, not snicker! How's a witch supposed to be all mean and menacing and whatnot by giggling behind some ogre's back? That ain't scary, man. Strike fear into thine enemies' hearts with a hearty guffaw (but in a super derisive and ominous way)! Chuckling is right out.
As a side point, the whole cackle thing makes no sense to me as it's a supernatural ability. The target doesn't have to hear you so why would it have to be done clearly? I'll add it to the list of things they've rules on that doesn't make sense to me.It's cackle, not snicker! How's a witch supposed to be all mean and menacing and whatnot by giggling behind some ogre's back? That ain't scary, man. Strike fear into thine enemies' hearts with a hearty guffaw (but in a super derisive and ominous way)! Chuckling is right out.
LOL Now if scary was part of the ability. Cackle can mean:
1# a clucking cry (like a chicken)/to utter a shrill, broken sound or cry, as of a hen/pheasant/geese2# to laugh in a shrill, broken manner/to laugh noisily
3# to chatter noisily; prattle/chatter.
So cackling can be noisily gossiping... or laughing in an annoying/loud manner... or clucking like a chicken/honking like a goose. Mean or menacing isn't implied. It COULD be those things (see naga of slayers fame) but doesn't have to be. It could also be someone making bird noises or talking about how the woman down the street is stepping out on her man... At the very least, #1 should work with a broken jaw.
To be serious, it's bad form to enforce roleplaying elements. If you are required to make noise, so it harder to use it while hidden, that's cool. Telling people how to roleplay there abilities seems wrong. If someone wants to snicker, chortle or giggle as long as the mechanics are the same, what's the harm. (or do the chicken dance and cluck for a move action...)