"Mighty Strike: Whenever the heritor knight makes a melee attack as a standard action, she can apply the effects of Improved Vital Strike to that attack."
"Dual Strike: As a standard action, you can make two attacks, one with each weapon you’re wielding, applying the normal penalties for two-weapon fighting to each."
Are each of Dual Strike's attacks an attack made with a standard action and would it therefore work with Mighty Strike?
My interpretation (and authorial intent) would be that it does not apply, since you're making multiple attacks rather than "a melee attack". Contrast with Cleave, which uses a single attack (which benefits from IVS) to trigger a secondary attack (which does not).
There isn't room for interpretation, it doesn't work. Dual Strike is a special standard action that allows you to make two attacks. Mighty strike only works a melee attack made as a standard action.
Isn't vital strike already a standard action? Under your interpretation the ability doesn't do anything.
Intent is nice, but as written seems to be a little fuzzier.
There isn't any wording in the ability that limits how many times per round you can "apply the effects of IVS" to "a melee attack". The only restriction is that it needs to be a melee attack made as part of a standard action - and unlike with cleave, Dual Strike specifically states you make both attacks as part of a standard action.
If either one of the attacks landed you would still be saying "I just hit you with a melee attack." (You'd also only be making a melee attack with each weapon, rather than making multiple attacks with the same weapon.)
Interestingly, there's no wording in the ability to indicate you get it only on the first attack you make with a standard action, nor is there wording indicating you can only apply the "effects of IVS" once per standard action. It seems to just assume that the player will only be able to make one attack with a standard action.
By RAW I think its a real possibility you would gain the effects of IVS on both melee attacks, always good to get more opinions though, and thanks to Isabelle we know at least that this combination wasn't necessarily considered when Mighty Strikes was written.
For any other question regarding Vital Strike i would agree with you but the Might Strike ability seems to say you can add Vital Strike onto any other attack made with a standard action.
Since the author seems to be watching the thread and did not intend for this exact combination, what combos were you focusing on with the ability? Cleave obviously, any others? ... How would Mighty Strikes interact with Kinetic Blade?
*Sniff* I smell thread hijackery... You should probably post a separate thread if you have specific questions related to kinetic blade that you want answers to, or an advice thread if you're looking for things that work well with Mighty Strike, that way other people will be able to easily find it :)
I'd personally rule that it doesn't override the "no Vital Strike" text of kinetic blast, but your mileage may vary.
(If you have a kineticist with six levels of heritor knight, you're doing something pretty darn unique in any case.)
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
There isn't room for interpretation, it doesn't work. Dual Strike is a special standard action that allows you to make two attacks. Mighty strike only works a melee attack made as a standard action.Isn't vital strike already a standard action? Under your interpretation the ability doesn't do anything.
Vital Strike isn't a standard action, it modifies a standard attack action. Mighty Stike allows you combine Vital Stike damage with other things that are not standard attack actions, as long as that is a melee attack made with a standard action.