FEAR RULES:
Fear effects stack until a creature is panicked. A panicked creature cowers if they are prevented from fleeing (fleeing means maximizing distance between themselves and the source of their fear; usually this is the run action or a transportation spell/ability).
QUESTION:
What are some good ways to make a creature cower?
Only ways I know are disheartening display and signature skill (intimidate). There is always stunning/paralyzing/dazing a panicked opponent, but then there would be no point in making them cower too.
conductive weapon an antipaladin with the cruelty that stacks fear
The antipaladin has the frightened and shaken cruelties as options, or panicked for the fearmonger archetype, but there is no cowering cruetly. These cruelties are fear effects and can stack to panicked, but not cowering.
Yes. Unless you give it to them some other way, like disheartening display or signature skill (intimidate) at level 15+. I'm asking whether anyone knows of any other ways, as I cannot find any.
don't things only cower when there is no ways of escaping?
No. "Cower" can be specifically applied by certain monsters, but normally they use one of the other fear effects.
As an example:
Cowering Fear (Su): Any creature shaken by the ravener's frightful presence is cowering instead of shaken for the first round of the effect, and shaken for the rest of the duration. Any creature that is panicked by its frightful presence is instead cowering for the duration.
Cowering: The character is frozen in fear and can take no actions. A cowering character takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class and loses his Dexterity bonus (if any).
wall of force around them except in front of you and then use a normal fear effect? only other ways i can see is making it impossible for them to flee in the 1st place
That's a creative solution. I had only thought of inflicting status conditions. Nobody in my party can use that spell, though, and we aren't big on umd.
Yes. Unless you give it to them some other way, like disheartening display or signature skill (intimidate) at level 15+. I'm asking whether anyone knows of any other ways, as I cannot find any.
Here are two ways.
Intimidate
With sufficient ranks in Intimidate, you earn the following. An asterisk (*) indicates the total duration cannot exceed 1 round plus 1 round for every 5 by which you exceed the DC.5 Ranks: If you exceed the DC to demoralize a target by at least 10, it is frightened for 1 round and shaken thereafter.* A Will save (DC = 10 + your number of ranks in Intimidate) negates the frightened condition, but the target is still shaken, even if it has the stalwart ability.
10 Ranks: If you exceed the DC to demoralize a target by at least 10, it is panicked for 1 round or frightened for 1d4 rounds (your choice) and shaken thereafter.* A Will save (DC = 10 + your number of ranks in Intimidate) negates the frightened or panicked condition, but the target is still shaken, even if it has the stalwart ability.
15 Ranks: If you exceed the DC to demoralize a target by at least 20, it is cowering for 1 round or panicked for 1d4 rounds (your choice) and frightened thereafter.* A Will save (DC = 10 + your number of ranks in Intimidate) negates the cowering, panicked, and frightened conditions, but the target is still shaken, even if it has the stalwart ability.
20 Ranks: If you exceed the DC to demoralize a target by at least 20, it is cowering for 1d4 rounds and panicked thereafter.* A Will save (DC = 10 + your number of ranks in Intimidate) negates the cowering and panicked conditions, but the target is still shaken, even if it has the stalwart ability.
Just realized that restricting movement wouldn't work when enemies can use transportation spells/abilities to run away. From what I gather, if I want a debuff as powerful as cowering, I will have to either focus on stun/daze/paralysis, or wait until level 15 for the feat wraithstrike posted above.
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If you want to make your opponent cower, simply Bladelock them.
How do you Bladelock someone you ask?
Ingredients:
2 lvls in Lion Blade PrC,
the combat feat Scorpion Style,
the style/combat feat Deadhand Style
level of monk or the TWF feat.
Round 1
Hit flanked or feinted target with Scorpion Style. Drop one of your sneak dice to reduce their 5ft movement speed from Scorpion to 0 with Lion Blade's "Slowing Strike."
Round 2
Spend a swift action and 1ki to empower your unarmed strike. Hit 3 times to layer fear effects till panicked. They are now panicked and immobilized, making them cower.
Round 3
Coup De Grace them with Dastardly Finish.
Aura of Doom (or anything that causes shaken) + Fear (panicked) spell, follow them until they're cornered. Possibly easy if you're in a dungeon.
Aura of Doom (or anything that causes shaken) + Fear (panicked) spell, follow them until they're cornered. Possibly easy if you're in a dungeon.
Isn't fear on the arcane list? It may be a domain spell but then you can only do that combo once per day. Also cornering someone is not easy.
eldritch guardian with the disheartening display feat.
This feat is an upgrade to dazzling display, and allows you to keep on advancing the fear level. it stacks well with other fear causing effects (since it is designed to remove the fear limit, so it just advances the target along the line of normal->shaken->frightened->cowering).
Eldritch guardian archetype for fighter is suggested here since it gives you a familiar that shares in your combat feats. This archetypes serves to double your action economy for things like this.
So basically- baton twirl your way to making your enemies cower before you!
eldritch guardian with the disheartening display feat.
This feat is an upgrade to dazzling display, and allows you to keep on advancing the fear level. it stacks well with other fear causing effects (since it is designed to remove the fear limit, so it just advances the target along the line of normal->shaken->frightened->cowering).
Eldritch guardian archetype for fighter is suggested here since it gives you a familiar that shares in your combat feats. This archetypes serves to double your action economy for things like this.
So basically- baton twirl your way to making your enemies cower before you!
Disheartening display can only be used once every 24hrs from any source. No way to partner with it. No way to stack it more than once.
As someone who's playing a fear based antipaladin build, this is relevant to my interests.
But as someone who has had the problem of enemies running away when the reach frightened and panicked, stacking the levels up doesn't really work unless you can do it all in one go. Otherwise the enemy just runs away, inconveniently.
Disheartening display can only be used once every 24hrs from any source. No way to partner with it. No way to stack it more than once.eldritch guardian with the disheartening display feat.
This feat is an upgrade to dazzling display, and allows you to keep on advancing the fear level. it stacks well with other fear causing effects (since it is designed to remove the fear limit, so it just advances the target along the line of normal->shaken->frightened->cowering).
Eldritch guardian archetype for fighter is suggested here since it gives you a familiar that shares in your combat feats. This archetypes serves to double your action economy for things like this.
So basically- baton twirl your way to making your enemies cower before you!
Is that new? Is that an errata? I mostly ask since this feels blindsiding me, since no one mentioned such a limit when I brought this up before (I am more than willing to assume that I am an idiot that kept on missing that).
Admittedly, I can understand why such an errata exists. My suggested build is a perfect example of why it should get such a limit. It would be unendingly abusable when you get more than one character doing it. You could get enemies running in fear in 1 round, and cowering in the second.
It has always been that way as far as I know. It is generally a good idea not to just trust what anyone says about a feat or ability (especially if the say "trust me") and look at each rule that you will used on your character.
They may have been talking about the unchained intimidation rule and then Disheartening Display to cower.