Clan Protector - worthwhile?

[Vardoc Bloodstone]

So the 5th level dwarf ancestry feat Clan Protector.

Doe the fact that this feat requires an Interact action make it useless in combat? Parry requires an Action but not an Interact action. Interact includes the Manipulate trait, meaning Clan Protector now provokes many Attacks of Opportunity.

The way it is written, however, leads me to believe this may have been an error:

“…When you use an Interact action to gain a circumstance bonus to AC from your clan dagger’s parry trait, you can grant the circumstance bonus to an adjacent ally instead of gaining it yourself. You can use multiple Interact actions to protect multiple allies, or to protect yourself and an ally.”

[Squiggit]

Parry used to require an Interact action (and therefore provoked) and was updated in errata to not do that.

Clan Protector is in a different book that has not gotten updated, so it references the old parry mechanics.

[HammerJack]

Abilities with the manipulate trait aren't useless in combat unless you're playing in some strange theme campaign that only uses enemies with AoO.

[Claxon]

Yeah, while it's worth keeping in mind your manipulate-trait having ability does provoke, the amount of enemies with AoO are a lot less than they used to be (because literally everyone could make AoO).

[breithauptclan]

Squiggit wrote:

Parry used to require an Interact action (and therefore provoked) and was updated in errata to not do that.

Clan Protector is in a different book that has not gotten updated, so it references the old parry mechanics.

So now the Clan Protector rules text has reminder text for a rule that doesn't work that way any more.

Quote:

When you use an Interact action to gain a circumstance bonus to AC from your clan dagger’s parry trait

But gaining a circumstance bonus to AC from the parry trait doesn't require using an Interact action.

So which is the actual important part and which is the reminder text? Using the Interact action? Or using the Parry trait of the Clan Dagger?

[Vardoc Bloodstone]

Claxon wrote:

Yeah, while it's worth keeping in mind your manipulate-trait having ability does provoke, the amount of enemies with AoO are a lot less than they used to be (because literally everyone could make AoO).

I specifically avoided using the word ‘useless’ for that reason. Theoretically you could stand being your frontline fighter outside of the enemy’s reach and provide the parry bonus too.

But it is an extra calculation you need to make as a player, and narratively just feels wrong. Why give yourself up to a possible AoO for a measly +1/+2 bonus??

[Cordell Kintner]

It does not say you need to use an Interact action to activate the feat, it's saying "when you use an interact action" which is not how parry works anymore. I would say just remove the mention of the interact action, and have it say "When you gain a circumstance bonus to AC from your clan dagger’s parry trait" and call it a day.

This is why GMs are given more leeway on the rules in this edition. The change to the Parry trait makes this feat not make sense, so GMs are empowered to make those changes without having to get bogged down by people going "UM TECHNICALLY..."

[Thezzaruz]

breithauptclan wrote:

But gaining a circumstance bonus to AC from the parry trait doesn't require using an Interact action.

So which is the actual important part and which is the reminder text? Using the Interact action? Or using the Parry trait of the Clan Dagger?

I'd say that the RAW is fairly simple. You could use the dagger to gain the Parry bonus for yourself alright but the Clan Protector feat becomes useless as you'll never actually use an Interact action to do it.

But I agree with Cordell that that is stupid and would allow the feat to be used with the action that gives the Parry bonus to AC.