[PFS2] Aid Action and Assisting Shot

[Yiroep]

I was looking at creating an Aid build using a ranged weapon to Aid on attack rolls. When I reading through the Aid action, I didn't see anything restricting you from using a ranged attack to Aid.

However, someone quickly pointed out to me that there's a fighter feat called Assisting Shot that supposedly allows you to Aid at range "instead of being within reach of the target." However, I can't find anything in the Aid action that has any kind of restriction on reach.

Does Assisting Shot currently do anything? Or does Aid have the restriction because Assisting Shot exists?

Relevant text included below.

Aid:

Archives of Nethys wrote:

Trigger An ally is about to use an action that requires a skill check or attack roll.

Requirements The ally is willing to accept your aid, and you have prepared to help (see below).
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You try to help your ally with a task. To use this reaction, you must first prepare to help, usually by using an action during your turn. You must explain to the GM exactly how you’re trying to help, and they determine whether you can Aid your ally.

When you use your Aid reaction, attempt a skill check or attack roll of a type decided by the GM. The typical DC is 20, but the GM might adjust this DC for particularly hard or easy tasks. The GM can add any relevant traits to your preparatory action or to your Aid reaction depending on the situation, or even allow you to Aid checks other than skill checks and attack rolls.

Critical Success You grant your ally a +2 circumstance bonus to,the triggering check. If you’re a master with the check you,attempted, the bonus is +3, and if you’re legendary, it’s +4.
Success You grant your ally a +1 circumstance bonus to the triggering check.
Critical Failure Your ally takes a –1 circumstance penalty to the triggering check.

Assisting Shot:

Archives of Nethys wrote:

With a quick shot, you interfere with a foe in combat. You can use the Aid action with a ranged weapon you wield. Instead of being within reach of the target, you must be within maximum range of the target. An Assisting Shot uses ammunition and incurs penalties just like any other attack.

[Michael Alves]

I would also like an answer for this. =(

[HammerJack]

I don't think there is a universal answer that you can get from a forum for this one. The RAW is that you can aid with any method that sounds legit to your GM, with whichever roll and whatever restrictions are appropriate to the method. That means no answer I give to that question would be accurate past my table.

[Zwordsman]

I've asked several times in places etc. There isn't a straight answer.

What I can tell you is ASsiting Shot was from the playtest and it was not changed since then (Except that it auto replaced "assist action" with "aid action" seemingly via a mass replace function).

In play test Assiting and Aid were diferent. Assisting did AC or attack, and had specific rolling and was specified melee only. Aid was only for skill checks.
They combined them into Aid from the playtest till release.

Pathfinder Agent also has a left over (boost to AC).

So strictly speaking Aid doens't have ANY restrictions not listed in the action. I.e. any range or fluffing the GM accepts.
The GM can certainly make it melee ranged only if they so wished of course. Home rules of course. This is a form of Ghost rules, where later things adds pseudo rules to things.
(my personal favorite Aid use for combat is shurikens being used to attack at the same time. Or for me to throw sand, or alchemcial goo etc).

Assisting Shot is an effective dead feat. The same way that Mutagen has dead class affects.

If they (anyone) adds a restriction to Aid for range differential it can make for some weird stuff with some skills I think.

Ah as a sidenote another "ghost rule" could possibly be Inspire COmpetence which has a max range. But. I believe this is due to it being magic and as a cost for using Perform for any and all aid.

So I dont' think aid has any issue being used at range all things considered.

[Yiroep]

Thanks for the answers (and the history of it, Zwordsman).

I have heard from some GMs that they are interpreting it (even in PFS) to mean you need to have Assisting Shot to be able to do the thing. Probably going to take it anyway for my character just to avoid arguments.

This is reminding me a lot of the Prone Shooter feat in PF1 before it was errata'd: Linky

[Unicore]

The heavier issue for me with assisting shot and Aid, is what it means for assisting shot to be a specific 1 action action with only the fighter trait, but in the text specify that
"An Assisting Shot uses ammunition and incurs penalties just like any other attack."

Shouldn't it then at least have the attack trait? And because the check is not made until the reaction, we can assume that multi-attack penalties do not apply, because they don't apply to reactions, but do any cover or concealment bonuses apply from the point of completing the assisting shot action? Or the Aid reaction? And does Assisting shot have to be my last action then? because technically it is a prepared action completed during a reaction, so I probably can't take the preparing action and then move or focus my attention somewhere else?

The idea of helping out your allies is an absolutely great thematic and teamwork building character concept, but it seems like you pretty much have to sit down with your GM before character creation to figure out how any of this works and I don't see any of it working consistently in PFS, because the closest thing to a definitive rule on how it works is "describe a preparation action to your GM and have them arbitrate what will happen."

Which works fine for the occasional situation, but not for something you choose ancestry and class feats for and expect to do regularly.