Using a Ring of Foe Focus, can you declare yourself as your own opponent?
I know you usually count as your own ally, but I don't remember any ruling about this kind of case.
While it may sound weird to say the least, it may actually be quite fitting for a Monk type of character. Fighting your own emotions/your dark side on the way to enlightenment? Sounds good to me.
Knowing that there is possibly nothing RAW on this topic, I'm humbly asking for your opinion/interpretation.
EDIT: To narrow it down a bit: If you have an ability that forces you to make a save, can you target yourself with the ring and get a +2 on all saves against your own abilities?
Something of that nature probably wouldn't or shouldn't work.
Anyway -- What are you doing to yourself that you have to save against?
Something of that nature probably wouldn't or shouldn't work.Anyway -- What are you doing to yourself that you have to save against?
At higher levels, you'll have to make some DC43 saves if you want to successfully activate all Chakras as a Standard action.
Declaring yourself your own foe would be a very Monk thing to do, wouldn't it?
I thought it was something like that.
Opening chakras does require saving throws, but you are not really attacking yourself when you do that.
A feat that boosts the appropriate saving throw type would probably be more applicable, if less interesting.
I thought it was something like that.Opening chakras does require saving throws, but you are not really attacking yourself when you do that.
A feat that boosts the appropriate saving throw type would probably be more applicable, if less interesting.
while I think you are right, Feat slots are rare (since that archetype replaces all bonus feats) and I'm happy for every little bit of Bonus i can get :)
and - in a way - you might very well be attacking yourself by handling an energy that will eat you up if you can't control it.
Not in any game I run, excluding insanity and related situations, and it is self evident enough to me that I don't feel a need to justify it. I suspect that there are many who would disagree with me.
This is very much an 'ask you GM' issue.
I dont see how opening chakras makes you a "particularly dangerous foe" to yourself. I would say straight up this doesn't work.
Well technically , you declare yourself to be dangerous. RAW the ring requires you to select any opponent that you think is especially dangerous.
So it boils down to the question whether you can treat yourself as your own opponent in combat.One cannot answer it by saying " you count as your own ally and thus you cannot be your own opponent" because the "count as your own ally" - FAQ was made specifically with spells and abilities in mind that benefit any of your allies so that they do not exclude yourself ("Thus, "your allies" almost always means the same as "you and your allies." ").
On the other hand, nothing bars you from hitting yourself or an ally on purpose (aside from being a horrible person). So what happens if you strike purposefully at an ally and lie "oops, didn't mean to"? Obviously, you treat your ally as your opponent. But your ally still considers you to be his ally because they think you didn't mean to hit them. So you are someone's ally and opponent at the same time.
Why shouldn't the same be possible for yourself? You try to hurt yourself with an ability that you choose to use. Does that mean that you are your own opponent and ally at the same time?
I'm not even asking because of the item any more, but because of sheer interest .
The classic question posed by bully’s everywhere, “Why are you hitting yourself?”
|
Note: "You" mean "your character", not the player.
Do you hate yourself?
Or do you want to disable and incapacitate yourself?
Unless the reply is "Yes." (and that generally mean you have some mental disorder) you aren't your opponent.
Besides that, I think that your abilities and powers that require you to make a save generally don't count as attacks, and the ring works only on attacks.
One of the few exceptions is area effect spells when you are within the area of effect. If you fire a fireball and set it to explode at a meter from you a Ring of Foe Focus targeted against yourself will work.
Not that I think this would work, but the character wearing the ring is the one who declares the target a particularly dangerous opponent. Whether the opponent is actually dangerous has no real bearing on the ability to designate them the as such. If it did then the ring would not function when the target is not actually dangerous. So unless you are arguing that a 20th level paladin cannot use the ring on a kobold this argument that argument is not valid. The only restriction is that the wearer of the ring must be able to see the target.
As to striking an opponent and them still being an ally that is not as clear. Just because someone considerers you their ally does not mean you consider them to be your ally. The ally/opponent relationship is not always a two way street. I would say that when you purposely attack another character intending to harm them they are no longer considered your ally. On the other hand you may still be considered their ally.
I believe that there was, in fact, a song regarding this very thing...
"It's no surprise to me,I am my own, worst enemy.
'Cause every now and then, I kick the living **** out of me..."
So at least the bards have sung about someone being their own foe.
No. While "you are your own worst enemy" does apply to most PCs, there's no point specifying any foe as opposed to any creature if its not supposed to be limited to enemies.
Let's see how hard a DC43 is...
Monk (Serpent-Fire Adept):
Stat: Constitution or Wisdom 20+6(enhancement)+5(inherent) = 31 -> +10 mod
Stat: Charisma 20+6(enhancement)+5(inherent) = 31 -> +10 mod
Monk Level 20 save: 12
Cloak of Resistance: +5 resistance
Ioun Stone (Pale Green Prism (cracked)): +1 competence
Wayfinder Resonence: +1 to a single save
Charm of Fate (neck): 1/day: if miss by 5 of less, treat as saved
Four-Leaf Clover: 3/day: +2 luck to an ability check, saving throw, or skill check
Dragonbone Divination Sticks: +3 luck one save random each day
Trait: Resilient, Earning Your Freedom, River Lander, Ancient Adherent, Indomitable Faith: +1 fort or will
Race: Human: Alternate Racial Traits: Awareness: +1 racial
Feat: Great Fortitude or Iron Will: +1 Fort or Will
Spell: Blessings of Fervor: +2 dodge Reflex
Spell: Ceremony: Holiday Fete: +2 sacred Fort
Spell: Heroes Feast: +1 morale will
Spell: Prayer: +1 luck saves
Spell: Ward of the Season: Fall: +2 morale Fort
Well, that is a bit over the top, so lets assume a more normal stat setup:
Wis 20+6(enhancement)+2(inherent) = +9
Cha 18+6(enhancement) = +7
Monk Level 20 save: 12
Cloak of Resistance: +5 resistance
Ioun Stone (Pale Green Prism (cracked)): +1 competence
Wayfinder Resonence: +1 to a single save
Four-Leaf Clover: 3/day: +2 luck to an ability check, saving throw, or skill check
Trait: any of several: +1 fort or will
Feat: Great Fortitude or Iron Will: +1 Fort or Will
Spell: Ceremony or Ward of the Season: +2 sacred or morale Fort
Total: 41
Roll needed for DC43: 2 [since 1 auto fails anyway] 3/day, 4 rest of day
Quite doable. If you can get relialbe spells, you can there easier.
/cevah
Since no action is mentioned, it defaults to a standard action.
That bonus only applies to one foe. OK for a boss battle, but not against a lot of enemies at once. Add in eating a standard to designate a foe, and you are not taking the boss down efficiently.
Not as incredible as you think, in my opinion.
/cevah
If I were your DM, I'd have you quest for a ring(or other item) that gave you a stacking +2(or more) on saves vs this specific thing, rather than "your own enemy" nonsense.
#AskYourDM
@Cevah:
While you can do a lot of Bonus stacking,you have to pay attention to the fact that your WBL will be quite limited (so possibly no inherent Bonuses on all the relevant stats)and you will have to plan around being generelly useful and not only plan around a single class feature. Charisma is a dump stat for a normal Monk and while it adds to your saves here, that doesn't mean that it isuseful at all tp invest into it. Let me show you the calculation that I came up with:
Skinwalker Witchwolf as race (level 14)
Fort/Will:
+ 9 from monk level
+ 6 from ability scores (base+enhancement)| 36k+36k
+ 5 resistance from cloak of resistance +5 | 25k
+ 2 luck from luck stone + fate's favored | 20k
+ 1 competence from Cracked Pale Green Prism Ioun Stone | 4k
+ 2 from Iron Will + Great Fortitude
+ 2 racial
+ 2 Ring of Foe Focus | 10k
+ 3 weapon with +3 guardian enhancement | 32k
__________________________________________________________________
32 sum | 163k
+ 7/7 from Serpentfire Adept (chakra saves only)
so you succeed on rolling a 4 and you are generally running around with a +32 on Fort/Will. Add in a reroll of some kind and you are almost 100% sure to hit those saves every time and still be within WBL.
The reason I asked about the Ring is because it is incredibly cost efficient for the Bonus it nets. Like, cloak of resistance-level efficient.
Where is it written that no specified action defaults to standard action?
"If no activation method is suggested either in the magic item description or by the nature of the item, assume that a command word is needed to activate it. (...) Activating a command word magic item is a standard action and does not provoke attacks of opportunity." CRB pg. 458
While you can do a lot of Bonus stacking,you have to pay attention to the fact that your WBL will be quite limited (so possibly no inherent Bonuses on all the relevant stats) and you will have to plan around being generelly useful and not only plan around a single class feature. Charisma is a dump stat for a normal Monk and while it adds to your saves here, that doesn't mean that it is useful at all tp invest into it. Let me show you the calculation that I came up with:
Skinwalker Witchwolf as race (level 14)
...
32 sum | 163kso you succeed on rolling a 4 and you are generally running around with a +32 on Fort/Will. Add in a reroll of some kind and you are almost 100% sure to hit those saves every time and still be within WBL.
The reason I asked about the Ring is because it is incredibly cost efficient for the Bonus it nets. Like, cloak of resistance-level efficient.
I looked at the Monk guides. It seems all monks are on the ugly side.
Every round in which a character has one or more awakened chakras, he must succeed at Fortitude and Will saving throws, adding his Charisma modifier to each save, to resist the inherent dangers of the kundalini flow as it suffuses his body with spiritual fire.
While CHA is normally a dump stat, it cannot be for a Serpent-Fire Adept. Chakras are the main point of this archetype, it should have some focus on it. If CHA is a dump stat, you are adding a negative modifier to making your DC. You have no choice about adding it. Therefore it makes sense to not be negative.
Your 14th level monk uses 163k of expected 185k.
My 20th level monk uses 182k of expected 880k.
The guardian enchant is a great find. For the same price of an +2 inherent bonus to a stat (netting a +1 save bonus) you can get a +4 guardian weapon to give +4 to his save.
EDIT: Just reread the details and realized that the monk needs two saves, not one. This means the CON stat needs to be good as well.
Lets say it is an 18+6(enhancement) for an added 36K.
My 20th level monk uses 182k 218k of expected 880k.
/cevah