Why does blinding beauty end before the enemy's turn? This seems to severely limit its effectiveness to a nearly absurd degree.
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It’s really crit fail or bust.
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Teamwork?
There are several PC feats that don't aid the person actually performing the feat, so Blinding Beauty's in that vein I suppose. Plus it's hitting a large area, so that's pretty significant. Coupled with the Incapacitation trait, I'd say the spell has a specific purpose of hitting crowds of peons.
And you could Hide or get in a good Strike, etc.
Enemies w/ Reactions likely won't be able to use them.
And it's 1-action. That's pretty important IMO, though I'll go back to my original point that it's best used to set up your allies for one round.
It's the kind of spell I wouldn't use a slot for (especially Heightened) nor 2-actions, but for a 1-action Focus Spell (auto-Heightening, recharging every lull), it's a nice addition after casting a normal spell.
Making it stronger, it'd have to become less usable.
Its single action, so you still have the chance and two actions to attack, run or hide.
Or be a gnome beauty and Razzle-Dazzle for an extra round.
Or just have friends.
Its single action
That's the thing that saves this IMO. If it was 2 actions, I'd completely write it off: being able to help your friends with a spell that lasts until it's turn isn't exciting when you factor in the monsters might go RIGHT after your turn. As 1 action, it allows you to use it yourself so you can use it no matter the initiative.
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So it's only good for blinding people and then running away I guess.
You can’t see. All normal terrain is difficult terrain to you. You can’t detect anything using vision. You automatically critically fail Perception checks that require you to be able to see, and if vision is your only precise sense, you take a –4 status penalty to Perception checks. You are immune to visual effects. Blinded overrides dazzled.
So I'm sure I must be wrong, but just from reading the condition you can attack without any penalty while blind, and take no penalty to Ac either. Dazzled is somehow worse, because it actually applies a combat penalty in the form of concealment.
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The part where the blinded condition says "you can't see" actually makes it so that unless you have some other precise sense all creatures are at best hidden from you, which is where the penalty to your AC (being flat-footed) and penalty to attacks (a DC 11 flat check to target anything) come into play.
So I'm sure I must be wrong, but just from reading the condition you can attack without any penalty while blind, and take no penalty to Ac either. Dazzled is somehow worse, because it actually applies a combat penalty in the form of concealment.
I figured it must be something like that.
This is one of my pet peeves about pf2 is how the rules are written. There are so many things like this where one or two words in a rule are actually game terms defined elsewhere in the rules, but there's no indication when this is the case. Like, give me some italics or something. Some indication that when an ability says something like attempt to counteract an affliction, that "counteract" is a rule I need to look up to figure out how the ability works.
Yes. To get the full effects of blinded, you need to also be reading the rules and conditions from the states of awareness section.
One more thing: its a decent sized area of effect: 30-foot cone
For a single action that is good enough even if you need critical fails to be a really good result.
I don't get how you can use it to hide. It has the visual trait. They have to see you for it to work. How is this ability supposed to help you hide when you are actively calling attention to yourself with it? Unless they literally go blind, I just don't see that working out.
I'll go back to my original point that it's best used to set up your allies for one round.
Except it doesn't last one around. It might not last a fraction of a round if the enemy goes after you. This makes it oddly hit or miss depending on an abstracted timing mechanic. The duration is literally variable, the basis of which is arguably arbitrary.
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I don't get how you can use it to hide. It has the visual trait. They have to see you for it to work. How is this ability supposed to help you hide when you are actively calling attention to yourself with it? Unless they literally go blind, I just don't see that working out.
Uh...they literally do go blind on a failed save. Only for a turn, but they do. It's a lesser imitation of a Naiad Queen's ability to make people who see them permanently blind from their sheer beauty.
So you make them blind, then move and hide from them. Works fine.
Now, if anyone makes the Save, then it doesn't work so well for that, but you can absolutely use it to hide.
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The part where the blinded condition says "you can't see" actually makes it so that unless you have some other precise sense all creatures are at best hidden from you, which is where the penalty to your AC (being flat-footed) and penalty to attacks (a DC 11 flat check to target anything) come into play.
So I'm sure I must be wrong, but just from reading the condition you can attack without any penalty while blind, and take no penalty to Ac either. Dazzled is somehow worse, because it actually applies a combat penalty in the form of concealment.I figured it must be something like that.
This is one of my pet peeves about pf2 is how the rules are written. There are so many things like this where one or two words in a rule are actually game terms defined elsewhere in the rules, but there's no indication when this is the case. Like, give me some italics or something. Some indication that when an ability says something like attempt to counteract an affliction, that "counteract" is a rule I need to look up to figure out how the ability works.
Weirdly, this is something I Really Like about how the PF2 rules are written. I've not read that specific part of the book in a long time but "if you can't use a sense to see a thing then it's hidden" is so intuitive that it just stuck with me. I don't need to go digging for a bonus because of course I'm hidden they can't see. It's part of the thing PF2 does wherein everything ties back to as few rules as possible (while still being robust and not skimping on either player agency or GM support, other system).
Similarly, I know that "counteract" is a keyword because it just means what it says. I act to counter. I act? Oop, better do a check!
Now, obviously, that's just my opinion. It's clearly not ideal for everyone. I just really like it.
EDIT: What might help is doing quick rule-checking via AoN? There the keywords tend to be underlined as links (without being bluetext or similar).
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I suppose you could cast it as a readied action, as well?
With a trigger such as "If the enemy attacks the party".
Wouldn't the spell basically last the whole enemy's turn + until the start of its next turn?
I suppose you could cast it as a readied action, as well?
With a trigger such as "If the enemy attacks the party".
Wouldn't the spell basically last the whole enemy's turn + until the start of its next turn?
Good call!
Agreed. I hadn't thought of that. Takes more actions, but it sounds like it would be worth it.
In that case, it sounds like it'd go quite well with Establish Ward. You don't want to move, you can set up some Will debuff, and you get two Strikes out before Readying.
Doesn't the act of readying take two actions and a reaction?
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In that case, it sounds like it'd go quite well with Establish Ward. You don't want to move, you can set up some Will debuff, and you get two Strikes out before Readying.Doesn't the act of readying take two actions and a reaction?
It does indeed. Which means only one Strike, but one Strike, Bon Mot (which is a Will Debuff) or Demoralize, and Ready Action is a potentially solid round of actions while under the effects of Establish Ward (which, bear in mind, does make you Quickened).
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In that case, it sounds like it'd go quite well with Establish Ward. You don't want to move, you can set up some Will debuff, and you get two Strikes out before Readying.Doesn't the act of readying take two actions and a reaction?
That's why I said it would go well with Establish Ward, which gives you an extra action on your turn to Strike with. I was probably being confusing by talking about the Will debuff, which happened when you cast Establish Ward and thus wouldn't apply to the turn wherein you Strike-Strike-Ready.
Or be a gnome beauty and Razzle-Dazzle for an extra round.
Blinded overrides dazzled.
Looks like no is getting razzle-dazzled. Maybe razzle-blinded.