| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Shifting runes can only be etched onto melee weapons, and handwraps are not weapons.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Straight to the point :
Interacation of handwraps and animal companion
The designers all stated at Gen Con's Rules Q&A panel that striking handwraps work perfectly well on animal companions, because the die increase is not an 'item bonus'; any time you see the word "increase" or "addition", that word was specifically chosen to not be a bonus just so that it would still apply in situations like these. Of course, striking only gives a benefit to Young companions, not Mature ones, and greater striking becomes redundant once you take the Specialized Companion feat at 14th or 16th level—but major striking always benefits companions!
Source: timestamp 46:50 in https://youtu.be/sDOLDm_MUxw
They said magic fang not striking runes. Your statement gives the wrong impression. None of this is actually what they say.
Straight to the point :
SUMS UP:
Animal companion "natural attack" are "unarmed attack".
Handwraps make "Property Rune supposed to work with weapon" work with "Unarmed attack".Here start the fun part:...
SHIFTING RUNE
Quote:
With a moment of manipulation, you can shift this weapon into a different weapon with a similar form.
Activate Single Action Interact; Effect The weapon takes the shape of another melee weapon that requires the same number of hands to wield. The weapon’s runes and any precious material it’s made of apply to the weapon’s new shape. Any property runes that can’t apply to the new form are suppressed until the item takes a shape to which they can apply.
First of all:Q0:Can an AC use Interact action to activate the effet? Guess yes...
Interact You use your hand or hands to manipulate
So I'm going to start with a no.
Q1:The AC can morph his "claw" into some similar natural attack?
You can upgrade, add, and transfer runes to and from the handwraps just as you would for a weapon, and you can attach talismans to the handwraps. Treat the handwraps as melee weapons of the brawling group with light Bulk for these purposes. Property runes apply only when they would be applicable to the unarmed attack you’re using
The handwraps are like a weapon, not actually a weapon. Runes only apply if they are applicable.
I can't see this really working. The animals claws are not really a weapon. Look at the shifting rune so much of this depends on the melee weapon and an unarmed attack is just not a melee weapon.
Its just not applicable it doesn't work.
Your interpretation is really only going to work if you have a friendly GM who is prepared to make it work.
Doesn't the companion items rule that companions can normally only wear companion items also stop this handwrap trick from working?
Yes, that is correct.
I would also like to add that there is a specific forum for rules discussions ^^
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
Handwraps don't have the companion trait. They can only work at a GMs discretion, and given animals already have their own damage dice progression and access to magical attacks, I don't think most GMs would allow it. That rule is meant for corner cases, and Handwraps are a core assumption of the systems math, not a corner case.
Doesn't the companion items rule that companions can normally only wear companion items also stop this handwrap trick from working?
Actually you made a nice point.
"Other items can qualify, at the GM's discretion, but an animal can never Activate an Item."
The part bolded, by RAW, prevent the fun on shifting :(
And that's was what i was searching.Still can make his claw ghost touch or disruptin but that's way less cool :D
To be clear, you can with GM permission. But if you get GM permission you could make it shifting or whatever else anyway.
By default Animal Companions can only ever invest companion items and they almost certainly weren't intended to be able to get extra dice and property runes from Handwraps, and aren't balanced around that. They're supposed to be significantly inferior to a PC.
Interact You use your hand or hands to manipulateSo I'm going to start with a no.
Interact needing hands isn't correct anymore. There is a subcategory of Interact that they have been calling "simple Interact actions" that can be done without "fingers or significant manual dexterity". One example is "opening an unlocked door". As such, A DM could rule whatever you actually do with the rune as a "simple Interact action".
Interact needing hands isn't correct anymore. There is a subcategory of Interact that they have been calling "simple Interact actions" that can be done without "fingers or significant manual dexterity". One example is "opening an unlocked door". As such, A DM could rule whatever you actually do with the rune as a "simple Interact action".
Interact You use your hand or hands to manipulateSo I'm going to start with a no.
The activate an item refers explicitly to the base interact rule.
Have they expanded on simple interact actions beyond specific feats for certain ancestries - which clearly don't apply here?
The activate an item refers explicitly to the base interact rule.
Sure, but basic Interact gives some examples of that it covers: "You can grab an unattended or stored object, open a door, or produce some similar effect." If you look at the example of a simple Interact, the example is "open an unlocked door". As you can see, just pointing to Interact is pretty useless as they overlap: we have no idea which Interact actions are simple ones as the core ability includes simple ones.
Have they expanded on simple interact actions beyond specific feats for certain ancestries - which clearly don't apply here?
Not that I know, but they could apply to any PC or monster with semi-rehensile limbs or for some reason doesn't have full range of motion of their hands [like bound/manacled]. And to the particular issue in question, Primate surely qualifies for a hand or or at least enough for actions that don't need "fingers or significant manual dexterity". Heck, most other AC's could lift a latch or pick something up: how many DM's don't let AC's "grab" things which is a specific example of Interact? PC's can't playing fetch with their AC's?
The activate an item refers explicitly to the base interact rule.Sure, but basic Interact gives some examples of that it covers: "You can grab an unattended or stored object, open a door, or produce some similar effect." If you look at the example of a simple Interact, the example is "open an unlocked door". As you can see, just pointing to Interact is pretty useless as they overlap: we have no idea which Interact actions are simple ones as the core ability includes simple ones.
All of this list are a second sentence when the first sentence already required hands so there are not exemptions here.
Have they expanded on simple interact actions beyond specific feats for certain ancestries - which clearly don't apply here?Not that I know, but they could apply to any PC or monster with semi-rehensile limbs or for some reason doesn't have full range of motion of their hands [like bound/manacled]. And to the particular issue in question, Primate surely qualifies for a hand or or at least enough for actions that don't need "fingers or significant manual dexterity". Heck, most other AC's could lift a latch or pick something up: how many DM's don't let AC's "grab" things which is a specific example of Interact? PC's can't playing fetch with their AC's?
So exactly where are you getting your rule from? Or is this just something you are deducing?
AFAICT the only simple interactions are specific to these ancestry feats. These can be considered exemptions or special, and not creating a new action sub type.
Is there a ruling or dev comment I've missed?
Otherwise, I don't see how we go from "characters with this specific ancestry feat can do certain things without a free hand" to "everyone can do those things without a free hand."
If you declare that a general rule, then those feats don't even do anything.