Questions about racial SLAs and undine weaponshafts

[Paul Zagieboylo]

So I'm making an undine cleric of Gozreh (I know it's not a great build even for an underwater campaign, I don't care, it's fun) and naturally I wish to use my undine weaponshaft trident to stab things while pushing them around. I have some questions about the mechanics of this process, that I don't feel are fully explained in any answers I could find:

1) Using my hydraulic push spell-like ability provokes AoOs, unless I Cast it Defensively, even though I'm casting it as part of the unique full-round action granted by the undine weaponshaft. I think I'm understanding this right? This makes it kind of dumb and hard to use, but whatever; casting defensively isn't that bad. But still, it would be a lot more usable if this particular use didn't provoke, since you're by definition trying to use it in melee (unless you're using a reach polearm, I guess). Being able to use the SLA as effectively a move action through the undine weaponshaft is still pretty good though, so I'll put up with it.

2) What's the concentration DC to cast this SLA defensively? Most of the answers I've found here (example) refer to SLAs granted as part of a class, but this is a racial ability; I happen to be a spellcaster, but there's no guarantee that would be the case! But it does imitate a consistently-1st-level spell, so I guess I would use DC 17? Are there any racial SLAs that don't imitate spells? Would all racial SLAs be treated as 1st-level spells for this purpose, even a gnome's dancing lights, ghost sound, and prestidigitation?

3) What ability is the concentration check for defensive casting based on? Obviously, I'm a cleric, so I would prefer to use Wisdom. But is that correct? Racial powers usually use Charisma whenever a casting ability needs to be determined (example: gnome magic). If I were, say, a fighter, would this concentration check automatically be Charisma-based, or would I get to choose my highest mental ability score? As a cleric, am I forced to use Charisma, or can I use my (considerably higher) Wisdom? The spell itself specifically lets me use my favorite mental ability to determine the CMB, but that doesn't automatically carry over to concentration checks.

4) Would I be able to apply the benefits of Improved Bull Rush and even Greater Bull Rush to my hydraulic push SLA? I'm not planning on doing this (if nothing else, it would be a lot of work to qualify for these feats given an undine's Strength penalty), but maybe a more martial character might want to try it.

[Diego Rossi]

FAQ wrote:

Abilities that work “as a spell”: How do I calculate the DC of an ability that says it works as or like a particular spell?

Some abilities that work as a spell tell you what their DC is, like the bard’s fascinate performance. An ability that doesn’t tell you anything about its DC has a DC of 10 + the spell level + the key spellcasting ability score of the class that granted it (or Charisma otherwise). In the case of a spell with multiple spell levels, use the spell level from the class that granted the ability if that class has the spell on its spell list, and otherwise use the spell level that’s most appropriate (usually sorcerer/wizard for an arcane ability, cleric for a divine ability, and psychic for a psychic ability).
posted February 2016 | back to top

Spell-Like Abilities: How do I know whether a spell-like ability is arcane or divine?

The universal monster rules for spell-like abilities states: "Some spell-like abilities duplicate spells that work differently when cast by characters of different classes. A monster's spell-like abilities are presumed to be the sorcerer/wizard versions. If the spell in question is not a sorcerer/wizard spell, then default to cleric, druid, bard, paladin, and ranger, in that order."

For spell-like abilities gained from a creature's race or type (including PC races), the same rule should apply: the creature's spell-like abilities are presumed to be the sorcerer/wizard versions. If the spell in question is not a sorcerer/wizard spell, then default to cleric, druid, bard, paladin, and ranger, in that order.

For spell-like abiities gained from a class, use the spell type (arcane or divine) of that class to determine whether the spell-like ability is arcane or divine. If the class doesn't cast spells, use the above rule for spell-like abilities from race or type.

Edit 7/15/13: Wording changed match the precedent in the universal monster rules for spell-like abilities.

Edit 9/23/13: Wording updated to clarify racial/type SLAs vs. class SLAs.
posted July 2013 | back to top