Wasn't me!

[BloodandDust]

Thoughts on viability of this spell combination as an encounter opener for an Wizard? Not mechanically relevant, but this character leans heavily into enchantment and the Obi-Wan Kenobi school of "not the droids you are looking for"...

1) Bon Mot - to create a weakness (or demoralize instead)
2) Draw Ire - do mental damage and focus the target onto the casting Wizard
R) Shift Blame - reaction casting to refocus the target onto a martial ally (champion, fighter, barbarian, etc)

Shift Blame
trigger[/]: "You or another creature attacks a creature or fails at a Deception, Diplomacy, or Intimidation check".
[i]effect: "You choose another creature (which can be you) with the capacity to make the triggering attack or skill check, and you alter the target's memories to recall the creature you chose as responsible for the triggering attack or skill check."

Conventionally, doing mental damage would qualify as "attacking the creature", so I think this works. However, one could argue that Draw Ire does not have the Attack trait and so does not qualify. Counter argument is that this is too restrictive, since it would make the spell unusable for saving throw spells, which are the bulk of a caster's usual repertoire (electric arc, scatter scree, puff of poison somehow would not be 'attacks' with that theory).

Situational, but I like it thematically.
Wizard: "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries" (bon mot)
Mark: "WTF!?!"
Wizard: "What's worse is how you..." arcane words, mental damage (draw ire)
Mark: with ripping headache, "Ow, why you scrawny little..."
Wizard: "Bet you are really mad at me that plate mailed fighter over there for those mean things he said" (shift blame)
Champion: "Wut"
Mark: Unlimbers Maul and squints at champion "Yeah, now ima tear you up, you jerk"
Wizard: "Another round barkeep"

Works?

[Cordell Kintner]

You didn't make an attack or fail at a Deception, Diplomacy, or Intimidation check, so you can't Shift Blame. If you used a spell that made an Attack roll, then sure, but Draw Ire makes the enemy make a save. It's a hostile action, not an attack.

[breithauptclan]

Not all attacks have the Attack trait, and not all actions with the Attack trait are attacks.

The trait is badly named, and the descriptive text for it is misleading.

Saving throw spells are attacks.
Escape is not.

[Cordell Kintner]

Attacks are anything with the attack trait and contribute to MAP, per the FAQ.

You can not Nimble Dodge on a Fear spell because it's not an attack, for example.

[breithauptclan]

But you could Nimble Dodge against Escape, lol. For whatever good that does.

And what specifically are you referencing in the FAQ? It is a big list of text at the moment.

And there are still places in the rules where the rule writer is using 'attack' in a generic way that equates better to 'hostile action' than it does to 'action with the Attack trait'.

There is even errata for some of them, such as:

Quote:

In Critical Specialization Effects, it uses the generic term attack but should specifically refer to Strikes. In the first sentence, change "when you make an attack with certain weapons" to "when you make a Strike with certain weapons"

Shift Blame appears to me to be one of those places. It doesn't make sense that you could use it after casting Produce Flame or Ray of Frost, but not Electric Arc or Spout.

[Cordell Kintner]

FAQ wrote:

Page 446: Attack Rolls. There was some confusion as to whether skill checks with the attack trait (such as Grapple or Trip) are also attack rolls at the same time. They are not. To make this clear, add this sentence to the beginning of the definition of attack roll "When you use a Strike action or make a spell attack, you attempt a check called an attack roll."

To clarify the different rules elements involved:

An attack is any check that has the attack trait. It applies and increases the multiple attack penalty.

An attack roll is one of the core types of checks in the game (along with saving throws, skill checks, and Perception checks). They are used for Strikes and spell attacks, and traditionally target Armor Class.

Some skill actions have the attack trait, specifically Athletics actions such as Grapple and Trip. You still make a skill check with these skills, not an attack roll.

The multiple attack penalty applies on those skill actions as well. As it says later on in the definition of attack roll "Striking multiple times in a turn has diminishing returns. The multiple attack penalty (detailed on page 446) applies to each attack after the first, whether those attacks are Strikes, special attacks like the Grapple action of the Athletics skill, or spell attack rolls." There is inaccurate language in the Multiple Attack Penalty section implying it applies only to attack rolls that will be receiving errata.

[breithauptclan]

Cool.

Which just sounds like their errata needs errata.

And that wouldn't be the first time that has been needed. Just look at the Horse Animal Companion.