Unfailing Bow Exemplar Ikon and Devise a Stratagem

[Blakeg 32]

Investigator has Devise a Stratagem which reads:
Devise a Stratagem
[free-action]
or
[one-action]
Concentrate Fortune Investigator
Source Player Core 2 pg. 103
Frequency once per round
You assess a foe's weaknesses in combat and use them to formulate a plan of attack. Choose a creature you can see. You can Devise a Stratagem as a free action if you're aware that creature could help answer the question at the heart of one of your active investigations. Roll a d20, then decide on an attack stratagem or skill stratagem.

Attack Stratagem If you Strike the chosen creature before the start of your next turn, you must use the result of the d20 roll for your Strike's attack roll instead of rolling. You make this substitution only for the first Strike you make against the creature this round, not any subsequent ones. When you make this substitution, you can add your Intelligence modifier to your attack roll instead of your Strength or Dexterity modifier, provided you Strike with an agile or finesse melee weapon, an agile or finesse unarmed attack, a ranged weapon (which must be agile or finesse if it's a melee weapon with the thrown trait), or a sap.

Skill Stratagem You can't attempt to Strike the target until the start of your next turn. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to your next Intelligence-, Wisdom-, or Charisma-based skill check or Perception check involving the target before the start of your next turn. If you would gain your Pursue a Lead investigation bonus to such a check, that bonus increases by 1 instead of you gaining the +1 bonus listed.
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Unfailing Bow Transcendence- Arrow Splits Arrow Reads:
Requirements: Your previous action was to strike with the unfailing bow:
Effect: You repeat your motions exactly, your attack landing in the same location as your previous shot. You make a strike against the same target. The result of your d20 roll is the same as the result of the required shot, though any penalties (such as your multiple attack penalty) apply normally to this shot and you dont automatically adjust the degree of success if the initial roll was a natural 1 or 20.
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Now at first glance "You make this substitution only for the first Strike you make against the creature this round, not any subsequent ones." either that is meant as you only get DAS on your first attack (clear) or it implies you can't use it on unfailing bow "this round"

To make things trickier there is nothing saying you can't use unfailing bow on the DAS on your NEXT turn. DAS says it only applies to attacks this round.

Some clarification or feedback would be great, I feel investigator with an exemplar dedication would be an interesting build to say the least with unfailing bow.

Unfailing bow would work with sure strike as unfailing bow doesn't prevent using the rolls of a fortune effect so I could see it arguably working on DAS the same round but failing that is there any reason it wouldn't work on subsequent rounds?

The , before "not any subsequent ones" implies that it doesn't apply to attacks in this round.

[NorrKnekten]

I really cant see any reason as to why Arrow Splits Arrow would not work after a DAS strike. However you would only use the result of the roll itself along with Dexterity as the modifier as normal, MAP also applies as normal.

DAS only substitutes the roll for the first strike against the target creature in a turn but you still have a rolled result in the end, Which is what Arrow Splits Arrow uses.

If I remember correctly though Devs have clarified that "your previous action" does not carry over between rounds.

[Squiggit]

Devise a Stratagem can only apply to your first attack and not subsequent ones, but Unfailing Bow is an entirely different ability doing its own thing. There's no reason I can see you can't use it.

[TheFinish]

It'd work on the same round.

First, you use Devise a Stratagem. Lets say you roll a 17.

You then Strike with your Unfailing Bow, and you roll a 6. You don't like this so you replace it with the 17.

Then you use Arrow Splits Arrow, using 17 as the d20 roll.

Because Arrow Split Arrow requires that your last action was Striking with the bow, there is no way to do something like:

3rd Action of your turn: Strike with bow.

New turn comes along:

1st action: Devise a Stratagem
2nd action: Arrow Splits Arrow.

Even when it's Free, Devise a Stratagem is an action, so you won't fulfil Arrow Splits Arrow. However, you can definitely use Devise a Stratagem to substitute a d20 roll on an Unfailing Bow strike and then use Arrow Splits Arrow, nothing prevents this.

[Super Zero]

You don't roll another die and choose whether to replace it, you just use the 17. Devise a Stratagem is "must... instead of rolling."

[Finoan]

Devise a Strategem lets you pre-roll a Strike's attack roll against a chosen target. But you do have to use that roll if you Strike the chosen target.

Arrow Splits Arrow would let you use that pre-rolled result again - because that is the roll used in the previous Strike. Though it also applies normal penalties and wouldn't have any of the other benefits of Devise a Strategem.

Devise isn't letting you replace the roll in additional Strike actions later in the round - only the first one. Arrow Splits Arrow is by itself copying the roll result from the Strike to the next Strike.

And yes, the devs have clarified that 'previous action was' and 'next action is' effects do not cross turns. It has to be your next or previous action of the current turn.

Example:

Devise a Strategem:
Roll result 17.

Strike target:
Attack bonus => 17 + INT + weapon Proficiency.
Damage => Weapon damage + Strategic Strike precision damage.

Arrow Splits Arrow:
Attack bonus => 17 + DEX - MAP + weapon Proficiency.
Damage => Weapon damage.