Battlecry! Crossbow Infiltrator needs errata

[crusaderky]

On Battlecry! page 56, we have

CRESCENT CROSS TRAINING
FEAT 4
ARCHETYPE
Prerequisites Crossbow Infiltrator Dedication
You have familiarity with the crescent cross (Treasure Vault
31), an ingenious weapon that combines an arm-mounted,
multi-chamber crossbow with a crescent-shaped blade. For
the purposes of proficiency, you treat both its configurations
as simple weapons.
Feats and abilities from this archetype that normally work
with a gauntlet bow also work with your crescent cross,
treating the melee form of the crescent cross as a gauntlet
where appropriate. You gain the Crescent Spray action.

The problem is that the Crescent Cross was bumped from Common to Uncommon when the Treasure Vault was remastered, but it looks like this class was written before it.
"familiarity" AFAIK is not a rule, and this feat lacks the wording of other "weapon familiarity" feats that say you gain access to the item.

So until either this gets errata'ed or the Avid Collector - Treasure Vault boon is amended, to the best of my understanding this feat is unusable in PFS play.

[crusaderky]

On the same page:

INFILTRATION ASSASSINATION [two-actions]
FEAT 10
ARCHETYPE
Prerequisites Crossbow Infiltrator Dedication
Requirements You’re wearing a loaded gauntlet bow.
With a high-priority target in reach, you quickly move to
eliminate them. Make a melee Strike using your gauntlet bow
as a gauntlet. If the Strike is successful, you automatically
latch onto the target, giving them the grabbed condition,
then make a ranged Strike against them with your gauntlet
bow. This Strike does not trigger reactions normally triggered
by ranged attacks. If you are holding or wearing an injury
poison, you can apply it to the bolt used in the attack as a
free action before making the ranged Strike.

problem 1: the condition, RAW in and by itself, does not expire, does not occupy your hand, and does not even need you to stay adjacent. Things that give the grabbed condition (Grapple, Combat Grab) normally explicitly clarify these details.

problem 2: the feat requires you to use a gauntlet bow, which has the Free-Hand trait which makes the grab non-controversial RAI. However, Crescent Cross Training says you treat the Crescent Cross as a gauntlet bow, RAW allowing you to use this feat. However it remains unclear (both RAW and RAI) if that means you snag the target in your blade or if you need a free hand to maintain the grab.

problem 3: the Gauntlet Bow can be used in melee or ranged without switching. The Crescent Cross, however, cannot as it is a Combination weapon. So RAW, you can use a Crescent Cross in melee configuration to do the punch and the grab, but not the shot.

[crusaderky]

> problem 3: the Gauntlet Bow can be used in melee or ranged without switching. The Crescent Cross, however, cannot as it is a Combination weapon. So RAW, you can use a Crescent Cross in melee configuration to do the punch and the grab, but not the shot.

Correction: this RAW works thanks to this clause of the Combination trait:

> if your last action was a successful melee Strike against a foe using a combination weapon, you can make a ranged Strike with the combination weapon against that foe without fully switching to the ranged weapon usage, firing the ranged weapon just as you hit with the melee attack. In this case, the combination weapon returns to its melee usage after the ranged weapon Strike.

[Trip.H]

Wow, that Infiltration Assassination is some coconut-crazy action compression. Is it at least a flourish?
Even if not, actions like Running Reload can allow this activity to become an "every turn" routine.

Strike + Grab + Draw poison + Activate poison + Shoot.

SIX. You perform six base actions as a 2A activity.* (or 5 if you have access to 1A injury poisons)

I hate to be the guy to raise alarm about powercreep, but damn, I don't think it's crying wolf to say this is a little much.

The main counterbalance seems to be the upfront commitment of 2A, while only the first Strike attempt is guaranteed; if that swing whiffs, the activity ends right then.
Which makes this a perfect use-case to get the most out of fortune effects.

.

.

The main question imo is how the GM rules the auto-grab condition.

There's nothing in that text to indicate you drop the grab when the activity finishes, so there is no textual reason to rule that way. But some value for the expiry /duration is obviously needed.

I'd argue the default would be to presume the "normal" duration of until the end of your next turn that's featured in Grapple's imposed grabbed, as well as many other related grabbing actions.

.

Overall though, if you do not use injury poisons, then this is a good, solid feat thanks to the no-MAP grab. A sometimes thing.

If you do keep injury poisons on your person, then this is character-defining activity.

[shroudb]

the main issue with gauntlet bow is that the gauntlet is not finesse. So either your melee hit would be behind your ranged hit or the other way around.

[Gisher]

shroudb wrote:

the main issue with gauntlet bow is that the gauntlet is not finesse. So either your melee hit would be behind your ranged hit or the other way around.

It's a nice option for Investigators, though, since they can use Dex or Int for the crossbow and Str or Int for the gauntlet.

[shroudb]

Gisher wrote:

shroudb wrote:

the main issue with gauntlet bow is that the gauntlet is not finesse. So either your melee hit would be behind your ranged hit or the other way around.

It's a nice option for Investigators, though, since they can use Dex or Int for the crossbow and Str or Int for the gauntlet.

it'll always be the melee hit using Int no?

since the activity first calls for it, and you are forced to use your Int for the first strike.