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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, your Strike gains the fortune trait and 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. If you Strike with a melee weapon, melee unarmed attack, or thrown weapon, it must have the agile or finesse trait to benefit from the substitution."
If my Investigator (or a PC with an Investigator Archetype and Devise a Stratagem) were to get an out of turn Reaction that grants me a Strike, it seems like I would have to use the result of the d20 roll gained from Devise a Stratagem on the out of turn Reaction.
But what happens if I use a melee weapon without the finesse or agile traits? Would I still be required to use the substituted d20 roll, even if I cannot benefit from the substitution?
#1 an out of turn Reaction would only happen if you Devise a Stratagem and then do not strike, leaving an strike unused. this seems unlikely.
#2 The D20 substitution and the stat substitution are 2 distinct things: Since you've picked Attack Stratagem, "you must use the result of the d20 roll for your Strike's attack roll. No ifs, and or buts. The stat substitution says "When you make this substitution, you [b]can[/] add your Intelligence modifier to your attack roll instead of your Strength or Dexterity modifier." this means it's completely optional but is conditional on the d20 substitution to work.
#1 an out of turn Reaction would only happen if you Devise a Stratagem and then do not strike, leaving an strike unused. this seems unlikely.
It also seems unlikely that you would be using Devise a Stratagem while using a weapon that doesn't benefit from the stat substitution. And unless you are wielding (not just carrying around) multiple weapons, you couldn't switch weapons as part of a reaction that involves just making a Strike.
So this feels like a self-caused problem.
But as far as rules that apply in this self-caused problem scenario, I agree that the stat substitution not being allowed because of the weapon used does not prevent the mandatory use of the pre-rolled d20 result. Whether the Strike is being made during your turn or as a reaction.
Wow, this is onto something.
The substitution it is talking about is the die roll, not the stat. That means an investigator could wield a non-finesse/agile weapon in addition to a suitable weapon or unarmed attack, roll a 1, then attack with their battle axe instead to get another chance to roll better.
In fact, they could really hack this by starting with +3 strength. Wield a reach d10 or a d12 while starting with a finesse unarmed attack. Roll well on DaS, use your unarmed attack. Otherwise reroll with your d12. Bastard swords would allow a lot of flexibility with this style.
I can't believe I didn't think of this before.
Wow, this is onto something.
The substitution it is talking about is the die roll, not the stat. That means an investigator could wield a non-finesse/agile weapon in addition to a suitable weapon or unarmed attack, roll a 1, then attack with their battle axe instead to get another chance to roll better.
In fact, they could really hack this by starting with +3 strength. Wield a reach d10 or a d12 while starting with a finesse unarmed attack. Roll well on DaS, use your unarmed attack. Otherwise reroll with your d12. Bastard swords would allow a lot of flexibility with this style.
I can't believe I didn't think of this before.
The only way to not use your DaS roll to attack someone is if you decide to attack a creature other than the one you used DaS on. As Greystone points out, once you choose the Attack stratagem your next Strike against the creature you chose in the round must use the DaS roll, no matter what kind of weapon you're using.
The 2 key lines of interpretation are these:
If you Strike the chosen creature before the start of your next turn, your Strike gains the fortune trait and you must use the result of the d20 roll for your Strike's attack roll instead of rolling. [...]
If you Strike with a melee weapon, melee unarmed attack, or thrown weapon, it must have the agile or finesse trait to benefit from the substitution. [...]
What looks like a contradiction / escape hatch becomes a nothing burger once you realize the 2nd part is not referencing the first mechanic at all.
It's just talking about the DEX/STR --> INT swap.
When you make this substitution, you can add your Intelligence modifier to your attack roll instead of your Strength or Dexterity modifier. If you Strike with a melee weapon, melee unarmed attack, or thrown weapon, it must have the agile or finesse trait to benefit from the substitution.
It had to be built that way precisely to prevent non-matching weapons from acting as an escape hatch.
You commit to using the roll first, then if you also use a matching weapon, you can do the INT swap + proc Strategic Strike damage.
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The Remastered version is very badly worded. When you look at the legacy version, it is much clearer that you have to use specific weapons to use INT for attack:
"When you make this substitution, you can also add your Intelligence modifier to your attack roll instead of your Strength or Dexterity modifier, provided your Strike uses 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."
Note that the Investigator MC archetype never allows for using INT for attack, so you do not care about the weapons you use.
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It was a self-caused problem. This makes Devise a Stratagem less valuable of a poaching option from the dedication since it locks you to ranged attacks or melee Strikes with Agile or Finesse weapons.
Thank you for the clarification, I've swapped out my weapons and feat choices to account for the DaS melee weapon restrictions.
No. DaS from the dedication does not lock you into any weapon.