A 86 As long as it's a strike whose range isn't melee only, like Ego-Wounding Strike, then yes.
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A 86 As long as it's a strike whose range isn't melee only, like Ego-Wounding Strike, then yes.
Q87
Do Firearms automatically pierce DR?
Quote:
Originally Posted by PFSRD
"abilities such as Deadly Aim" is confusing. What other ability could they be talking about? Is DR one such ability?Quote:
Originally Posted by PFSRD
Thanks!
A 87 Damage Reduction is an ability some creatures possess. The section on firearm penetration range says firearms are not considered touch attacks for ability interaction purposes, just that they check against touch AC within certain ranges. Thus, firearms must contend with damage reduction like any other weapon.
This doesn't seem to be the first time this pair of rules has come up and there doesn't appear to be a FAQ or other official ruling that can be easily found to clarify, so you may have table variance on this. The intent of the note for damage reduction (which that sentence only appears in the Core Rulebook and not the Bestiary entry for Damage Reduction) is so casters, like clerics, don't have to punch through DR to deliver spells, harmful or otherwise, to such creatures, as otherwise you'd have situations where Barbarians of 7th level or higher were immune to Cure Light Wounds and its bigger brothers for the fact of having DR 1/-.
Q88
The Air Kineticist has an infusion known as Gusting Infusion. The wording of this is very vague and unclear, so I see several possibilities for how it interacts with anything that changes the form of the infusion. For this question, I will avoid any AoE forms, as that seems to me to be a bit more complex of a discussion.
a. Gusting Infusion and Air's Reach, Extended Range, or Extreme Range. Does it:
a1. Create a Gust, as the spell, that affects the target only
a2. Create a Gust, as the spell, with the 60ft range that the spell has, in the direction of the blast
a3. Create a Gust, as the spell, that affects the entire length "to the extreme of the range" of the blast, be it 30ft, 120ft, 480ft, etc
a4. Create a Gust, as the spell, that affects the entire length between you and the target
b. Gusting Infusion and Snake: In the event of 2 or 3 above, does the Gust wind with the snake, or cut in a straight path between you and the target?
Q89:
For weapon size increases, using the FAQ progression -
(I.e 1, D2, D3, D4, D6, D8, D10, 2D6, 2D8, 3D6, 3D8, 4D6, 4D8, 6D6, 6D8, 8D6, 8D8, 12D6, 12D8, 16D6)
- would you treat each size increment seperately, i.e do one step at a time?
Specifically, it says if the initial size is small or small, you only increase by one step.
So, if you (an admittedly unusual case) where you had something increase two or more size categories (making a halfling Large), would you do the small=> medium as one step and the medium => to large another? So, for instance, your theothetical halfling's greatsword (D10) goes to 2D6, then two steps (because the initial size for this increase is now medium) to 2D6? (As opposed to just going to two steps from D10 to 2D8?)
I am surmising that is the way it would be supposed to work (and it is a bit of niche case, since small and lower creature's weapons tend not get much above the D6/D8 one-step boundary conditions).
(I'm currently compiling a DM's screen for myself and trying to get this information represented in a more graphical fashion with two columns for the D6 verses D8 progression, so I want to get this right!)
A 89: Yes, you are correct. (This can also be seen in the weapon and natural attack tables in the CRB and Bestiary.) So if you for example are a Tiny sized Pixie wielding a greatsword designed for your size, it has a 1d8 damage die, and for example:
- If somebody casts enlarge person (pretending this actually works on pixies) on you and make you Small, your sword's damage die also increases to 1d10 (one step).
- If you, while Small, cast lead blades on your sword, its damage die increases from 1d10 to 2d6 (one step).
- If you instead manifest metamorphosis to make yourself Medium, your swords damage die also increases from 1d8 to 2d6 (two steps).
- If you, while Medium, also cast lead blades on your sword, its damage die instead increases from 2d6 to 3d6 (two steps).
- If you, while Medium, instead wield a modified Versatile Design (monk weapon group) greatsword with Ascetic Style and cast strong jaw, the sword's damage die instead increases from 2d6 to 4d6 (four steps).
Q90
The rule for the bard's Versatile Performance:
So, my questions is: are any bonuses, that come from enchanted/masterwork instruments also added to this? While they obviously are part of the total performance skill bonus you logicaly can't apply this bonus while not using the instrument at hand. On the other hand: it could be magic, it doesn't have to follow logic...Quote:
He can use his bonus in that skill in place of his bonus in associated skills. When substituting in this way, the bard uses his total Perform skill bonus, including class skill bonus, in place of its associated skill's bonus,[...]
A 90 A bard using Versatile Performance has a total skill bonus equal to that of the replacing Perform skill, including any instruments. And I believe there's rarely (if ever) any need to worry about the fluff implications, since a bard usually does actually play their instrument when using Versatile Performance also in-game. Meaning they are typically replacing the normal skill use with an actual performance also fluff-wise. (Example: instead of using Diplomacy to convince the king to send his armies to the neighboring country's aid, the bard plays an old well-known song about great good deeds on his flute, moving the king to tears.)
EDIT: If a bard doesn't play their instrument when using Versatile Performance, they will of course not get its Perform bonus. /EDIT
A90: Yes, the point of Versatile Performance is that you're actually doing the performance instead of whatever the associated skill is. This why the skills for each type of performance are related (e.g. Dance and Acrobatics). Because you're doing the performance, your instrument bonus - if there is one for that performance - helps.
So when you're doing Versatile Performance (Handle Animal) for instance, yes, you're actually blowing your flute like a snake charmer the whole time.
Q 91
How do Emanations centered in a point in space interact with ships/boats? If "Zone of Truth" is cast on the deck of a ship, is the emanation left behind as the vehicle moves forward? Or does it move along with it? Thanks!
A 91 Strictly according to RAW, zone of truth wouldn't move with the ship. However, this is of course most likely not intended, and there are rules for several other spells which GMs are encouraged to use as guidelines also for similar spells and similar large vehicles not specifically detailed in these naval combat rules.
TL/DR: Ask your GM, but zone of truth should move with a ship if going by the RAW for similar spells.
(FWIW, I'd personally definitely rule that zone of truth and similar moves with a ship, meaning the spell is "anchored" to the ship's deck rather than the usual more static geographic location.)
Q92
How can I identify someones race ingame? For example if another player plays a dhampyr (not trying to hide it, but as far as I did understand a dhampyr appears aa human), how are you able to recognize this?
A 91 Identifying a humanoid such as a dhampir is a Knowledge (local) "monster lore" skill check, other playable creature types require other types of Knowledge checks, as normal (such as planes for an aasimar or tiefling).
Note that it's usually easy to identify PC races, since they don't have CR, and depending on your setting, your PC's background and your GM, you may of course be able to identify several races without a skill check. For example in Golarion, the identifying features of a human, elf or halfling are known by most people, regardless of their Knowledge (local) ranks.
Q 93 What's the difference between the Warpriest and Swashbuckler when it comes to when they're considered Fighters? Are Swashbuckler levels treated as Fighter levels only when they get Bonus Feats or all the time? If a Swashbuckler trades their Bonus Feats feature away, do they stop being treated as Fighters for feat qualifying purposes?
Q 94 Does Musketeer's Sidestep replace the Cha bonus to AC with +2 or increase it by +2? The feat granting a +2 Dodge normally stacks with other Dodge bonuses, so it just granting an extra +2 makes sense in a way.
Q 95 Does the See in Darkness universal monster ability allow you to always see perfectly in darkness, regardless of distance? From the wording, it does seem like it, but for example Outer Dragons also have Darkvision with a specified range. Is this just a redundancy, or does See in Darkness only penetrate magical darkness out to a maximum of your normal darkvision?
A92 addendum: If the dhampir "isn't trying to hide it," then it's a straight knowledge check - while they look human, there are enough differences (unnatural grace, skin tone, incisor length) that they would need to attempt a Disguise check to truly appear human.
A93a: As written, Swashbuckler counts for all feats, Warpriest counts for its bonus feats. Retraining makes this largely academic as long as you don't exceed your allotment however.
A93b: I'm not aware of any archetypes that trade away Swashbuckler bonus feats so this one might be a moot point.
A94: It's an increase - it doesn't remove the base ability, and dodge bonuses stack.
A95: See in Darkness works as far as you can see ("see perfectly") unless specified otherwise, so no maximum range. As for why a creature would have SiD + Darkvision, one is Su and one is Ex, so it can be useful to have both in limited circumstances. (Dragons simply get darkvision from their race anyway.)
Q 96 Does variant multiclassing into a caster class let you use wands as if you could cast that class's spells?
A96: As written, you gain class features as though you were a member of the secondary class, but you aren't actually that class. As with all things Unchained though, it's very encouraging of table variation.
Q 97
Does a character know he's been targeted by a spell that offers no Saving Throw?
Eg: A Wizard casts Still Silent Dispel Magic on a Cleric currently being affected by Protection from Evil. The Cleric doesn't get a Spellcraft check to identify the Dispel Magic since there are no components. Assuming the Dispel succeeds, does the Cleric KNOW the spell is gone?
A97: The bold part is not actually accurate; in Pathfinder, even spells/SLAs with no components carry obvious magical effects (e.g. a lightshow) of some kind that can be detected. Your caster must use an ability like Conceal Spell or Cunning Caster to hide it, and even then, all hiding it will do is keep them from knowing the source; the effect itself should still be noticeable and a spellcraft check would still be possible. (Or if the ability does allow hiding the effect and the source, the ability will tell you how to handle that.)
Unclear by current RAW, much like 3.5.
Two things to note however:
1) Sauce for the PCs is sauce for the NPCs - a player who uses undetectable dispels to discreetly strip buffs probably shouldn't be upset if NPCs do the same to the party.
2) The likely result of such tactics becoming commonplace is that everyone starts running around with permanent Arcane Sight or the like, and then constantly telling the GM "I check my buffs again!"
Even if a character is not trained in Spellcraft, Prot. Evil, as mentioned already, has an obvious magical effect. Likely some sort of bubble. And, it may also depend on how the DM views magic. In a lot of fantasy, if a caster's spell is disrupted or terminated by external means, they feel it physically, even if they're blinded and deafened. Sometimes, the disruption can even cause internal hemorrhaging or death, especially if the caster of the disrupting spell is much stronger than the one who cast the spell being disrupted.
Q 98: Some creatures list poison as having the save DC be Constitution-based, and others don't list what the save DC is based on. (e.g. the Greensting Scorpion, which does say it's Con-based, and the House Centipede, which says nothing about what the save DC is based on.) Is it valid to assume that the save DC is just fixed for those who say nothing of it, or is it more appropriate to assume that they're all Con-based unless they specify otherwise?
A98: Poisons default to 10+½HD+Con unless otherwise stated, per Bestiary 302.
Q99: Does an Occultist’s mental focus come undone when he rests for 8 hours automatically, or does it stay invested until he reinvests it?
This came up with one who got knocked out and locked up and stripped of his gear. He recovered his gear later, and I played it as having to take the hour to reinvest. But should I have let myself say his investments were still there as soon as he got the items he’d previously invested? (I was playing the character, so I took the more restrictive approach at the time, but I’m wondering now if I should have recovery of his implements restore resonant powers and any unspent focus even though he qualifies for refocusing due to how long he was out.)
A 99 a Yes, mental focus points are automatically refreshed and any previously invested points are lost after each day. Mental Focus says (my emphasis):
"An occultist has a number of points of mental focus equal to his occultist level + his Intelligence modifier; these points refresh each day."
Note that by default, any and all points are refreshed and thus have to be invested anew. This is regardless of whether you are in possession of any implements or whether you had invested points in any implements before you rested.
A 99 b All focus points invested in an implement are lost the moment the implement is lost. In detail, Mental Focus says:
"If an implement is lost or destroyed, the focus invested in it is lost as well, though the occultist still refreshes those points of focus normally."
The rules make no mention of these lost invested focus points being regained or remaining invested should the lost implement be returned. So the points invested in the lost and regained implement remain lost until refreshed after resting as per above, just as if the points had been spent on activating focus powers.
Note however that until you rest and your focus points are refreshed, the implement's resonant power remains active and is granted to whomever possesses the implement. Although if you lend the implement to an ally rather than lose it to an enemy, the points invested are still available to you should you take back the implement before resting.
So in the scenario you describe, it appears you played it according to the rules. That is of course provided you, when you invested in your implements after finding them, actually still had focus points not already spent or previously invested and thus lost with your implements. If you hadn't rested between losing and regaining your implements, the implements would've immediately granted you the resonant powers active at the moment you lost them. And if you had rested, those resonant powers would've already been automatically deactivated after your rest (and potentially reactivated once you had invested focus in the implements again).