Simple Q&A by RAW for Pathfinder 4

[Segrain]

A362
As light armour.

Most mithral armors are one category lighter than normal for purposes of movement and other limitations. Heavy armors are treated as medium, and medium armors are treated as light, but light armors are still treated as light.

[Metahuman1]

Q 363: Does anyone know of a size catagory small race that doesn't take a penalty to Str, Con or Cha? It can be 3rd party, SRD links would be important. Bonus points if it looks mostly human.

Q 364: Does anyone know of a size catagory small race that get's a bonus to either Con or De, and to Int? Once again, need an SRD link, bonus points if it looks mostly human, it can be 3rd party.

[Psyren]

A363/364: You're in luck, Wayangs are a 1st-party race that fulfills both criteria. They also can look roughly human, though the official art tends to make them more outlandish.

[MizuDevil]

Q365:
When I use improvised magic weapon as improvised than I use it without magic qualities?

Q366: Catch Off-guard feat work as proficiency? Because feat Martial Weapon Proficiency have benefits:
You make attack rolls with the selected weapon normally (without the non-proficient penalty).
So actually in feat not written that you get proficiency with weapon expect the name of it and Catch Off-guard feat have almost the same benefits.

[Cieyrin]

A 365 Correct, you have to use to use it properly to use its special qualities. For example, using a reach weapon's haft so you can attack adjacent enemies as an improvised club doesn't use the main weapon's enhancements, if any.

A 366 Catch Off Guard tends to be for objects that aren't intended to be weapons, like a table or a mug. It's not a replacement for being proficient with a longsword, for example.

[Psyren]

A366 addendum: Catch-off Guard will keep you from taking penalties for using a real weapon in an improvised way, but you still can't use any magical bonuses on the weapon (as stated) or any feats etc. you have with that weapon. You have to use the weapon "properly" for all that stuff to matter.

[heavyfuel]

Q 367

If a spell is being cast without any components (due to it being Silent and/or Still), can others identify it via Spellcraft?

[Psyren]

Q 367

If a spell is being cast without any components (due to it being Silent and/or Still), can others identify it via Spellcraft?

A367: Official answer is yes, - componentless magic (including SLAs, Psychic Spells, and Still+Silent+Eschew arcane spells) can be identified as long as you can perceive the caster in some way. Unfortunately, the only rationale behind this appears to be "it just works, okay?" or maybe there's some kind of light show that accompanies spellcasting that the rules neglected to mention until now, but there you go.

[Kurald Galain]

Q368: Is there a feat similar to Boon Companion that increases your effective barbarian or bloodrager level (to the limit of your character level)?

[zabbarot]

Q369: Is the bonus damage from the Champion Legend for Medium multiplied on a critical hit?

[Psyren]

A368 clarification: For what purpose? Rage/Rage rounds? Rage powers? Spellcasting?

(Either way, I don't know of any.)

A369 clarification: Do you have a link for this?

[Kurald Galain]

A368 clarification: For what purpose? Rage/Rage rounds? Rage powers? Spellcasting?

Rage powers (if barbarian) or bloodine powers (if bloodrager).

Q370: Is there a way to make a familiar carried by me threaten adjacent squares? As far as I can tell, familiars are either tiny/diminutive (meaning they don't threaten) or small (meaning they can't be carried). Perhaps an item or feat or archetype gives a workaround?

Q371: Can you Bull Rush a creature off a cliff? If so, does it get to make an additional check to counter this or something?

[Psyren]

A368: I found Raging Brute but you have to be an ogre. (Of course, Racial Heritage shenanigans or the ogrekin template can help you there, which isn't a bad barbarian choice anyhow.) I don't see a way to improve it either.

A370: Evolved Familiar (Reach) should do it. It adds a flat 5 ft. to one of their attacks rather than trying to double zero.

A371: Your GM has to determine whether a cliff edge counts as an "obstacle." Personally I would allow it, it's unlikely to come up often unless you're in a mountain campaign and Bull Rush is very weak.

[zabbarot]

Q369 Clarification: I can quote the text. It's very vague though.

Spirit Bonus: When you channel a champion, your spirit bonus applies on attack rolls, non-spell damage rolls, Strength checks, Strength-based skill checks, and Fortitude saves.

Emphasis mine. I don't know if that means it's just added after like precision damage, or multiplied like power attack or weapon enhancement bonus.

Link(Archives of Nethys because I can't access d20pfsrd right now.)

[Psyren]

A369: Ah! I completely forgot there was a class named Medium, derp derp - I was thinking of the size category (and the mythic Champion path) and being thoroughly confused.

Yes, it will be multiplied on a crit because it's a flat damage bonus rather than bonus dice.

[Crasical]

Q 372

Does a Feral Hunter's Feral Focus ability satisfy the Animal Focus prereq for the Planar Focus feat?

Q 373

Is there any way to gain a permanent burrow speed? Especially any method available before level 10, and without caveats about not leaving a tunnel behind or only being able to burrow through earth and sand.

[Psyren]

A372: "Functions as animal focus" can be interpreted to mean this though your GM could go either way.

A373: Delving is gp-only armor enhancement that will do this. Various races (e.g. Ratfolk and Oreads) can get burrow speeds as well.

[MizuDevil]

Q374:
When I trip with Greater Trip feat and make AoO against tripped enemy I alredy get +4 bonus to attack because target is tripped or not because it is AoO and make attack before target fall prone?

[EldritchWeaver]

A373 addendum:

3rd party Spheres of Power class "Elementalist" does gain the option to take burrow speed at 7th level.

[Psyren]

A374: Yes, you will get the prone bonus to hit. Basically, you are either prone or not, there is no combat time where you are "falling" between having been tripped and laying on the ground.

This is supported by the Vicious Stomp FAQ that says both it and Greater Trip trigger when you trip someone, i.e. they are considered prone as soon as you trip them.

[Kurald Galain]

Q375: Does the bonus to aid another from Benevolent Armor stack with that of a Benevolent Weapon?

[Psyren]

A375: Sort of - that is, yes they do stack, but you need two separate Aid Another actions (one to improve your ally's attack, and one to improve their defense) to trigger both items. You therefore need a way to Aid Another as a move action or less (e.g. Swift Aid, which slightly reduces the bonus) to do them both in the same turn. The other limitations of Aid Another apply as well (i.e. only lasts for your ally's next attack or the enemy's next attack respectively, you generally have to be in melee range of an enemy that is in melee range of your ally, you have to hit AC 10 etc.)

[Kurald Galain]

Oh right, I overlooked that the armor only works for defensive aid another, and the weapon for offensive.

Q376: Is there an item that lets a sorcerer or bard recover a level-1 spell slot, basically the equivalent of a pearl of power?

[Psyren]

A376: Yep - Runestone of Power is the spontaneous version. It's a bit different in that you use it while casting the spell but it's pretty much the same thing otherwise. (Also, while we're on the subject, check out the Boro Bead for Alchemists.)

[Nibbens]

Q377

Riddle me this - batman. Constructs are immune to healing effects (save for make whole and the like, or specific spells that affect each construct differently), but are they immune to inflict wounds or channel negative energy? There's no mention of this in the rules, but I found it a bit counter-intuitive since positive wouldn't heal them, but negative would damage them. Is there something (rule-wise or logic wise) I'm missing here? If this is the case, is there a specific reason for it - or is it just on of those "it's in the book - deal with it" kind of things.

[Psyren]

A377a: Inflict X will harm constructs as written because it specifies "creatures" rather than "living creatures." Note however that most constructs have spell immunity or resistance so this is generally not an effective means of attack.

A377b: Channel Negative Energy does specify living creatures and so will do nothing to constructs.

[GoldfishBowl]

A gnome naturally has access to the spell Speak with Animals.
Druids and Rangers cast it as a level 1 divine spell, but Bards cast it as a level 3 Arcane spell.

Q338a:
I know spell-like abilities count as prerequisites, but how is a spell's level determined when it's different levels on different lists? Could I go Rogue 3 (Sneak attack 2d6) Sorcerer 1 (picking up Mage Hand) and qualify for Arcane Trickster as level 5, qualifying through counting my racial as a 3rd level arcane spell?

Q338b:
For that matter... could I go Rogue 1, Brawler (Snakebite Striker) 1, Sorcerer 2, and only give up on 2 levels of casting? I know Vivisectionist stacks sneak attack funny, but Snakebite Striker avoids the tricky language as I see it.

Q338c:
As long as I'm here, there's no way to cheat 4 ranks in a skill prior level 4, is there? Outside of actual cheating of course.

[grarrrg]

A338aThey closed that loophole not all that long after they opened it.
If you have Speak with Animals as a spell-like, and a Feat/PrC/etc... specifically requires "can cast Speak with Animals", then you are good to go. Otherwise, it does NOT count as "nth level casting ability", or "can cast xth level spells" or really much of anything.

Also there is a priority for Spell-Likes.
Speak with Animals is a Bard/Druid/Ranger spell, and Druid comes earliest in the priority. So for anything that might actually care about "source", it counts as a Druid spell, so it would count as a "divine source".

A338b Rogue 1/Snakebite Striker is a valid way to get 2d6 Sneak dice, but see answer "a" for why Sorcerer 2 doesn't work.

A338c Nope. If you need 4 Ranks in something then you need to be level 4.

[Seto]

Q339 :

Once per day, a paladin can call out to the powers of good to aid her in her struggle against evil. As a swift action, the paladin chooses one target within sight to smite. If this target is evil, the paladin adds her Cha bonus (if any) to her attack rolls and adds her paladin level to all damage rolls made against the target of her smite. If the target of smite evil is an outsider with the evil subtype, an evil-aligned dragon, or an undead creature, the bonus to damage on the first successful attack increases to 2 points of damage per level the paladin possesses. Regardless of the target, smite evil attacks automatically bypass any DR the creature might possess.

(I added emphasis). The parallel between those sentences is troubling. Does this mean the Paladin can Smite a Neutral or even Good target to bypass DR ?

[NightbringerGGZ]

Q339 :

A:339: (I added emphasis). The parallel between those sentences is troubling. Does this mean the Paladin can Smite a Neutral or even Good target to bypass DR ?

Following RAW, yes.