Travel Devotion Activation

[Thanatosia]

Travel Devotion costs a Swift Action to activate, and once active, it lets you spend a swift action to move your move speed. Because you are only allowed 1 swift action a round, and there is no specific mention about the activation allowing you to move your speed without using another swift action to take advantage of the effect, does this mean you don't get to use it for a free move the round you activate it? It seems it really waters down the power of the effect if you have to activate it a turn in advance of needing it (and blowing 2 turns worth of swift actions).

[Flickerdart]

That is correct - RAW, you use a swift action to activate Travel Devotion, which grants you the ability to use a swift action to move. You cannot make use of that ability until your next turn, unless you are a Ruby Knight Vindicator.

[torrasque666]

Swift action to activate, and lasts for ten rounds. Sure, you need to activate it in advance of your need, though in most cases combat rarely lasts ten rounds, but it still gives you an entire minute of swift-action movement.

[Greenish]

That is correct - RAW, you use a swift action to activate Travel Devotion, which grants you the ability to use a swift action to move. You cannot make use of that ability until your next turn, unless you are a Ruby Knight Vindicator.

Of course, by RAW, Ruby Knight Vindicator needs to use a standard action to gain the extra swift action, rendering the exercise pointless.

[Curmudgeon]

That is correct - RAW, you use a swift action to activate Travel Devotion, which grants you the ability to use a swift action to move. You cannot make use of that ability until your next turn, unless you are a Ruby Knight Vindicator.

I think it's otherwise because of the "each round" qualifier in that feat's Benefit statement:

Once per day as a swift action, you can activate this ability to move up to your speed as a swift action each round.

Requiring separate swift actions for activation and use would necessarily make that "each subsequent round", which isn't the stated benefit; hence, the activation and first use must happen via the same swift action. There's no prohibition against the activation and first use sharing a swift action; "as a swift action" isn't exclusive language in that sentence.

[Flickerdart]

I think it's otherwise because of the "each round" qualifier in that feat's Benefit statement:

Like I said, if you have another source of swift actions, nothing in the ability stops you from using it on the same turn that you've activated it.

[Thanatosia]

I think it's otherwise because of the "each round" qualifier in that feat's Benefit statement:

Requiring separate swift actions for activation and use would necessarily make that "each subsequent round", which isn't the stated benefit; hence, the activation and first use must happen via the same swift action. There's no prohibition against the activation and first use sharing a swift action; "as a swift action" isn't exclusive language in that sentence.

Each subsequent round would be more completely accurate (well, except in the case where you get multiple swift actions in a round, in which case you are altering the current functionality), but just because it doesn't say subsequent doesn't mean that's not how it works. You normally can't cast Haste and then make an extra attack in the same round, but just because it doesn't specify that you can only make an extra attack on 'subsequent rounds' doesn't mean you're entitled to cast haste and make a full attack without some way of either gaining more actions or quickening the haste or otherwise altering the normal action economy involved. As for no prohibition against 'sharing' the swift action, I don't think I need to spell out the insane and game breaking abuses that would occur if you could 'share' any multiple actions that are not specifically prohibited from sharing do I? Sharing an action is something that needs to be specifically allowed, not allowed unless prohibited.

[rrwoods]

I think it's otherwise because of the "each round" qualifier in that feat's Benefit statement:

Requiring separate swift actions for activation and use would necessarily make that "each subsequent round", which isn't the stated benefit; hence, the activation and first use must happen via the same swift action. There's no prohibition against the activation and first use sharing a swift action; "as a swift action" isn't exclusive language in that sentence.

Disagree; as others have already stated, there are abilities that can give you a second swift action in a round, so it doesn't "necessarily" require the language to be "each subsequent round".

[Nifft]

I do find it somewhat anti-intuitive that you don't get to move as part of the activation Swift action, but that looks like a valid (albeit anti-intuitive and rather strict) reading of the rules.