Simple RAW for Pathfinder Thread V: Golarion Strikes Back

[upho]

Q:352 Any spells / other things for bards /sorcerers that grant gaze attacks or other eye-related things? got burning gaze, lock gaze, and medusa's bane on the list, wondering if there's anything else, hoping i can give 'em to my familiar or somethin.

A 352 Nothing bard or sorcerer specific AFAIK, but off the top of my head the Agonizing Obedience (Blinding Agony) feat has a boon which grants a gaze attack, and so does a few items such as the Eyes of Doom and the Saboteur's Goggles. Can't think of anything else which isn't limited to a certain class, PrC or race though.

And when it comes to other "eye-related things" there's potentially tons of them, depending on what you'd consider "eyer-related". For example, Intimidate and combat demoralization could be flavored as such, and every item that occupies your eye slot is definitely so.

I suggest you search Archives of Nethys and d20pfsrd.

[Fenryr]

Q354

Is it possible to use Esoteric Magic and Alchemical Affinity to cast the Cure spells as 1 level higher?

Spoiler: Esoteric Magic

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At each class level beyond 1st, the Pathfinder savant chooses a spell from any class’s spell list and thereafter treats that spell as if it were on the spell list of the base spellcasting class for which he has the most levels; if this base spellcasting class could not normally cast that spell, it is treated as 1 level higher than it is on the original class’s spell list. If he could cast the spell using his base spellcasting class, the spell’s level does not increase. The spell is cast as if its type (arcane, divine, or psychic) were that of his base spellcasting class, and save DCs function as normal for spells of that class. All other restrictions of his normal spellcasting class apply. This ability does not grant other spellcasters special allowance to prepare, cast, or use spell-trigger or spell-completion items of esoteric spells (such as a sorcerer using a cure light wounds scroll prepared by the Pathfinder savant).

Spoiler: Alchemical Affinity

Show

Having studied alongside alchemists, you’ve learned to use their methodologies to enhance your spellcraft. Whenever you cast a spell that appears on both the wizard and alchemist spell lists, you treat your caster level as 1 higher than normal and the save DC of such spells increases by 1. Additionally, you may copy spells from an alchemist’s formula book into your spellbook just as you could with another wizard’s spellbook. You must be at least a 5th-level wizard to select this discovery.

[upho]

A 354 Yes. In detail, if you're say a wizard 5/PF Savant 2 (wizard CL 6th) who has imported CLW to the wizard list via Esoteric Magic and has CLW in his spellbook, you could prepare CLW as a 2nd level wizard (arcane) spell. You'd then be able to cast CLW at wizard CL 7th and with a +1 bonus to the DC thanks to Alchemical Affinity.

[Altair_the_Vexed]

Q355
The Wizard's Abjuration school power Resistance grants energy resistance 5 to an energy type of your choice. I've scoured through the Core book and Paizo's Ref Doc, but I can't find a list of energy types to choose from. The closest I can find is those listed under the spell Resist Energy, but that is written as though it were an exception ("...whichever one of five energy types you select: acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic"), implying that the more general application of Energy resistance (described in the special abilities section), where no list of energy types is given, is the normal state, and the list in the spell is a restricted list.

As I can't find any definition of "energy" in the game rules, so my inclination is to use the natural common definition of the term. It therefore seems to me that I can name my energy types from any of the list in the spell Resist Energy, or anything else that is a damaging effect referred to as "energy" - e.g. positive energy, or negative energy.

Am I right? If I'm wrong, please cite your source book page number, or link to the Paizo Ref Doc page.

[upho]

A 355 There is no direct answer to this in the rules. However, it is at least heavily implied by RAW that the five energy types listed by resist energy and similar are indeed the only energy types unless otherwise mentioned in the specific rules for the ability in question. That is, if an ability (such as the Abjuration school power) refers to "energy types" without further specifying what that includes, it refers to acid, cold, elecricity, fire and sonic. Because all other things called "energy" have their own rules and are generally not affected by the rules and abilities related to those five energy types. For example, there is "Resist acid/cold/elecricity/fire/sonic [value]", but no such thing as "Resist negative/positive energy [value]". A creature resistant to negative/positive energy would instead have "Channel Resistance [value]" (see also for example this FAQ entry regarding positive/negative energy).

TL/DR: This extrapolation/interpretation of the rules for energy damage is correct AFAIK, even though it is an extrapolation and not a quote from an official rules source.

IIRC, there are quite a few threads on the Paizo boards about this, or at least about closely related questions. Try a search if you don't find this answer sufficient.

[TheFamilarRaven]

Q 356: The Dervish Dancer archetype for Bard has the ability Battle Dance, which seems like it it should alter or replace Bardic Performance, but no where in the ability does it say that. The closest it gets is "functions like..."

Likewise on the PFSRD page on the table for archetypes it doesn't list that Battle Dance replacing any Bardic Performance. Am I correct in assuming this is an oversight? Or do Dervish Dancers actually get both Bardic Performance and and Battle Dance? I know the Dervish of Dawn archetype has this same ability and it explicitly states it alters Bardic Performance

[Cieyrin]

A 356 Dervish Dancers don't replace Bardic Performance, as they instead alter a lot of their performances individually, so they can still Distract, Fascinate or Inspire Competence like other bards but those are the few performances unaffected or not replaced by the archetype.

[Bogwoppit]

Q357:
Is there a way to make a whip Threaten in melee, so that it grants Flanking, can take Attack of Opportunity, etc?

[upho]

A 357 Yes, by having the Improved Whip Mastery feat.

[Calthropstu]

Q358:
I manifest true mundswitch going from my body to a very powerful dragon. I then switch with my thrall, switch to a frog then switch to my original body. My thrall is now in the body of a Wyrm red dragon, the dragon is now in a form that can't cast spells, and the frog is in my thrall's body.
Question a: Does the thrall stay my thrall or is it now considered too powerful?
Edit:
Question b: What if, instead, I did this wth a wizard's familiar.

[Firest Kathon]

A358: This cannot be answered by RAW, as the effective cohort level of dragons (and other non-humanoids) is subject to GM adjucation (as per leadership, which the Thrallherd ability references):

the creature’s effective cohort level for the purpose of determining a character’s requisite Leadership score and character level in order to enlist the aid of the creature.

The samples given (e.g. Movanic Deva: 12 HD, CR 10 => effective cohort level 17) suggest that a powerful dragon (25+ HD for a wyrm) combined with your Thrall's class levels will give an effective cohort level of 30+, making it too powerful

The called thrall’s level is limited, even if the character’s Leadership score would indicate a higher-level thrall. [...] The level limit of a thrall is equal to the character’s total level minus 1

So even at character level 20 your maximum effective cohort level would be 19

A358b: Can you please clarify which part of this insane chain you want to replace with a familiar?

[Calthropstu]

Q358b addendum:
Replace the cohort with the familiar.
Some backstory: It's a small flying snake that thinks it's a dragon. It even breathes fire.
My plan: put the dragon in the snake, the snake in the dragon. The dragon is red and is responsible for numerous atrocities over the centuries. But we need its help to take on a bigger eviler dragon. I thought if we simply swapped its mind out...
I do not have true mindswitch, but I figure if I bluff it hard enough, I could trick it into lowering its mental defenses and use a few dorjes.

[AvatarVecna]

Q359

The barbarian archetype "Titan Mauler" has an ability at lvl 14 called "Titanic Rage", which reads as follows:

At 14th level, a titan mauler may choose to gain the benefits of enlarge person when she enters a rage. While using titanic Rage, she must spend 2 rounds of rage per round, and she becomes exhausted rather than fatigued when the rage ends.

Let's take four Titan Mauler Barbarian 14s and put them next to each other. TMB1 is a Human (medium humanoid), TMB2 is a tiefling (medium outsider), TMB3 is an Ogre (large humanoid), and TMB4 is a Centaur (large monstrous humanoid). All four go into a Titanic Rage. Which ones increase in size?

[Florian]

A359:

All. The wording is important here. Titanic Rage doesn't subject the Titan Mauler to the spell, it gives the pure benefits of the spell.

[unseenmage]

Q360
Would Memory of Function effectively re-enchant a magic item affected by Mage's Disjunction or similar?

[Psyren]

A360: No - while MoF can un-destroy objects, Disjunction includes a specific clause that precludes this use:

"These abilities cannot be recovered by mortal magic, not even miracle or wish."

Repowering a (permanently) disjoined object basically requires divine intervention.

(As for temporary disjunction, that doesn't actually destroy the object, so all you have to do in that instance is wait a few rounds.)

[Cieyrin]

Q 361 When a Vitalist recovers their daily power points and changes powers known, does that include talents?

[upho]

A 361 The rules aren't 100% clear on this, mainly because talents are powers and could thus be included. However, nothing indicates you can change any powers you know other than those you've been granted by your Powers Known class feature (which I believe could include talents, as they're 0th level powers). So you can not change for example the talents granted by your Knacks (Sp) class feature.

[Calthropstu]

Q362: Person A casts hungry pit causing person B to fall in. Person C casts wall of stone over the pit. What happens when hungry pit ends?

[Firest Kathon]

A362: This interaction is not covered by RAW, as far as I can tell. The only rule I can find is this (from Wall of Stone):

Creatures can avoid entrapment with successful Reflex saves.

There is no rule for what happens when they fail the save. You could, however, extrapolate from spells which risk putting a creature into a solid object (blink, teleport, etc), where they are shunted to the nearest safe location, taking 1d6 damager per 10ft.

[Psyren]

Person A casts hungry pit causing person B to fall in. Person C casts wall of stone over the pit. What happens when hungry pit ends?

Bold is not possible:

Wall of Stone

School conjuration (creation) [earth]...

A creature or object brought into being or transported to your location by a conjuration spell cannot appear inside another creature or object, nor can it appear floating in an empty space. It must arrive in an open location on a surface capable of supporting it.

[TheFamilarRaven]

A362 Addendum It is indeed possible to cast a Wall of Stone in a way that covers a Hungry Pit, which is what I believe what the original poster of the question meant. Although I believe Firest Kathon is correct in saying there is no RAW answer to this. My best suggestion would be to deal fall damage again to the creature trapped within as it rapidly elevates and slams them into the wall that now covers the pit. Then follow up by following the rules for suffocation.

[Cieyrin]

Q 363 If an Evoker casts a Flaming Sphere, does Intense Spells apply to each time the Sphere does damage or only the first time it does damage?

[upho]

A 363 The Intense Spells school power says (my emphasis):

"This bonus only applies once to a spell, not once per missile or ray, and cannot be split between multiple missiles or rays."

While a different interpretation could be possible, I believe the bold part makes it clear that the "applies once to a spell" refers to spells which can produce multiple "discreet manifestations" and/or multiple damage rolls per casting and instance of successfully affecting a target (as missile or ray spells typically can). Basically, as there is no game term defining discreet manifestations, the above quote instead mentions the types of invocation spells which may have multiple discreet manifestations to clarify what the "applies once" limitation actually refers to. A spell like flaming sphere therefore gains the bonus each and every time it successfully affects a creature (each time it enters a target's space, overcomes the target's SR and the target fails its save), since each such instance is caused by the same discreet manifestation; one single sphere.

Or to put it in other words, if you could somehow produce two or more flaming spheres with one casting of the spell, only one of the spheres would gain the Intense Spell damage bonus. This would be the case with a spell like meteor swarm, which does produce multiple spheres (though each can affect a target only once). Likewise, if you could somehow make the same single missile or ray successfully affect and deal damage to a target or targets more than once, that single missile or ray could gain the damage bonus each and every time it did so, just as a line spell typically would. Though no such spells exist IIRC, as spells like chain lightning all explicitly produce one discreet manifestation per target (one bolt per target in the case of chain lightning).

AFAICT spells which can deal damage multiple times from one instance of successfully affecting a target (such as acid arrow or the bleed damage caused by hungry darkness) would also not gain the damage bonus more than once.

[Draconi Redfir]

Q 364: are there rules for enchanting inanimate objects to allow them to cast a spell X times / day OTHER then the staff creation rules? more used for say, enchanting a skull to allow it to cast some low-level spell three times a day or so?

[TheFamilarRaven]

A 364 Should just follow the rules for crafting wondrous items. Your skull, for example, sounds like a slotless item that can cast a spell x/day by using a command word.

[Psyren]

I would borrow the rules from 3.5's Complete Arcane for alternate potions/scrolls, and apply that to staves as well. So you would have a "skull-stave" that follows all the pricing rules, activation rules and whatnot for that, and needs to be held in your hand to work, but is a skull instead of a long stick.

[Zhentarim]

can you do a slam, 2 claw attacks, and a bit attack in one round?

a slam is a pounce before you tear in, right?

[Psyren]

can you do a slam, 2 claw attacks, and a bit attack in one round?

A365a: Yes, on a full attack you can use any natural weapons you possess once each (including multiple copies of a single type, such as 2 claws or 4 hooves.)

a slam is a pounce before you tear in, right?

A365b: A "slam" is a specific type of natural attack, like a claw or bite. Generally it refers to smacking something hard with an appendage, like an arm or tentacle, which is why it does bludgeoning damage.

"Pounce" is a special attack that some creatures/monsters possess, that allows them to charge and then full-attack all in the same round. (Usually you cannot do this because a charge and a full-attack are both full-round actions, but "pounce" lets you break that rule and combine them.)

[rs2excelsior]

Q366: Other than the Titan Mauler barbarian archetype and the Goblin racial feat that lets them use medium sized firearms, is there a feat/class feature/racial ability/etc. that allows characters to use weapons that are normally too large for them?