Simple RAW for Pathfinder Thread V: Golarion Strikes Back

[Cieyrin]

A 399 Eldritch Heritage specifically talks about what happens if you're a Sorcerer or some other class (like Bloodrager) that has a bloodline. In short, Eldritch Heritage has to be for a bloodline you don't already have and that it provides its own effective Sorcerer level, even if you have Sorcerer or equivalent levels.

[Elysiume]

A398: Paralyzed creatures actually can't act at all, so the default is that you spend your entire turn trying to throw off the effect, just like you would with Hold Person. If you succeed, you're then free to act next round. You can effectively think of the line in Hold Person as being more like reminder text.

Makes sense. I was going to have a followup question of what happens if you're not paralyzed (as the spell would still, RAW, hold you in place), but Escape Artist says it's a full-round action to try to escape from binding spells, so that would apply there as well. Thanks.

[flamewolf393]

Q400

Do any races at all get a bonus feat other than humans?



Q401

Is there a way to make a person significantly shorter than a normal member of their race to the point of going down a size category? Like a dwarfism flaw/trait or something?

[upho]

Then what is the damage of claw blades if not based on how much damage the actual claws do? There is no official entry for claw blades that gives damage. The d20 PF SRD entry is derived and not RAW. All the entry says is it changes a catfolk's claws to essentially a masterwork weapon, so why would Sharp Claws improve the claws and claw blades suddenly reduce damage back to base? What order are you supposed to apply effects? I would think feats happen before equipment does.

I think this is another good argument for the RAI of Sharp Claws being that it increases the damage die size of claw blades as well.

However, neither the fact that the base damage die of claw blades is the same as that of your claws or the order in which you apply effects has any effect on the RAW which Psyren and I detailed. The only thing that matters is which effects that apply exclusively to your claws/natural attacks and which ones that apply to exclusively to your claw blades/manufactured weapons. So for example, if you have Improved Natural Attack (Claws) while wielding claw blades, the feat does nothing and your claw blades will simply deal whatever is the base damage of your claws without INA (typically 1d4). Similarly, a spell like lead blades would increase the damage die size of your claw blades, but would have no effect on your claw attacks if your claw blades were removed for some reason.

Unlike the ratfolk tailblade and the kobold tail attachments, which are specifically weapons and have entries, catfolk claw blades are a specific modification of the natural attacks they have from a racial trait.

And? The claw blades are not natural weapons, and no effects limited to natural weapons will apply to them. This is regardless of whether the claw blades' original base damage die is derived from a weapon's table, the natural attacks table in the Bestiary, or a racial trait description. Full stop.

[Florian]

A 401: Partially. Some of the "mixed heritage" races, like Tieflings, come with a sidebar that things like a gnome or halfling descended Tiefling are possible, you just have to change the base size to small, rest is regular Tiefling rules. Ultimate Campaign also has alternate character creation rules to create a child, which would also start at a smaller size, but that's basically unplayable.

[Psyren]

A400: Assuming you don't mean a floating generic feat, yes

Examples include the Half-Elf's Skill Focus and Ancestral Arms racials, or the Half-Orc's Shaman Apprentice racial.

A401: The Young template does this, but you'll need GM permission. You can fluff it as being a runt/dwarf (not the fantasy kind) of your race rather than being a child.

[Fenryr]

Q402.

Let's say you're a normal Sorcerer level 3 and you wanna be a Crossblooded Sorcerer. What do you actually retrain? How many class features do you change?

[Psyren]

A402: You'd retrain all the ones mentioned that Crossblooded modified - so the bloodline class feature, the Arcana class feature, bonus feats class feature, bonus spells class feature, two bloodline powers and the class skills feature, at 5 days each. (See here under "Archetype" for details.)

[kkplx]

Q403 Precision Damage vs Sneak attack damage

A player wishes to make use of the following feats, which in my opionion do not synergise in the way he thinks:

+1 dmg per sneak attack die: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat...-adept-combat/

double sneak attack dice when dealing non-lethal: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat...master-combat/

1d6 precision damage when flanking: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat...mbat-teamwork/

Personally, I'm of the opinion that while all sneak attack damage is precision damage, not all precision damage is sneak attack damage.

That would mean the d6 from the teamwork feat would:

• not be doubled when dealing nonlethal damage
• not provide 1 dmg per die as per sap master

(assuming the conditions for all 3 feats are met)

Is this correct, and if yes/no, where can I find the relevant rules quote?

[Psyren]

A403: You are correct (sneak is precision, not all precision is sneak :: all owls are birds, not all birds are owls) but you're also approaching the question backwards. Your player needs to find a rule to prove to you that all precision damage counts as sneak attack - you're not the one required to find a rule disproving their assertion.

[Cieyrin]

Q 404 A Samurai's Resolve ability can remove Frightened or Nauseated. How does he do so, as it's a standard action to use and in one case (Frightened), he's too busy fleeing to activate his class ability unless cornered, and in the other case (Nauseated), he lacks an action to activate Resolve?

Q 404b Can a Samurai whose used Resolve to be Unstoppable use another use of Resolve to remove the Staggered condition from himself?

[Psyren]

A404: It's a known oversight, but I'm inclined to say the specific rule of Resolve ("the samurai can") overrides the general rule of actions you can't take while nauseated/frightened.

A405: I would similarly allow this as well if you have the 2 Resolve/round to spend.

[RFLS]

Q406:

Is there a way to add a single paladin or cleric spell to the Sorcerer spell list, using only PF first party material?

[Psyren]

A406: There are several, it more depends on the specific spell and the lengths you're willing to go to. Finding the "best" one is subjective so it might require a separate thread.

[RFLS]

Q406 followup

A406: There are several, it more depends on the specific spell and the lengths you're willing to go to. Finding the "best" one is subjective so it might require a separate thread.

Done. Thank you.

[RFLS]

Q407:

Can you use contingency with contingent action? The interpretation I'm running under is that contingent action has not targeted you until contingency has been expended.

[Psyren]

A407: No, the two spells explicitly cannot be running on the same creature concurrently.

[Florian]

A 404 Addendum: Specific beats general - Any Class, race or feat ability that allows you to beat the general rules, will do so and be resolved at that.

[heavyfuel]

Q 408

Is your CMB affected by the bonus and penalties to attack (such as +2 from flanking, +X from weapon enhancement, -2 from TWF, -5 from iterative attacks, etc)?

[Psyren]

A408: Yes and no. General bonuses to attack (like flanking or Bless) always work. Stuff that boosts your weapon though, like +X enhancement and Weapon Focus, only work on CMB for maneuvers that explicitly use your weapon, like Trip or Sunder; maneuvers that don't, like Grapple or Dirty Trick, won't benefit from that second set.

Iterative penalties only come into play for maneuvers you can use as part of a full attack (like Sunder) - and yes, they apply in those cases and modify your chances of success accordingly.

[ellindsey]

Q409:

Will a Ring of Free Movement negate the reduced movement caused by walking through the area of effect of a Spike Stones spell and failing the save? I suspect not, but want to know for sure.

[killem2]

Q410: Can someone end the duration of a spell that was put on them via a magic item. Example: A Ring of Enlarge Person. Can they command it on, then decide to end it themselves or does it have to use a command word to deactivate early?

Q411: Which squares do a Huge Creature wielding a Colossal (Non-Reach) weapon threaten?

[Khedrac]

A 411: Whichever squares they threaten with their natural reach (which depends on the creature - an animal shape probably threatens 10', a humanoid shape 15' In the case of 10' reach the second diagonal squares are threatened).

Wielding an oversized weapon does not affect the wielder's reach.

[TheFamilarRaven]

A 410: In the paragraph detailing how dismissing a spell works, it is noted that spells with verbal components require some sort of verbal command to end the effect. So a command-word activated item would require an utterance of some kind to deactivate the effect. Just like activating the item, it's a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity to dismiss a spell.

Q 412: I was recently reading over the firearm rules again and something caught my eye. Under the rules for misfire, it states that if a gun misfires it gains the broken condition, and it's misfire value increases by 4, (or 2 with gun training). Now a gunslinger (or anyone with the gunsmithing feat) could remove the broken condition from the firearm. But does removing the broken condition return the misfire chance back to it's normal range? Or is the increase in misfire chance a permanent consequence of misfiring a gun?

[Cieyrin]

A 409 Freedom of Movement allows you to move normally, even when magic would impede you, so that would mean Spike Stones, caltrops, heavy vegetation, whatever, even if they cause an injury that reduces your movement.

A 412 The increased misfire chance is a specific extra effect of the firearm having the Broken condition. Remove the Broken condition, the misfire rate increase is also removed. It's a carrier on the condition and contingent on it being there.

[ksbsnowowl]

Q 413:

I'm getting ready to run the Curse of the Crimson Throne AP (the original 3.5 one), and though I'll be running it in 3.5, I have a question about the background traits, and figured here was the best place to ask.

The bonus from the Love Lost: Orphaned background trait... Whichever skill you pick, is it a +2 to ALL versions of the skill? If, say, you pick Profession, is it a +2 bonus to ALL Profession skills? Or just one particular Profession skill that you designate at character creation?

... You gain a +2 bonus on one of the following skills: Craft, Perform, or Profession.

[Calthropstu]

A413: Each craft is a separate skill, so only 1 chosen at the time of getting the getting the trait.

[ellindsey]

Ok, questions about shenanigans with Elemental Body.

Q414a: If a Sorcerer uses the Elemental Body III spell to become a Large Air Elemental, does he gain the ability to use the Whirlwind special ability?

Q414b: While in Whirlwind form, can the Sorcerer still cast spells?

Q414c: If the Sorcerer casts a spell while in Whirlwind form, does it provoke an Attack of Opportunity? (It states in the description of Whirlwind that AOO is not provoked by the Whirlwind, but it's not clear if this applies to spellcasting).

Q414d: If the Sorcerer in Whirlwind form sucks up one or more other creatures with the special engulf ability, and then casts Teleport, are the other creatures brought along?

[Psyren]

A414a: Yes - EB3 inherits this from EB1.

A414b: The specific elemental form you take must be capable of providing the necessary components if you want to cast spells. Verbal components should be fine since elementals can speak, and sorcerers get Eschew for free to deal with the material, but somatic is where the problem lies. It's unclear if even a normal air elemental can provide a somatic component (i.e. their forms are vague and may not include the necessary "hands") but even if your GM rules that they do, the whirlwind form definitely does not. This doesn't stop you from casting completely though - if you use Still Spell or a spell that doesn't require somatic components, you'll be able to cast it.

A414c: That note is open to interpretation. By the surrounding context it appears to apply to movement, but could be applied more broadly if the GM chooses.

A414d: No, Teleport specifies willing creatures no matter by what means you might be holding them.

[heavyfuel]

Q 415

A question that echoes Q 408

Is your CMD affected by the bonus and penalties to AC (such as -4 from prone, +1 from Dodge, etc)?