Drop Dead Studios Ask Me Anything #3

[Mehangel]

Q566: I'm a little confused by how the Critical Hit and Defeat openers for the Prodigy interact with the Attack opener and the rule of a single action only counting for 1 link. If they count as separate effects, does this mean you could get three links for killing a creature with a critical hit? If not, why specify them separately, as any Critical hit or Defeat opener will necessarily entail the Attack opener is fulfilled as well?

Not a SoM dev, but imagine this scenario. A prodigy uses shove from the Brute sphere, and scores a critical hit. Shove being a move action, does not use a standard or full-round action and thus is not eligible for the Attack opener. The prodigy then uses his standard action to make a melee attack, but the combined two attacks are not sufficient to kill/defeat the target. The target on their turn then moves out of or through the prodigy's threatened area, triggering an attack of opportunity, which drops the target to 0 HP. In this scenario, all three of the prodigy's attacks granted a link, but had no overlap. Does this help?

[Sam C.]

Most of those rider effects have saves of their own/are not friendly fire safe without further investment (i.e. without epicenter using Living Crystal aura would just lock you down yourself. And Crafted Blast wouldn't affect Energy Aura at all as Energy Aura doesn't roll anything it's worded as "affected by your destructive blast as if it had dealt minimum damage" so it isn't treated as a die roll precluding the Crafted Blast effect (unfortunately). All of your arguments could also be applied to Energy Sphere which while it doesn't have a radius and is also save negates has the two rather large advantages of being able to be used at range thus not putting your person in danger, and also doesn't do min damage. Not to mention the ability to augment it further with feats and such.

Searing light also isn't friendly fire safe without further investment, has no rider effects (requiring additional saves or otherwise), and deals damage of one of the most commonly resisted energy types. Likewise, scourging totem has no rider effects, and the option to extend its effects over a massive area is locked behind an advanced talent (and would only really matter in war-type games anyway). Thus, the fact that energy aura has rider effects remains a point in its favor.

The wording "affected by your destructive blast as if it had dealt minimum damage" is exactly why crafted blast does work with energy aura, as the minimum damage of a crafted blast is 3 per die. If they didn't want it working with crafted blast they should have said something like "1 damage per die that would have been rolled."

For Energy Sphere to continue being useful you have to direct it as a move action every round after creating it with a standard action, while Energy Aura just lasts for a little while and is activated as a move action (I'll admit the duration does seem a little on the short side though).

Finally, Energy Aura probably isn't meant to be used by an incanter who stays at the back lines slinging spells. Rather, it would shine in the hands of frontline spellblades like the prodigy.

[Malvoli0]

Q567: Question concerning Enhancement: Animate Object and the "Armor" Construction Point option.

1. Does this turn the animated object into armor or does it only work on armor? (Just pictured climbing into a statue and chuckled)
2. If it ceases being a creature does it maintain the applicable Hardness and immunity to crits if someone does hit the person wearing it (going through its HP first as listed)?

[viperwolf306]

A567
Correct me if I’m wrong.
1. Basically the enhancement causes the object to be used as armor. So the object doesn’t have to be armor, it can be anything, though as a house rule I would say it has to be at least as big as the wearer, unless you only want to make a part of the armor such as a gauntlet. This can synergize really well with the creation sphere to provide battle armor for your allies.
2. If the object’s HP is completely depleted, then I would say no, since it says it stops giving an armor bonus, I would assume it also means any benefit granted is disabled. The object is technically destroyed after all.

[Mehangel]

Q567: Question concerning Enhancement: Animate Object and the "Armor" Construction Point option.

1. Does this turn the animated object into armor or does it only work on armor? (Just pictured climbing into a statue and chuckled)
2. If it ceases being a creature does it maintain the applicable Hardness and immunity to crits if someone does hit the person wearing it (going through its HP first as listed)?

I don't know if it helps, but a similar question regarding the "Armor" construction point option was answered in thread 2 here.

[Malvoli0]

Firstly I was wrong about Crits, just double checked Pathfinder Constructs are not immune to critical hits or sneak attacks. I believe the "Centralized" flaw on the Spheres of Power wiki and Enhancer's Handbook Page 25 might be in error.

A567
Correct me if I’m wrong.
1. Basically the enhancement causes the object to be used as armor. So the object doesn’t have to be armor, it can be anything, though as a house rule I would say it has to be at least as big as the wearer, unless you only want to make a part of the armor such as a gauntlet. This can synergize really well with the creation sphere to provide battle armor for your allies.
2. If the object’s HP is completely depleted, then I would say no, since it says it stops giving an armor bonus, I would assume it also means any benefit granted is disabled. The object is technically destroyed after all.

1. This answer seems to be in conflict with /u/Mehangel's linked thread. (cant relink as I am a nublet) Since I am new I am not sure if there's an official answer or I take these ideas to the GM and let him decide? I GM another game luckily my Spheres player has not found this yet and am not sure how to interpret.
2. I was referring to the objects HP not being depleted yet, since my AC is now the items and I get hit does that mean until its HP are depleted it still has Hardness/DR?

Armor (Ex; 1 CP)
The object is a suit of armor. When worn by another creature, it ceases to act as a creature of its own. Instead, any damage the wearer takes is dealt to the object instead; if the object loses all of its hit points, then the armor bonus it grants is reduced to +0. While worn, it grants its armor bonus to AC, as well as the benefits of any special qualities, as normal. As long as the object is still animated, it may be donned as a full-round action and removed as a swift action.

The way I understand it either

• I can turn any object (my size or >) into temporary armor for the duration of the Enhancement granting me the items Natural Armor Bonus + size bonus (if larger than me)- dex (as its no longer moving), and if I am hit (For damage only not Hold Person for example) its as if the animated object was struck (HP, Hardness or DR, and Construct Traits applying to the hit)
• Or this CP enhancement only applies to Objects that are already armor of the relevant size to fit me. And when struck it only removes HP from the object. (Still unclear if when struck it has Hardness/DR or construct traits)

The difference in the results of this talent are huge between option A and B. That being said now that I know it would not grant Crit immunity its not as big of a balance issue. Whatever the answer may be a rewording may be in order. Perhaps "The object becomes a suit of armor" or "The object must already be a suit of armor"

[viperwolf306]

The objects hardness would still apply if the object’s HP isn’t depleted. I still believe the object becomes armor, it would be redundant if you enhanced an animated suit of armor, to act like armor.

[Graadich]

Q549 With the critical genius talent from SoM Equipment sphere, are ray's a legal choice?

Q550 Another critical genius question, are the crit ranges 'locked' at the specified ranges (19-20, then 18-20 at +10 BAB) or can the ranges be further expanded by feats/class abilities/etc that increase the range more.

These seem to have gotten drowned out, if not I apologize. I've seen these handled different ways by different GM's and couldn't find a definitive answer anywhere about either.

[inuyasha]

Q586: Just wanna check does the Archaic Alchemist archetype replace Mutagen and Bombs since it replaces Alchemy? I would hope that it didn't, but Alchemy is where these two class features are technically first detailed.

[pythor]

Q587: So there was some talk on the previous threads about Eidolons and evolution points. It was posted that a Sphere Summoner's Eidolon does not get them. That's fine. What about the other stats in the Eidolon base stats? Skills, Armor Bonus, and Str/Dex in particular? Do you use the values from the standard Eidolon table or from the Conjuration Sphere's Companion table? If you're supposed to use the companion table, then what is it about an Eidolon that is actually better than a standard companion?

[RogerAlles]

Q588: Can a Character add the dices from Sneak Attack to the attack with the main-hand with Perfect Set-Up Talent from the Dual Wielding Sphere if he is flanking or the enemy desn't have the Dex bonus?

[Mehangel]

Q586: Just wanna check does the Archaic Alchemist archetype replace Mutagen and Bombs since it replaces Alchemy? I would hope that it didn't, but Alchemy is where these two class features are technically first detailed.

A586: Archaic Alchemist is not supposed to replace either Mutagen or Bombs.

[SwordChucks]

Q589:

The Hunter ability at 17 level, One With The Wild, is not replaced by the Beastmaster archetype but the abilities that it requires to function are. Is there a replacement ability or is this an intentional dead level?

[freduncio]

Q590 Alchemy Sphere's Poison package states that "A poison remains potent until used or for 1 round +1 per 4 ranks in Craft (alchemy) you possess, whichever comes first". But the Ingested Application talent states that "When you create an ingested poison and add it to any food or drink, it remains potent for up to 1 additional day (for a total of 48 hours)(...)". Emphasis mine.
So we can assume that, by default, if you apply an ingested poison to any food/drink, it will stay active/potent for 1 day/24 hours?

[CasualViking]

Q591: Does the summoning cost reduction from the Familiar or Puppet archetypes affect the cost of letting the companions stay without concentration?

[stack]

Q589:

The Hunter ability at 17 level, One With The Wild, is not replaced by the Beastmaster archetype but the abilities that it requires to function are. Is there a replacement ability or is this an intentional dead level?

A589: Ah, missed the line about it being linked to animal foci. No, it is not intended to be a dead level, though it wouldn't matter much since animals are friendly to the beastlord at 14 anyway.

Proposed Errata: At 17th level, the beastlord's tame animals gain temporary hit points equal to her level. These temporary hit points regenerate at a rate of 1 per minute.
This replaces one with the wild.

Q591: Does the summoning cost reduction from the Familiar or Puppet archetypes affect the cost of letting the companions stay without concentration?

A591: That is the intent, yes, so you can have your familiar out all day without spell point cost (unless other options selected increase the cost).

[Ssalarn]

These seem to have gotten drowned out, if not I apologize. I've seen these handled different ways by different GM's and couldn't find a definitive answer anywhere about either.
Q549 With the critical genius talent from SoM Equipment sphere, are ray's a legal choice?

Both of the following answers are based on conversations had during development and may be subject to change.

A549 SoM is very focused on consistency with core rules and clarifications, which would make the answer "Yes".

Q550 Another critical genius question, are the crit ranges 'locked' at the specified ranges (19-20, then 18-20 at +10 BAB) or can the ranges be further expanded by feats/class abilities/etc that increase the range more.

A550 Per the conversation logs from development, Critical Genius is applied after all other modifiers and thus would not stack or be further modified by any other abilities or effects.

[AlienFromBeyond]

A550 Per the conversation logs from development, Critical Genius is applied after all other modifiers and thus would not stack or be further modified by any other abilities or effects.

Whaaaat, that makes the talent utterly pointless though if you can't use it in combination with Improved Critical/Keen, I thought the whole point was to turn the weapon into an 18-20/x2 base crit stats one. You might as well just use a crit range increase with a 20/x4 weapon and be at 19-20/x4 instead of 18-20/x2 then.

[CactusAir]

Whaaaat, that makes the talent utterly pointless though if you can't use it in combination with Improved Critical/Keen, I thought the whole point was to turn the weapon into an 18-20/x2 base crit stats one. You might as well just use a crit range increase with a 20/x4 weapon and be at 19-20/x4 instead of 18-20/x2 then.

Pretty much my reaction as well. You're going to be better of with keen most of the time.

[Llyarden]

A550 Per the conversation logs from development, Critical Genius is applied after all other modifiers and thus would not stack or be further modified by any other abilities or effects.

Q550 cont: If you're applying something "after all other modifiers," that rather implies that there are some other modifiers that can apply, which is contrary to 'would not stack with anything.' Which one is it?

[Ssalarn]

Q550 cont: If you're applying something "after all other modifiers," that rather implies that there are some other modifiers that can apply, which is contrary to 'would not stack with anything.' Which one is it?

It doesn't imply that at all. Critical Genius (per the development conversation) checks to the final critical range of the weapon. That's why it has the "unless it would be higher" verbiage. If the final crit range is less than 19-20, or 18-20 at BAB +10, then Critical Genius overwrites it to the "superior" value.

Since it's been a few weeks and the author hasn't clarified I'm relaying what was said during development. The goal as explained was simply to put a longsword (scimitar) crit range on a weapon for those who prefer the expanded range over the higher multiplier because they want to proc certain types of feats, talents, and class abilities more reliably and have that functionality turn on before a +1 keen weapon would typically be available (and then advance beyond what would typically be available for a weapon whose starting crit range was 20 at BAB +10). It's not a damage booster so much as an activation condition booster (though it can still raise the damage values of quite a few weapons).

[Keante]

Whaaaat, that makes the talent utterly pointless though if you can't use it in combination with Improved Critical/Keen, I thought the whole point was to turn the weapon into an 18-20/x2 base crit stats one. You might as well just use a crit range increase with a 20/x4 weapon and be at 19-20/x4 instead of 18-20/x2 then.

Ssalarn pointed out that there are non-damage considerations. Even if you're only concerned about damage, though, it's not "pointless" for all of the 20/x2 weapons, it's without a question better than Improved Critical or Keen for them.

Even for 19-20/x2 weapons, it seems roughly equivalent to me. Improved Critical would get you to 17-20 instead of 18-20, but it doesn't give additional damage equal to BAB on a confirmed critical hit.

And when it's roughly equivalent, Critical Genius seems the better choice because talents are often more plentiful than feats.

[Lirya]

A550 Per the conversation logs from development, Critical Genius is applied after all other modifiers and thus would not stack or be further modified by any other abilities or effects.

I am pretty sure the normal reading has been that you can stack Keen/Improved Critical with Critical Genius for a 15-20/x2 threat range. I think I remember having a conversation with one of the devs during playtest before the clause that limited it to x2 multiplier where Unarmed Training + Improved Critical + Critical Genius resulted in a 15-20/x3 threat range with unarmed dice progression (this combination was then broken both in Critical Genius (it no longer allows a multiplier above x2) and Unarmed Training (it now uses your unarmed critical threat range and multiplier) for obvious reasons).

Doing some searching it looks like the common interpretation at the time also was that they stack, but I can't find any dev comments (nobody corrected the interpretation either, though a lot was happening so it could easily have been missed).

[Genth]

Q592 - If I am a hedgewitch with the Spiritualism Tradition, and a whole bunch of Sphere Specific Drawbacks (Chi Tracer, FTR), do the drawbacks give me another talent when I temporarily gain the base sphere with the Spiritualism Tradition? Is there a 'locking in' for the Drawback Talent?

[Graadich]

Both of the following answers are based on conversations had during development and may be subject to change.


A550 Per the conversation logs from development, Critical Genius is applied after all other modifiers and thus would not stack or be further modified by any other abilities or effects.

Well that's unfortunate. I'd say this would be great for people wanting to use a 20/x2 weapon (usually clerics with their maces and what have you) but with a feat you can deal any dam type you want with any weapon, so grab your rapiers I suppose. Most people seem to interpret this as actively swapping out a weapons crit range/mod, which I thought was great because it allowed for more weapons to be used besides the traditional 3 or so. Thanks for the reply though!

[kkplx]

I am pretty sure the normal reading has been that you can stack Keen/Improved Critical with Critical Genius for a 15-20/x2 threat range.

You can't. Also, this would be a general PF Q&A topic.

This effect doesn’t stack with any other effect that expands the threat range of a weapon.

It's in the feat/enchantment, etc.

[Biolink22]

It's in the feat/enchantment, etc.

Thing is the way Critical Genius is worded it doesn't extend the critical threat range of a weapon, it sets it to a new range which was definitely how my gm and me interpreted it. This saddens me as it means if you want to play a crit fisher you're still essentially stuffed into kukri/rapier/estoc/scimitar.

[kkplx]

Q593

If a sentinel is bleeding, can they use sentinel's reserve's swift action to gain temporary hit points to negate the bleed damage at the start of their turn?

[Llyarden]

Q594: Does the Photophobic Casting Dark-specific drawback apply its penalty to your entire caster level, or only to your caster level for the purpose of Dark talents? (Ditto Nyctophobic Casting and Light.)

[Feliaria]

Q595: This may be something that should be a general PF question, but I'm unsure if there are multiple sources outside Spheres that would be realistic to pick up. If this shouldn't go here I apologize!
If you have two abilities that grant Tremorsense (in my particular case, I'm looking at Nature Spirit with the Earth Geomancing Package, which grants Tremorsense out to Close range, and the Touchsense Protokinesis feat), do the ranges stack, or do you just get the higher of the two?