Simple RAW for Pathfinder Thread VI: Return of the Red Die

[Psyren]

A196: No, for two reasons:

1) "Nothing can pass through the sphere, inside or out, though the subject can breathe normally." The "nothing" in this clause would include the positive or negative channeled energy from a cleric.

2) "Channeling energy causes a burst that affects all creatures of one type (either undead or living) in a 30-foot radius centered on the cleric." A burst requires line of effect to any subject you wish to be influenced by it, which a resilient sphere (and therefore a bead of force) would block.

[daremetoidareyo]

Sorry- wrong thread

[Psyren]

q197 can an artificer put an infusion on a monks unarmed strike?

Was this meant for the 3.5 thread? That's not a PF class...

[daremetoidareyo]

Was this meant for the 3.5 thread? That's not a PF class...

Oops. Thanks

[testol]

Q197

Does enhancement bonus on arrows stack with enhancement bonus on the bow?

[Powerdork]

Q197

Does enhancement bonus on arrows stack with enhancement bonus on the bow?

A197: "The enhancement bonus from a ranged weapon does not stack with the enhancement bonus from ammunition. Only the higher of the two enhancement bonuses applies." Ranged Weapons and Ammunition, Core Rulebook p. 468

[Psyren]

A197 addendum: The enhancement bonuses don't stack, but other effects do. For example, if you shoot flaming arrows from a holy bow, your attacks will do both types of additional damage. Using this, you can strategize having specialized types of ammunition on hand to deal with certain opponents at a cheaper cost than trying to put those directly on your bow - for example, you can have several types of bane arrows on hand to deal extra damage to specific enemy types, or you can keep a few cyclonic arrows handy in case you come up against an enemy using a wind wall.

[Seto]

Q198: The Command Undead spell doesn't specify what happens if you try to command an undead that's already under the direct control of a spellcaster (via Animate Dead, or an opposing Command Undead spell, etc.). That would lead me to believe that Command Undead lets a caster take control of an already-controlled mindless undead, no check, no save, and the spell overrides the original caster's control for 1 day/CL.
Am I correct, or is that interaction covered someplace else? If that's the way it works, would the undead stop counting towards the HD limit of its original creator?

It came up in play today and I ruled it on-the-fly by allowing the original caster an opposed Charisma check (as if the undead were intelligent), and I might make that ruling stand regardless in the future - but I'm looking to clarify RAW.

Edit : looking into it a bit more, I found this:

Multiple Mental Control Effects

Sometimes magical effects that establish mental control render each other irrelevant, such as spells that remove the subject's ability to act. Mental controls that don't remove the recipient's ability to act usually do not interfere with each other. If a creature is under the mental control of two or more creatures, it tends to obey each to the best of its ability, and to the extent of the control each effect allows. If the controlled creature receives conflicting orders simultaneously, the competing controllers must make opposed Charisma checks to determine which one the creature obeys.

So it seems my ruling was correct. Am I right that this applies?

[upho]

A 198: Yes, that's correct, and also clarified by the Command Undead feat:

"If an undead creature is under the control of another creature, you must make an opposed Charisma check whenever your orders conflict."

[ZamielVanWeber]

Q 199
Can constructs take bleed damage? I checked the construct page and the bleed description and I cannot find anything that says that they are immune.
edit: Archive of Nethys disagrees with PFSRD and I don't own a physical book.

[Psyren]

A199: Constructs are immune to bleed in both PFSRD and Nethys, so I'm not seeing the disagreement.

[ZamielVanWeber]

A 199 Con't
This entry is wrong, which is unfortunate since it is the first hit on Google.

[Psyren]

A 199 Con't
This entry is wrong, which is unfortunate since it is the first hit on Google.

Gotcha. There are some folks who run the site that check these forums you may be able to get in touch with if you want that changed. My guess is it's the Construct entry from an earlier printing of the Bestiary before bleed effects existed in the game.

In general though, Nethys is the more accurate of the two if you see discrepancies.

[AlextheGrand]

Scrolls questions:
Q200 -Can someone decipher a scroll for another caster? Say, a player with read magic deciphers the scroll in the dungeon and hands it over/explains it to another player with the spell on his list but without read magic. This may also be the case for purchased scrolls for example.

Q201 -Can say a level 2 Paladin or a Ranger below level 4 (which is when they get spellcasting), cast a spell on their list from a scroll by passing a spellcaster check as if it were (4-2) 2 caster levels above them? (Assuming it is a spell they could normally cast at level 4. The class rules say a paladin has no caster level before level 4, so I am guessing maybe not.)

Q202 -Does using spellcraft to decipher a scroll require the casting of detect magic?

[Powerdork]

Q200 -Can someone decipher a scroll for another caster? Say, a player with read magic deciphers the scroll in the dungeon and hands it over/explains it to another player with the spell on his list but without read magic. This may also be the case for purchased scrolls for example.

A200: No rule allows this, and it's equivalent to reading a technical manual and instructing someone to assemble an internal combustion engine without explaining the specifics and quirks of the particular model you're using (the skill check is guaranteed to be at least DC 20 in a trained-only skill, and that's for cantrips and orisons). The person looking to cast a spell from a scroll needs to understand its contents, and the normal mechanism for this is a full-round action performing a Spellcraft check, which the player with read magic can perhaps aid on (normally a +2 bonus; ask your GM). Someone can tell in 5 seconds whether or not they understand the scroll's contents today, though, so you'd have to justify the aid pretty well.

Q201 -Can say a level 2 Paladin or a Ranger below level 4 (which is when they get spellcasting), cast a spell on their list from a scroll by passing a spellcaster check as if it were (4-2) 2 caster levels above them? (Assuming it is a spell they could normally cast at level 4. The class rules say a paladin has no caster level before level 4, so I am guessing maybe not.)

A201: From Chapter 15 of the Core Rulebook, "Using Items":

A scroll is a spell that is mostly finished. The preparation is done for the caster, so no preparation time is needed beforehand as with normal spellcasting. All that’s left to do is perform the finishing parts of the spellcasting (the final gestures, words, and so on). To use a spell completion item safely, a character must be of high enough level in the right class to cast the spell already. If he can’t already cast the spell, there’s a chance he’ll make a mistake.

This is distinct from spell completion items (spells in sticks, such as staves and wands):

Spell trigger activation is similar to spell completion, but it’s even simpler. No gestures or spell finishing is needed, just a special knowledge of spellcasting that an appropriate character would know, and a single word that must be spoken. Spell trigger items can be used by anyone whose class can cast the corresponding spell. This is the case even for a character who can’t actually cast spells, such as a 3rd-level paladin.

There are three strong requirements to use a scroll, in addition to the weak requirement of a caster level: The scroll must be the correct type (arcane, divine, occult), the user must have the spell on their spell list (this is true even if they don't cast spells yet, if you judge the ability to use spell trigger items), and the user must have the requisite ability score (for a paladin, high enough Charisma to actually cast the spell in question, 10 + the level of the spell).

If the user meets all the requirements noted above, and her caster level is at least equal to the spell’s caster level, she can automatically activate the spell without a check. If she meets all three requirements but her own caster level is lower than the scroll spell’s caster level, then she has to make a caster level check (DC = scroll’s caster level + 1) to cast the spell successfully. If she fails, she must make a DC 5 Wisdom check to avoid a mishap. A natural roll of 1 always fails, whatever the modifiers. If the caster level check fails but no mishap occurs, the scroll is not expended.

Of course, even if you have no caster level (making the caster level check to activate a scroll a bare d20 roll), once you actually manage to use the scroll, it provides its own caster level for determining the spell's effects.

Q202 -Does using spellcraft to decipher a scroll require the casting of detect magic?

A202: No, deciphering a scroll only requires a full-round action (with a day's wait between checks if you fail); the casting of detect magic allows you to learn the properties of the scroll (mechanical details that the GM might not have offered up immediately).

[Maat Mons]

Q 203 Is there any RAW issue in playing a Crossblooded Sorcerer with one or both of the bloodlines having Wildblooded applied?

[Powerdork]

Q 203 Is there any RAW issue in playing a Crossblooded Sorcerer with one or both of the bloodlines having Wildblooded applied?

A203: Yes.
"A character can take more than one archetype and garner additional alternate class features, but none of the alternate class features can replace or alter the same class feature from the base class as another alternate class feature."
Since Crossblooded and Wildblooded both touch the function of bloodline arcana (no exceptions), they're incompatible as-written. It's minor, but it's there.

[Psyren]

A203 addendum: Metool is correct that these are incompatible by RAW, but there is a wink-nudge official FAQ that says its fine for your GM to ignore that, and some things they should think about if they do. I recommend showing that to your GM (and having a quarantine pizza sent to their house.)

[Segev]

Q204:

Did pathfinder close the loophole/change the rule interaction that let psicrystals gain feats as their master levels up?

[Powerdork]

Q204:

Did pathfinder close the loophole/change the rule interaction that let psicrystals gain feats as their master levels up?

The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game has no interest in psionic content; instead, refer to Occult Adventures and its occult magic, which notably lacks psicrystals.

A204: (The Pathfinder-compatible) Psionics Unleashed by Dreamscarred Press reworked psicrystals to no longer be a class feature, and coincidentally removed the line that indicates psicrystals advance with their masters; however, psicrystals still have a construct Hit Die (giving them base attack bonuses, base save bonuses, and skill points, which mostly matters if liberated from the bond with their master by the Heartstaff), and as they're intelligent, this means they get the feat for that Hit Die.

There is no other Pathfinder-compatible psionics content we know about, but if you're asking about it, please name it.

[Segev]

The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game has no interest in psionic content; instead, refer to Occult Adventures and its occult magic, which notably lacks psicrystals.

A204: (The Pathfinder-compatible) Psionics Unleashed by Dreamscarred Press reworked psicrystals to no longer be a class feature, and coincidentally removed the line that indicates psicrystals advance with their masters; however, psicrystals still have a construct Hit Die (giving them base attack bonuses, base save bonuses, and skill points, which mostly matters if liberated from the bond with their master by the Heartstaff), and as they're intelligent, this means they get the feat for that Hit Die.

There is no other Pathfinder-compatible psionics content we know about, but if you're asking about it, please name it.

I'm sorry, I was very much referring to DSP's Psionics rules, as presented in Ultimate Psionics or on the PFSRD.

Is the answer, then, "No, your Psicrystal Affinity-granted psicrystal does not get feats by any reading or interaction of the RAW as put out by DSP for Pathfinder?" Or am I misunderstanding you? It seems like that is the case, given how the rules are presented, but I want to be sure.

[Powerdork]

I'm sorry, I was very much referring to DSP's Psionics rules, as presented in Ultimate Psionics or on the PFSRD.

Is the answer, then, "No, your Psicrystal Affinity-granted psicrystal does not get feats by any reading or interaction of the RAW as put out by DSP for Pathfinder?" Or am I misunderstanding you? It seems like that is the case, given how the rules are presented, but I want to be sure.

Your psicrystal is always and forever a 1-HD construct, and it gets one feat and that's it. Or at least, that's how it should be. I'm away from my collection.

[Psyren]

The 3.5 line...

"A psicrystal’s characteristics depend on its master. Its Hit Dice are equal to its master’s Hit Dice (counting only levels in psion or wilder), its hit points are equal to half its master’s, and its saving throw bonuses are the same as its master’s."

...is not present in the Pathfinder psicrystal. They use their owner's ML to calculate effects that depend on HD, but do not actually gain HD themselves anymore.

[Segev]

Your psicrystal is always and forever a 1-HD construct, and it gets one feat and that's it. Or at least, that's how it should be. I'm away from my collection.

The 3.5 line...

"A psicrystal’s characteristics depend on its master. Its Hit Dice are equal to its master’s Hit Dice (counting only levels in psion or wilder), its hit points are equal to half its master’s, and its saving throw bonuses are the same as its master’s."

...is not present in the Pathfinder psicrystal. They use their owner's ML to calculate effects that depend on HD, but do not actually gain HD themselves anymore.

Alright. That was my reading, as well, but I wanted to be sure I wasn't missing anything. Thanks for the answers!

(I was digging into this because there's a pdf from Dreamscarred Press called "Psicrystals Expanded" that had something in it (I will need to look for it again) that seemed to talk about feats the psicrystal itself took. I suppose as a 1 HD thingie, it still might have 1 feat, so maybe that's what they're referencing.)

[Psyren]

Really? I read that supplement, and I'm pretty sure all the feats in it are for the owner of the psicrystal - what did you see specifically?

[Segev]

Really? I read that supplement, and I'm pretty sure all the feats in it are for the owner of the psicrystal - what did you see specifically?

Sorry, took me a bit. On p. 10, under Psicrystal Reservoir, the last sentence of the benefit section is, "This also means that the psicrystal can utilize feats which require it to hold or expend psionic focus."

I don't see any rules in there for it sharing/using the master's feats, though maybe there's one in the general rules for psicrystals that I missed. Without being able to use its master's feats, it would need feats of its own for that sentence to make sense. (I'm not insisting the sentence's underlying assumption must be correct, though.)

[kkplx]

Q205

If an enemy provokes an AoO and you choose to trip instead of melee attack the enemy with it, is it still an "attack of opportunity", for example regarding a trait like opportunistic?

[kkplx]

Q206

If a character uses stealth and there is 5 opponents, 3 who beat the DC, 2 who don't - do you determine whether you're "an invisible attacker" for each enemy individually, or does a single success in the group negate you stealthing for all enemies (in a comabt situation).

[KillianHawkeye]

A 206 It's definitely on an individual basis. If someone fails to see you, then they can't see you.

[Psyren]

A205: Yes, your maneuver will get the bonus from that trait.