#sneak attacks

Pathfinder has a lot of rules.  We might think we know those rules pretty well, but it often pays to crack the book to actually look at them from time to time.  While you might remember how to calculate your to-hit bonus, or that you get bonus spells based on a high casting stat, there are a lot of other rules you might remember incorrectly, and to your detriment.

Rule #1: The Heal Skill Can, In Fact, Restore Hit Points

Most of us don't bother investing points into the Heal skill.  Sure you can use it to stop a party member from bleeding out, or to figure out what sort of wound killed a man you find in a dungeon, but what else can you do with the skill?

Quite a lot, as it turns out.

According to page 98 and 99 of the Core Rulebook, you can make Heal checks to treat deadly wounds.  If you have a healer's kit, and expend 2 of the uses in it, you can make a check against a DC 20.  Success means the character heals a number of points equal to their level.  If you beat the DC by 5, they also heal a number of hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier.  You can only do this for wounds acquired in the past 24 hours, and never more than once per day.

This is in addition to treating disease, poison, and long-term care.  So, in the future, it might be worth investing a few points.

Rule #2: The Difference Between Being Flat-Footed, and The Surprise Round

Being ambushed is something that happens with a fair bit of frequency in Pathfinder, but when combat starts and only some people are aware of it, you get a surprise round according to page 178 of the Core Rulebook.  Everyone who is aware combat is happening (the ambushers, and sometimes everyone in the other group who makes a high enough Perception check) gets to act in the surprise round.  You get a single standard or move action, as well as free actions, and after that comes the first round of regular combat.  This can be particularly nasty for characters like diviners, who always act in the surprise round, giving them one more action over everyone else because of their ability to glimpse into the future.

This is different from, but connected to, being caught flat-footed.  According to page 567 of the Core Rulebook, a flat-footed character is one who has not yet acted in combat.  They do not gain their dexterity modifier to their armor class nor can they make attacks of opportunity.  It also makes you vulnerable to sneak attack.  However, any character with Uncanny Dodge cannot be caught flat-footed, which makes barbarians, rogues, and others quite tricksy to ambush.

Rule #3: Acrobatics Can Make Fighting Defensively More Beneficial

Fighting on the defensive is a rule we don't usually invoke, but according to page 184 of the Core Rulebook you can choose to fight defensively.  You take a -4 penalty on your attacks, but gain a +2 dodge bonus to your AC.  However, as pointed out on page 90 of the same book, if you have 3 or more ranks in Acrobatics, you gain a +3 dodge bonus to your AC instead.  If you take the total defense action, which normally grants you a +4 dodge bonus to your AC, you will instead gain a +6 dodge bonus to your AC.

Rule #4: Vital Strike is a Specific, Standard Action

The Vital Strike feat, which starts on page 136 of the Core Rulebook, are the bread and butter of many great weapon-wielding builds.  In short, you take a standard action to make a single attack. If you hit, you roll your weapon damage dice as if you had hit twice (three times with Improved Vital Strike, four times with Greater Vital Strike, etc.).  So if you are a level 7 barbarian, and you use your standard action to attack with your greatsword, you would roll 4d6 instead of 2d6 for your weapon damage.

That seems pretty straightforward, but it's important to remember that this standard action is its own, unique action.  You cannot weave it into other special actions.  You cannot, for example, use the charge action and Vital Strike at the end of it.  You cannot use Spring Attack and Vital Strike on your target.  Nor does Vital Strike have anything to do with the target's anatomy, despite the name.  It is not related in any way to whether a creature is susceptible to critical hits, or if it has an alien anatomy.  All you're doing is hitting it really hard, but we'd already named a different feat, Power Attack.

Rule #5: Sneak Attack Applies to Anything That Isn't Immune to Precision Damage

In the old days of Dungeons and Dragons 3.5, sneak attack had big blind spots.  You couldn't use it on constructs, undead, plants, and dozens of other creature types. Unfortunately, a lot of players (and DMs) choose to use the rules they remember, rather than checking Pathfinder's update.  Because unless a creature is specifically stated as immune to precision damage, such as oozes, incorporeal creatures (unless you have a ghost touch weapon), and elementals, you can still apply your sneak attack damage under the right circumstances.

So be sure your DM knows this rule, and always ask before you don't roll your bonus dice.

oh, in the relationship looks much different then before ಠ⌣ಠ

Nope, Raphael wouldn’t let Lucifer go. Not like that.

Paloma would pout.

Mac would laugh, but let them go. Maybe get his revenge with a sneak attack later.

Ara would giggle like a school-girl and run after them, asking for another kiss.

Gabriel wouldn’t say anything, but she would smile to herself for a long while.

Camus would also smile, but trap Lucifer before they could go. Bury his face in their neck or something.

*counts ROs* who did I forget? OH FUCK LILITH

@mxthbladed​ said:  🌿 (to Charlie from mxthbladed pls?)

     ❝ Vaaaaaaggiiiie ~ ❞ Coos an impish little voice from behind, and when the other turns, she’ll find an excitable little face beneath a fluttering bough of.. holly? -- no, MISTLETOE! -- held overhead playfully. Before she’s offered the chance to react, a pair of dark lips are laying a loving kiss over hers, noses brushing as she pulls back with a bright smile.

Aww same man. You're really cool and everything! Just sucks that I'm a social hermit and wouldn't know where to begin to rekindle this relationship. True fact: you intimidate me haaa. You're, like, leagues above me in class and such, and you're an innoative story-teller. Good stuff going on in that head of yours. Not sure how much you'd be able to put up with me (and how have you even been following me on tumblr this whole time, holy cow, sorry for all the nonsense).

Just stole Habib's wine (what, I ran out of my alcohol) AND

OH MY GOD

GLUTEN-FREE?

DORK ALEEEEEEERRRRRRRT

AAHHHH, OH MY GOD

can't

stop laughing

oh no, THAT'S IT