The Core Mechanic: Whenever you attempt an action that has some chance of failure, you roll a twenty-
- Roll a d20.
- Add any relevant modifiers.
- Compare the result to a target number (usually a “difficulty check” [DC], the opponent’s armor class in the case of attacking another person, or another skill check roll provided by your DM)
If the result equals or exceeds the target number, your character succeeds. If the result is lower than the target number, you fail.
Dice
Dice rolls are described with expressions such as “3d4+3,” which means “roll three four-
d%: Percentile dice work a little differently. You generate a number between 1 and 100 by rolling two different ten-
Rounding Fractions
In general, if you wind up with a fraction, round down, even if the fraction is one-
Exception: Certain rolls, such as damage and hit points, have a minimum of 1.
Multiplying
Sometimes a rule makes you multiply a number or a die roll. As long as you’re applying a single multiplier, multiply the number normally. When two or more multipliers apply to any abstract value (such as a modifier or a die roll), however, combine them into a single multiple, with each extra multiple adding 1 less than its value to the first multiple. Thus, a double (×2) and a double (×2) applied to the same number results in a triple (×3, because 2 + 1 = 3).
When applying multipliers to real-
Ability Scores
As per the ruleset of Pathfinder, your character is made up of six ability scores–Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Intelligence, and Charisma. Each ability partially describes your character and affects some of his or her actions. These numbers are generated via dice rolls or a point buy system (determined by your DM) at character creation and are considered permanent attributes of your character.
Strength (Str)
Strength measures muscle and physical power. This ability is important for those who engage in hand-
You apply your character’s Strength modifier to:
- Melee attack rolls.
- Damage rolls when using a melee weapon or a thrown weapon, including a sling. (Exceptions: Off-
hand attacks receive only half the character’s Strength bonus, while two- handed attacks receive 1–1/2 times the Strength bonus. A Strength penalty, but not a bonus, applies to attacks made with a bow that is not a composite bow.) - Climb and Swim skill checks.
- Strength checks (for breaking down doors and the like).
Your Strength score determines your characters carrying capacity.
Dexterity (Dex)
Dexterity measures agility, reflexes, and balance. This ability is the most important one for archers, gunners, and thieves, but it’s also useful for characters who wear light or medium armor or no armor at all. This ability is vital for characters seeking to excel with ranged weapons, such as the bow or sling. A character with a Dexterity score of 0 is incapable of moving and is effectively immobile (but not unconscious).
You apply your character’s Dexterity modifier to:
- Ranged attack rolls, including those for attacks made with bows, crossbows, throwing axes, and many ranged spell attacks like searing light.
- Armor Class (AC), provided that the character can react to the attack.
- Reflex saving throws, for avoiding fireballs and other attacks that you can escape by moving quickly.
- Acrobatics, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Fly, Ride, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth skill checks.
Constitution (Con)
Constitution represents your character’s health and stamina. A Constitution bonus increases a character’s hit points, so the ability is important for all classes. Some creatures, such as undead and constructs, do not have a Constitution score. Their modifier is +0 for any Constitution-
You apply your character’s Constitution modifier to:
- Each roll of a Hit Die (though a penalty can never drop a result below 1—that is, a character always gains at least 1 hit point each time he advances in level).
- Fortitude saving throws, for resisting poison, disease, and similar threats.
If a character’s Constitution score changes enough to alter his or her Constitution modifier, the character’s hit points also increase or decrease accordingly.
Intelligence (Int)
Intelligence determines how well your character learns and reasons. This ability is important for black mages, blue mages, and time mages because it affects their spellcasting ability in many ways. Creatures of animal-
You apply your character’s Intelligence modifier to:
- The number of bonus languages your character knows at the start of the game. These are in addition to any starting racial languages and Common. If you have a penalty, you can still read and speak your racial languages unless your Intelligence is lower than 3.
- The number of skill points gained each level, though your character always gets at least 1 skill point per level.
- Appraise, Craft, Knowledge, Linguistics, and Spellcraft skill checks.
A black mage, blue mage, and time mage gains bonus MP based on his Intelligence score. The minimum Intelligence score needed to cast a black mage, blue mage, or time mage spell is 10 + the spell’s level.
Wisdom (Wis)
Wisdom describes a character’s willpower, common sense, awareness, and intuition. Wisdom is the most important ability for astrologians, clerics, druids, geomancers and white mages, and it is also important for red mages. If you want your character to have acute senses, put a high score in Wisdom. Every creature has a Wisdom score. A character with a Wisdom score of 0 is incapable of rational thought and is unconscious.
You apply your character’s Wisdom modifier to:
- Will saving throws (for negating the effects of charm person and other spells).
- Heal, Perception, Profession, Sense Motive, and Survival skill checks.
Astrologians, clerics, geomancers and white mages get bonus MP based on their Wisdom scores. The minimum Wisdom score needed to cast an asrtrologiuan, cleric, geomancer or white mage spell is 10 + the spell’s level.
Charisma (Cha)
Charisma measures a character’s personality, personal magnetism, ability to lead, and appearance. It is the most important ability for bards, dark knights, illusionists, necromancers, paladins, and summoners. For undead creatures, Charisma is a measure of their unnatural “lifeforce.” Every creature has a Charisma score. A character with a Charisma score of 0 is not able to exert himself in any way and is unconscious.
You apply your character’s Charisma modifier to:
- Checks that represent attempts to influence others.
- Channel energy DCs for clerics attempting to harm undead foes.
- Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Perform, and Use Magic Device skill checks.
Bards, dark knights, illusionists, necromancers, paladins, and summoners gain a number of bonus MP based on their Charisma scores. The minimum Charisma score needed to cast a dark knight, holy knight, illusionist, necromancer, or summoner spell is 10 + the spell’s level. The minimum Charisma score needed to perform a bard song is 10 + the song’s level.
Combat Statistics
Attack Roll
An attack roll represents your attempt to strike your opponent on your turn in a round. When you make an attack roll, you roll a d20 and add your attack bonus. (Other modifiers may also apply to this roll.) If your result equals or beats the target’s Armor Class, you hit and deal damage.
Automatic Misses and Hits
A natural 1 (the d20 comes up 1) on an attack roll is always a miss. A natural 20 (the d20 comes up 20) is always a hit. A natural 20 is also a threat—a possible critical hit (see the attack action). As for some other mechanics, a natural 1 is an automatic failure, whereas a natural 20 is an automatic success, this extends to combat maneuvers, saving throws, and stabilizing. Natural 1s and 20s do not interact with ability checks, skill checks, or magic checks like concentration checks.
Attack Bonus
Your attack bonus with a melee weapon is:
Base attack bonus + Strength modifier + size modifier
Your attack bonus with a ranged weapon is:
Base attack bonus + Dexterity modifier + size modifier + range penalty
Base Attack Bonus
A base attack bonus is an attack roll bonus derived from character class and level or creature type and Hit Dice (or combination’s thereof). Base attack bonuses increase at different rates for different character classes and creature types. A second attack is gained when a base attack bonus reaches +6, a third with a base attack bonus of +11 or higher, and a fourth with a base attack bonus of +16 or higher. Base attack bonuses gained from different sources, such as when a character is a multiclass character, stack.
Weapon Damage
Your weapon damage is the dice of damage your weapon deals, for example, a Gandasa deals 2d4 damage for a medium creature. If an attack deals a multiple of weapon damage, this is the only portion that is multiplied. For abilities that deal multipliers of weapon damage, multiple the damage dice of the weapon and then apply the modifiers and extra dice afterwards normally. These extra dice of damage are never multiplied on critical hits, though critical hits can interact with them, this is explained further below.
If the ability doesn’t have an attack roll, add all applicable flat damage bonuses, but not ones that require an attack roll, or ones that specify that they only work for ranged/melee attacks. Bonuses to weapon or damage rolls, in general, are still added. Do not add effects that deal variable amounts of damage, such as the 2d6 from a bane weapon. Conditional bonuses, such as the +2 enhancement from the same bane weapon, are still added.
The following example is of a character with 18 STR and a flaming +2 Gandasa:
Normal Damage (Melee): 2d4 (weapon dice) + 2 (weapon enhancement) + 4 (STR) + 1d6 (fire).
Weapon Damage (Melee): 2d4 (weapon dice) + 2 (weapon enhancement) + 4 (STR) + 1d6 (fire).
Weapon Damage (Ranged): 2d4 (weapon dice) + 2 (weapon enhancement) + 1d6 (fire).
Weapon Damage (Non-Attack roll): 2d4 (weapon dice) + 2 (weapon enhancement).
If an ability deals a multiple of weapon damage, such as with a Monk’s Dragon Kick (double) or Raging Demon (triple), then you multiply the damage dice of your unarmed strike, or damage dice of your weapon, and apply any bonuses afterwards.
Normal Damage (Melee): 2d4 (weapon dice) + 2 (weapon enhancement) + 4 (STR) + 1d6 (fire).
Double Weapon Damage (Melee): 4d4 (weapon dice x2) + 2 (weapon enhancement) + 4 (STR) + 1d6 (fire).
Triple Weapon Damage (Melee): 6d4 (weapon dice x3) + 2 (weapon enhancement) + 4 (STR) + 1d6 (fire).
If you confirm a critical hit with an ability that deals a multiple of weapon damage, it is a bit more complex. When you multiply damage more than once, each multiplier works off the original, unmultiplied damage. So if you are asked to double the damage twice, the end result is three times the normal damage. However, since the multiplications multiply different things, you have to add them separately.
Normal Damage (Melee): 2d4 (weapon dice) + 2 (weapon enhancement) + 4 (STR) + 1d6 (fire).
Normal Damage with x3 crit (Melee): 6d4 (weapon dice x3) + 6 (weapon enhancement x3) + 12 (STR x3) + 1d6 (fire).
Double Weapon Damage with x3 crit (Melee): 8d4 (weapon dice x4) + 6 (weapon enhancement x3) + 12 (STR x3) + 1d6 (fire).
Swordskills, which deal Focus Sword Damage, have a small exception to these rules. They never add your base ability modifier to damage (usually Strength), even if they have an attack roll. However, they always add your Charisma modifier as bonus damage. They otherwise work as normal, including using the critical threat range and multiplier of your weapon if they have an attack roll.
The following example is the focus sword damage of a Sword Saint with 14 STR, 18 CHA, and a flaming +2 Shortsword:
Normal Damage (Melee): 1d6 (weapon dice) + 2 (weapon enhancement) + 2 (STR) + 1d6 (fire).
Focus Sword Damage (Non-Attack roll): 1d6 (weapon dice) + 2 (weapon enhancement) + 4 (CHA).
Critical Damage
When you make an attack roll and get a natural 20 (the d20 shows 20), you hit regardless of your target’s Armor Class, and you have scored a “threat,” meaning the hit might be a critical hit (or “crit”). To find out if it’s a critical hit, you immediately make an attempt to “confirm” the critical hit—another attack roll with all the same modifiers as the attack roll you just made. If the confirmation roll also results in a hit against the target’s AC, your original hit is a critical hit. (The critical roll just needs to hit to give you a crit, it doesn’t need to come up 20 again.) If the confirmation roll is a miss, then your hit is just a regular hit.
Generally, creatures with the following types and subtypes are immune to critical hits: Aeon, Elemental, Incorporeal, Ooze, Protean(50%), and Swarms.
A critical hit means that you roll your damage more than once, with all your usual bonuses, and add the rolls together. Unless otherwise specified, the threat range for a critical hit on an attack roll is 20, and the multiplier is ×2.
Exception: precision damage (such as from a thief’s sneak attack class feature) and additional damage dice from special weapon qualities (such as flaming) are not multiplied when you score a critical hit.
For example, a Gandasa deals 2d4 damage for a medium creature and has an x3 crit multiplier. The following example is of a character with 18 STR and a flaming +2 Gandasa:
Normal Damage: 2d4 (weapon dice) + 2 (weapon enhancement) + 4 (STR) + 1d6 (fire).
Critical Damage (x3): 6d4 (weapon dice) + 6 (weapon enhancement) + 12 (STR) + 1d6 (fire).
Increased Threat Range
Sometimes your threat range is greater than 20. That is, you can score a threat on a lower number. In such cases, a roll of lower than 20 is not an automatic hit. For example:
19–20/×2: The weapon scores a threat on a natural roll of 19 or 20 (instead of just 20) and deals double damage on a critical hit.
18–20/×2: The weapon scores a threat on a natural roll of 18, 19, or 20 (instead of just 20) and deals double damage on a critical hit.
Any attack roll that doesn’t result in a hit is not a threat.
Increased Critical Multiplier
Some weapons deal better than double damage on a critical hit (see also, Equipment). For example:
×2: The weapon deals double damage on a critical hit.
×3: The weapon deals triple damage on a critical hit.
×3/×4: One head of this double weapon deals triple damage on a critical hit. The other head deals quadruple damage on a critical hit.
×4: The weapon deals quadruple damage on a critical hit.
Spells and Critical Hits
A spell that requires an attack roll can score a critical hit. A spell attack that requires no attack roll cannot score a critical hit. If a spell causes ability damage or drain (see Special Abilities), the damage or drain is doubled on a critical hit.
Combined Damage Effects and Multipliers
When you are using an effect that grants additional damage dice or static bonuses, read the specific ability as many do not stack with a critical hit. For cases where a feature or ability stacks with a critical hit you take the two multipliers, minus 1 and add them together (x3 + x2 = x4). For cases where you have even more multipliers adding in, minus 1 from each additional multiplier effect (x3 + x2 (-1) + x4 (-1) + x3 (-1) = x9).
For example, a Gandasa deals 2d4 damage for a medium creature and has an x3 crit multiplier. If you get a critical hit and also include an effect that would x2 their damage the multiplier becomes a total of x4. The following example is of a character with 18 STR and a flaming +2 Gandasa:
Normal Damage: 2d4 (weapon dice) + 2 (weapon enhancement) + 4 (STR) + 1d6 (fire).
Critical (x3) + Double Damage (x4 total): 8d4 (weapon dice) + 8 (weapon enhancement) + 16 (STR) + 1d6 (fire).
Damage Reduction (DR)
Damage Reduction, often noted as DR, is a special ability often possessed by creatures with hard skin, chitinous armor, or otherwise a strong exterior. DR decreases all damage from physical attacks that consist of bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. DR reduces damage by the listed amount unless the attack is made with the specified type or material, DR 5/slashing decreases damage by physical attacks by 5 points unless the creature is hit by a slashing weapon in which case they take full damage. DR 5/cold iron reduces damage by all physical attacks unless they are attacked with weapons made of cold iron, in which case they take full damage.
Whenever damage reduction completely negates the damage from an attack, it also negates most special effects that accompany the attack, such as injury poison, a monk’s stunning, and injury-based disease. Damage Reduction does not negate touch attacks, energy damage dealt along with an attack, or energy drains. Nor does it affect poisons or diseases delivered by inhalation, ingestion, or contact. Attacks that deal no damage because of the target’s damage reduction do not disrupt spells.
If a creature has damage reduction from more than one source, the two forms of damage reduction do not stack. Instead, the creature gets the benefit of the best damage reduction in a given situation.
DR can be overcome by any type of energy damage, which is commonly elemental or non-elemental damage. If a spell deals bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage, this damage is reduced as normal as noted on DR. Spells that deal multiple damage types reduce each type according, DR 5/slashing would reduce 2d6 piercing, but not 2d6 from a spell effect.
Weapons with an enhancement bonus of +3 or greater can ignore some types of damage reduction, regardless of their actual material or alignment. The following table shows what type of enhancement bonus is needed to overcome some common types of damage reduction.
Table: Overcoming DR
| DR Type | Weapon Enhancement Bonus Equivalent |
|---|---|
| Cold iron / silver | +3 |
| Adamantine* | +4 |
| Alignment-based | +5 |
* Note that this does not give the ability to ignore hardness, like an actual adamantine weapon does.
Damage Reduction may be overcome by special materials, magic weapons (any weapon with a +1 or higher enhancement bonus, not counting the enhancement from masterwork quality), certain types of weapons (such as slashing or bludgeoning), and weapons imbued with an alignment.
Ammunition fired from a projectile weapon with an enhancement bonus of +1 or higher is treated as a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. Similarly, ammunition fired from a projectile weapon with an alignment gains the alignment of that projectile weapon (in addition to any alignment it may already have).
Precision Damage
Precision damage is a type of additional damage, usually gained from class features or feats. Any attack can deal precision damage so long as it has an attack roll and the attack deals damage (i.e. not something like a combat maneuver), including spells. If the attack is ranged, it can only deal precision damage if the target is within 30 feet. Precision damage is of the same type as the attack it is made with (precision damage added to a Fire spell would deal fire damage). Precision damage is never multiplied on a critical hit.
Precision damage can only be applied to nonlethal attacks if they are made by weapons with the nonlethal weapon quality (such as saps, unarmed strikes, or whips). Total concealment negates all kinds of precision damage. Splash weapons cannot deal precision damage.
Like all bonus damage, precision damage can only be applied to one attack if a spell makes multiple simultaneous attacks. Spell-based attacks that are not simultaneous may apply precision damage to each attack so long as each attack qualifies for any requirements for adding it.
A few creature types are immune to precision damage, mostly of the Elemental, Incorporeal, and Ooze types, with Proteans having varying immunity to precision, or the Swarm and Troop subtypes.
Ability Types
Extraordinary (Ex)
Extraordinary abilities are non-magical. They are, however, not something that just anyone can do or even learn to do without extensive training. Effects or areas that suppress or negate magic have no effect on extraordinary abilities.
These abilities cannot be disrupted in combat, as spells can, and they generally do not provoke attacks of opportunity, unless otherwise noted or use an action that would provoke such as a ranged attack.
Effects or areas that negate or disrupt magic have no effect on extraordinary abilities. They are not subject to dispelling, and they function normally in an antimagic field. Indeed, extraordinary abilities do not qualify as magical, though they may break the laws of physics.
Using an extraordinary ability is usually not an action because most extraordinary abilities automatically happen in a reactive fashion. Those extraordinary abilities that are actions are usually standard actions.
Spell-Like (Sp)
Spell-like abilities, as the name implies, are magical abilities that are very much like spells. Spell-like abilities are subject to spell resistance and dispel magic. They do not function in areas where magic is suppressed or negated (such as an antimagic field). Spell-like abilities cannot be counterspelled or used to counterspell.
Usually, a spell-like ability works just like the spell of that name. A spell-like ability has no verbal, somatic, or material component, nor does it require a focus. The user activates it mentally. Armor never affects a spell-like ability’s use, even if the ability resembles an arcane spell with a somatic component.
A spell-like ability has a casting time of 1 standard action unless noted otherwise in the ability or spell description. In all other ways, a spell-like ability functions just like a spell, and provokes attacks of opportunity if they are standard or longer in casting time.
If a character class grants a spell-like ability that is not based on an actual spell, the ability’s effective spell level is equal to the highest-level class spell the character can cast, and is cast at the class level the ability is gained.
Supernatural (Su)
Supernatural abilities are magical but not spell-like. Supernatural abilities are not subject to spell resistance and do not function in areas where magic is suppressed or negated (such as an antimagic field). A supernatural ability’s effect cannot be dispelled and is not subject to counterspells. See Table: Special Ability Types for a summary of the types of special abilities.
These can’t be disrupted in combat and generally don’t provoke attacks of opportunity, unless otherwise noted or use an action that would provoke such as a ranged attack. They aren’t subject to spell resistance, counterspells, or dispel magic. Supernatural abilities do not function in antimagic areas.
Using a supernatural ability is usually a standard action (unless defined otherwise by the ability’s description).
Table: Special Ability Types
| Effect | Extraordinary | Spell-Like | Supernatural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can Dispel magic and similar spells dispel the effects of abilities of that type? | No | Yes | No |
| Does spell resistance protect a creature from these abilities? | No | Yes | No |
| Does an Antimagic Field or similar magic suppress the ability? | No | Yes | Yes |
| Does using the ability provoke attacks of opportunity the way that casting a spell does? | No | Yes | No |
Action Types
Not an Action
Uses per turn: Not-limited / GM Discrection.
Some activities are so minor that they are not even considered free actions. They literally don’t take any time at all to do and are considered an inherent part of doing something else, such as nocking an arrow as part of an attack with a bow.
Free
Uses per turn: Not-limited / GM Discrection.
Free actions consume a very small amount of time and effort. You can perform one or more free actions while taking another action normally. However, there are reasonable limits on what you can really do for free, as decided by the GM.
Some combat options are free actions meant to be combined with an attack. Often, these are feats with specific limitations defined within the feat—for example, Cleaving Finish gives you an extra melee attack, but only after you make an attack that drops a foe. Source: PZO9468
Swift
Uses per turn: One (Features may grant extras).
A swift action consumes a very small amount of time, but represents a larger expenditure of effort and energy than a free action. You can perform only a single swift action per turn.
Several combat options are swift actions that modify one or more attacks you take after that swift action. For example, Channel Smite and Weapon of the Chosen each take a swift action to activate, which then applies to the next attack you make regardless of what type of attack action you perform. Arcane Strike and Improved Weapon of the Chosen are activated in much the same way, but they apply to all appropriate attacks made for 1 round after activation. Source: PZO9468
Immediate
Uses per turn: One.
An immediate action is very similar to a swift action, but can be performed at any time—even if it’s not your turn. Using an immediate action uses your swift action if done within your turn, when used outside of your turn it uses your next turn’s swift action. You cannot use an immediate action if you are flat-footed.
Move
Uses per turn: One (Can trade a standard action for an additional move).
A move action allows you to move up to your speed or perform an action that takes a similar amount of time. See Table: Actions in Combat for other move actions.
You can take a move action in place of a standard action. If you move no actual distance in a round (commonly because you have swapped your move action for one or more equivalent actions), you can take one 5-foot step either before, during, or after the action.
Standard
Uses per turn: One.
Most of the common actions characters take, aside from movement, fall into the realm of standard actions. Making an attack, Fighting Defensively, Activatating Magic Item, casting a spell, Dismissing a Spell are all generally standard actions unless otherwise noted.
Attack Action: An attack action is a type of standard action. Some combat options can modify only this specific sort of action. When taking an attack action, you can apply all appropriate options that modify an attack action. Thus, you can apply both Greater Weapon of the Chosen and Vital Strike to the same attack, as both modify your attack action. You can apply these to any combat option that takes the place of a melee attack made using an attack action (such as the trip combat maneuver), though options that increase damage don’t cause attacks to deal damage if they wouldn’t otherwise do so (such as Vital Strike and trip). You can’t combine options that modify attack actions with standard actions that aren’t attack actions, such as Cleave.
Full-Round
Uses per turn: One (Combines Move and Standard).
A full-round action consumes all your effort during a round. The only movement you can take during a full-round action is a 5-foot step before, during, or after the action. You can also perform free actions and swift actions (see below). See Table: Actions in Combat for a list of full-round actions.
Some full-round actions do not allow you to take a 5-foot step.
Some full-round actions can be taken as standard actions, but only in situations when you are limited to performing only a standard action during your round. The descriptions of specific actions detail which actions allow this option.
A few combat options are full-round actions (such as Spring Attack and the full-attack action) or modify specific full-round actions (such as the extra attack from the haste spell). These options can’t be combined with attack actions or other standard actions, but can be used with options that take the place of a melee attack. Source: PZO9468
1 Round
Uses per turn: One (Combines Move and Standard).
Some spells, such as Arise, take 1 round to cast, which means you must spend all of your turn and the current round of combat to cast. If you are attacked during said round you will need to make a concentration check. The casting finishes at the beginning of your following turn.