How does the Defiler operate in PFS?

[cmdisc]

I'm posting this here because I understand there could be some table variety and was curious how the different FG PFS GMs would rule this. I am looking over STR Ranger's white-haired witch/hexcrafter Defiler build (link to guide and discussion found here (https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2ocev&page=1?Warlock-STR-Rangers-Guide-to-the-Hexcrafter)).

Basically her mode of operation would be along the lines of:

Have True Strike Wand in hand, Precast Rimed Frostbite
Round 1: Activate Prehensile Hair Hex, Move into position
Round 2: Activate Power Attack, Spell Combat TS Wand (with wand wielder arcana), perform Trip Attack against target 10ft away, make immediate free grapple check on prone/fatigued/entangled target, constrict grappled target. Intimidate target due to extra constrict damage done via Power Attack. Release and repeat with Hasted attack.
Round 3+: Repeat Round 2 until target is unconscious/dead.

There has been some ambiguity regarding a white-haired witch's hair and how it interacts with the prehensile hair hex that a Hexcrafter can pick up. There might also be something I'm missing here that shouldn't be allowing this sequence to work.

It's late here atm, but if anyone needs me to post a build, I can do so over the weekend. Otherwise the link above should point to the guide and build that this idea comes from. Any feedback from those that GM and how they'd handle this would be great. Such feedback would let me know how to keep, modify, or drop a build idea similar to this.

[cmdisc]

As promised, here's a rough build to illustrate the concept for those not familiar with it.

Half-elf (Dual Mind)
White-haired Witch/2
Hexcrafter Magus/6+

STR 13
DEX 14
CON 14
INT 18 (+2 at 4th and 8th)
WIS 11
CHA 07

Traits: Magical Lineage (Frostbite), Bruising Intellect

Feats: Rime Spell, Combat Reflexes, Power Attack, Final Embrace, Cornugon Smash

Arcana: Wand Wielder, Prehensile Hair Hex, Arcane Accuracy

The tactic is to have a True Strike wand in hand and precast Frostbite right before combat begins.

Round 1: Activate Prehensile Hair as a Standard Action and Move into position. You have Combat Reflexes for 3 AoOs per round and a 10ft reach with the hair.

Round 2: Use Spell Combat to activate your wand. This is an item activation and does not count as casting a spell, so you continue to hold your Frostbite charges. As a Swift action activate Arcane Accuracy. Perform a Trip attack against a target 10ft away to avoid provoking an AoO. Make sure to have Power Attack active for this. You are -2 for Spell Combat and -X for Power Attack, but +20 for the True Strike and up to +8 for all attacks made until your next turn, so you should succeed on your trip. Hitting your target with a trip also triggers a Rimed Frostbite charge, so the target takes subdual damage, is Fatigued, and Entangled. Also because of the hit, you get a free grapple check without provoking. Your target's CMD is being reduced some by the conditions; Fatigued, Entangled, and Prone. If the grapple succeeds, then you immediately apply hair damage to the target with your Constrict ability. This damage includes your Power Attack damage so make an immediate Intimidation check against the target.

The Target is now Fatigued, Entangled, Prone, Grappled, and Shaken.

Release the target and perform a regular attack (if hasted) and repeat everything above. After this attack, do not release the grapple. Your target is grappled, but you are not, so you still threaten.

On target's turn, he is prone and grappled, so he cannot stand up without succeeding at a Grapple check...which will be very hard to do considering the penalties he's suffering from.

Round 2: Rinse and repeat.

When target is unconscious from accumulated Frostbite damage, pull out your Wyroot wooden stake and perform a coup de grace. The automatic critical allows you to restore 1 Arcane Pool point. Repeat this with any unconscious or dying enemies to replenish your Pool.


So...what steps do I have wrong here? I'm open to corrections.

[Trenloe]

When target is unconscious from accumulated Frostbite damage, pull out your Wyroot wooden stake and perform a coup de grace. The automatic critical allows you to restore 1 Arcane Pool point. Repeat this with any unconscious or dying enemies to replenish your Pool.
I don't have the time to look through all of this at the moment. But, one question: where does the regaining an arcane point on a critical come from?

[cmdisc]

Not a problem. Was just curious if I was missing something here. It's a lot to comb through.

As for the arcane point recovery; Wyroot is a special material that any wooden weapon can be made of. When a Crit is confirmed it absorbs some of the target's life essence, transferring it into a point of either Ki or Arcane Pool energy. Then as a swift action, the wielder can absorb the point to restore his pool. So a full-round to coup de grace (generating an auto crit) and a swift to absorb and you're 1 point restored. If the target doesn't die, you can do it again for another point.

Not a tactic for Good alignments, I think. ;)

[Trenloe]

As for the arcane point recovery; Wyroot is a special material that any wooden weapon can be made of.
Wyroot isn't legal for PFS play.

From the PFS resources page: https://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/about/additionalResources The Ultimate Equipment section states: "Special Materials: All special materials, except angel skin, living steel and wyroot, are legal for play"

Note also that the white-haired witch constrict ability has undergone an errata and it is no longer a free action to constrict, it is a swift action. More info here and a link to the official errata: https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/witch/archetypes/paizo---witch-archetypes/white-haired-witch

You can only do one swift action each round.

[cmdisc]

Now that you say it, I do recall Wyroot not being legal. Not sure how I forgot that part. Good to know. :)

Regarding the WHW hair, though, things aren't as cut and dry.


At 1st level, a white-haired witch gains the ability to use her hair as a weapon. This functions as a primary natural attack with a reach of 5 feet. The hair deals 1d4 points of damage (1d3 for a Small witch) plus the witch’s Intelligence modifier. In addition, whenever the hair strikes a foe, the witch can attempt to grapple that foe with her hair as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity, using her Intelligence modifier in place of her Strength modifier when making the combat maneuver check. When a white-haired witch grapples a foe in this way, she does not gain the grappled condition.

So we have a 5ft reach primary natural weapon that behaves similarly to (yet differently from) the Grab creature ability. First it doesn't give a size limit of what it can grapple. This might be intended or it might just be oversight. Second, it doesn't grant a +4 to the grapple check like Grab does. And third, the witch doesn't have to take a -20 on her roll to avoid gaining the grapple condition. It happens automatically.


Constrict (Ex): At 2nd level, when the white-haired witch’s hair successfully grapples an opponent, it can begin constricting her victim as a swift action, dealing damage equal to that of its attack.

This points out the errata you mentioned, so constricting at this point is a swift action.

But what changes this is the Final Embrace feat. Having a 13+ STR, a 3+ INT, a BAB of +3, and a constrict ability, the witch qualifies for this feat...which now makes her constricting ability act just like the creature ability...meaning it is done as a free action against a target of her size or smaller.

Then we throw in 4 levels of Hexcrafter and pick up Prehensile Hair. Now she has a 10ft reach with her hair and can use her INT on her attack roll and not just damage/CMB rolls (while it's active).

So all this together means she can Attack with a 10ft reach, Grapple and draw the target adjacent to her, and Constrict the target all as part of the same attack action.

At least that's how I'm reading it. Hence posting here to see if FG PFS GMs agree or not.

I'd hate to start building a character through playing and/or GM credit who focuses on a certain tactic just to find that table variety kills that tactic half the time.

[Trenloe]

That's not how I'd read it. The White-Haired witch constrict attack has specifically had an errata to stop multiple constricts in one round. The wording of the White-Haired witch constrict ability is different to that of the Universal Monster Rules Constrict special attack (which, as you state, is a free action) and the witch constrict ability is a swift action - I'd say these Constrict abilities are actually 2 different abilities due to the wording and required action being different.

James Jacobs has said the grab part of the white hair ability functions like the monster ability "it doesn't take an action and is part of the main attack" https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2l7ns&page=303?Ask-James-Jacobs-ALL-your-Questions-Here#15132 Applying the same logic to the the white haired constrict ability, as it takes a swift action it is not the same as the constrict monster ability.

That's how I view it, others might/will view if differently I'm sure. Be prepared to potentially have your constricts limited to a swift action not free, even with the final embrace feat.

[cmdisc]

Ok, thanks. That's the purpose of this post. Not to debate RAW (I can find that on the Paizo boards), but to get feedback on how different people would rule due to the ambiguity of how the WHW/Prehensile Hair Hex/Final Embrace feat all mesh. :)

Edit: and I agree that the WHW grab is very similar to a creature's Grab, although they differ in a few key areas and are not quite the same thing.