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Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Starfinder RPG

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Pathfinder Unchained / Revised Action Economy

Advanced Actions

Source Pathfinder Unchained pg. 105
The following is a list of the main advanced actions in this system. The number of acts required to take each advanced action is listed in parentheses after the action's subtype (if any).

Administer a Potion or Elixir, or Apply an Oil, to an Unconscious Creature (Complex; 3 Acts): You carefully administer a potion or elixir, or apply an oil, to an unconscious creature.

Appraise a Hoard (3 Acts): You examine a treasure hoard to determine the most valuable item in the hoard.

Cast a 1-Round-Action Spell (Complex; 3 Acts): You cast a spell with a casting time of 1 round. You can split the acts over 2 rounds, but those rounds must be consecutive. If you cast the entire spell in 1 turn, you can choose to have the spell's effects manifest at the end of that turn or at the start of your next turn. This isn't an attack action, even if the spell requires a ranged attack roll. If you provoke attacks of opportunity when casting the spell, you don't provoke attacks a second time when making the ranged attack roll.

Cast a Standard-Action Spell (Complex; 2 Acts): You cast a spell with a casting time of 1 standard action. This isn't an attack action, even if the spell requires a ranged attack roll. If you provoke attacks of opportunity when casting the spell, you don't provoke attacks a second time when making the ranged attack roll.

Charge (Move; 2 Acts): You move twice your speed directly toward a designated foe within your line of sight, ending the move in the closest space from which you can attack that foe. You must have a clear path to your foe. If anything hinders or blocks your movement along the path of a charge, you can't take the charge action. As long as you have a base attack bonus of +1 or higher, you can draw a weapon as a free action at any point during the charge. At the end of the charge, you gain a +2 bonus on any melee attacks, bull rush combat maneuver checks, or overrun combat maneuver checks you attempt until the end of your turn, as long as those attacks or combat maneuver checks are made against the creature you designated when you charged.

Concentrate to Maintain an Active Spell (2 Acts): You concentrate to maintain an active spell.

Continue a Grapple (2 Acts): You continue a grapple. If you initiated the grapple, you must either take this action at the start of each subsequent turn or end the grapple as a free action. When you take this action, you attempt a grapple combat maneuver check with a +5 bonus. If you're successful, you can either move, deal damage to, or pin the creature you are grappling. Alternatively, you can attempt to tie up the creature with a rope.

Move: If you decide to move your target, immediately after the grapple, you can take a move simple action and move the creature you are grappling with you. At the end of that move action, you can place your target in any space adjacent to you. If you attempt to place your foe in a hazardous location, the target can attempt to free itself from the grapple as a reaction, and gains a +4 bonus on that attempt.

Damage: If you decide to damage your opponent, you deal an amount of damage equal to that of your unarmed strike, natural attack, armor spikes, or a light or onehanded weapon you are holding. You can choose to make this damage either lethal or nonlethal.

Pin: If you decide to pin your target, the target gains the pinned condition. You continue to have the grappled condition, but lose your Dexterity bonus to AC until you are no longer pinning the target.

Tie Up a Grappled or Pinned Creature: If you have a rope in your hands, and you are grappling or pinning a foe, you can attempt a grapple combat maneuver check at a –10 penalty to tie up that foe. If you're successful, the ropes pin the creature until they are removed or the pinned foe succeeds at a combat maneuver check or Escape Artist check (DC = 20 + your CMB).

Deliver a Coup de Grace (Complex; 3 Acts): You use a melee weapon to deliver a coup de grace to a helpless foe that isn't immune to critical hits. You can also use a ranged weapon, but you must be adjacent to the foe. When you take this action, you automatically hit and confirm a critical hit. If the foe survives the damage, it must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC = 10 + the damage dealt) or die.

Detect Forgery (3 Acts): You use Linguistics to examine a single page to detect a forgery.

Dirty Trick (Combat; 2 Acts): You attempt a dirty trick combat maneuver check. If you're successful, the target gains one of the following conditions: blinded, dazzled, deafened, entangled, shaken, or sickened. This condition lasts for 1 round. For every 5 by which your combat maneuver check exceeds the target's CMD, the condition lasts for 1 additional round. The target or an ally adjacent to the target can remove the condition by committing 1 act. Removing a condition applied by a dirty trick does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Disable Device (Complex; At Least 3 Acts): You attempt to unlock a lock or disable another device. For every round the action takes, you must commit 3 acts. These acts may or may not need to be consecutive based on the nature of the device. For example, acts committed to open a lock or disable a trap must nearly always be consecutive. The GM may rule that some complex devices take more than 3 acts to disable; for example, a complex arcane machine that will cause a devastating calamity in 1 minute could take 10 acts to disable, though the acts may not need to be consecutive.

Drag (Combat; 2 Acts): You try to drag a foe that is no more than one size category larger than you 5 or more feet in a straight line. Attempt a drag combat maneuver check. If you succeed, you move 5 feet in one direction, and your opponent moves with you, staying adjacent to you. For every 5 by which your combat maneuver check exceeds the target's CMD, you can move 5 additional feet in the same direction. You can't drag a creature a distance greater than your speed with this advanced action. The target's movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity unless you have the Greater Drag feat.

Drink a Liquid or Apply an Oil (Complex; 2 Acts): You drink a potion, elixir, or another liquid, or apply an oil, gaining that liquid or oil's effects when the drinking or application is complete.

Escape from a Net (Complex; 2 Acts): You attempt to escape from a net entangling you. Attempt a DC 20 Escape Artist check; if you succeed, you escape from the net.

Extinguish Flames (Complex; 2 Acts): When on fire, you can roll on the ground or smother the fire with cloaks or similar objects to attempt another saving throw with a +4 bonus. If the saving throw is successful, you are no longer on fire.

Find Tracks (At Least 3 Acts): You use Survival to find tracks. This requires at least 3 consecutive acts and may take more, as determined by the GM. If you lose a trail, it takes longer to try again.

Initiate a Grapple (Attack; 2 Acts): You initiate a grapple against a creature within your melee reach.

Light a Torch (Complex; 3 Acts): You light a torch with a flint and steel.

Load a Heavy or Repeating Crossbow (Complex; 2 acts): You load a bolt in a heavy crossbow or place a new case of 5 bolts into a repeating crossbow.

Load a One-Handed Early Firearm (Complex; 2 Acts): You load a single barrel of a one-handed early firearm. If you have the Rapid Reload feat for that firearm, this is reduced to a simple action.

Load a Two-Handed Early Firearm (Complex; 3 Acts): You load a single barrel of a two-handed early firearm. If you have the Rapid Reload feat for that firearm, you need commit only 2 acts to reload that firearm.

Lock or Unlock a Weapon in a Locked Gauntlet (Complex; 2 Acts): You either lock a weapon into a locked gauntlet or unlock a weapon already fastened to a locked gauntlet.

Make All Natural Attacks (Attack; 3 Acts): A creature that is using only its natural attacks can make all its natural attacks with this action instead of making separate attacks with attack simple actions.

Prepare a Flask of Oil as a Splash Weapon (Complex; 2 Acts): You prepare a flask of oil with a fuse so that you can throw it as a splash weapon.

Provide First Aid, Treat a Wound, or Treat Poison (Complex; 2 Acts): You provide first aid, treat a wound, or treat poison using the Heal skill.

Push an Animal (3 Acts): You attempt a Handle Animal check to get an animal to perform a trick it doesn't know but is physically capable of doing, or to push the animal to its limits. If the animal has taken hit point damage, nonlethal damage, or ability score damage, the DC of this check increases by 2. Characters with animal companions, such as druids or rangers, can push their companions as simple actions instead.

Reposition (Combat; 2 Acts): You attempt a repositionAPG combat maneuver check against a foe that is no more than one size category larger than you. If you succeed, you force that foe to move 5 feet. For every 5 by which your check exceeds the target's Combat Maneuver Defense, you can move that target an additional 5 feet. When you reposition the target, it must stay within your threatened area during all but the last 5 feet of the reposition movement, which can be to a space adjacent to your threatened area.

Run (Move; 3 Acts): You move four times your speed in a straight line. When you do, you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC until the start of your next turn.

You can run for a number of rounds equal to your Constitution score; each round after that, you must succeed at a Constitution check to continue running (DC = 10 + 1 per previous check). If you fail, you stop running and are staggered for a number of minutes equal to 10 – your Constitution bonus (minimum 1).

Sleight of Hand (Complex; 2 Acts): You use Sleight of Hand to palm an object or perform some feat of legerdemain. You can attempt this as a simple action by taking a –20 penalty on the check. In either case, if your check fails by 5 or more, you provoke an attack of opportunity from any creature from which you are trying to take an object with this action.

Spellstrike (Complex; 2 Acts): You cast a spell from the magus spell list with a range of touch, but instead of making a touch attack, you make a melee attack with a weapon you are wielding. If the attack hits, the attack deals its normal damage as well as any effects of the spell. You must have the spellstrike class feature to take this action.

Steal (Combat; 2 Acts): You attempt a steal combat maneuver check against a foe within your melee reach (not counting expanded reach from reach weapons). You must have at least one hand free, and must select the item to be stolen before attempting the check. Items fastened to a foe grant the foe a +5 (or higher) bonus to its CMD against this attempt, and items securely worn can't be stolen in this way. If you're successful, you take the item you chose from the opponent.

Total Defense (2 Acts): You concentrate on defense rather than attacking. Until the start of your next turn, you can't take actions with the attack subtype, and you gain a +4 dodge bonus to AC. If you already took an attack action earlier in the turn, you gain only a +2 dodge bonus to AC. If you have at least 3 ranks in Acrobatics, these bonuses increase to +6 and +3, respectively.

Use a Command Word Item (2 Acts): You activate a magic item with a command word.

Use a Spell Completion Item (Complex; 2 Acts): You cast a spell with a casting time of 1 standard action from a spell completion item. This isn't an attack action, even if the spell requires a ranged attack roll. If you provoke attacks of opportunity when casting the spell, you don't provoke further attacks when making the ranged attack roll.

Use a Spell Trigger Item (2 Acts): You cast a spell from a spell trigger item. This isn't an attack action, even if the spell requires a ranged attack roll. If you provoke attacks of opportunity when casting the spell, you don't provoke further attacks when making the ranged attack roll.

Use a Standard-Action Supernatural Ability (2 Acts): You use a supernatural ability that can be used as a standard action in the default action economy.

Use a Touch Spell on up to Six Allies (Complex; 3 Acts): If you cast a spell that allows you to touch targets over multiple rounds, this action allows you to touch up to six willing creatures within your melee reach (not counting expanded reach from reach weapons).