Skill Specialist (Feat)

You have a singular focus for perfecting your ability with a particular skill.

Prerequisites: Level 11, Skill Expert (Feat), and at least 11 ranks in the chosen skill

Related: Skill Prodigy (Feat), Skill Virtuoso (Feat)

Benefit: Choose one skill that meets the prerequisites. You gain an additional +2 feat bonus on all checks involving the chosen skill. Unlike normal feat bonuses, this bonus stacks with the +2 you gained from the Skill Expert feat. In addition, your critical success chance increases by an additional +1 when making skill checks with the chosen skill (you now achieve a critical skill success on a die result of 18-20, instead of 19-20). The bonus you receive when you critically succeed on a skill check with this skill is now +7 (instead of +5).

Note that this bonus does not stack with any other feat that provides a feat bonus to this skill, except for the Skill Expert and Skill Prodigy feats.

In addition, you gain one of the following benefits, based on the skill you are modifying with this feat:

Acrobatics

You may perform the Tumble combat maneuver as an Attack Action instead of a Standard Action. You are still limited to one combat maneuver per round, however (as always).

Barter

Choose either a weapon, armor, shield, or implement you possess. That item adds +1 to the Enhancement Bonus it already possesses, without altering the cost of the item, or any future enhancement bonuses. This ability allows the chosen item to reach a +10 enhancement bonus (instead of a maximum of +9). Once selected, you can only change which item this ability applies to when you gain a new character level, or via the reselection rules, though you may upgrade the item at any time.

Bluff

Yeah, I TOTALLY know how to do that! — Once per day, you can perform a skill check using your Bluff skill in place of any other skill.

Diplomacy

Once per encounter as an immediate action, you can convince a foe to either use or not use their attack of opportunity (your choice) against a creature they consider an enemy, despite what they actually want to do.

Disable Device

Objects you are currently wearing or wielding cannot gain the broken status, such as from being the target of a sunder maneuver.

Disguise

You can apply Glamered (Armor Magic Property) to any armor you are wearing. This costs nothing, and does not reduce the total number of magic properties your armor may otherwise have. This ability can also be applied to clothing, if you aren't wearing armor. You may change what armor this effect is applied to as part of a Full Night's Rest, but it can only be applied to something you are wearing.

Divinity (Bailiwick)

Once per day as a standard action, you can bless all player characters in your party (including yourself) that you can perceive within 30 feet of your space, granting them a +1 circumstance bonus to a single die roll of their choice. This blessing can be applied outside of combat. Blessed character must use the bonus before their next Full Night's Rest or within 24 hours (whichever is sooner), or the bonus expires. The blessing is used as a free action after the die is rolled, but before the results of the roll are determined. This bonus does not lay a divine or arcane charge.

Escape Artist

Once per day, you may perform an escape artist check as an immediate action to escape a status condition. The status condition in question must allow an escape artist check for you to use this ability, however. The DC of the check is unchanged, as described in the "ended-by" section of the status condition.

Handle Animal

Totemic Weapon — As part of a Full Night's Rest, you can apply totemic iconography to a single weapon you possess. As a free action you can break this totem to grant yourself a bonus attack action that you must use before the end of the current round. This bonus attack action can be used for anything that requires an attack action, but it cannot be traded down to a move or swift action (since it is not a standard action). Once broken, the totem requires part of another full night's rest to re-apply (i.e., the ability is usable once per day).

Heal

You can perform any Heal check that normally requires a standard action as an attack action instead. In addition, you can perform the Subdue combat maneuver using your Heal skill (instead of the Sleight of Hand skill).

Intimidate

Too Scary To Attack — You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to your AC any time you are attacked by a creature that is not immune to fear. If you are attacked by creatures that are immune to fear (such as most undead, constructs, mindless creatures, etc.), this bonus does not apply.

Knowledge: Arcana

Learn one 1st level Sorcerer/Wizard Spell that you do not already know, and you gain three spell slots per day to cast it. Even non-casters may use this ability. You may only use these spell slots to prepare or cast this spell, or you can use the spell slots with your mana burning class feature (if you have it) to improve the circle damage of a different spell.

Knowledge: Deep History

Once per day, when in a library, you may perform a library check as a free action (normally, this requires hours or days to perform).

Knowledge: Dungeoneering

Up to once per day when inside a dungeon, you can create a campsite that is completely safe from random encounters, preventing all encounters for up to 24 hours, as long as no allied creatures leave the campsite for any reason. The campsite you can create has a radius equal to your ranks in the Knowledge: Dungeoneering skill in feet, rounded down to the nearest 5-foot increment.

Knowledge: Engineering

When you perform a Sunder combat maneuver, you inflict 1 additional point of durability damage if you successfully equal or exceed the target's Maneuver Defense. When you perform a Neutralize Trap maneuver, you inflict 1d6 points of additional durability damage to the target trap, as long as you equal or exceed the trap's Disarm DC.

Knowledge: Geography

You are highly skilled at determining the natural swells and dips of various terrain types. Once per encounter as a free action, when in a Wilderness, you can declare one unoccupied, unblocked square of the battlefield to be higher ground. Any creature making a melee attack from that space gains the higher ground circumstance bonus (+1 to hit).

Knowledge: History

Up to once per day, when in a library, you may perform a library check as a free action (normally, they require hours or days to perform).

Knowledge: Local

While in a settlement, you are always treated as having a workshop or appropriate workspace for purposes of crafting magic items.

Knowledge: Logic

Learn one 1st level Alchemist Extract that you do not already know. You are able to prepare and use three of these extracts per day. Even non-alchemists can use this, but it follows the same restrictions that Alchemists must follow with regards to extracts (i.e. you can only use it yourself, unless you have the appropriate discovery; it expires unless used within 24 hours of its creation, etc.). See Alchemist for details. Alchemists (and only Alchemists) who gain this ability may use these additional extracts with their mana burning class feature (if they have it), instead, if they wish.

Knowledge: Nature

Up to once per day when in the Wilderness, you can create a campsite that is completely safe from random encounters, preventing all encounters for up to 24 hours, as long as no allied creatures leave the campsite for any reason. The campsite you can create has a radius equal to your ranks in the Knowledge: Nature skill in feet, rounded down to the nearest 5-foot increment.

Knowledge: Nobility

Learn one 1st level Paladin spell that you do not already know, and you gain three spell slots per day to cast it. Even non-casters may use this ability. You may only use these spell slots to prepare or cast this spell, or you can use the spell slots with your mana burning class feature (if you have it) to improve the circle damage of a different spell.

Knowledge: Planes

You have studied the secrets of the infinite planes of the multiverse. You can ignore an amount of environmental damage equal to your ranks in Knowledge: Planes (this counts as ER or DR of the appropriate type(s), but only for environmental damage).

Knowledge: Religion

Learn one 1st level Cleric spell that you do not already know, and you gain three spell slots per day to cast it. Even non-casters may use this ability. You may only use these spell slots to prepare or cast this spell, or you can use the spell slots with your mana burning class feature (if you have it) to improve the circle damage of a different spell.

Linguistics

His Name Is A Killing Word — Once per encounter as an attack action, you can pronounce a single word of OM, against a single target you can perceive within 30 feet of your space, inflicting an amount of psychic (energy, uncommon) damage equal to your character level times the experience tier of your character. For example, a level 11 character, who is tier 3, would inflict 33 points, while a level 16 character, who has just entered tier 4, would inflict 64 points.

Might

Choose one item you are carrying that weighs less than your light load. This item's weight is no longer counted against your light load (i.e., it is treated as weighing 0 lbs).

Movement

You can perform an Overrun maneuver as an attack action instead of a standard action. You are still limited to one combat maneuver per round, however (as always).

Naturalism (Bailiwick)

Once per encounter, when you hit a creature with type or subtype of 'Humanoid', you can resolve your hit as a critical hit.

Perception

You may perform a Spot check (an active perception check) as an attack action (instead of a move action). During a full attack action, the attack action used by this ability can be any of your remaining attack actions, including your worst, and it may be performed during any part of your full attack action (i.e. it doesn't need to be done when you would normally roll your worst attack action in sequence).

Perform

Simply Enchanting — Learn one 1st level Bard spell that you do not already know, and you gain three spell slots per day to cast it. Even non-casters may use this ability. You may only use these spell slots to prepare or cast this spell, or you can use the spell slots with your mana burning class feature (if you have it) to improve the circle damage of a different spell.

Profession

Overcome Failures — Once per encounter, you can reroll a d20 roll you just made. If you have more than one profession with at least 11 ranks, you can use this a number of times per encounter equal to the number of qualifying profession skills.

Reason (Bailiwick)

Up to once per day, you can gain the full benefits of a potion by drinking only half of it. You must drink the other half of the potion before your next full night's rest (or within 24 hours, whichever is sooner), or the remaining half of the potion becomes inert and useless.

Ride

A mount you possess immediately increases its CR by 1 at no cost, and uses that increased CR to gain any one mount special ability (not necessarily from this mount, but any available mount in the game). You may use this ability to gain the same special ability a second time, if you prefer, in which case, the effects stack additively (for example, if it has a limited number of uses per day, you gain an additional use, etc.). The GM is the final arbiter of odd cases, as always.

Sense Motive

Predict Behavior — Once per day, before the start of an encounter, you may alter the starting location of a single enemy creature, placing it into any unblocked, unoccupied space that is no more than 50 feet away from another enemy creature. This ability may not be used on creatures with Roles that make them worth more XP than a single creature (i.e. it still works on minions and skirmishers, but not on heavies, tanks, threats, etc.) You must be aware of, and able to perceive, the creature you wish to affect with this ability (so it cannot be used if you are ambushed, or are surprised).

Sleight of Hand

Any weapon you wield (including a ray) is treated as having the Deceptive weapon quality. If the weapon already has the Deceptive quality, this ability has no effect.

Spellcraft (Bailiwick)

Up to once per day, you can cast a spell from a scroll without consuming it. However, you must read it again (and actually consume it) before your next full night's rest (or within 24 hours, whichever is sooner), or the scroll becomes inert and is wasted.

Spycraft (Bailiwick)

Depends On How You Look At It — Once per round as an attack action, you can gain one of the following benefits until the end of your current turn:

• all of your (remaining) attacks are resolved as though you are flanking your target(s) —OR—
• all of your (remaining) attacks are resolved as though none of your allies are threatening your target(s)

Stealth

Once per round during your turn as a free action, you may declare that a single enemy you can perceive does not have line of sight to you until the end of your current turn. This can be used to initiate stealth against that creature (and any other creatures who do not have line of sight to you).

Survival

You triple any environmental ER or DR you possess (such as from clothing or armor, or the Endurance feat), and you can apply this to any damage caused by the environment, even if it is not specifically environmental damage (e.g. damage caused by a tree falling on you, if that tree was knocked over by a strong environmental wind).

Use Magic Device

As part of a full night's rest, you can more completely attune to a single command-word-triggered item you own, allowing you to use that item as long as it is on your person and not in an extra-dimensional space (i.e. not in a bag of holding, handy haversack, etc.), even if you aren't wielding it.

Warfare

Up to once per round, you may add your Warfare skill bonus as bonus damage to a damage roll you are making against an enemy against whom you (or anyone in your party) have gained Full Lore knowledge.

Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new skill.