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Commander Details | Commander Feats | Commander Sample Builds | Tactics


Tactics

Source Battlecry! pg. 25
The fundamental strategies of war used by many commanders are recorded below. When you first gain your commander’s folio at 1st level, choose five mobility or offensive tactics from the list below; as you increase in level (or if you take the Tactical Expansion feat), you will gain additional tactics. Mobility tactics are basic tactics that make it easier for your party to move across the battlefield or negotiate unusual terrain, while offensive tactics are basic tactics that help you attack enemies, control enemy positioning, or endure enemy attacks.

Show all Tactics

Expert Tactics

PFS Standard Alley-oop [one-action] Expert

Commander Tactic 
Source Battlecry! pg. 26

Your team excels at sharing resources and delivering them exactly where they need to be. Signal a squadmate within the aura of your banner who is holding or wearing a consumable that can be activated as a single action. That squadmate can toss their consumable to any other squadmate within the aura of your banner as a free action, and the receiving squadmate can catch and activate the consumable as a reaction. If the receiving squadmate chooses not to catch the consumable or if they don’t have a free hand to catch it with, it lands on the ground in their space.

Special If the consumable is a piece of activated ammunition and the receiving squadmate is wielding a compatible weapon that takes 1 or fewer actions to reload, they can load the ammunition into their weapon as part of the reaction used to catch and activate it. The ammunition remains activated until the end of their next turn.

PFS Standard Buckle-cut blitz [two-actions] Expert

Brandish Commander Tactic 
Source Battlecry! pg. 26

Your squad dashes past enemies, slicing their boot laces and breaking their belt buckles. Signal up to two squadmates within the aura of your commander’s banner; these squadmates can Stride up to their Speed as a reaction. Each enemy they are adjacent to at any point during this movement must attempt a Reflex save against your class DC or become clumsy 1 for 1 round (clumsy 2 on a critical failure).

PFS Standard Demoralizing Charge [two-actions] Expert

Brandish Commander Tactic 
Source Battlecry! pg. 27

Your team’s coordinated assault strikes fear into your enemies’ hearts. Signal up to two squadmates within the aura of your commander’s banner; as a free action, those squadmates can immediately Stride toward an enemy they are observing. If they end this movement adjacent to an enemy, they can attempt to Strike that enemy as a reaction. For each of these Strikes that are successful, the target enemy must succeed at a Will save against your class DC or become frightened 1 (frightened 2 on a critical failure); this is an emotion, fear, and mental effect. If both Strikes target the same enemy, that enemy attempts the save only once after the final attack and takes a –1 circumstance penalty to their Will save to resist this effect (this penalty increases to –2 if both Strikes are successful or to –3 if both Strikes are successful and either is a critical hit.)

PFS Limited Seek and Destroy [two-actions] Expert

Uncommon Commander Tactic 
Source Pathfinder #223: Hell's Destiny pg. 227
Frequency once per 10 minutes

You direct your team to uncover hidden foes and exploit newly discovered weaknesses. Signal up to two squadmates within the aura of your commander’s banner; they can immediately Seek as a free action. Afterward, each can spend a reaction to either Point Out an enemy, Stride toward an enemy they’re observing, or attempt to Strike an enemy they’re observing. Each of the squadmates deals additional precision damage equal to half your level with their next successful Strike before the end of your next turn against a creature that has become observed by them from a successful Perception check to Seek.

PFS Standard Slip and Sizzle [two-actions] Expert

Commander Tactic 
Source Battlecry! pg. 27

Your team executes a brutal technique designed to knock down an opponent and blast them with magical devastation. Signal up to two squadmates within the aura of your commander’s banner; one of these squadmates must be adjacent to an opponent and the other must be capable of casting a spell that deals damage. The first squadmate can attempt to Trip the adjacent opponent as a reaction. If this Trip is successful, the second squadmate can cast a ranged spell that deals damage and takes 2 or fewer actions to cast. This spell is cast as a reaction and must either target the tripped opponent or include the tripped opponent in the spell’s area.

If the second squadmate cast a spell using slots or Focus Points as part of this tactic, they are slowed 1 until the end of their next turn and do not gain a reaction when they regain actions at the start of their next turn.

PFS Standard Stupefying Raid [two-actions] Expert

Brandish Commander Tactic 
Source Battlecry! pg. 27

Your team dashes about in a series of maneuvers that leave the enemy befuddled. Signal up to two squadmates within the aura of your commander’s banner; these squadmates can Stride up to their Speed as a reaction. Each enemy they are adjacent to at any point during this movement must attempt a Will save against your class DC or become stupefied 1 for 1 round (stupefied 2 on a critical failure); this is a mental effect.

PFS Standard Take the High Ground [one-action] Expert

Commander Tactic 
Source Battlecry! pg. 27

Your ally leaps to secure the high ground with a little help from the squad. Signal a squadmate within the aura of your commander’s banner; as a free action, that squadmate can Stride directly toward any other squadmate you are both observing. If the first squadmate ends this movement adjacent to another squadmate, the first squadmate can immediately Leap up to 25 feet horizontally or 15 feet vertically as a reaction, boosted by the other squadmate. This distance increases to 40 feet horizontally or 25 feet vertically if you have legendary proficiency in Warfare Lore.

PFS Limited Wait for it... [one-action] Expert

Uncommon Commander Tactic 
Source Pathfinder #223: Hell's Destiny pg. 227

Your team intuitively keeps their guard up even while waiting for the ideal moment to act. Signal up to two squadmates within the aura of your commander’s banner; while these squadmates Delay or Ready an action, they gain a +1 circumstance bonus to AC and saving throws. A squadmate’s bonus lasts until the end of your next turn, until they stop Delaying, or until the end of the current creature’s turn when the squadmate uses the designated action they Readied, whichever happens first. In addition, you can grant one of the squadmates an extra reaction from your drilled reactions class feature, but it can be used only to perform a designated action they Readied.

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