Exploitive Maneuver (Ex)

Ahalfling opportunist can use an enemy’s actions in combat for her own gain, as if the opponent were using aid another to assist the opportunist, giving her a bonus on her next skill check, attack roll, or to AC against the next attack (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 86 and 197). The enemy must be able to reach the opportunist, and the opportunist must activate this ability as an immediate action and succeed at a combat maneuver check against the enemy’s CMD; at the GM’s discretion, the opportunist can substitute another ability score modifier for her Strength modifier when making her combat maneuver check (such as using Dexterity for an agility-related action or Charisma for a social-related action). If the halfling succeeds at this combat maneuver check, she adds the aid another bonus to her action on her next turn and subtracts that bonus from the enemy’s roll for that action. Note that if the combat maneuver check is successful, the outcome of the enemy’s roll is irrelevant to this ability—a halfling opportunist can use a giant’s swinging club to jump farther whether the giant hits or misses with its attack roll.

The GM decides whether the enemy’s action can benefit the opportunist in the desired manner. Circumstances occurring between the enemy’s turn and the halfling’s turn may prevent her from following through with the desired action); if this occurs, she loses the bonus from aid another but can take her turn normally.

Halflings Golarion OF Example: Piria is a halfling opportunist battling an ogre in a walled arena. On the ogre’s turn, it swings at her with its club; Piria’s player wants to use her exploitive ability to catch the club and use its movement to boost her toward the top of the arena wall, giving her a bonus on her Acrobatics check to jump. The GM decides this is a reasonable use, has the player make a combat maneuver check against the giant’s CMD, and allows her to use Piria’s Dexterity bonus in place of her Strength bonus in the check. She succeeds and will gain the aid another bonus on her Climb check on her next turn. The GM rolls the ogre’s attack with a –2 penalty, hits Piria, and deals damage, but Piria still gets the aid another bonus on her next Acrobatics check— perhaps as the ogre’s club hit her, she grabbed it, flipped onto it, and on her turn can jump from the swinging club using the +2 bonus from aid another.