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Freedom of Movement RAW is a mess, and we don't know what it stops exactly. Relevant 3.5e question (but applicable to Pathfinder 1e as far as I know): What Are Freedom of Movement's Limits?

Moreover, maneuvers do not exist in regular Pathfinder 1e, and it's understandable that a core PF spell makes no special note about them.


The Shadow Pin maneuver is a really good counter; it stops melee characters from charging and getting near in general, and it stops recurring NPCs from teleporting away. No wonder one of my players took it.

The Freedom of Movement spell is meant to counter movement-blocking effects, but it only explicitly mentions making the recipient immune to mundane and magic impediments (emphasis mine):

This spell enables you or a creature you touch to move [...] normally for the duration of the spell, even under the influence of magic that usually impedes movement

Food for thought: It's magic, not "spells". Is "supernatural" magical enough to be included, given that it goes away in an antimagic field?

Does Shadow Pin bypass Freedom of Movement effects, or is it stopped by the spell?

(Since Freedom of Movement allows moving normally but says nothing about special movement forms such as teleportation, is the answer different for the teleportation part?)

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    \$\begingroup\$ Are questions about rule intent on topic? — I'm not sure your question is actually on topic, according to this meta thread. \$\endgroup\$
    – Mołot
    Dec 26, 2019 at 14:34
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Mołot I disagree because, "If you're facing a problem that you suspect the designers may have already struggled with, go ahead and describe your actual problem. (That's usually a pretty good way to have a question fit the site.) The site prefers questions that marshal its users' expertise. A question asking only about designer intent doesn't marshal that expertise. Further, the site's users have no special way to communicate with game designers. With that in mind, many designer-reasons questions are really about modifying or understanding existing rules, which is something we can address." \$\endgroup\$ Dec 26, 2019 at 16:16
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    \$\begingroup\$ I believe this question IS on-topic, all it requires is a minor reframing, which really just means deleting the portion about the designer's intent, but literally leaving everything else nearly the same. Just my two thoughts. \$\endgroup\$ Dec 26, 2019 at 16:17
  • \$\begingroup\$ @SoraTamashii Really, the part about intent is just to draw attention to the fact that I think that this is objectively answerable, but if it needs to go it will. Is it just the third paragraph or is it the whole part above the line? \$\endgroup\$
    – Zachiel
    Dec 27, 2019 at 14:45
  • \$\begingroup\$ I think it's fine to ask "Is Shadow Pin prevented by Freedom of Movement?"; answers may support their claims by citing the rules, logic, designer statements (if they exist), etc. However, asking whether the designers intended it that way is definitely a question that falls under the kind of question that isn't allowed here. Since you are asking the former and simply assuming that only designer statements can clarify it, I think it's best to edit out the portion about designer intent and avoid that assumption (that is, essentially, what "describe your actual problem" means in that meta). \$\endgroup\$
    – V2Blast
    Dec 31, 2019 at 3:22

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No, it does not counter freedom of movement.

From Shadow Pin

By harming the shadow of your enemy, you can pin them in place. You can initiate this counter in response to a creature within range leaving its space (including via movement such as a being pushed by a gust of wind spell or bull rush combat maneuver, or teleportation effects). The target becomes cursed for one round and stops its movement, dropping to the ground and taking falling damage as normal if it is flying and cannot hover. In addition, the target cannot move or be moved from its space for one round. You cannot stop a creature’s movement if it is within another creature’s space.

As far as I can tell, nothing from the PFSRD description for Shadow Pin specifically gives it an exception to the protection offered by Freedom of Movement. Furthermore, Supernatural Abilities are considered magical in nature, which we can see from the fact that they are unuseable while in an area of an Antimagic Field. It even mentions that Cursed Razor maneuvers are in fact, magical in nature, and are associated with the Spellcraft skill.

Maneuvers from the Cursed Razor discipline are imbued and enhanced with magical energies; as such, they are supernatural abilities. Cursed Razor’s associated skill is Spellcraft, and its associated weapon groups are heavy blades, light blades, and spears.

And with Freedom of Movement we can see how this interacts

This spell enables you or a creature you touch to move and attack normally for the duration of the spell, even under the influence of magic that usually impedes movement, such as paralysis, solid fog, slow, and web. All combat maneuver checks made to grapple the target automatically fail. The subject automatically succeeds on any combat maneuver checks and Escape Artist checks made to escape a grapple or a pin.

Thus, Shadow Pin is prevented by Freedom of Movement due to it being a magical effect that impedes movement.

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