Book of Erotic Fantasy

[Thurbane]

Thought I would share something that happened to me recently:

I often buy gaming books through Amazon, and not all sellers there will ship direct to Australia - so I use a shipping agent in the US. I get deliveries sent there, consolidated, then shipped to me here in Oz.

Recently, I ordered Shackled City, Call of Cthulhu D20, and BoEF. The first two shipped without incident, while the BoEF was listed as cannot be shipped. When I questioned why, I was told "it contains nudlity".

It's a gaming supplement for crying out loud! :smallfurious:

Really annoyed now, since they won't on-ship it, or help me return it to Amazon. Bascially I just flushed my money down the toilet, and they won't even reply to my continued queries about what my options are.

The wonderful world of online shopping - I wish I had just bought that damn thing when it was on the shelves of my FLGS all those years ago! :smallamused:

- T

[NoACWarrior]

Thought I would share something that happened to me recently:

I often buy gaming books through Amazon, and not all sellers there will ship direct to Australia - so I use a shipping agent in the US. I get deliveries sent there, consolidated, then shipped to me here in Oz.

Recently, I ordered Shackled City, Call of Cthulhu D20, and BoEF. The first two shipped without incident, while the BoEF was listed as cannot be shipped. When I questioned why, I was told "it contains nudlity".

It's a gaming supplement for crying out loud! :smallfurious:

Really annoyed now, since they won't on-ship it, or help me return it to Amazon. Bascially I just flushed my money down the toilet, and they won't even reply to my continued queries about what my options are.

The wonderful world of online shopping - I wish I had just bought that damn thing when it was on the shelves of my FLGS all those years ago! :smallamused:

- T

I'm sorry that this happened to you... its country import laws, if you had it shipped to a friend in the states you could probably get away with it being giftwrapped and being claimed as a hard back book gift. But then again my luggage was thoroughly searched for illegal nuts when getting into Brisbane.

Alternatively you may be able to buy a valid copy from an online vendor, like drivethruRPG (supposedly they relicensed with WoTC).

Edit: more to add

[hymer]

Weird. Does Australia have a fledgling nude pictures industry that needs protection from cheap import? Or is it simply a 'you must wear clothes in pictures on this continent' thing?

[TheNervyOne]

Anyone think that the former prison colony having such strict morality laws is funny?

But yeah really sorry to hear that this happened. What are they doing with the book? If you could do a return to sender it would be shipped back to the vendor and you could contact them on amazon for further details like a rerouted shipping to a different address in the US or whatever.

[HammeredWharf]

Australian censorship is well-known to be over the top, but I didn't think it's this silly. If I remember correctly, the most "outrageous porn" in the BoEF is a couple of drawn nipples.

[Thurbane]

I don't think it's Australian Censorship that's the problem, it's the shipping agent, who's head office is based in Brussels, I believe.

Same company lost a shipment a bit over a year ago (Rokugan, Way of the Shugenja, Five Nations and Advanced Bestiary), and even after being given proof of delivery to their warehouse via US POstal Service, simply stopped replying to my queries/complaints. I should have stopped using them then. In fact, I did for a long time, but since they had been good before, I decided to give them another chance.

[Darrin]

I'm sorry that this happened to you... its country import laws, if you had it shipped to a friend in the states you could probably get away with it being giftwrapped and being claimed as a hard back book gift.

Not necessarily. Most states in the U.S. have laws against sending pornography through the mail over state lines. The "Comstock Laws" were a series of federal and state "moral decency" laws passed in the 1870s. This is why certain magazine publishers in the U.S. must have 50 different printers in 50 different states: they can only ship their product within the same state. In most states, the enforcement of these laws have gone from "OMG! That's disgusting!" to "Meh... Whatever." But in certain states these laws may still be on the books.

I was going to suggest finding out what state the shipper was in, and then see if a forum member in that state could act as an intermediary, but it sounds like the seller has freaked out a bit and won't communicate at all. (Which begs the question... if they knew they couldn't ship it outside the state, why did they bother to list it?)

[Ansem]

I think I can edit my own posts, thank you very much....

[Thurbane]

I was going to suggest finding out what state the shipper was in, and then see if a forum member in that state could act as an intermediary, but it sounds like the seller has freaked out a bit and won't communicate at all. (Which begs the question... if they knew they couldn't ship it outside the state, why did they bother to list it?)
The original Amazon Strefront was fine, it was only once it arrived at the shipping agent's warehouse there was a problem. :smallannoyed:

[Telonius]

My sympathies. Probably the most you'll be able to do is leave a one-star rating - enough of those, and people will start thinking twice about using the shipping agent.

[prufock]

You should call them and ask if you can get another company to do a pick-up, then get the new company to send it to you.

[atomicwaffle]

The literal only good part of the book are the STD's characters can get. With interesting names like 'crotch plague'.

[toapat]

My sympathies. Probably the most you'll be able to do is leave a one-star rating - enough of those, and people will start thinking twice about using the shipping agent.

From what it sounds like, the Shipper its the one getting screwed. The OP has receipt of purchase and at least in the US thats typically enough to allow digital formats of a product to be obtained without retribution. The problem was that the guy he has do the overseas shipping now has a liability hes legally screwed on. he cant return the book to the Seller without Driving across any number of states and he cant get the cost back to reimburse the OP. to him he has a double liability on the books he cant deal with because the book is not legally the seller's own asset.


On the other Hand: the seller did protect the OP from the most horrifying book of D20 sourcematerial printed. The real tragedy would have been if the lost material was a "The bride of Portable Hole" or "ENworld Armory: Chainmail Bikini" which are mature enough to realize the material is quite immature and presents it with a decent sense of humor.

The dry tone of the BoEF ends up being Mindrape-y

[danzibr]

I don't think it's Australian Censorship that's the problem, it's the shipping agent, who's head office is based in Brussels, I believe.

Same company lost a shipment a bit over a year ago (Rokugan, Way of the Shugenja, Five Nations and Advanced Bestiary), and even after being given proof of delivery to their warehouse via US POstal Service, simply stopped replying to my queries/complaints. I should have stopped using them then. In fact, I did for a long time, but since they had been good before, I decided to give them another chance.
Now that's a real pity :(

[Doc_Maynot]

The literal only good part of the book are the STD's characters can get. With interesting names like 'crotch plague'.

*Gasp* Not Metaphysical Spellshaper?

[eastmabl]

Thought I would share something that happened to me recently:

I often buy gaming books through Amazon, and not all sellers there will ship direct to Australia - so I use a shipping agent in the US. I get deliveries sent there, consolidated, then shipped to me here in Oz.

Recently, I ordered Shackled City, Call of Cthulhu D20, and BoEF. The first two shipped without incident, while the BoEF was listed as cannot be shipped. When I questioned why, I was told "it contains nudlity".

It's a gaming supplement for crying out loud! :smallfurious:

Really annoyed now, since they won't on-ship it, or help me return it to Amazon. Bascially I just flushed my money down the toilet, and they won't even reply to my continued queries about what my options are.

The wonderful world of online shopping - I wish I had just bought that damn thing when it was on the shelves of my FLGS all those years ago! :smallamused:

- T

What state are these guys located in?

[NoACWarrior]

The literal only good part of the book are the STD's characters can get. With interesting names like 'crotch plague'.

Actually a few spells are really cool too.

One spell which can be used offensively or situationally is the strip armor spell (I can't be bothered to look it up now), when you cast the spell on a creature all the armor and cloths just fall off.

I was tinkering around with it and using an arcane caster in fullplate, where he would use an item like that if he wanted to cast spells instead of using abilities from feats what not.

[toapat]

Actually a few spells are really cool too.

One spell which can be used offensively or situationally is the strip armor spell (I can't be bothered to look it up now), when you cast the spell on a creature all the armor and cloths just fall off.

I was tinkering around with it and using an arcane caster in fullplate, where he would use an item like that if he wanted to cast spells instead of using abilities from feats what not.

i think they called it Disrobe. it doesnt effect magical clothing and equipment so effectively it was worthless when compared to Grease

[nedz]

Aahh, why do you need the BoEF when you have a Grease spell ?

[ellindsey]

There are a handful of spells in the BoEF that are useful for worldbuilding purposes. In particular there are spells for contraception, for detecting pregnancy, and assisting with fertility issues. These are unlinely to ever actually be used by the players in most campaigns, but IMHO things which should exist in any world where magic is common and used for daily quality-of-life improvement. I wouldn't touch the custom classes, but I am using some of the spells for background stuff in my current game.

[Phelix-Mu]

I wouldn't touch the custom classes, but I am using some of the spells for background stuff in my current game.

From what I recall, actually, Kundala wasn't that terribly unbalanced compared to the total lack of balance already available in core. Tantrist, obviously, suffers from the problem that Con-based caster is hugely exploitable, but I think they had a limited list. Imagist was a pretty cool idea, but their execution left something to be desired. I really can't remember the others. Some of it was interesting, if not particularly well-thought out.

Anyway, the main reason I like BoEF is that it shines a light on that part of the game world that isn't obsessed with murderhobo hack/slash. It's obviously a genre-bias toward combat and conflict, but I don't like to portray a world where that is the only interesting thing that happens all of the time (the classic "must be apocalypse, since it's a day of the week ending in '-y'"). Things like stats for pregnancy and a little bit of fluff for *ahem* downtime activities are welcome in my world, because that stuff happens, even if the default is that it is off-screen (I'm open to on-screen mature content if everyone is on-board and comfortable with that, though it gets silly to highlight that stuff too much too...moderation in all things). In past campaigns, there have been several pregnancies among npcs and retired pcs, and the book was very helpful to me as DM trying to figure out what that all means mechanically.

[toapat]

Personally i just cant read the book beyond the spell list because it honestly takes itself too seriously that most of the material is just presented in a disturbing way.

[Tommy2255]

This is a situation in which piracy is entirely justified. Seriously, Google away.

[MadGreenSon]

Anyway, the main reason I like BoEF is that it shines a light on that part of the game world that isn't obsessed with murderhobo hack/slash.

Yeah, there are a few good bits in the book that help, especially when my players get their "rockstar adventurer" faces on and the "night-life" needs to be explored a bit.
I don't get too graphic, and a lot of the stuff in the book (feats, most spells, classes, PrCs and items) is a bit silly.
It does, however, give me a convenient way to judge if any paternity issues will be coming up in a character's future.:smallbiggrin:

(As a note, the PC everyone nicknamed "The Drunkard of Mystra" is looking at an...issue with a young noblewoman they rescued, so the rules are useful on occasion. :smalltongue:)

[atemu1234]

I allowed a decent number of spells from the book to be available in my campaigns. The thing is no one would use them for any reason, unless it's their job. I made a few gynecologist-style clerics for wacky pregnancy-related adventures, but as to PCs... they aren't actually of game quality. They're useful as a tool for someone to say to the PC's in-game girlfriend "you're pregnant!" but not for the PCs to do themselves.

[MadGreenSon]

I allowed a decent number of spells from the book to be available in my campaigns. The thing is no one would use them for any reason, unless it's their job. I made a few gynecologist-style clerics for wacky pregnancy-related adventures, but as to PCs... they aren't actually of game quality. They're useful as a tool for someone to say to the PC's in-game girlfriend "you're pregnant!" but not for the PCs to do themselves.

Yeah. You take out the spells that are either porn or silly and you're left with the very definition of "utility spells". Pretty specialized utility spells at that.

I tend to assume those kind of spells are available in my games too, but thus far no one has ever shown any interest in learning or using any of them.

[Thurbane]

What state are these guys located in?
The shipping depot is in Ohio.

[TheThan]

Personally i just cant read the book beyond the spell list because it honestly takes itself too seriously that most of the material is just presented in a disturbing way.

more accurately, the fluff is presented really seriously and somewhat maturely (not that sort of mature) but the crunch is all... well... not so serious. i mean they have a prestige class that turns the party wizard into a magical peeping tom. Its like a bunch of adults wrote the fluff, and a bunch of drunken frat boys wrote the crunch.

[Doc_Maynot]

The shipping depot is in Ohio.

On behalf of Ohio, I apologize.

[Windstorm]

get in contact with Amazon directly, and they should be able to help sort it out. I had a similar experience relating to some modeling materials (airbrush paint primer, of all things) and after the seller stopped responding to inquiries I contacted amazon directly, and they were able to help mediate a solution.

what I got out of the whole event is that Amazon is very protective of its customers and ecosystem, since goodwill and trust between consumer and seller is what makes the whole system work.

[Thurbane]

The main issue is that there is a 3rd party (the freight forwarder) involved. The seller at Amazon hasn't done anything wrong.

Finally got an answer back from the freight forwarder: the can dispose of the book for free, attempt to return it to the seller ($20), or send it to another address in the USA ($20).

[Kesnit]

Finally got an answer back from the freight forwarder: the can dispose of the book for free, attempt to return it to the seller ($20), or send it to another address in the USA ($20).

Wait... Because they refuse to do the job you contracted them for, they are charging you more?

[toapat]

more accurately, the fluff is presented really seriously and somewhat maturely (not that sort of mature) but the crunch is all... well... not so serious. i mean they have a prestige class that turns the party wizard into a magical peeping tom. Its like a bunch of adults wrote the fluff, and a bunch of drunken frat boys wrote the crunch.

Its alot different then if frat members wrote the book, if you want something that has the crunch of the homebrew of a frat, thats Portable Hole Full of Beer/Son of Portable Hole/The Bride of Portable Hole. thing is those are delivered as though the editor is himself a fratboy who is just sober enough to organize the material. Makes them very fun

Even Nymphology seems at least to me to present the material in a less Deadpan and serious matter (although its focused almost exclusively on the Erotic and not the comprehensiveness of being a supplement about sex in the Forgotten Realms, although the spell fluff is solid gold)


Wait... Because they refuse to do the job you contracted them for, they are charging you more?

they are asking to throw it away or blackmailing to continue working.

[Windstorm]

The main issue is that there is a 3rd party (the freight forwarder) involved. The seller at Amazon hasn't done anything wrong.

Finally got an answer back from the freight forwarder: the can dispose of the book for free, attempt to return it to the seller ($20), or send it to another address in the USA ($20).

that's highly illegal, and they are required by US law to return it to the seller if they are unable to complete the service as required.

if they continue to refuse to do anything without further payment I would find out what county/state they are in and make a call to the prosecutor there, as they are engaging in fraud.

[Palanan]

Thurbane's in Australia, and the shipper (if I understand it) is in Ohio, so phone calls might be expensive.

That said, I really don't understand why the shipper can't simply return it to the third-party seller at cost. They're overcharging Thurbane tremendously for what should be a $3.50 shipping charge.

Might be worth contacting the Better Business Bureau in Ohio. No idea if either of those groups can help, but it seems pretty clear that Thurbane is being taken advantage of. That sort of thing really steams me.

.

[toapat]

That said, I really don't understand why the shipper can't simply return it to the third-party seller at cost. They're overcharging Thurbane tremendously for what should be a $3.50 shipping charge.

the Amazon seller doesnt live in ohio, but shipped it to ohio anyway., the Freight shipper is holding Thurbane responsible for a double liability they legally cant clear.

[Palanan]

Yes, I got that the third-party seller was different from the shipping warehouse in Ohio. Just not sure why the latter can't send the item back for a more reasonable charge.

For that matter, how did they know the contents of the book in the first place, unless they opened it? Or do they check everything against a master database of potential naughtiness?

I live in the U.S., and I've lost track of the countries I've mailed books to. I've had some frustrating issues and bone-headed mistakes come up--including an international shipment coming to Arlington, Texas rather than Arlington, Virginia--but never had an issue with the item's content before.

[toapat]

Yes, I got that the third-party seller was different from the shipping warehouse in Ohio. Just not sure why the latter can't send the item back for a more reasonable charge.

For that matter, how did they know the contents of the book in the first place, unless they opened it? Or do they check everything against a master database of potential naughtiness?

I live in the U.S., and I've lost track of the countries I've mailed books to. I've had some frustrating issues and bone-headed mistakes come up--including an international shipment coming to Arlington, Texas rather than Arlington, Virginia--but never had an issue with the item's content before.

the guys in Ohio were repackaging the OP's books when one of the people decided to skim through it, a Manager saw, pulled it asside, and flagged it for illegal transit. THeys guys may have had issues with having been exploited for the Silk Road drug trade, and so they are unwilling to violate customs infractions. the original owner of the book did not ship from Ohio and so they are now blackmailing the OP to either destroy it or pay for a surcharge based on transit of illicit goods.

[Slipperychicken]

Aahh, why do you need the BoEF when you have a Grease spell ?

Because Grease only lasts 1 round/level.

[atemu1234]

Because Grease only lasts 1 round/level.

That's all most PCs need.

[Doc_Maynot]

Aahh, why do you need the BoEF when you have a Grease spell ?

Because Grease is only on objects or 10ft squares. Useful for SOME things, not all.

[Poldon]

There is no law against the shipment of material containing nudity from the United States to Australia. As someone employed by the shipping industry here in the US, I can assure you that all of the regulations for this can be found in the appropriate sections of the IMM (International Mail Manual) here (http://pe.usps.com/text/imm/ab_012.htm).

The link is direct to the US Post Office restrictions and prohibitions for Australia. When and if you contact your shipper, tell them to look up the rules themselves. They are choosing not to ship the item; they are not being forced to do so. Their choice, their cost, IMO. Hope this gets resolved for you!

Edited to add:
Censorship really annoys me! This finally prompted me to create an account after years of lurking!

[Grinner]

Edited to add:
Censorship really annoys me! This finally prompted me to create an account after years of lurking!

Welcome to the Playground.

[cakellene]

Wouldn't this actually be theft and not fraud if they have his property and refusing to give it to him unless he pays a ransom?

[CyberThread]

buy from ebay instead of amazon, things are... "declared" less often for Australia, where allot of us M rated game sellers, sell our things, for you aussies, and simply tell the shipping, that it is a video game, instead of what game it is.

[Phelix-Mu]

Wouldn't this actually be theft and not fraud if they have his property and refusing to give it to him unless he pays a ransom?

It may be fraud if they are misrepresenting themselves in their contracts and otherwise ignoring terms of business agreements or some such. It may also be theft, but I think that is rather a separate issue.

[JimboG]

I must be the black sheep to third party book readers, 'cuz the BOEF is honestly my favorite one out there. Not for the content contained in it directly, but because I have a healthy respect for anyone who's willing to talk about sexual content in an honest, uncensored light without being ashamed of it. The chapters in particular about the bedroom preferences and opinions on pregnancy of the different races have filled a lot of cultural roleplaying fluff that, before reading the book, I just had to sweep under the rug or make stuff up for.

If you ultimately cannot find a way to have the book shipped to Australia but can legally ship it to another address in the USA, I would be happy to pay for the book and its shipping fees through paypal and take it off your hands.

[MadGreenSon]

I must be the black sheep to third party book readers, 'cuz the BOEF is honestly my favorite one out there. Not for the content contained in it directly, but because I have a healthy respect for anyone who's willing to talk about sexual content in an honest, uncensored light without being ashamed of it. The chapters in particular about the bedroom preferences and opinions on pregnancy of the different races have filled a lot of cultural roleplaying fluff that, before reading the book, I just had to sweep under the rug or make stuff up for.


I agree about the chapters on the various races. I've never looked at Halflings or Gnomes the same way again. :smallbiggrin:



If you ultimately cannot find a way to have the book shipped to Australia but can legally ship it to another address in the USA, I would be happy to pay for the book and its shipping fees through paypal and take it off your hands.

I really wish I could offer the same. But my budget is too tight to afford meat on my pasta right now. You're a good guy to offer.

[Zrak]

Is this the book where elves take a different kind of "size penalty"? Because I know there's a book where that happens and I endorse that 100%.

[JimboG]

Is this the book where elves take a different kind of "size penalty"? Because I know there's a book where that happens and I endorse that 100%.

It's been a while since I've looked at my digital copy, but if I remember correctly the only penalties to "size" simply reflected the actual size of the characters, (you got a cumulative -4 to all sexual acts for each size category apart you were from your partner) but they didn't really add up to much as the book regularly reminded you there was more than one way to finagle another's dangly bits.

On a different note, I REALLY enjoyed the book adding an additional ability score (Beauty or Glamor, I don't remember exactly) that separated Charisma's usual assumption that it reflected both your physical looks and sociability. I feel like that was something that could have used a little separation from the very start and it gave players a good base to work with to make that happen.

[MadGreenSon]

On a different note, I REALLY enjoyed the book adding an additional ability score (Beauty or Glamor, I don't remember exactly) that separated Charisma's usual assumption that it reflected both your physical looks and sociability. I feel like that was something that could have used a little separation from the very start and it gave players a good base to work with to make that happen.

Agreed about Appearance being a useful measure, if not terribly vital. However, some modifiers by race would have been nice, just to help with relative beauty and all that. I usually just kinda wing it on who's prettier than who, usually using human perception as a baseline and consider that each race, especially those further from human, see each other without penalties (or bonuses for that matter).

The spellcaster that used Appearance as their casting stat was just silly though. Sillier than a Muscle Wizard in my opinion.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Thurbane
Finally got an answer back from the freight forwarder: the can dispose of the book for free, attempt to return it to the seller ($20), or send it to another address in the USA ($20).

Looking at this again, it seems extremely fishy to me. "Dispose of the book" sounds like they'd be free to keep it or resell it themselves.


Originally Posted by Poldon
The link is direct to the US Post Office restrictions and prohibitions for Australia. When and if you contact your shipper, tell them to look up the rules themselves. They are choosing not to ship the item; they are not being forced to do so.

Yeah. None of this smells right.

Thurbane, I would really encourage you to contact one of the local chapters of the Better Business Bureau in Ohio. You're dealing with a sketchy situation which is potentially mail fraud, and the BBB may be able to help you.

You might also want to check the fine print on the company's shipping policies, which they should have available on their website or on request from their HQ in Brussels. It's entirely possible the issue involves some yokel in their Ohio branch who either doesn't understand their official policy or who's trying to pull a fast one, banking on the fact that someone in Australia wouldn't be able to suss it out.

You might also see if Belgium has a consumer protection agency of their own. The more angles you work this from, the more likely you'll get a resolution.

[Tanuki Tales]

Guys, as bad as Thurbane's situation is (and he has my sympathy), we're getting really heavy into territory that we're explicitly not supposed to discuss (to the tune of giving legal advice and advocating crime).

[The Glyphstone]

I agree about the chapters on the various races. I've never looked at Halflings or Gnomes the same way again. :smallbiggrin:



I really wish I could offer the same. But my budget is too tight to afford meat on my pasta right now. You're a good guy to offer.

It's got the best quote I've ever found in it, in the section about unusual monster relationships:


Love Life of An Ooze: One Ooze. Idiot hits Ooze. Two Oozes.

[Cruiser1]

Actually a few spells are really cool too.
BoEF is fine for fluff, but many of its spells are unbalanced. Example overpowered spells (with spell levels for classes that can cast it in parentheses) include:


Beauty's Caress (3-4): Gain a 5d4 enhancement bonus to CHA. Maximize it for +20 to CHA!
Body to Body (6): Easy way to chain all your buffs (even Range: Personal and Target: You spells) on your whole party.
Fecund Growth (9): Advance a creature's age category. Turn your Wyrmling familiar into a Great Wyrm!
Kiss of Life (5-6): Now Sor/Wiz/Bard can Raise Dead too, and for only 1000 gp.
Life Shell (5): Blocks everything except naked bodies and spell attacks, with no save! Nobody can melee you unless they're naked!
Phantasmal Lover (3): Daze a target for a round even if they make their save.
Privacy (3): Blocks all divination spells targeted toward you! Much cheaper than Mind Blank.
Spell Meld (8-9): Cast spells using another creature's spell pool. If you can't break the game with this, you're not trying!

[MadGreenSon]

BoEF is fine for fluff, but many of its spells are unbalanced. Example overpowered spells (with spell levels for classes that can cast it in parentheses) include:
<snip list>


Yeah... When I went over the book to find useable material, the spells were one of those things I pared down to a very few that are things like detecting pregnancy and... I'll check my list. Ok My list included the spells for detecting pregnancy, analyzing ancestry and the "condom" spell and that's pretty much it.
I also just banned the feats magic items because they were silly or redundant in the case of some of the items, the creatures and templates are redundant for the most part, but the fluff was useful!

Still. Those gnomes and halflings are freaky.:smallbiggrin:

[Tanuki Tales]

BoEF is fine for fluff, but many of its spells are unbalanced. Example overpowered spells (with spell levels for classes that can cast it in parentheses) include:


Kiss of Life (5-6): Now Sor/Wiz/Bard can Raise Dead too, and for only 1000 gp.


1. What's wrong with arcane casters being able to bring people back from the dead?

2. Wizards could already do this. There's no limitation (to my knowledge) on researching and creating new spells that wouldn't allow a Wizard to create an arcane spell that does the exact same function as practically any divine spell.

[skyth]

There are a handful of spells in the BoEF that are useful for worldbuilding purposes. In particular there are spells for contraception, for detecting pregnancy, and assisting with fertility issues. These are unlinely to ever actually be used by the players in most campaigns, but IMHO things which should exist in any world where magic is common and used for daily quality-of-life improvement.

For what it's worth, Rolemaster has an entire spell list devoted to this.

[Tengu_temp]

Is this the book where elves take a different kind of "size penalty"? Because I know there's a book where that happens and I endorse that 100%.

I think you're thinking about FATAL.


1. What's wrong with arcane casters being able to bring people back from the dead?


Because that's one of the precious few things arcane casters weren't able to do.

[Tanuki Tales]

Because that's one of the precious few things arcane casters weren't able to do.

Except, as I pointed out, they were always able to do that in 3.X. At least Wizards could through independent spell research.

[MadGreenSon]

For what it's worth, Rolemaster has an entire spell list devoted to this.

Really? Which book? I have a friend with a lot of Rolemaster stuff sitting around and that kind of thing as verisimilitude to my world-building.

[Gwazi Magnum]

{scrubbed}

[Deophaun]

Fecund Growth (9): Advance a creature's age category. Turn your Wyrmling familiar into a Great Wyrm!
Which, per Draconomicon, means that they're a Great Wyrm with all the stats and abilities of a Wyrmling (you don't get the benefits of increased age categories until you take a sufficient number of dragon levels; but if there's a spell that deals more damage to a dragon based on age categories, you're sure to get all the damage a real Great Wyrm would).

[Grinner]

Quote Scrubbed

I pray you never have to defend yourself in court.

[Gwazi Magnum]

{Scrubbed}

[Jack_Simth]

Because that's one of the precious few things arcane casters weren't able to do.

How (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/clone.htm) sure (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/limitedWish.htm) are (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/raiseDead.htm) you (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/reincarnate.htm) of that (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/wish.htm)?

[Grinner]

{Scrub the post, scrub the quote}

There are so many things wrong here.

Let's start with the basics:


Are they that terrified of being charged with piracy even when Wizard's has said it's fine?

Can you source that claim?

[Rubik]

Life Shell (5): Blocks everything except naked bodies and spell attacks, with no save! Nobody can melee you unless they're naked!Not that it's not an overpowered spell (especially since it screws the people who can least afford it, which are fighters and the like, and not in a good way), but it doesn't affect most non-giant melee brutes, wild shaped druids, anyone using Metamorphosis and Polymorph effects, spellcasters, or anyone who uses most natural weapons from outside of the effect's area or range. No, you can't make claw attacks if you're wearing rings or gloves, but a character with sufficient reach can make tail slaps or wing buffets or slam attacks if they're not using items on them, even if they're otherwise clothed.

[toapat]

{Scrubbed}

[Deophaun]

Expecially considering WotC is selling PDFs of a portion of the material for 3.5 again, They arent really approving of getting material beyond what is legally allowed under Copyright law (See: The Glossary, the SRD, what you pay for from them).
I think it was in regards to the OP owning a legal (though inaccessible) copy of the book, therefore it was ok to download a digital copy. Not sure how that actually plays out, but as WotC has since avoided publishing PDFs for 4th ed books, I don't think they're too thrilled with the idea.

[toapat]

{Scrubbed}

[Deophaun]

What i replied to was an argument saying that Pirating third edition is fair.
And I'm saying I don't think that was his argument from what I remember of it pre-scrub.

[cakellene]

Not that it's not an overpowered spell (especially since it screws the people who can least afford it, which are fighters and the like, and not in a good way), but it doesn't affect most non-giant melee brutes, wild shaped druids, anyone using Metamorphosis and Polymorph effects, spellcasters, or anyone who uses most natural weapons from outside of the effect's area or range. No, you can't make claw attacks if you're wearing rings or gloves, but a character with sufficient reach can make tail slaps or wing buffets or slam attacks if they're not using items on them, even if they're otherwise clothed.

I'm tempted to play a monk with Vow of Nudity.

[Sir Chuckles]

I'm tempted to play a monk with Vow of Nudity.

I'd do a Feral Dwarf Swordsage with that.
For flavor, hilarity, and an increase in effectiveness.

[cakellene]

I'd do a Feral Dwarf Swordsage with that.
For flavor, hilarity, and an increase in effectiveness.

I usually mix swordsage levels in for maneuvers, but largest base class before PrCs is always a variant of monk.

[Gwazi Magnum]

{Scrubbed}

[The Glyphstone]

I usually mix swordsage levels in for maneuvers, but largest base class before PrCs is always a variant of monk.

Because unarmed attacks can be made with any part of your body.:smallcool:


also,

Great Modthulhu: Please desist further discussion of digital piracy/downloading of copyrighted material. What may or may not be legal according to one country's legal code or another is immaterial, as the Forum Rules are explicit and very clear on these issues, and have been for some time.

[skyth]

Really? Which book? I have a friend with a lot of Rolemaster stuff sitting around and that kind of thing as verisimilitude to my world-building.

RMC I. I believe it's the midwife spell list. It's right around the section with all the high level spells.

[toapat]

In the past, downloading 3rd and 3.5 pdf's were legal and fair game. Everyone did it, it was allowed etc.

in the period between the Suppression of DnD by WotC and the introduction of a WotC store selling older PDFs there was Legally Defensible Moral high Ground. There is no point at which it was legal.

[Roland St. Jude]

Sheriff: Giving legal advice, public complaints about the rules/moderation, and providing copyrighted materials (or trying to) are all prohibited by the Forum Rules. This thread seems to be primarily about these things now, so thread locked.