[3.5] Rules Compendium

[Thurbane]

Just wondering, has anyone compiled a list of what the Rules Compendium actually changes in terms of earlier rules?

Off the top of my head, there is the activation time for Wands - but what other significant changes does it bring?

Cheers - T

[Psyren]

I know it adds a clause to evasion that you need room to move. No shifting into "roguespace" while tied up or squeezing through a tight alleyway etc.

It compiles many of the expanded skill uses from the Races and Completes books, such as being able to Hide in crowds or cast up your sleeve with Sleight of Hand without needing a skill trick.

I think it also adds the rules for incorporeal creatures sharing the same space as/hiding inside of corporeal ones.

[Lightlawbliss]

They fixed lots of bad wording and dysfunctions.

[TypoNinja]

I don't think its changes so much as clarifications. Closing loops holes, clearing up ambiguous wording. I haven't read my RC cover to cover I just dive in looking for specific rulings so I could be wrong, but I never got the impression it was changing my game, just clarifying it.

[nedz]

Ranged attacks can now use Line of Effect — which is kind of important.

[eggynack]

There are the somewhat altered wild shape familiarity rules, which require the animal to be one that you've seen or could otherwise reasonably know about. I believe the rule that states that AMF's don't block line of effect were introduced in the RC as well, as was the rule about being incapable of tripping enemies that don't use limbs to move about.

[The Viscount]

SA only applies to the first hit of a ranged volley, and miss chances do not stack.

[Jowgen]

A table in it appears to remove the option of using Sleight of Hand as a Free Action, instead listing the -20 to mean it is a move action.

The weird thing is, this never gets mentioned anywhere else, and City of Stormreach -which is one of the few books published after- has a feat that specifically calls on the Sleight of Hand as Free Action mechanic. So yeah.

[Fizban]

Examples I've found myself:

In the PHB, soft cover applies to melee attacks, but in the Rules Compendium it applies to ranged attacks (note that d20srd.org is using the latter ruling).

In the PHB, if you cast a spell while holding the charge on a previously cast touch range spell, the held spell dissipates. In the Rules Compendium this line is absent. RC also says that touching anything at all, even an illusory figment, causes the spell to dissipate. So as long as you stick spells that don't have physical components you can launch ranged attacks while holding a spell ready, cool. Except there's also no limit on how many touch spells you can hold since they don't dissipate, so that's bad.

Both sources say that if you use a touch range spell that can affect multiple targets (something like Teleport comes to mind) you must touch all targets in the same round, and touching up to six allies is a full round action (presumably this includes the action for casting the spell, and no word on what happens if you have a touch range spell that affects more than 6 allies). However, the Rules Compendium allows you to cast a touch spell and then deliver it for free after moving, giving you the touch action for free (the part about hitting enemies only says that you must roll, not take an attack action). So you can cast your touch spell before entering threatened range to avoid AoOs, and deliver it on the same turn. That's handy.

[Darrin]

SA only applies to the first hit of a ranged volley, and miss chances do not stack.

That's not quite it. The rules never mention the word "volley". What the RC says is you only get precision damage on every attack only if you're using a full-round action to attack. If your attack uses a standard or swift/free action, then you only get precision damage on the first attack.


A table in it appears to remove the option of using Sleight of Hand as a Free Action, instead listing the -20 to mean it is a move action.


I suspect someone was trying to close down that "free action" loophole, but the rules text was never changed to match the table. Thus, we can ignore the RC table under the "text trumps table" clause.

Hmm. Other changes...

The Weaponlike Spells rules from Complete Arcane were added pretty much verbatim. This includes the rule that if you get sneak attack damage on an attack that does ability damage or ability drain, then the sneak attack damage does hit point damage in the form of negative energy.

The rules on charges were clarified so you can jump over obstacles on a charge. Unfortunately, they never defined what constitutes an "obstacle", and they forgot to change the rule that says you can't declare a charge in the first place if there's an obstacle in your way.

Falling object damage was capped at 20d6, regardless of weight/distance.

[Thurbane]

Falling object damage was capped at 20d6, regardless of weight/distance.

That's a handy one to know, actually.

[Anthrowhale]

AMF causes all incorporeal (rather than incorporeal undead) to wink out.

[The Viscount]

It might just be them forgetting about all 5 incorporeal creatures that aren't undead. The writers of incorporeal nova certainly forgot they existed.

EDIT: Just realized the more likely explanation. At the time of the original writing of AMF's description, I don't know that incorporeal non-undead existed, barring the 3.0 monsters if you count them.

[TypoNinja]

AMF causes all incorporeal (rather than incorporeal undead) to wink out.

Makes sense to me. Anything manifesting as incorporeal is gonna be doing so via magical means. I've probably already ruled this way at the table without realizing it might have not been the case.

[Extra Anchovies]

It might just be them forgetting about all 5 incorporeal creatures that aren't undead. The writers of incorporeal nova certainly forgot they existed.

EDIT: Just realized the more likely explanation. At the time of the original writing of AMF's description, I don't know that incorporeal non-undead existed, barring the 3.0 monsters if you count them.

What are the five, if you know?

[nedz]

What are the five, if you know?

Samuel Anders, Tory Foster, Ellen Tigh, Saul Tigh, and Galen Tyrol ?

[Andezzar]

Lol. A little late for that one. Great, now I have to watch BSG again.

BTW how are the Final Five incorporeal?

[Karnith]

What are the five, if you know?

The Viscount was likely being facetious; there are a good deal more than five incorporeal creatures that are not undead. I know of, for example, unbodied (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/monsters/unbodied.htm), dybbuks, ethereal oozes, glimmerskins, guecubus, prismatic golems, shadow demons, spectral lurkers, spirits of the land, and trillochs.

[ben-zayb]

Makes sense to me. Anything manifesting as incorporeal is gonna be doing so via magical means.On the contrary, anyone with either 10 Psion Uncarnate levels or ability to initiate the One With Shadow maneuver can actually be Incorporeal as an Extraordinary ability.

[The Viscount]

Indeed, I was being facetious. That lists most of them. The Vivacious creature template and Xag-ya and friends are also on that short list.

[Thurbane]

Most of these have been mentioned,, but according to the COnsolidated List Archive:

Abomination, Phane
Crossroads Guardian
Dybbuk
Earth Whisper
Elemental, Shadow
Energon (several types)
Ghosteater
Glimmerskin
Golem, Prismatic
Guecubu
Joystealer
Kalaraq Quori
Neh-Thalggu
Ooze, Ethereal
Phantasmal Slayer
Shadow Sibling
Spectral Lurker
Spectral Panther
Spirit Animal
Telthor (Template)
Thunder Worm
Trilloch
Unraveler
Whisper Demon