Simple Q&A (By RAW) VII [D&D 3.5e and all other games]

[enderrocksonall]

Q. 570

When a character turns themself into a Lich, or any undead for that matter, do they lose bonus hp from high constitution? Is it carries over and then the con is dicarded?

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 570

How hp is calculated depends on the (template) description. If you replace all current and future HD you recalculate all hp based on your new HD.

However, you usually lose your constitution score when becoming undead and thereby also any bonuses or penalties from your constitution score.

[Brett Wong]

Q. 571

Does monks flurry ability progress along with unarmed damage ac and speed bonus when entering a monk PrC?
I remember reading that it did in an issue of Dragon Mag, I can't remember wich one though : /

Q. 572

Does monk unarmored AC bonus stack with Vow of Poverty AC bonus? also does Vow of Peace AC bonus stack with VOP?

Q. 573

How does the 'defending (+1)' enchantment work? Can you make a full round attack with a +1 frost defending long sword and then as a free action get a +3 bonus to AC for the rest of the round? If you were to transfer a bonus to your AC would you loose benefit of that bonus while it's being used for AC? Example finesse enchantment gives plus 2 to dex, would I retain it if using it for AC through the defending enchantment? Is it even POSSIBLE to use named enchantments with defending or can you only transfer numbered bonuses (+1, +2 ect)

[Thurbane]

A 571
It depends on the specific PrC - it will say in the PrC description whether this is the case or not. Basically, unless it says it does, it doesn't.

A 572
That depends on the nature of the bonus (Sacred, Competence, Dodge etc.). Generally, the only type that stacks with itself is Dodge, unless an ability specifically says otherwise.

[Curmudgeon]

A 571

What synergy there is between Monk abilities and prestige class abilities must be stated in each PrC. For instance, a Shou Disciple advances Monk unarmed strike with a replacement or a straight level summation.

Unarmed Strike (Ex): As the Monk ability, except a Shou Disciple deals unarmed damage as shown on the table. A Shou Disciple with Monk levels can take the better of the two damage ranges, or he can add his Shou Disciple levels to his Monk levels and use the unarmed damage of a Monk of the resulting level if that produces a better result. ... but does not advance Flurry of Blows; instead, it expands the weapons that can be used.
Martial Flurry (Ex): At 3rd level, a Shou Disciple gains the ability to use any light melee weapon for his flurry of blows, not just special Monk weapons. At 5th level, a Shou Disciple may use any melee weapon for his flurry of blows. In general, relying on a vague memory of some Dragon article is insufficient for adjudicating rules. :smallamused:

A 572

The bonuses from Vow of Poverty are exalted. The Monk's AC bonus is unnamed. These stack. Vow of Peace also provides exalted bonuses, but has a special provision for interacting with Vow of Poverty:
If you also have the Vow of Poverty feat, the natural armor, deflection, and exalted Armor Class bonuses granted by that feat all increase by +2.

EDIT: Ninja'd!

[Brett Wong]

Q. 573

How does the 'defending (+1)' enchantment work? Can you make a full round attack with a +1 frost defending long sword and then as a free action get a +3 bonus to AC for the rest of the round? If you were to transfer a bonus to your AC would you loose benefit of that bonus while it's being used for AC? Example finesse enchantment gives plus 2 to dex, would I retain it if using it for AC through the defending enchantment? Is it even POSSIBLE to use named enchantments with defending or can you only transfer numbered bonuses (+1, +2 ect)

Q. 574

If you were Two-Weapon fighting with two +1 speed weapons would you get an extra attack from each weapon?

[Curmudgeon]

A 573

You didn't read the enhancement description thoroughly, I'm afraid.
As a free action, the wielder chooses how to allocate the weapon’s enhancement bonus at the start of his turn before using the weapon, and the effect to AC lasts until his next turn. The "weapon's enhancement bonus" is only the numeric part of the bonus. The +1 cost from defending and +1 cost from frost are not enhancement bonuses; they merely use the enhancement bonus cost formula. Also you must specify the use of defending at the start of your turn.

[Brett Wong]

Q. 575

Kensai's Signature Weapon ability lets you enchant your fists, it says that i can imbue them for 100% cost + 10% for each extra natural weapon, so does that mean I get the enchantment on both fists? Say for example I chose the finesse enchantment as a +3 bonus would i get the +2 dex from both weapons? (fists)

Q. 576

Can a monk TWF with his fists and generate extra attacks via improved TWF and the like?

[Curmudgeon]

A 574

When making a full attack action, the wielder of a speed weapon may make one extra attack with it. The attack uses the wielder’s full base attack bonus, plus any modifiers appropriate to the situation. (This benefit is not cumulative with similar effects, such as a haste spell.) This one is slightly ambiguous. It's clear that any number of speed weapons can't get any further boost from Haste.
In most cases, modifiers to a given check or roll stack (combine for a cumulative effect) if they come from different sources and have different types (or no type at all), but do not stack if they have the same type or come from the same source (such as the same spell cast twice in succession). The source of the extra attack can be either read as from the individual weapon, or generically from a speed effect. If you read it the first way, each speed weapon (different sources) enables its own extra attack and operates independently of other weapons. If you read it the second way, as most do, the speed property (the same source) can only be used once per full attack.

[Curmudgeon]

A 576 Yes.

The rules don’t come right out and say that a monk can’t use an unarmed strike for an off-hand strike (although the exact wording of the unarmed strike ability suggests otherwise), and no compelling reason why a monk could not do so exists. When using an unarmed strike as an off-hand attack, the monk suffers all the usual attack penalties from two-weapon fighting (see Table 8–10 in the PH) and the monk adds only half her Strength bonus (if any) to damage if the off-hand unarmed strike hits.

To add an off-hand attack to a flurry of blows, stack whatever two-weapon penalty the monk has with the penalty (if any) from the flurry. Attacks from the flurry have the monk’s full damage bonus from Strength, but the off-hand attack gains only half Strength bonus to damage. If the off-hand attack is a weapon, that weapon isn’t available for use in the flurry

[UserClone]

Q. 576

Where if anywhere in the rules is it stated that a player may choose to have his character fail a roll or check of any type other than a saving throw?

[ColdSepp]

Q. 577

Is there a feat that allows a mage to cast in armor? I know of Battle Caster, but that just increase the armor you can cast in, it doesn't give you the ability. Alternatively, which books are the ASF reduction armor types in? I have heard of Twilight, but where is it?

[Curmudgeon]

A 576

The only thing that comes close is in Rules Compendium, on page 112.
VOLUNTARILY FAILING

A creature can voluntarily forego a saving throw and willingly accept a consequence. This is one of several new rules introduced in this book that's supposedly an easy reference to previously established rules. But while it extends this voluntary option from accepting spells to accepting anything involving a saving throw, there is no such rule for things like attacks. D&D is a game of heroic fantasy, and it doesn't have rules for non-heroic failure.

[Curmudgeon]

A 577 partial

The most obvious answer is the Still Spell metamagic feat, which removes the somatic components that can cause arcane spell failure.

Twilight is in Players Handbook II on page 21.

[UserClone]

Q 576a

Specifically, is there any rule that states you can choose to fail a caster level check? Obviously, you can choose to cast a spell at a lower CL (or is that only for purposes of item creation?), but can you choose to essentially say "I roll a 1"?

[ColdSepp]

Q. 578

Can a Warlock take the invocations from the Dragon Magic book?

Q. 579

Can a warlock take Battle Caster? The book says he can cast in light armor, but he doesn't have Armored Mage like the Warmage.

[monty]

A 578

If I remember right, some of them are specifically designated for warlocks. They can take those, but not the DFA-specific ones.

A 579

Yes.

[Curmudgeon]

A 576a No.

You can't pick a 1 as a result on a d20 roll. Various luck feats will let you reroll in particular cases, but none involve caster level checks.

[UserClone]

A 579 Addendum

The feat's prerequisite simply calls for the ability to cast in light armor with no chance of spell failure. It doesn't call for the Armored Mage class feature specifically.

[UserClone]

Q 580
Okay, now I'm curious. Can you cast spells at a lower caster level than your current caster level at-will, or only as part of creating a magic item?

Edit: Thanks, I am AFB.:smallbiggrin:

[Curmudgeon]

A 580

The answer's easy to find:
You can cast a spell at a lower caster level than normal, but the caster level you choose must be high enough for you to cast the spell in question, and all level-dependent features must be based on the same caster level.

[Brett Wong]

Q 581

Would an Elan Monk with weapon focus (unarmed strike) qualify for the Soul Eater PrC?

I ask because apparently you can take improved natural attack for a monks unarmed damage.

Q 582

Does the Soul Eaters class ability Energy Drain I and II activate everytime you touch an opponent? say with like a flurry of blows, if I struck you 4 times would you lose 4 levels (8 levels if Energy Drain II)?

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 581

Yes, a monk's unarmed strike is considered a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that improve or enhance it. The official interpretation allows this to count for such a prerequisite.

There are other requirements of the prestige class, of course.

A. 582

No I would not and I would not even recommend that you tried touching me, but that is another story...

A Supernatural ability, unless otherwise noted requires, a standard action to use, so it cannot be made as part of a full attack.

[Brett Wong]

Q 583

Would then a Evil 5th level Elan Fighter with Weapon Focus (Unarmed Strike), Alertness and 2 ranks in Knowledge (Arcana) Qualify to become a Soul Eater?

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 583

Yes, assuming you listed teh rest of the requirements verbatim.

[Jasdoif]

A583 Counter

Does this Elan Fighter have monk level(s) as well? If not, I don't see how you can count the unarmed strike as a natural weapon; and weapon focus in a natural weapon is one of the prereqs.

[ColdSepp]

Q 584

Is there a feat like Battle Caster for shields?

[Brett Wong]

Q 583 Continued

Is the unarmed strike you start with a "natural *non-lethal* attack" so..like a Sap? A saps still a weapon right?

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A583 Counter

Does this Elan Fighter have monk level(s) as well? If not, I don't see how you can count the unarmed strike as a natural weapon; and weapon focus in a natural weapon is one of the prereqs.

That should teach me to read the actual question instead of simply assuming.

Jasdoif is of course correct, an unarmed strike is not treated as a natural weapon generally, it is an exception in the monk description.

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 584

Not that I can remember.

[AslanCross]

Q 585
Can the Touch of Healing feat work even if you have no healing spells prepared, as long as you can spontaneously convert to healing spells?

[Defiant]

Q 586

Is a person (say Barbarian) who is proficient only in light and medium armor, proficient in mithral full plate?

[Curmudgeon]

A 585 Yes.

As long as you have at least one 2nd- or higher-level spell and the ability to spontaneously convert that spell to a Cure spell, you meet the requirements of the feat.

[Curmudgeon]

A 586 Yes.

As mithral reduces the armor by one weight category, mithral full plate becomes medium armor.

[Frosty]

Q 587a: Does gaining a negative level cause your effective Initiator Level to go down? If so, would you lose access to some of your higher level maneuvers? I have a BBEG who might be throwing some Enervations at a PC Warblade.

Q 587b: Does Iron Heart Surge remove negative levels? If so, does it only remove one negative level at a time? Does it depend on the source of the negative level?

[monty]

A 587b

Iron Heart Surge is so poorly worded, there's no point in trying to make a RAW ruling. Just go with whatever's most reasonable.

[Curmudgeon]

A 587a Yes and yes.


A creature takes the following penalties for each negative level it has gained:
-1 effective level (whenever the creature’s level is used in a die roll or calculation, reduce it by one for each negative level).
If your initiator level is equal to your character level, it goes down by one. If there's a formula involved (half of the non- martial adept levels), run the computation again and round down as usual.

[Frosty]

So re-calculate as if he had lost a level of Warblade in terms of maneuvers readied, known, etc? Holy crud that'll be annoying. And does he get to choose which Maneuver he forgets?

[Brett Wong]

Q 578

Wilder class ability 'wild surge' If I used wild surge 2, it pumps my manifest level by 2 and supplies 2 power points that can go towards augmentation or augments my power -twice- ?

[Epinephrine]

Q579 What roll gets the bonus from the bard class variant feature Healing Hymn? Would this affect a Cure Light Wounds spell's roll for the damage healed? The bonus is quite large, easily exceeding the amount most spells with a die roll can heal.


Benefit: If you have 3 or more ranks in a Perform skill, you can use your music or poetics to create an area conducive to healing.
To be affected, an ally must be able to see and hear you perform. The effect lasts as long as you continue performing
and for 5 rounds thereafter. An affected ally who casts any conjuration (healing) spell gains a +1 sacred (if you're good or neutral) or profane (if you're evil) bonus on the roll for each rank you have in the Perform skill.

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 579

Any Conjuration (Healing) spell, such as CLW.


Cure Critical Wounds

Conjuration (Healing)
...

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 578



Q 578

Wilder class ability 'wild surge' If I used wild surge 2, it pumps my manifest level by 2 and supplies 2 power points that can go towards augmentation or augments my power -twice- ?

Not exactly sure what you are aiming for, but the bottom line is that the ability supplies the power points necessary to augment the power.


In all cases, the wild surge effectively pays the extra power point cost that is normally required to augment the power; only the unaugmented power point cost is subtracted from the wilder’s power point reserve.

[Mephit]

Q590

A Warlock's invocations and his Eldritch Blast are SLA's. Can SLA feats such as Empower SLA, Quicken, etc be applied to them? :smallconfused:

Logic says yes, but I might have missed a line somewhere.

[powerdemon]

Q590

A Warlock's invocations and his Eldritch Blast are SLA's. Can SLA feats such as Empower SLA, Quicken, etc be applied to them? :smallconfused:

Logic says yes, but I might have missed a line somewhere.

A591
Yes. It says at the beginning of the feats section in the same book that the warlock is in and gives a bit more in depth explanation of the rules regarding Eldricht Blast.

[Bayar]

Q 591

How do you determine the artificiers save DC of spells cast from scrolls/devices made by him ?

This keeps bugging me (and is the reason why I only use spells that dont allow saves).

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 591

The Artificer's save DCs are based on intelligence.

[Curmudgeon]

So re-calculate as if he had lost a level of Warblade in terms of maneuvers readied, known, etc? Holy crud that'll be annoying. And does he get to choose which Maneuver he forgets?
This isn't explicitly stated in the rules, but if you use the procedure for spellcasters affected by negative levels as a guide you would get to choose which maneuvers to lose. Any maneuver(s) that he no longer qualifies for would probably be your first choice. :smallwink:

[ColdSepp]

Q 592

a.Does Heavy Armor Optimization from Races of Stone apply to Mithril Full Plate?
b. Is there Medium Armor Optimization, if (a) is no?

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 592

Yes, mithral armor is only treated as lighter for the purpose of limitations not for benefits that would apply to the armor normally.

And just to answer fully, no there is no medium armor optimization feat.

[Frosty]

Lord Silvanos, can I get your opinion on my question number 587?

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

Lord Silvanos, can I get your opinion on my question number 587?

The idea behind IHS is good, but the execution is very poor. It will however remove negative levels.

In regard to negative levels and initiators of maneuvers there is no question that you initiator level is affected, but the number of maneuvers know is arguably not a "die roll or calculation", so by RAW they get a free pass. This interpretation is supported by the FAQ and the same question regarding warlocks.

If it was introduced I would follow the suggestion made by Curmudgeon and have the martial artist choose the maneuvers lost.

[ColdSepp]

Q. 593
Are there any warlock invocations in books other then Dragon Magic and Complete Arcane?

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 593

Yes, check the official Invocation Index (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/lists/invocations).

[ColdSepp]

A. 593

Yes, check the official Invocation Index (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/lists/invocations).

Dude. You are truly a popcorn god. Thank you so much.

[Frosty]

The idea behind IHS is good, but the execution is very poor. It will however remove negative levels.

In regard to negative levels and initiators of maneuvers there is no question that you initiator level is affected, but the number of maneuvers know is arguably not a "die roll or calculation", so by RAW they get a free pass. This interpretation is supported by the FAQ and the same question regarding warlocks.

If it was introduced I would follow the suggestion made by Curmudgeon and have the martial artist choose the maneuvers lost.


But will it remove ALL negative levels with one use of IHS?

[Ionari]

Q. 594

I'd appreciate some help on clarifying the limits and restrictions of darkvision.

To help explore those boundaries with some concrete RAW questions, posit a sunny plain, with points A and B, 100' apart. Point A is shrouded in a magical effect, of about 20' radius, that blocks light, rendering normal vision (but not darkvision) ineffective. (Similar to the "no light" cantrip).

A human stands at A, a dwarf stands at B.

a. Can the dwarf see the human?

A dwarf stands at A, a human stands at B.

b. Can the dwarf see the human?

A human stands at A, a drow stands at B.

c. Can the drow see the human?

A drow stands at A, a human stands at B.

d. Can the drow see the human?

(Assume the drow is suitably fortified against sunlight and does not suffer ill effects therefrom).

Thanks!

[Jasdoif]

A594

Basically, darkvision works exactly like normal sight, except it has a given range limit, is black-and-white and doesn't require any sort of light source.

As for your particular questions.
A: No, assuming a "standard" dwarf (ie hill dwarf). A dwarf's darkvision has a limit of 60 feet, and the human is 100 feet away. The human is too far away to be seen via the dwarf's darkvision.
B: No, assuming the magical effect blocks normal lighting in both directions. If, instead, the effect allows the dwarf to see the lit environment outside its radius, then the dwarf will see the human via normal vision.
C: Yes. A drow's darkvision extends 120 feet, sufficient to perceive the human from 100 feet away.
D: Yes, for the same reason as above.

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

But will it remove ALL negative levels with one use of IHS?

It removes one application of the effect.
If you have been affected by negative levels from two different sources you can remove one of the applications.

[Eloel]

Q595
Where/if anywhere, can I find a list of all D&D races, with the name of the books they're in? (doesn't have to have all stats there, ECLs are good enough)

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 595 Partial

Here is a list of all monsters (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/lists/monsters), but it lacks an ECL entry.

[Eloel]

Q595 continued
I'm mostly asking for races that are usable by PCs (monsters are quite hard to convert). For example, are there any undead races with stat adjustments and racial abilities/favored class written out somewhere?

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 595 Continued

The most common kind of undead creatures suitable for PC are the ones that are created using a template such as the Ghost, Vampire or Lich in the MM.

But Libris Mortis is a very good source for players who want to try such creatures. Quite a few savage undead progressions are presented and some are also available without an evil requirement.

[shadow_archmagi]

596

How much does one gold coin weigh?

[Shhalahr Windrider]

A 596

1 coin = 1/50 lbs.

Source: SRD:Equipment:Wealth and Money:Coins (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/equipment.html#coins)

[monty]

A 595

Crystal Keep (http://crystalkeep.com/d20/index.php) has a list of monsters in most of the books, including HD and LA (if applicable), but no other stats. The races index has more detail, but only includes commonly played races.

[Lemur]

A 595 addition

The Master Player Race List (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=697653) has a list of player character races with no LA or racial HD.

[Thurbane]

Q 597

Is it possible to put a 10-foot ladder inside a Type 1 Bag of Holding? According to the SRD, the bag has a volume limit of 30 cubic feet. Some of my group believes this means a roughly 3.3 foot cuboid, while others believe it has no fixed "shape". Any thoughts?

[Egiam]

A 597
I think this is a great question that should be its own thread. My answer would be to let the ladder go into the bag. The whole idea is that it is non-dimensional. Also it is much more simple.

[WhiteShark]

Q598

When you gain skill points, it's x+int mod. Does the int mod take into account magical items and the like, or is it stripped bare of such things. I.E., if I had a barbarian with an Int of 12 normally, but wearing a headband of intellect +2, would I get 2+2 skill points on level up or 2+1?

[TheCountAlucard]

Q 599

Would a simulacrum (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/simulacrum.htm) retain any templates the base creature may have had? For instance, if I made one of a half-fiend ogre, would it retain the benefits of being a half-fiend?

Q 600

More on above: if the creature you're basing a simulacrum off of has weaknesses, such as a vampire's vulnerability to sunlight, does the simulacrum retain that weakness?

Q 601

Okay, last simulacrum question, I swear! If a caster makes a simulacrum of himself, does the simulacrum cast spells as a caster of half the creator's level?

[RTGoodman]

A 598

According to the description of the headband of intellect (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#headbandofIntellect):


This enhancement bonus does not earn the wearer extra skill points when a new level is attained; use the unenhanced Intelligence bonus to determine skill points.

[Curmudgeon]

Is it possible to put a 10-foot ladder inside a Type 1 Bag of Holding? According to the SRD, the bag has a volume limit of 30 cubic feet. Some of my group believes this means a roughly 3.3 foot cuboid, while others believe it has no fixed "shape". Any thoughts?
A 597 Yes, it's possible.
Bag of Holding

This appears to be a common cloth sack about 2 feet by 4 feet in size. The bag of holding opens into a nondimensional space: Its inside is larger than its outside dimensions. Regardless of what is put into the bag, it weighs a fixed amount. This weight, and the limits in weight and volume of the bag’s contents, depend on the bag’s type, as shown on the table below. A nondimensional space is a space without dimensions. It has no shape. A capacity measured only in volume cannot independently constrain individual dimensions. The people in your group are perhaps confusing a nondimensional with an extradimensional space -- like a Portable Hole, which does have fixed dimensions that just aren't part of any particular normal space like the Material Plane. Nondimensional means exactly that: without specified dimensions. (Also their math is off: it would be 3.1 feet on a side, not 3.3 feet, to make a 35 cubic foot cube.)

[monty]

A 598 continued

However, it will count the inherent bonus from a Tome of Clear Thought.

[Curmudgeon]

A 599

Qualities derived from LA and not hit dice aren't part of what a Simulacrum emulates; that's limited to appearance and
only one-half of the real creature’s levels or Hit Dice (and the appropriate hit points, feats, skill ranks, and special abilities for a creature of that level or HD).

A 600

If those qualities are part of the special abilities of a creature of 1/2 the HD of the one simulated, yes. If not, no.

A 601 No.

The ability to cast spells is not on the list of D&D Special Abilities (http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/specialAbilities.htm). Simulacrum creates a creature that has
hit points, feats, skill ranks, and special abilities for a creature of that level or HD Spell-like abilities would be simulated; normal spellcasting is a class feature and would not.

[Eloel]

Q602
Is there a non-epic way of gaining spell slots over level 9? (there is an epic feat that lets you do this, but I need non-epic ones...)

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 602

No, I do not think so.

[Eloel]

Q603
What classes are focused/capable of raising dead? (Beware my mighty undead army! Bwahaha! kinda thing)
Also, which races give bonuses for that purpose?

Q604
What is the most MAD class?

[powerdemon]

A603

I did a lot of research on that for my future necromancer. The best one I've found is the Specialist Wizard variant from unearthed arcana. You get a skeleton instead of a familiar and it gets stronger as you do. There are a dozen or so feats in the Libris Mortis that make an undead much more powerful (More AC, Str, Dex, Damage, etc).

On the other hand, Nuetral or Evil Clerics can rebuke/command undead and all clerics can create undead with spells.

Personally I'd go with the necromancer variant.

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 604


Q604
What is the most MAD class?

This question might be better suited for its own thread.

[Mephit]

Q605

Spell Compendium, page 87:
The Spell Faith Healing heals 8+(1/level) HP to a worshipper of your deity. However, it doesn't mention that you can't use it on yourself. Is this how it's supposed to be used, or am I missing something? :smallconfused:

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 605

If you worship your own deity you should gain the benefit. :smallwink:

[AppleChips]

Q. 606

When using alter self, and the limitation is monsters of the same type, can humanoid creatures transform into monstrous humanoid creatures?

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 606

No, those are different types.

[Nazde Bahatur]

Q. 607
Can anyone post here a list of the playable races and the classes that might have claws, claw attacks and so?
i.e Poison Dusk Lizardfolk (race), Psychic Warrior (class).
I want to create something truly bestial, but lack ideas.

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 607 Partial

See Q. 595 for a starting list to look through.

You may also be able to get some input if you start a new thread with this subject or use one of the monster/character creator threads.

[Bulwer]

Q 608

Can a weapon be both Merciful and Vicious?

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 608

Yes.

Although if the weapon is also intelligent there is a good chance that it also has Multiple Personality Disorder.:smallamused:

[Bulwer]

A. 608

Yes.

Although if the weapon is also intelligent there is a good chance that it also has Multiple Personality Disorder.:smallamused:

But would the extra Vicious damage also be nonlethal?

[Thurbane]

A 608 cont

Nothing in the Merciful description would indicate that incidnetal damage is also converted to nonlethal, so I would say it is still lethal.

[Curmudgeon]

But would the extra Vicious damage also be nonlethal? Yes, it would -- for both parties.

EDIT: Thurbane, the highlighted part is pertinent:
Merciful

The weapon deals an extra 1d6 points of damage, and all damage it deals is nonlethal damage. It doesn't say "all the extra damage is nonlethal", so the vicious damage is included.

[Thurbane]

A 608 cont again

It's becuase of these problems I've also seen it ruled in other RAW discussions, that these enchantments cannot be used on the same weapon.

[hojo]

Q. 609

Can a low-level wizard target a naturally invisible creature, such as an invisible stalker, with a magic missile? If the answer is usually no, are there extenuating circumstances in which the wizard could?

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 609

It would require line of sight, so it is only possible if the wizard is somehow able to see invisible creatures.

[Douglas]

A. 609

It would require line of sight, so it is only possible if the wizard is somehow able to see invisible creatures.
Or touch. You must be able to see or touch the target (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/spellDescriptions.htm#targetorTargets). Of course, if you have to touch the target to target him there are generally better choices available than Magic Missile. For example, just about any of the numerous spells that normally require a touch attack.

[Adumbration]

Q 610

Can Grafts be purchased with WBL, as one would purchase magic items? I mean, does the graft price listed under the graft mean market price, or must it always be created and grafted by the character himself?

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 610

IIRC it depends on the type and specific graft, but generally they are not available for normal purchase in ye ol' magic shop.

[Curmudgeon]

A 610

No, grafts cannot be purchased with WBL, which is a competitive average metric for DMs. At least some grafts can, though, be purchased with gold pieces. There would be little reason to list a market price if there were no market for such items.


Grafts can be created and applied only by someone with the appropriate feat.
Using a graft requires a sacrifice from the host.
Grafts are difficult to remove.
A graft is not a magic item.

[Jinura]

Q 111


If i do for example 8 damage, on an item with 10 in hardness, will i do 1 in damage or zero?

[monty]

A 611 (watch your numbering)

Hardness, as well as damage reduction, can reduce damage to zero.

[powerdemon]

Q 612

Can a War Weaver (Heroes of Battle Pg. 112) cast divine soells into the tapistry if they were to say multiclass into Cleric? I can find nothing in the description that says they have to be Arcane spells, just

Only spells with the “harmless” designation in their saving throw entry or ones requiring willing targets can be cast into an eldritch tapestry.

[KevLar]

I have some questions about incorporeal creatures in general, manifested ghosts and their equipment in particular, and the Ghost Touch weapon property. Since they are related, I'll put them all together.

Q 613a
I am a manifested ghost, incorporeal on the material plane. My incorporeal attacks "ignore material armor, natural armor, and shields". My ghost equipment includes an ethereal (incorporeal now that I'm manifested) Ghost Touch weapon. So this incorporeal weapon ignores the 50% miss chance for dealing damage to corporeal targets and "counts as either corporeal or incorporeal at any given time, whichever is more beneficial to the wielder". Does it then ignore material armor, natural armor, and shields?

Q 613b
I am a manifested ghost, incorporeal on the material plane. My corporeal opponent has a corporeal Ghost Touch weapon. Can he sunder my ethereal (now incorporeal) ghost equipment with this weapon? Can he disarm my equipment with this weapon? And if he can disarm me, what happens to my equipment? Do I lose it forever? Does it float in front of me? On which plane is it? And can my equipment be sundered or disarmed by a corporeal magic weapon (but NOT Ghost Touch), provided it passes the miss chance?

Q 613c
I am a manifested ghost, incorporeal on the material plane. I happen to have a Slam Attack which is considered magic. That means I can attack corporeal opponents, though with a 50% miss chance. Does this slam attack ignore material armor, natural armor and shield? Same question for any magic weapon (but NOT Ghost Touch) I carry as ghost equipment.

Q 613d
In all cases where the attack "ignores material armor, natural armor and shields", does that include the DR the armor/shield material provides (say, adamantine)? I ask this because in all instances it says "ignore material armor" and nowhere "ignores armor bonus". It also makes sense...

[KevLar]

Q 614

Can the Action Before Thought maneuver be used with Evasion? So, if a Reflex save allows half damage, can I use Action Before Thought and, if I roll high enough, take no damage at all with evasion?

Same goes for Mind Over Body and Moment of Perfect Mind with Mettle (assuming it's a form of Mettle that can be used with the specific save).

[Jasdoif]

A614

Yes. Those various maneuvers allow you resolve the appropriate type of saving throw with a Concentration check instead of the normal saving throw, but they still determine whether you save or not. Since evasion and mettle work on a successful save, I see no reason why they wouldn't combine in such a fashion.

[Brett Wong]

Q 615

As a full attack action would a kobold equip with a tower shield and a rapier attack with his rapier, then his primary natural attacks (claws) then his secondary natural attacks (bite) at -5?

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 615

No, you cannot use your natural weapon if it is occupied holding something else.

In your example you could only use your rapier and bite.

Also note that all natural weapons are secondary if used as part of a full attack using manufactured weapons or unarmed strikes.

[monty]

615 continued

I was a bit curious about that as well. Where exactly in the rules does it prohibit it? I can't seem to find it.

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 613a



Q 613a
I am a manifested ghost, incorporeal on the material plane. My incorporeal attacks "ignore material armor, natural armor, and shields". My ghost equipment includes an ethereal (incorporeal now that I'm manifested) Ghost Touch weapon. So this incorporeal weapon ignores the 50% miss chance for dealing damage to corporeal targets and "counts as either corporeal or incorporeal at any given time, whichever is more beneficial to the wielder". Does it then ignore material armor, natural armor, and shields?

No, when wielded in this way it is treated like a normal weapon and does not bypass the armor.


Q 613b
I am a manifested ghost, incorporeal on the material plane. My corporeal opponent has a corporeal Ghost Touch weapon. Can he sunder my ethereal (now incorporeal) ghost equipment with this weapon? Can he disarm my equipment with this weapon? And if he can disarm me, what happens to my equipment? Do I lose it forever? Does it float in front of me? On which plane is it? And can my equipment be sundered or disarmed by a corporeal magic weapon (but NOT Ghost Touch), provided it passes the miss chance?


Yes, it can be affected in this way. If disarmed it seems reasonable to assume that the weapon can be picked up by the ghost again.


Q 613c
I am a manifested ghost, incorporeal on the material plane. I happen to have a Slam Attack which is considered magic. That means I can attack corporeal opponents, though with a 50% miss chance. Does this slam attack ignore material armor, natural armor and shield? Same question for any magic weapon (but NOT Ghost Touch) I carry as ghost equipment.


It ignores material armor, but not natural.



Q 613d
In all cases where the attack "ignores material armor, natural armor and shields", does that include the DR the armor/shield material provides (say, adamantine)? I ask this because in all instances it says "ignore material armor" and nowhere "ignores armor bonus". It also makes sense...


Yes, it is completely ignored.

Sorry for the short answers.
The Rules of the Game (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040928a) article series deals further with this.

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

615 continued

I was a bit curious about that as well. Where exactly in the rules does it prohibit it? I can't seem to find it.

I am not sure in how many words it is spelled out, but it is the implication from Monster stat-blocks and derived from the fact that you cannot normally use the same hand to both wield a shovel and a spade at the same time.

It is further supported by the FAQ.

[monty]

I am not sure in how many words it is spelled out, but it is the implication from Monster stat-blocks and derived from the fact that you cannot normally use the same hand to both wield a shovel and a spade at the same time.

It is further supported by the FAQ.

I was just considering that the most likely attacks to be made from weapon-holding appendages (claws and slams) could conceivably be made from other appendages (like feet).

And, as we all know, the FAQ is not RAW.

[Battleship789]

Q. 616

Is it legal to use the Persistent Spell feat, from Complete Arcane, on the Time Stop spell, assuming one has a high enough spell slot and accompaning stat modifier?

(Ignore how incredibly overpowered this could be. :smallwink: View this from a pure RAW standpoint.)

[monty]

A 616

The RAW is debatable on this, but I would have to say that any DM who allows it is an idiot.

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

I was just considering that the most likely attacks to be made from weapon-holding appendages (claws and slams) could conceivably be made from other appendages (like feet).

That would depend entirely on the creature.
I think very few creatures with "hands" capable of holding manufactured weapons have feet that are capable of making Slam or claw atttacks, but it would have to be considered on a case by case basis as when considering if the creature is capable of combining manufactured and natural attacks.


And, as we all know, the FAQ is not RAW.

No, but it does not mean that we should disregard it always without even considering what it says.

[Curmudgeon]

A 616 Yes.

Time Stop fits the requirements for a spell that can be extended with Persistent Spell. However, you probably wouldn't like the results. Time Stop is not a dismissible spell, so you must endure 1d4+1 rounds of subjective time for each round of the 24 hour period, or 14,400d4 + 14,400 rounds of apparent time. You cannot interact with any other creature until the spell ends.

[KevLar]

Q.613c - cont.

It ignores material armor, but not natural.
I have no problem at all with short answers in general, but could you explain this one a bit, if you don't mind? I can't even imagine why it would be so. Thanks. :)

[Battleship789]

To Curmudgeon

This outcome is perfectably acceptable, to me at least. If I had a character with a high enough level caster for this, I would be able to cast 15th level spells (or less depending on feat selection), giving my character an impressive amout of spell slots. After casting the Time Stop, I would spam contingent spells set to go off when the Time Stop ended, rest for 8 hours, spam the spells again, rest for 8 more hours and be ready to fight when the spell wore off. Thinking about this with multiple Time Stops gets ludicrous.

Round 1(Spellcaster wins initiative)
Casts the Persistent Time Stop

Round 1-14398 (Time Stop field)
Preperation (casting contingent spells, resting, etc.)
Round 14399 (Time Stop field)
Casts a Persistent Time Stop

Round 1-14398 (Time Stop field (2))
Preperation (casting contingent spells, resting, etc.)
Round 14399 (Time Stop field (2))
Casts a Persistent Time Stop

This can go on forever. Obviously broken.

I think the combo would give you 24 hours of apparent time, rather than the numbers you gave since the feat changes the duration. E.g. 1d4+1 goes to 2*(1d4+1) for an extended spell. Either way this is pretty cheap and definately broken. Though if a character is this high of a level, they are already broken.

And don't even think about using this during a celerity action. :smalleek:

[RMS Oceanic]

Q 617
Can you attach a Greater Augment Crystal to a weapon/piece of armor that has a temporary +3 enhancement bonus, through Greater Magic Weapon/Vestements?

[powerdemon]

Q 612

Can a War Weaver (Heroes of Battle Pg. 112) cast divine soells into the tapistry if they were to say multiclass into Cleric? I can find nothing in the description that says they have to be Arcane spells, just

Repost for new page :P

[Jinura]

Q 118



On SRD some traps like basic arrow traps dosen't say anything about reflex saves. So does this mean that reflex saves don't have anything to do here.. Becuse that seems a little odd to me.

[RMS Oceanic]

A 618
Not all traps involve reflex saves: some actively attack you. The basic arrow trap, for example, attacks you with an attack bonus of +10, as if it were a monster.

[Curmudgeon]

A 617 Yes.

One of the main benefits of augment crystals is that their attachment is transient, so they can be quickly fitted to any weapon which meets the minimum enhancement requirement. The Greater weapon augment crystal will stop providing its benefit when the weapon's enhancement drops below +3.

[Curmudgeon]

I think the combo would give you 24 hours of apparent time, rather than the numbers you gave since the feat changes the duration. Persistent Spell changes the duration of Time Stop from 1 round to 24 hours. Apparent time is an internal metric of the spell and not its actual duration; that's why there's the "see text" note in the "Duration" field.

As for the repeated resting bit, I don't see any possible slippage between the "daily limit" of spells referred to in "Preparing Wizard Spells" and "Spells per Day" on the Wizard class's main table. As I understand the RAW these refer to the same thing, and no amount of extra resting can change the number of spells available in an actual sunrise-to-sunrise day -- regardless of how long the Wizard perceives that day to take.

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

Q.613c - cont.

I have no problem at all with short answers in general, but could you explain this one a bit, if you don't mind? I can't even imagine why it would be so. Thanks. :)

I cannot by I do not even understand what I was thinking. I apologize.
It was supposed to be force. It ignores all material armor (including natural), but not force effects, such as bracers of armor or mage armor, or Ghost Touch armor.


The physical attacks of incorporeal creatures ignore material armor, even magic armor, unless it is made of force (such as mage armor or bracers of armor) or has the ghost touch ability.

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 612


Q 612

Can a War Weaver (Heroes of Battle Pg. 112) cast divine soells into the tapistry if they were to say multiclass into Cleric? I can find nothing in the description that says they have to be Arcane spells, just

No, I doubt it was considered when writing the class, but there is no prohibition against it as long as you meet the other criteria.

[monty]

To Curmudgeon

This outcome is perfectably acceptable, to me at least. If I had a character with a high enough level caster for this, I would be able to cast 15th level spells (or less depending on feat selection), giving my character an impressive amout of spell slots. After casting the Time Stop, I would spam contingent spells set to go off when the Time Stop ended, rest for 8 hours, spam the spells again, rest for 8 more hours and be ready to fight when the spell wore off. Thinking about this with multiple Time Stops gets ludicrous.

Round 1(Spellcaster wins initiative)
Casts the Persistent Time Stop

Round 1-14398 (Time Stop field)
Preperation (casting contingent spells, resting, etc.)
Round 14399 (Time Stop field)
Casts a Persistent Time Stop

Round 1-14398 (Time Stop field (2))
Preperation (casting contingent spells, resting, etc.)
Round 14399 (Time Stop field (2))
Casts a Persistent Time Stop

This can go on forever. Obviously broken.

I think the combo would give you 24 hours of apparent time, rather than the numbers you gave since the feat changes the duration. E.g. 1d4+1 goes to 2*(1d4+1) for an extended spell. Either way this is pretty cheap and definately broken. Though if a character is this high of a level, they are already broken.

And don't even think about using this during a celerity action. :smalleek:

Or you could just play an Incantatrix or a DMM Cleric with the Trickery domain. Also, I'm not sure you entirely understand how contingent spells work.

At any rate, I think that time stop is actually Instantaneous, since the entire thing takes place immediately following your standard action casting. In that case, it would not be a valid target for Persist, and we avoid this whole mess in the first place.

[Jinura]

Q 119


It says nothing about random encounters on SRD ( atleast what i could find) and haven't been able to look at the Dungeon masters guide.

So what makes a random encounter happen? And what will they encounter?

[monty]

A 619 (PLEASE check your numbers, people)

Random encounters are just that - random. What they are and where they occur are entirely up to the DM.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

A 119 619

Random encounters usually just arrive over the passage of time. A check for a random encounter is simply a check to decide if there are any other creatures around on their normal business that happen to cross paths with the PCs. The DMG suggests checking for random encounters every hour, with the chance of an encounter occuring being based upon the general population density of the area (base 10% for the dungeon, 5–12% in the wilderness). Though a random urban encounter is a daily check.

Alternatively, random encounters can also be checked when the PCs engage in activities that are likely to attract attention from curious creatures or predators, such as making a lot of noise.

Naturally, the DM is free to omit random encounter checks at any time he or she feels it would detract from the game.

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 619 Continued

More information can be found in the DMG along with lists of possible random encounters (giving structure to the randomness).

[Glimbur]

Q 620
Can I take Practiced Spellcaster: Bard to increase my Sublime Chord Caster level beyond my hit dice? For example, Bard 10/ Sublime Chord 10 with Practiced Spellcaster Bard. Does it have a Sublime Chord CL of 24 or 20?

Q 620.5Follow up question: Can I take Practiced Spellcaster: Sublime Chord for another CL boost on the same character?

Final question: does either of these make me a terrible person?

[powerdemon]

A 620

Q 620
Can I take Practiced Spellcaster: Bard to increase my Sublime Chord Caster level beyond my hit dice? For example, Bard 10/ Sublime Chord 10 with Practiced Spellcaster Bard. Does it have a Sublime Chord CL of 24 or 20?

Q 620.5Follow up question: Can I take Practiced Spellcaster: Sublime Chord for another CL boost on the same character?

Final question: does either of these make me a terrible person?

It says right in the feat description that it can't make your caster level higher than your hit dice/character level.

[Defiant]

Q 621

Does a spell with the Still Metamagic feat applied to it suffer any arcane spell failure chances?

Clarification:

Does a spell with no somatic components or removed somatic components suffer a spell failure percentage from things such as worn armour?

[powerdemon]

A 621

No, that is one of the main reasons to get that feat.

[RTGoodman]

A 621

No. The Still Spell metamagic feat removes all somatic components from a spell, and Arcane Spell Failure from armor only applies to spells with somatic components (since the armor is bulky and gets in the way of your hand-waving and such).


Arcane Spell Failure
Armor interferes with the gestures that a spellcaster must make to cast an arcane spell that has a somatic component. Arcane spellcasters face the possibility of arcane spell failure if they’re wearing armor. Bards can wear light armor without incurring any arcane spell failure chance for their bard spells.

Casting an Arcane Spell in Armor
A character who casts an arcane spell while wearing armor must usually make an arcane spell failure roll. The number in the Arcane Spell Failure Chance column on Table: Armor and Shields is the chance that the spell fails and is ruined. If the spell lacks a somatic component, however, it can be cast with no chance of arcane spell failure.

(Emphasis mine.)


EDIT: Ooh, 1d6 Sudden Strike damage, right to the face! :smallwink:

[Frosty]

Q. 622 Where in the rules does it say that if you're asleep or unconscious you auto-fail your Will saves? I remember it to be true but I don't exactly remeber where I read it.

[RTGoodman]

A 622

I don't know about automatically failing Will saves, but according to the Aiming a Spell section in the Magic chapter of the PHB (and, of course, the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/spellDescriptions.htm#targetorTargets)), an unconcious target is automatically considered "willing" for the determining whether a spell that can only affect willing targets.


Some spells restrict you to willing targets only. Declaring yourself as a willing target is something that can be done at any time (even if you’re flat-footed or it isn’t your turn). Unconscious creatures are automatically considered willing, but a character who is conscious but immobile or helpless (such as one who is bound, cowering, grappling, paralyzed, pinned, or stunned) is not automatically willing.

That's the closest I can find.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

A 622

You don't auto-fail Will saves just because you're unconcious. In fact, there's at least one spell (nightmare (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/spellsMtoO.html#nightmare)) that would have a meaningless "Will negates" line if you did.

The question "Exactly when can a character make a Reflex saving
throw?" from the FAQ seems to indicate that saving throws generally depend just as much on luck as they do skill.

[theterran]

Q623

The spell SunStroke in the book Sandstorm is listed as a Transmutation spell in the spell lists, but in the descriptions, it's listed as a Necromancy spell. Which is it?

[Shhalahr Windrider]

A 623

Order of precedence makes the full description the primary source over the short list. That makes sunstroke necromancy.

[Gorbash]

Q 624

Can a wizard (or anyone else with spellcraft skill) identify Spell-like ability that's being used with spellcraft? Spellcraft skill says that you can identify spells and magic effects. It also says that you can "understand a strange or unique magical effect" with a check of 30 or higher. So, does it works on SLA or no?

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 624

No, but you can identify the effects of a spell-like ability if you can observe them.
It is reasonable to use DC 20 + spell level rule for this, but only if you can detect the effects.

[Gorbash]

No, but you can identify the effects of a spell-like ability if you can observe them.

Does ti say so somewhere in PHB? I need this strictly by RAW, unfortunately.

[Defiant]

Q 625

Other than cost, are there any drawbacks in using a cold iron weapon rather than a regular weapon?

Q 626

Does a cold iron weapon simply cost 2000gp additional as a baseline for magical enhancements, or for each one? Does a +3 cold iron weapon cost 18000+2000=20000 ?

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Re: 624

Spell-like abilities are magical and work just like spells… (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/monsterTypes.html#special-abilities)

Spell-like abilities, as the name implies, are spells and magical abilities that are very much like spells. (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/abilitiesAndConditions.html#spell-like-abilities)

Lines like this indicate that spell-like abilities should probably be treated as spells whenever applicable. Spell-like abilities cannot be identified as they are being used, however, as they have no components, and one must be able to observe the components of a spell to identify it as it is being cast (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/skillsAll.html#spellcraft).

Note, also that once used, the effects of a spell-like ability would generally be indistinguishable from the spell it replicates. I fireball is a 20-ft. radius spread of flame whether it is produced by a spell-like ability or a spell. From an observational standpoint, the line is even further blurred when Still Spell, Silent Spell, and Eschew Materials are applied to the spell. How do you tell the spell from the spell-like ability then?

[hr]
A 625

There are no drawbacks to cold iron other than the increased cost to enchant and the opportunity cost of using cold iron over silver or adamantine.

[hr]
A 626

I’m unclear about the exact cost of adding enhancements to a cold iron weapon. Page 284 in the Dungeon Master’s Guide says any magical enhancements to a cold iron item cost an additional 2,000 gp. I am unclear as to whether this is a one-time cost or if it applies to each enhancement. For example, would a +1 cold iron frost longsword cost the same as a +2 cold iron longsword (10,330 gp) since both are “+2” weapons, or would it cost 12,330 gp (2,000 extra for the +1 enhancement, and 2,000 extra for the frost enhancement)? Also, is the extra cost (whatever it might be) added to the magic item’s base (so that it takes longer to make a cold iron item), or just to the total price?

You pay +2,000 gp each time you enhance the item, not for each magical property. When you first create the item, you add +2,000 gp on top of the cost of all other enhancements you add to the weapon, and that 2,000 gp increases only the item’s market price. So your example +1 cold iron frost longsword would have a market price of 10,330 gp (30+300+8,000+2,000). The cost to create the sword would be 6,330 gp (30+300+4,000+2,000) and 320 XP (1/25th of the 8,000 gp cost for the enhancements). The sword would take 8 days to make (the 8,000 gp divided by 1,000).

If you later went back and added another +1 enhancement, you’d have to pay the extra 2,000 gp again.

[Talic]

Q 627

Are there any feats or class options that allow monk to apply Charisma to Armor class instead of wisdom? If so, what are they?

EDIT:
@V: Works real well, actually. Sorceror 1 with Precocious Apprentice Qualifies.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

A 267

The only one I can think of is Ascetic Mage from CAdv. It requires 2nd level Arcane spells, however, so it may not work for you, though it comes with several benefits.

[Adumbration]

Q 628

Can a shield be disarmed?

[Duke of URL]

A 628

Yes, but it's not necessarily easy. A shield would qualify as a well-secured, worn item:


Grabbing Items

You can use a disarm action to snatch an item worn by the target. If you want to have the item in your hand, the disarm must be made as an unarmed attack.

If the item is poorly secured or otherwise easy to snatch or cut away the attacker gets a +4 bonus. Unlike on a normal disarm attempt, failing the attempt doesn’t allow the defender to attempt to disarm you. This otherwise functions identically to a disarm attempt, as noted above.

You can’t snatch an item that is well secured unless you have pinned the wearer (see Grapple). Even then, the defender gains a +4 bonus on his roll to resist the attempt.

Edit: @V


Shield, Heavy, Wooden or Steel

You strap a shield to your forearm and grip it with your hand. A heavy shield is so heavy that you can’t use your shield hand for anything else.

...

Shield, Light, Wooden or Steel

You strap a shield to your forearm and grip it with your hand. A light shield’s weight lets you carry other items in that hand, although you cannot use weapons with it.

Note that in both cases, the shield is strapped to the forearm, which makes it worn and secured.

[Talic]

628, rebuttal

A shield would also qualify as a weapon. One that can be readied, on an extremity, in a single move action, and taken off in the same.

In your opinion, would you have to maintain total body control, including partially choking your opponent until he cannot speak, to even have a shot of getting off this item that the defender can take a move and a free action (less than 6 seconds) to toss to the ground? Or would establishing control over a single arm be sufficient to yank it out?

If the latter is true, then that is best represented by either a melee weapon (which a shield is) or a poorly-secured item, and disarmed without a pin.

I'm not arguing that it's not secured.

I'm arguing that it's not "WELL secured".

After all, a poorly secured item gives bonuses to the disarm. A Well-secured item? Practically impossible, and absolutely impossible without 2 people before level 6.

What if an item is neither poorly secured nor well-secured? Perhaps treat it as the martial weapon that it is?

[Nazde Bahatur]

Q. 629
Lets assume I have a monk who has Stunning Fist and Improved Trip.
He begins his attack making a successful stun attack.
The description states: ...creature drops everything held, can't take actions, takes -2 penalty to AC and loses dex bonus to AC...
Now, he has a second attack, in which he attempts to trip the opponent.
A trip attack is initially a melee touch attack, and then the opposing creature makes opposed strength or dexterity checks in order to resist it.
So, the question is, in this particular case (stunned), is the opponent enticed to an opposing strength or dexterity check, or is he tripped immediately?
I'm asking mainly because the description under 'stun' says that the creature cannot take any actions and even drops his weapons.
What is the right answer, please!?

[Shhalahr Windrider]

A 629

An action is something that uses one of a character's allotment of standard, move, full-round, free, swift, or immediate actions. Making a check to resist an opposed roll initiated by another character does not use any of these and, so, is not an action. Therefore, a stunned character is entitled to reist any trip attempts made against him or her.

[dragonboy93]

Q. 630

Let's assume that a character has a feat (like Fist of the Heavens from Book of Exalted Deeds) that allows him to cause the staggered condition on other creatures.

Does the feat also inflict on these creatures nonlethal damage equal to their hit points while they are staggered?

Or is it that when they are dealt nonlethal damage equal to their hit points, they become staggered but not vise versa?

[Shhalahr Windrider]

A 630

The condition is caused by nonlethal damage but does not cause damage itself.

[Fostire]

Q. 631 Is there any feat that works like versatile performer but for the knowledge skills?

[Curmudgeon]

A 629

Yes, the opponent is entitled to an opposing strength or dexterity check to resist being tripped. Being stunned does not make someone fall down; they've still got enough muscle and coordination to remain standing. Checks to resist being tripped simply reflect that.

[Curmudgeon]

A 631 No.

I suspect you're interested in combining this with Knowledge Devotion; with that feat a boost to several other Knowledge skills would be quite powerful. For general boosts to Knowledges, the best bet is Master of Knowledge (Heroes of Horror) for a +1 bonus to all of them. There's also Breadth of Knowledge (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/spelltouchedFeats.htm#breadthofKnowledge), Draconic Knowledge (Draconomicon; dragon only), and Trivial Knowledge (Races of Stone; gnome only).

[Thurbane]

Q 632

Question regarding Dragon Shaman’s energy shield aura:

Energy Shield – if any subject is struck with a Natural Attack or a non-reach weapon, the attacker takes 4 damage of the same type as your Breath Weapon.
If someone were attacked by a by a Hill Giant wielding a greatclub, would this count as a reach or nonreach weapon? While a greatclub is not a reach weapon, in this case it is being wielded by a creature with natural reach. Would it make any difference if the character were adjacent to the giant rather than a square away?

Q 633
The Force of Personality feat allows you to add your CHA modifier to Will saves instead of WIS. If you were wearing a Circlet of Persuasion, would you gain a +3 bonus to Will saves if you had this feat (i.e. +3 on CHA skills and checks)?

[MeklorIlavator]

A 632
As the entry specifies reach weapon and not something else, I would say that the hill giant would take damage. After all, the idea is that the shaman has an aura of energy around him/her that damages attackers, and so it doesn't really matter if you slap him or if Elastic man with his 10 ft arms does, parts of your body still enters the field. On the other hand, if someone uses a pike, then they don't enter the field, and are fine.

[Curmudgeon]

A 633 Yes, but in a limited context.

A Will save is normally a Wisdom check. Force of Personality
makes you add your Charisma modifier instead for Will saves -- but only against mind-affecting spells and abilities, making Will saves Charisma checks for those particulars. The Circlet of Persuasion boosts Charisma checks.

[Fax Celestis]

Q634 How do feats such as Coordinated Strike (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Coordinated_Strike,all), Exalted Companion (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Exalted_Companion,all), Feral Animal Companion (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Feral_Animal_Companion,all), Natural Bond (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Natural_Bond,all), and Shared Fury (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Shared_Fury,all) interact with classes that provide multiple companions, such as a Beastmaster or Beast Heart Adept?

[Thurbane]

A 633 Yes, but in a limited context.

A Will save is normally a Fortitude check.
A 633 query
This bit confuses me?

[Douglas]

A633 correction
No. A save is not a check of any sort. The two words have quite distinct meanings in D&D and cannot be substituted. The Circlet's bonus applies only on things that specifically use the word "check" when referring to the kind of roll to be made.

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 634

Although it is not covered specifically it would apply to all / all can benefit etc. As long as the conditions are met it does not matter how many critters you have in your traveling petting zoo.

[Thurbane]

A 633 again

We have one vote each way, someone wanna settle the tiebreaker?

[Bassikpoet]

Q635

If a medium sized druid can wildshape into a medium or small creature, can a small druid only turn into a small or tiny size creature?

[Sstoopidtallkid]

A 635

No, a Small, or indeed a Tiny Druid can still turn only into Small and Medium creatures. There is a Halfling ACF that gives them smaller Wildshape in exchange for more uses, IIRC, but it's pretty weak.

[monty]

A 633 tiebreaker

A save is not an ability check.

Would you call an attack roll a strength (or dex, as the situation demands) check? No. An ability check is only something that is specifically an ability check.

[Curmudgeon]

A 633 query
This bit confuses me? Well, it should, since I mixed things up. A Will save is normally a Wisdom check. I've edited my post to reduce the confusion.

[monty]

Well, it should, since I mixed things up. A Will save is normally a Wisdom check. I've edited my post to reduce the confusion.

It's not. A Wisdom check is specifically 1d20 + Wisdom modifier + miscellaneous modifiers. A Will Save is 1d20 + Wisdom modifier + base Will save bonus + miscellaneous modifiers.

A save is not an ability check. A skill check is not an ability check. Only an ability check is an ability check.

[Curmudgeon]

A633 correction
No. A save is not a check of any sort. The two words have quite distinct meanings in D&D and cannot be substituted. Here's an example where they are substituted:
Cold Dangers

An unprotected character in cold weather (below 40° F) must make a Fortitude save each hour (DC 15, + 1 per previous check) or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage.

[monty]

Here's an example where they are substituted:

Ok, so maybe it's a check. It's still not an ability check, which is what matters.

Edit: edited previous posts to be more specific.

[Curmudgeon]

Ok, so maybe it's a check. It's still not an ability check, which is what matters. No, not for this question.
Circlet of Persuasion

This silver headband grants a +3 competence bonus on the wearer’s Charisma-based checks. The item doesn't specify only "Charisma checks", but all "Charisma-based checks". Since I've shown an example in the RAW where "saving throw" and "check" are used interchangeably, this "Charisma-based saving throw" = "Charisma-based check" does benefit from Force of Personality.

[SoD]

Q. 636

Are there any Prestige Classes which, at first level, give +1 CL (for an arcane caster) and +1 BAB, apart from the Spellsword?

[RMS Oceanic]

A. 636

The Abjurant Champion, from Complete Mage. Designed to enhance your abjuration spells.

[Defiant]

Q 637

I am wielding and carrying nothing. My weapons and tower shield are "sheathed". What actions are required for me to start receiving the bonus AC from the Tower Shield?

[Shhalahr Windrider]

A 637

I'm not sure how you are carrying the shield, but I don't believe shields are "sheathed" like weapons. So you would have to retrieve the shield using the "Retrieve a stored item" action, which is a move action that provokes AoOs. Then you would have to ready the shield, with the "Ready shield" action, which is a move action, or a free action combined with a regular move if you have BAB +1 or higher.

Source: SRD:Combat:Actions in Combat (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/actionsInCombat.html#table-actions-in-combat)

[powerdemon]

Q 638

I have a Dragon Shaman 4 / Sorcerer 1. If I cast Mage Armor, how long will it last? 1 hour, or 5? (I think it's 1 but just checking)

Q 639

Is the unarmed strike of a monk considered a natural weapon for the sake of feat selection? It says it counts as manufactured or natural for the sake of spells, but doesn't specify for feats.

[Shiva]

Q 640

I need to make rogue level 5 and I choose Doppelganger/Rogue.
http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Doppelgangers_%28Race%29
Doppelganger LA is +4, what does that mean? That my rogue will be level 1? When I make Racial Hit Dice 4d8 do I count constitution modifier in it?
Thanks

[monty]

A 640

Level adjustment is basically dead levels. They count for your character level (experience to next level, etc.), but don't give any hit points, skill ranks, or anything else. Racial hit dice are just like class levels, except that you don't get any special features from them. You still get hit points, higher base saves, skill points, BAB, and feats, but nothing special. For the doppleganger, you could put 7 (remember you get 4 points at first level) points into each skill, and would have two feats.

Since a doppleganger has 4 racial hit dice and +4 LA, that means you wouldn't be able to start lower than ECL (effective character level) 8, and couldn't take your first rogue level until 9.

[Shiva]

Oh I knew it's to good to be true!

Thanks

[Douglas]

A640
In combination with the 4 racial hit dice, that +4 LA means your character cannot be done at that level. A plain Doppelganger with no class levels at all has an ECL of 8.

In general, treat each racial hit die exactly the same as a class level - they provide BAB, saves, hit points (including constitution modifier per die), and skill points, and count towards when you get feats and ability score increases and what your skill ranks cap is. They also are included in both character level and ECL.

Level adjustment is treated as the same number of class levels for ECL, having everyone start at the same level, experience gain, and for Wealth By Level but absolutely nothing else. It is meant as a handicap, in combination with the racial hit dice, to compensate for the powerful racial abilities.

Ninja'ed

[Ravens_cry]

Q641
In Pathfinder, if you die and are reincarnated as another creature, do you keep your old racial weapons proficiencies, or do you get the new ones?

[Defiant]

A 637

I'm not sure how you are carrying the shield, but I don't believe shields are "sheathed" like weapons. So you would have to retrieve the shield using the "Retrieve a stored item" action, which is a move action that provokes AoOs. Then you would have to ready the shield, with the "Ready shield" action, which is a move action, or a free action combined with a regular move if you have BAB +1 or higher.

Source: SRD:Combat:Actions in Combat (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/actionsInCombat.html#table-actions-in-combat)

I always presumed that the shield would be attached somewhere at my back. I also always assumed (along with everyone I've played with) that getting a shield "online" was only a move action.

So it would take a move action to retrieve the shield, and a move action to strap it?

Q 642

Can a shield be drawn (or strapped) as a free action using Quick Draw?

Q 643

Can a shield be used (i.e. get AC bonus from it) if held only and not strapped?

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Re: 637
The description of readying a shield refers only to the part where you strap the sheild to your arm and not to retrieving the shield.

A 642
No. Quick Draw only applies to drawing a weapon, an action distinct from readying a shield.

A 643
No. The point of readying a shield is "Strapping a shield to your arm to gain its shield bonus to your AC… (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/actionsInCombat.html#ready-or-loose)"

[Tyrael]

Q 643

On page 100 of Races of the Dragon, the Dragonwrought Kobold feat states that "your type is dragon rather than humanoid, and you lose the dragonblood subtype." However, the Dragon Wings feat states that it has the Dragonblood subtype, Dragon Wings feat, and 6 HD as prerequisites.

Is it possible for Dragonwrought Kobolds to take the Dragon Wings feat even though they lose their Dragonblood subtype?

[Shhalahr Windrider]

A 642 644 (Watch the numbers please)

All creatures of the Dragon type qualify as being Dragonblood as well. They just don't need the actual subtype, as it should be obvious that a dragon has dragon blood. (Or, perhaps more practically, a subtype is redundant when it only specifies a feature present in the whole type.)

Source: Description of Dragonblood subtype.

[Shiva]

Q 645

I have though time with 32 point buy for halfling rogue. It should be 5th level and have no money. Can you help me, what is the best arrangement? Which is better 8,18,14,18,8,8 or 10,18,16,16,8,8, is there any other way? Class modifiers and +1 point counted. And does halfling rouge have to use small spiked chain or normal?

Thanks

[Talic]

Q 645

I have though time with 32 point buy for halfling rogue. It should be 5th level and have no money. Can you help me, what is the best arrangement? Which is better 8,18,14,18,8,8 or 10,18,16,16,8,8, is there any other way? Class modifiers and +1 point counted. And does halfling rouge have to use small spiked chain or normal?

Thanks

A 645
Most of this question is too subjective for an RAW answer, and should be forwarded to character optimization sections. However, in order to avoid penalties, the halfling should use an appropriately-sized weapon. If you don't mind the attack penalty that comes with using a weapon not sized for your character, you can use a medium-sized spiked chain, however.

[Thurbane]

Q 638

I have a Dragon Shaman 4 / Sorcerer 1. If I cast Mage Armor, how long will it last? 1 hour, or 5? (I think it's 1 but just checking)
A 638

1 hour, but if you take the the Practiced Caster feat, it would be 5.

[TempusCCK]

Q. 646

I believe I once read a feat that allows you to stack Rogue and Fighter levels for determining Sneak attack dice and bonus feats. Does this exist, I no longer have access to my books and cannot find it on CrystalKeep.

[Shiva]

A 646

Daring Outlaw feat but its for Swashbuckler/Rouge and Daring Warrior for Swashbuckler/Fighter class.

Q 647

Can halfling use shortsword or rapier without penalty.

[Ravens_cry]

A 646

Daring Outlaw feat but its for Swashbuckler/Rouge class.

Q 647

Can halfling use shortsword without penalty.
A647
Depends, is it a small shortsword, or a medium shortsword? This matters in 3.5, where creatures need to use weapons designed for their size of person. The logic is that while a short sword be about the same size as a great sword designed for halflings, the balance is quite different, one is meant for use in one hand ,the other two., not to mention it being different sized hands.

[Tyrael]

Q 643

On page 100 of Races of the Dragon, the Dragonwrought Kobold feat states that "your type is dragon rather than humanoid, and you lose the dragonblood subtype." However, the Dragon Wings feat states that it has the Dragonblood subtype, Dragon Wings feat, and 6 HD as prerequisites.

Is it possible for Dragonwrought Kobolds to take the Dragon Wings feat even though they lose their Dragonblood subtype?

Changed the number, didn't pay full attention to the previous numbering.

[Curmudgeon]

A 639

From the Glossary definition of natural weapon (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/glossary&term=Glossary_dnd_naturalweapon&alpha=N):

Creatures do not receive additional attacks from a high base attack bonus when using natural weapons. That definition certainly differs from the Monk's unarmed strike. So the specific exception limits when a Monk's unarmed strike will satisfy a feat's requirements.
A monk’s unarmed strike is treated both as a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons. The Monk's unarmed strike will count as a natural weapon to qualify for a feat if that feat specifically will "enhance or improve" that natural weapon. For all other feats you're out of luck.

[Curmudgeon]

A 647

There are two parts to this answer. Is this halfling proficienct with the shortsword or rapier? (Halflings gain no racial weapon proficiencies, unlike Elves, who are always proficient with rapiers regardless of their class levels). If not, it takes a -4 nonproficiency penalty. Is this halfling using a small size shortsword or rapier? If not, it takes a cumulative -2 inappropriate size penalty for each size step the weapon is away from small.

[Lothorus]

Q. 648

Where in the SRD or what chapter in a book can I find explicit documentation about the strength bonus given to a someone wielding double weapon as two weapons?

I'm 99% certain it's just the same as regular dual-wielding, that is full bonus on the main hand, and 50% bonus on the off hand, but a friend of mine insisted that since the double-weapon was a single thing being held in both hands, you'd get a 150%/100% bonus for the main and off-hands. Only, neither of us can seem to find anything that backs up our claims. All we can find is that bit about how someone holding a double weapon in a single hand can't use both ends.

Thanks in advance.

[Curmudgeon]

A 648

The SRD link is here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/weapons.htm#doubleWeapons), and the relevant part is this:
A character can fight with both ends of a double weapon as if fighting with two weapons, but he or she incurs all the normal attack penalties associated with two-weapon combat, just as though the character were wielding a one-handed weapon and a light weapon. So it's the standard 100%/50% STR bonus as you thought.

There is one special case worth mentioning: a Monk flurrying with a quarterstaff (the only double weapon on the Monk special weapon list) gets 100%/100% STR bonus.
When using weapons as part of a flurry of blows, a monk applies her Strength bonus (not Str bonus × 1½ or ×½) to her damage rolls for all successful attacks, whether she wields a weapon in one or both hands.

[Eloel]

Q649
Can I use TWF & Flurry of Blows together by taking an extra -2 penalty to every attack roll?
Q650
Does Superior Unarmed Strike stack with Monk's Belt?

[Sstoopidtallkid]

A 650

Yes.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

A 649

Yes. Unarmed Strikes, however, cannot be dual-wielded by RAW, so you have to wield at least one weapon other than your fists. However, the rule causing that is stupid and the wording is confusing, so dual-wielding US is a common houserule and almost certainly RAI.

[Eloel]

Q651
Is a Half-Orc Half-Elf character viable, how would the abilities be dealed?
Same for a Half-Giant Half-Minotaur character.
Q652
Can you SA with flurry of blows? If you can, does the damage effect all attacks?

[Talic]

A 651 Any half-race that is a template can be combined with others, by RAW. Any half-race that is a race (such as half orc) cannot be combined with another half-race that is a race (such as half elf).

A 652 Provided you satisfy the conditions for Sneak Attack for all attacks, yes. One good method to do this is flanking.

*****************************************

Q 653 Are there any classes that grant Wisdom to AC while allowing shield use?

[Gorbash]

Q 654

When using Combat Brute tactical feat (CW 110), the Momentum Swing maneuver, does it deal bonus damage in addition to normal benefits of using Power Attack, or it replaces those and deals just the indicated bonus damage ( 1.5x PA penalty for 1-handed, 3x PA penalty for 2-handed weapons) ?

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Re: 649

A 649

Yes. Unarmed Strikes, however, cannot be dual-wielded by RAW, so you have to wield at least one weapon other than your fists.
Uh, where does it say that? The FAQ states otherwise.


The description of the flurry of blows ability says there’s no such thing as a monk attacking with an off-hand weapon during a flurry of blows. What does that mean, exactly? Can the monk make off-hand attacks in addition to flurry attacks?

Actually, the text to which you refer appears in the entry for unarmed strikes. When a monk uses her unarmed strike ability, she does not suffer any penalty for an off-hand attack, even when she has her hands full and attacks with her knees and elbows, using the flurry of blows ability to make extra attacks, or both.

The rules don’t come right out and say that a monk can’t use an unarmed strike for an off-hand strike (although the exact wording of the unarmed strike ability suggests otherwise), and no compelling reason why a monk could not do so exists. When using an unarmed strike as an off-hand attack, the monk suffers all the usual attack penalties from two-weapon fighting (see Table 8–10 in the Player’s Handbook) and the monk adds only half her Strength bonus (if any) to damage if the off-hand unarmed strike hits.

To add an off-hand attack to a flurry of blows, stack whatever two-weapon penalty the monk has with the penalty (if any) from the flurry. Attacks from the flurry have the monk’s full damage bonus from Strength, but the off-hand attack gains only half Strength bonus to damage. If the off-hand attack is a weapon, that weapon isn’t available for use in the flurry (if it can be used in a flurry at all, see the previous question). For example, a 4th-level monk with the Two-Weapon Fighting feat and a Strength score of 14 decides to use a flurry of blows and decides to throw in an off-hand attack as well. The monk has a base attack bonus of +3 and a +2 Strength bonus. With a flurry, the character can make two attacks, each at +3 (base +3, –2 flurry, +2 Strength). An unarmed strike is a light weapon, so the monk suffers an additional –2 penalty for both the flurry and the off-hand attack, and the monk makes three attacks, each at an attack bonus of +1. The two attacks from the flurry are primary attacks and add the monk’s full Strength bonus to damage of +2. The single off-hand attack adds half the monk’s Strength bonus to damage (+1).

If the monk in our example has two sais to use with the flurry, plus the off-hand attack, she can use both in the flurry (in which case she must make the off-hand attack with an unarmed strike) or one sai for the off-hand attack and one with the flurry. The sai used in the off-hand attack is not available for the flurry and vice versa.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Re: 649

Uh, where does it say that? The FAQ states otherwise.Re: 649

The text in the monk's Unarmed Strike says:
There is no such thing as an off-hand attack for a monk striking unarmed.That means an Unarmed Strike cannot be dual-wielded with itself. Yes it's really dumb, but that's what it seems to imply. (this question and so many like it is the reason for my sig).

[powerdemon]

Q 655

Keeping with the monk trend: In the Flurry of Blows column for the monk, is that bonus after the BAB or before the BAB?
Meaning, would my Flurry attack bonus be (Str mod + BAB + Flurry mod)?

[Gorbash]

Q 656

All this monk questions made me wonder:

Can a monk wielding gauntlets (to get weapon ehchantments etc), attack with his legs, elbows etc instead? The point is that he's using gauntlets in cases where he cannot flurry, and in cases where he could flurry he does so with other parts of his body except with fists.

[powerdemon]

Re: 649

The text in the monk's Unarmed Strike says:That means an Unarmed Strike cannot be dual-wielded with itself. Yes it's really dumb, but that's what it seems to imply. (this question and so many like it is the reason for my sig).

I believe they mean by that, that you don't take offhand penalties since monks are so good with unarmed strikes. And you don't always use your hands, so if you attack with a foot and a knee, you can't have an off-knee :smallwink:

[powerdemon]

Q 655

All this monk questions made me wonder:

Can a monk wielding gauntlets (to get weapon ehchantments etc), attack with his legs, elbows etc instead? The point is that he's using gauntlets in cases where he cannot flurry, and in cases where he could flurry he does so with other parts of his body except with fists.

A656

Yes, but you wouldn't get the attack bonuses and such from the gauntlets for those attacks.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

I believe they mean by that, that you don't take offhand penalties since monks are so good with unarmed strikes. And you don't always use your hands, so if you attack with a foot and a knee, you can't have an off-knee :smallwink:That interpretation seems more sane but less supported by the rules, IMHO. :smallannoyed:

[Eloel]

Q 655

Keeping with the monk trend: In the Flurry of Blows column for the monk, is that bonus after the BAB or before the BAB?
Meaning, would my Flurry attack bonus be (Str mod + BAB + Flurry mod)?

Flurry of Blows column is already modified. A level 8 monk who does full attack would get 2 attacks, one at +6, one at +1. Same monk doing flurry would get 3 attacks, two at +5, one at +0. Hope this is clear.

Q n+1
Can a monk flurry with a single fist?

[powerdemon]

That interpretation seems more sane but less supported by the rules, IMHO. :smallannoyed:

At that point, you poke your friendly neighborhood DM and ax him if it's OK/what (s)he thinks.


Flurry of Blows column is already modified. A level 8 monk who does full attack would get 2 attacks, one at +6, one at +1. Same monk doing flurry would get 3 attacks, two at +5, one at +0. Hope this is clear.

Yes it is, thanks. That's what I thought it was, but it never hurts to get clarification.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

A 657

Yes, he can.

[Eloel]

Q658
Is this viable for unarmed strikes?
1 step increase from racial (half-giant)
7 step increase from 11 monk levels and monk's belt and SUAS (totals level 20) (1d3 to 2d10 in description)
1 step from INA
4 step from 3 FoF levels (1d3 to 1d10 in description)

1d3 - 1d4 - 1d6 - 1d8 - 1d10 - 2d6 - 2d8 - 2d10 - 4d8 - 6d8 - 8d8 - 12d8 - 16d8 - 24d8

24d8 damage/hit?

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Re: 649

That interpretation seems more sane but less supported by the rules, IMHO. :smallannoyed:
It's the intended interpretation, as pointed out in the FAQ entry I quoted. Now, I'll be the first to admit the FAQ sometimes outright contradicts the rules. Heck it even occasionally contradicts itself. But look at the context the "no such thing as an off-hand unarmed strike" statement is put in. It's in a description of how you can make an unarmed strike with any part of your body without penalty. The writer for that section was trying to emphasize one thing and ended up making one overly broad statement that has unfortunate implications when taken out of context. Context is important.

[Shiva]

Q 659

In Magic Item Compendium what does mean price: +1 bonus for melee weapons? And what does Adamantine weapon actually do? Is Ring of the darkhidden actually any good in game?

[powerdemon]

Q 659

In Magic Item Compendium what does mean price: +1 bonus for melee weapons? And what does Adamantine weapon actually do? Is Ring of the darkhidden actually any good in game?

The price +1 is used to find out how much it costs. Use the Dungeon Masters Guide (Magic items section) to find the price of the weapon. There is a chart that has the cost of various +s of weapons. There is no fixed cost for that enhancement because the price depends on how many other enhancements are already on the weapon. Since the cost varies, they use the + system. Add all the +s together then check the table to see how much the total weapon costs. I don't believe the cost of the weapon is included in that chart, just the cost of adding the enhancements.


And as far as adamantine is concerned:


Weapons fashioned from adamantine have a natural ability to bypass hardness when sundering weapons or attacking objects, ignoring hardness less than 20.

And the darkhidden, totally depends on the situation. If you are underground a lot (Say, in an underdark campaign) then yeah, it's great. If you are on the surface in daylight a lot, then it is useless.

[Gorbash]

Any takes on this one?


Q 654

When using Combat Brute tactical feat (CW 110), the Momentum Swing maneuver, does it deal bonus damage in addition to normal benefits of using Power Attack, or it replaces those and deals just the indicated bonus damage ( 1.5x PA penalty for 1-handed, 3x PA penalty for 2-handed weapons) ?

[powerdemon]

Any takes on this one?

Replaces it.

[Curmudgeon]

A 650 correction

The answer is: no. Both the Monk's Belt and the Superior Unarmed Strike feat reference your actual Monk level as their base for boosting, so you would get the better of these two overlapping boosts.
The wearer’s AC and unarmed damage is treated as a monk of five levels higher.
If you are a monk, you instead deal unarmed damage as a monk four levels higher.

Does a monk with a monk’s belt and the Superior Unarmed Strike feat benefit from both, or does just the highest benefit apply?
In this case, the better benefit will prevail. These effects technically do not have a bonus, so they would not use the stacking rules. One effect will end up overshadowing the other.

[Curmudgeon]

Q658
Is this viable for unarmed strikes?
A 658 No.

1 step increase from racial (half-giant) There's no such thing.
A half-giant can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, his space and reach remain those of a creature of his actual size. A half-giant Monk still has medium size fists, and they operate the same as any other medium size Monk's fists.

7 step increase from 11 monk levels and monk's belt and SUAS (totals level 20) (1d3 to 2d10 in description) While the Monk's unarmed damage progression may looks like size increase steps to you, you are mistaken. The Monk's unarmed progression has different values than size increase steps; the two types of steps cannot be interchanged. You'd get the unarmed damage listed for a level 16 (11 + 5 from Monk's Belt; Superior Unarmed Strike provides no further benefit) Monk of medium size; that's 2d8.

4 step from 3 FoF levels (1d3 to 1d10 in description) There is only one "step" here. A 3rd level medium size Fist of the Forest does 1d10 unarmed damage. The Monk's unarmed damage at level 16 is greater than this, so you follow the instructions listed for this prestige class:
See the monk class feature (PH 41). If your unarmed attack already deals this amount of damage, increase the base damage to the next step indicated on the monk class table. The next step after 2d8 on Table: The Monk (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/monk.htm#tableTheMonk) is 2d10.

1 step from INA Improved Natural Attack does indeed provide a size step; 2d10 becomes 4d8.


1d3 - 1d4 - 1d6 - 1d8 - 1d10 - 2d6 - 2d8 - 2d10 - 4d8 - 6d8 - 8d8 - 12d8 - 16d8 - 24d8

24d8 damage/hit? Clearly not. The final unarmed damage is 4d8/hit.

[Curmudgeon]

Q 656

Can a monk wielding gauntlets (to get weapon ehchantments etc), attack with his legs, elbows etc instead? The point is that he's using gauntlets in cases where he cannot flurry, and in cases where he could flurry he does so with other parts of his body except with fists.
A 656 Yes, with limitations.

A Monk is not proficient with gauntlets, and will suffer the usual nonproficiency penalties when using them. Apart from that the biggest impediment is that gauntlets are not special Monk weapons.
Flurry of Blows (Ex)

The resulting modified base attack bonuses are shown in the Flurry of Blows Attack Bonus column on Table: The Monk. This penalty applies for 1 round, so it also affects attacks of opportunity the monk might make before her next action. When a monk reaches 5th level, the penalty lessens to -1, and at 9th level it disappears. A monk must use a full attack action to strike with a flurry of blows.

When using flurry of blows, a monk may attack only with unarmed strikes or with special monk weapons (kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, sai, shuriken, and siangham). The monk can’t use any weapon other than a special monk weapon as part of a flurry of blows. If the Monk has a penalty from attacking with Flurry of Blows, that penalty persists until the start of the next round; the Monk is still flurrying, and only special Monk weapons can be used. So gauntlets could not be used in the same round as FoB, including for AoOs following. The gauntlets (with penalties) could be used in other rounds.

[Gorbash]

Gauntlets are listed as unarmed strike, though.

Q. 660

Does a druid wearing a Rhino Hide with Wild enchantment on it, wild shaped into a Dire Lion with pounce ability gets the bonus damage on all attacks during a charge or no? The description is a bit confusing it says that he gains bonus dmg on any charge attack. I'm assuming that's not the same as 'on any attack during a charge', but I just want to check.

[Demons_eye]

Q:661
Dose Expansion and enlarge person stack?

[Curmudgeon]

Gauntlets are listed as unarmed strike, though. Sorry, that's incorrect. Gauntlet and unarmed strike are both listed under the "Unarmed Attacks" category. Unarmed strike is a type of unarmed attack, as is a gauntlet attack. The Monk has unarmed strikes, but still has no proficiency with gauntlets, and gauntlets are not special Monk weapons.

[Curmudgeon]

A 661 No.

This is expressly answered in the spell description.
Multiple magical effects that increase size do not stack.

[Brett Wong]

Q 662

Does Shou Disciple give you the ability to flurry if you didn't already have it?

[Curmudgeon]

A 662 No.

At 3rd level, a Shou Disciple gains the ability to use any light melee weapon for his flurry of blows, not just special Monk weapons. At 5th level, a Shou Disciple may use any melee weapon for his flurry of blows. The PrC does not confer the base ability, however.

[monty]

Q 663

Can an eternal wand store a spell with a material and/or experience cost? If so, does that affect the price of the wand?

Q 664

Does the Master Specialist's Expanded Spellbook ability let you choose a spell from any list, or just the Wiz/Sor list? It doesn't seem to specify.

[MeklorIlavator]

Q 665
If one is already wearing Heavy Armor does one suffer any additional penalties for having a medium Load?

[Aldetto]

Q#666 (correct number?)
What would happen if you had a sack and filled said sack with potions such as: alchemists fire, acid flasks ect? and then precede to hit someone or thing with it? and what would the damage of said attack be?

Also is this how i do things like this? not quite sure no need to reply if correct.

[Defiant]

Q 665
If one is already wearing Heavy Armor does one suffer any additional penalties for having a medium Load?

A 665

No. The higher penalties of either a load or armor are incurred (i.e. they don't stack/add on to each other).

See this (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/carryingCapacity.htm) for more information.

[monty]

A 666

I'm not entirely sure if this is RAW (someone correct me if I'm wrong), but I think you'd use a single attack roll for all of them, and add them together for damage.

[RTGoodman]

A 666

Monty may be right, but I'm not sure it's a completely RAW-type question. I would probably rule that the attack is a melee touch attack with a -4 penalty for using an improvised weapon. I don't think the damage would be the full normal, though, but I don't really know what it WOULD be instead.

Either way, it's probably something for you to talk to your DM about if you're a player, or to start a thread about if you're the DM.

[Curmudgeon]

A 666

Any creature using an improvised weapon—in this case a sack of alchemical vials—is considered to be nonproficient with it and thus takes a –4 penalty on attack rolls made with it. An improvised thrown weapon has a range increment of 10 feet. Make a single attack roll for the sack. While a splash weapon like alchemist's fire only requires a ranged touch attack to hit, an improvised thrown weapon requires a ranged (normal) attack. As the contents all go together, they will all impact together. Cloth has hardness of 0 and 2 HP/inch of thickness. Each splash weapon's damage will first be directed to some part of the sack, subtracting about 1 point from each (thickness not more than 1/2"). Next you need to run through the target's energy resistances, and for that you treat each type of vial separately: all acid vials added together before acid resistance X is subtracted, for instance. As the vials all impact together, you would add the remaining damage together before applying the target's damage reduction.

[Shiva]

Q667

If I'm proficient with just simple weapons like rogue, and I have Weapon Finesse feat can I use spiked chain without penalty?

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 667

No, Weapon Finesse does not affect the proficiency issue.

[DrakebloodIV]

Q668

part1- Do move silently checks apply to flying?

part2- Can anyone point me in the right direction for a flying race?

[Sstoopidtallkid]

A 668
1)Yes. The skill description makes no mention of a change due to movement modes.
2)Half-Dragon gains wings, and Pixie flies. A 0-LA race that flies is the Raptoran from Races of the Wild, though it doesn't gain 'true' flight until 10th level, similar to the Dragonborn template from Races of the Dragon, which also can fly once it passes a certain point.

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

A. 668

Ad Part 1: Yes, it is move silently and not walk silently, so any move will qualify.

Ad Part 2: Right for what?
If you want ideas for a flying build you can always open a new thread for it, this thread is for RAW questions.

EDIT: Flying ninjas move very silently though.....

[KevLar]

Q. 669

a. Does the monk (etc) bonus to AC apply when you have a ring of Force Shield activated?
b. Can you use Divine Shield when you have a ring of Force Shield activated, but no actual shield?

[Curmudgeon]

A 669a No.


Force Shield

An iron band, this simple ring generates a shield-sized (and shield-shaped) wall of force that stays with the ring and can be wielded by the wearer as if it were a heavy shield (+2 AC)
AC Bonus (Ex)

She loses these bonuses when she is immobilized or helpless, when she wears any armor, when she carries a shield, or when she carries a medium or heavy load. The Monk class feature does not specify exceptions for any type of shield, so a shield made of force will result in the loss of this AC bonus.

A 669b Yes.


As a standard action, spend one of your turn/rebuke undead attempts to channel energy into your shield, granting it a bonus equal to your Charisma modifier. This bonus applies to the shield's bonus to Armor Class and lasts for a number of rounds equal to half your character level. The feat does not specify whether the shield must be made of matter or force, so it works as stated.

[Thurbane]

Q 663

Can an eternal wand store a spell with a material and/or experience cost? If so, does that affect the price of the wand?
A 663

The rules don't have anything to specifically say on the matter. If the DM allows, it would seem reasonable that he would have to extrapolate a price based on regular wands that use expensive material components or an XP cost.

[JeminiZero]

Q. 670: I have 2 RAW questions:

a. Does unarmed strike count as natural weapon. E.g. lets say I have 2 improved unarmed strikes (not claws) and a bite attack, does that qualify me for multiattack (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Multiattack) (requires 3 natural attacks)?

b. On a similiar note, does natural weapon count as an unarmed strike (e.g. if I take shadowblade which adds Dex bonus to damage for unarmed strikes, does the bonus damage apply to my bite attack as above?)

[Jasdoif]

A670

No, and no. An unarmed strike and a natural weapon are very different things; you cannot normally apply effects for natural weapons to unarmed strikes, or vice virsa.

A monk's unarmed strike can benefit from spells or other effects that improve natural weapons (or manufactured) weapons, as a special ability of the monk class. I imagine there are other ways to get such an arrangement, but offhand I don't know what they would be.

[Gorbash]

I really hate to be the spammer, but it seems my question has gone unnoticed.




Q. 660

Does a druid wearing a Rhino Hide with Wild enchantment on it, wild shaped into a Dire Lion with pounce ability gets the bonus damage on all attacks during a charge or no? The description is a bit confusing it says that he gains bonus dmg on any charge attack. I'm assuming that's not the same as 'on any attack during a charge', but I just want to check.

[mikej]

Q 671

Does the incantatrix's metamagic effect & cooperative metamagic bypass the cost of losing higher level spells to use, like any other metamagic feat. Example if I use coop meta to maximize [ +3 ] on my allies fireball, do I still sacriface a 6th level spell ?. Or is the insanely high spellcraft DC the cost of using these abilities with metamagic feats.

[Jasdoif]

I really hate to be the spammer, but it seems my question has gone unnoticed.Well I certainly didn't see it before.

A660

I'm highly inclined to agree that you get the 2d6 bonus damage only once. While pounce lets you make a full attack at the end of a charge, I do believe the entire charge action is a single "charge attack", which is what the bonus is applied to.

[Shiva]

Q 672

When I make damage with two handed weapon and I have Insightful strike feat is intelligence bonus multiplied with 1.5 like strength bonus?

[Tygell]

Q 673

As an incantatrix, could I use Instant Metamagic and Cooperative metamagic to persist an ally Cleric's spell without the normal Persist penalty to spell level?

More or less, I want to know what the best way is to persist a cleric's Mass Death Ward spell, without the spellcraft check skyrocketing out of my reach. Thanks!

[Curmudgeon]

Q 672

When I make damage with two handed weapon and I have Insightful strike feat is intelligence bonus multiplied with 1.5 like strength bonus?A 672

I'm sorry, but I'm guessing here. I can't find Insightful Strike in the Online Feat Index (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/lists/feats). There's a Diamond Mind maneuver with that name in Tome of Battle, but that doesn't seem to fit your question. There is also a Swashbuckler class ability called Insightful Strike, which does seem to fit the question, so that's my best guess for the following answer:

No, the Swashbuckler's Insightful Strike does not get multiplied when you use two hands on a weapon.
She applies her Intelligence bonus (if any) as a bonus on damage rolls (in addition to any Strength bonus she may have) with any light weapon, as well as any other weapon that can be used with Weapon Finesse, such as a rapier, whip, or spiked chain.
Wielding a Weapon Two-Handed

When you deal damage with a weapon that you are wielding two-handed, you add 1½ times your Strength bonus. However, you don’t get this higher Strength bonus when using a light weapon with two hands. The rule for multiplying your Strength bonus makes no reference to multiplying any other type of bonus, and Insightful Strike also makes no reference to multiplying your Intelligence bonus. So when using a spiked chain or whip in two hands you would add 1 times your Intelligence bonus and 1½ times your Strength bonus.