PDA

View Full Version : Have a question about deathward



Immutep
2008-12-09, 06:02 PM
Ok, version 3.5 magic item compendium gives rules for a Deathward ability bonus for armour, which it says can be activated once per day. However, it totally fails to mention the duration of the benefit. If i was to interprit this litterally, it appears that the benefit lasts for the entire day (I'm almost certain this will not be the case) does anybody have a more up to date copy of this rule than me? How long are the effects supposed to last?

Blood_Lord
2008-12-09, 06:22 PM
Ok, version 3.5 magic item compendium gives rules for a Deathward ability bonus for armour, which it says can be activated once per day. However, it totally fails to mention the duration of the benefit. If i was to interprit this litterally, it appears that the benefit lasts for the entire day (I'm almost certain this will not be the case) does anybody have a more up to date copy of this rule than me? How long are the effects supposed to last?

The ability is not the spell, it only effects a single spell/attack.

Immutep
2008-12-09, 06:27 PM
Ok, so does this mean you get to choose to activate it as a free/instant action as a response to somebody causing a death affect on you, or does it automatically disarm the first such effect per day?

Blood_Lord
2008-12-09, 06:30 PM
Ok, so does this mean you get to choose to activate it as a free/instant action as a response to somebody causing a death affect on you, or does it automatically disarm the first such effect per day?

You take the action to activate it. It takes an immediate action, look at the swift/immediate action sidebar in most recent books, including MiC.

Immutep
2008-12-09, 06:41 PM
So i encounter a high level Lich, decide to activate Deathward just in case, The Lich doesn't use a suitable spell in it's next round. Is the effect still there? How long does it last or if my oponent doesn't use a suitable attack the very next round, is it's one use wasted?

Keld Denar
2008-12-09, 06:41 PM
You take the action to activate it. It takes an immediate action, look at the swift/immediate action sidebar in most recent books, including MiC.

This is correct.

Immutep
2008-12-09, 06:43 PM
So i encounter a high level Lich, decide to activate Deathward just in case, The Lich doesn't use a suitable spell in it's next round. Is the effect still there? How long does it last or if my oponent doesn't use a suitable attack the very next round, is it's one use wasted?

Blood_Lord
2008-12-09, 06:56 PM
So i encounter a high level Lich, decide to activate Deathward just in case, The Lich doesn't use a suitable spell in it's next round. Is the effect still there? How long does it last or if my oponent doesn't use a suitable attack the very next round, is it's one use wasted?

No, you activate it as an immediate action when something effects you:

Read about immediate actions. You fight a Lich, he casts Fear, you don't activate it. You make the save and attack him. He now tries to weaken you with Enervation: he rolls the touch attack, if he misses you don't activate the ability, if he hits, you can then choose to activate the ability, rendering you immune to the negative levels. You activate on his turn.

TheCountAlucard
2008-12-10, 01:58 AM
No, you activate it as an immediate action when something effects you:

Read about immediate actions. You fight a Lich, he casts Fear, you don't activate it. You make the save and attack him. He now tries to weaken you with Enervation: he rolls the touch attack, if he misses you don't activate the ability, if he hits, you can then choose to activate the ability, rendering you immune to the negative levels. You activate on his turn.

But he's asking how long it lasts. I'd say, since it's emulating the spell and I don't have the book on me, you take the CL of the item and follow the normal duration of Death Ward, which is 1 minute per level. So yeah, it'll probably last you the rest of the fight.

BobVosh
2008-12-10, 02:04 AM
It doesn't cast the spell. It cancels one effect deathward can cancel per day.

TheCountAlucard
2008-12-10, 02:20 AM
It doesn't cast the spell. It cancels one effect deathward can cancel per day.

Okay, then. Thank you for clarifying that. As I said, I don't have the book with me at the moment, so I was just going by the context of what was said by the OP.

Immutep
2008-12-10, 08:37 AM
The reason i had to ask is the wording in the book was very inconclusive (at least the book i've got, maybe their was a reprint) every other ability around it is worded in exactly the same way with the sole excepiton that they specify a duration for the effect (example displacement functions once per day, and the effect lasts for 5 rounds. Whereas deathward simply says the deathward property can be used once per day) since it is suggestive that you have to make a decision to activate the abilities, i thought they had just ommitted the duration.

Douglas
2008-12-10, 09:20 AM
The wording is perfectly clear. It negates "a death effect" or "a negative energy effect". Note the singular in each of those. That means it negates exactly one such effect. Also, since it does not say anything about "the next X effect" or have any duration, it does the negation only at the instant it is activated - which takes an immediate action. You get hit by a death effect or negative energy effect and spend an immediate action on the spot to negate it. You can do this once per day.

Immutep
2008-12-10, 09:56 AM
In my copy it states it like this:

Armour and shields that have
this property are favored by
those dedicated to fighting
the foul arts of necromancy.
While wearing or using death
ward armour or a death ward
shield, you can activate the
armour to ignore any death
effect (including death spells,
magical death effects, and energy drain)
or negetive energy effect (such as inflict
spells or chill touch).
The death ward property functions once
per day.

So if there's a different wording where it says "a death effect" then thats where the confusion occurs. Thanks for clearing this up.

Blood_Lord
2008-12-10, 12:21 PM
So if there's a different wording where it says "a death effect" then thats where the confusion occurs. Thanks for clearing this up.

Read your own wording. It says, quite clearly, "any death effect", compared to Deathward the spell, which says "immune to all death spells, magical death effects, energy drain, and any negative energy effects."

Deathward the spells has a duration.

Deathward the armor effects only a single effect. Please please please read about immediate actions. There is a reason that it is an immediate action to activate.