Obscure rules most people have probably forgotten about (3.5)

[Hyooz]

My personal favorite is this:

Light Generation

Fully 30% of magic weapons shed light equivalent to a light spell (bright light in a 20-foot radius, shadowy light in a 40-foot radius). These glowing weapons are quite obviously magical. Such a weapon can’t be concealed when drawn, nor can its light be shut off. Some of the specific weapons detailed below always or never glow, as defined in their descriptions.

And there's no particular rule about being able to craft items specifically not to glow either, just that fully 30% of all magic weapons are really shiny. So if you have a party that can successfully sneak around in the dark, magical weapons drawn, consider yourself lucky.

[arguskos]

The fact that you can't use multiple metamagic rods on the same spell always makes me smile when people do it. Note: it says in their descriptions on the SRD.

[noiadodh]

PHB, Table 10–1: Items Affected by Magical Attacks

i never saw a DM that used this rule.. sometimes im not even sure of in which book this rule is on..

[Yukitsu]

My group keeps forgetting what 3.5 haste does, and also conditions that nerf attacks of opportunity.

[tahu88810]

Lighting of any kind, requiring food, conditions that nerf AoO's

[Kantolin]

My personal favorite is this:

[I]Light Generation

Believe it or not, this comes up a heck of a lot in most of my real life games. Primarily since 'it is dark' is usually because 'so you can't see'.

For me, it's mishap rules. Everyone knows you don't use a scroll above your level, but hardly anyone actually knows (or cares) why this is the case, and we've had a couple times where we couldn't find where the rule was in the first place.

[UserClone]

Scroll mishap rules are in the skill section under UMD.


The order in which your magic items get toasted if you roll a natch 1 on a Reflex save is a darn obscure one.

[Edge of Dreams]

I think people forget a lot of the conditions and risks associated with spells. Like how you hear about genesis-ing a plane made of platinum, which the spell does not allow. Or how contact other plane gives you so much info, but even at level 20, it can have a 20% chance of giving no or false information.

[tahu88810]

The order in which your magic items get toasted if you roll a natch 1 on a Reflex save is a darn obscure one.

I'm not even sure where to find the rules for magic items being damaged, let alone the order they're damaged in.

[Suzuro]

The weight of money, enough said.


-Suzuro

[SurlySeraph]

You can't sneak attack anything that has concealment. Since this means that if you don't have darkvision or low-light vision, you can't sneak attack in a darkened room... well...

[Zaydos]

My players always forgot encumberance altogether. Every few levels I'd have to help people level and I'd go over their weight carried, and they'd have to drop 10~20 pounds of gear. Had to stop the warlock from buying a bag of holding that alone put him into a medium load.

But my party always forgot grappling rules altogether, only used them with giant scorpions.

[Akisa]

That monks are not proficient with unarmed strikes .

[Reinboom]

My group keeps forgetting what 3.5 haste does, and also conditions that nerf attacks of opportunity.

Really?
Haste was always a simple spell to me. "What happens when you get faster?" +1 to hit, reflex, ac, +30 to move speed, +1 attack on full attack.

Now, something that is caused by haste that I've found to be more obscure is:

Jump
If your speed is less than 30 feet, you take a -6 penalty for every 10 feet of speed less than 30 feet. If your speed is greater than 30 feet, you gain a +4 bonus for every 10 feet beyond 30 feet.

So, haste provides a large untyped bonus to jump checks.

[Sir.Swindle]

Ran into an issue where a DM didn't know what maneuverability for flying creatures was. Manticore hovered and shot spikes all combat!!

Aside, 3.5 haste isn't hard it's just harder than simply getting more actioins like 3.0

[Realms of Chaos]

Here's a rather obscure rule:

When you are affected by a confusion effect or something that imitates it (insanity) and are attacked, you automatically spend your next round attacking the attacker if still confused.
That's a useful one to remember.

[Ernir]

You can manifest powers straight out of another's skull.

Constrict damage is dealt whenever you win a grapple check, not just when trying to deal damage.

That a surprise round only allows a standard action and free actions, not a full round's worth of actions.

[sonofzeal]

- Full Round Withdrawl.

- Spontaneous casters can metamagic swift/immediate spells with no increase to casting time.

- Drop Prone = free (not swift) action, +4 AC vs ranged, -4 AC vs melee.

[olentu]

Constrict damage is dealt whenever you win a grapple check, not just when trying to deal damage.

Hmm now that I think about it does not improved grap have something like this but for the attack that established the hold.

[Curmudgeon]

Full attacks with ranged weapons don't provoke attacks of opportunity. The provocation for a ranged attack is only specified under the "Standard Actions" section of the Combat chapter. The table in the "Full-Round Actions" section says full attacks don't provoke AoOs, and the text there doesn't contradict that or make any exceptions.

[taltamir]

spells without a somatic component are not subject to ASF.

[Harperfan7]

scrolls can have multiple spells

scroll tubes sometimes have fire traps or glyphs of warding on them when randomly generated as treasure

you cannot be a cleric of a god if your race isn't on their common worshippers list (so no human clerics of corellon)

sense motive to get a hunch about something
sense motive to tell if someone is trustworthy

spell component pouches can be stolen via sleight of hand

[taltamir]

An elf who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if she were actively looking for it. (making them the ultimate rogues :P)

Spell component pouches don't actually contain an infinite amount of components... it is just recommended that DMs let players have a good amount cheap components without having the tedium of micro managing them, assuming they have bought them in the local magic mart TM.

(in campaigns without magic marts, wizards somehow still have an infinite amount of relatively large components in their spell pouches, much more then could actually fit in said pouch)

[Curmudgeon]

you cannot be a cleric of a god if your race isn't on their common worshippers list (so no human clerics of corellon)

That's not quite right. I can think of two exceptions.

1. Having the appropriate type of blood will qualify you to choose a racial deity; you need not be a pure member of the typical race. So Half-Human/Half-Elves can be Clerics of Corellon Larethian.
2. You cannot choose a racially-oriented deity as a Cleric if you're not of that race/blood, but that doesn't mean you can't be a Cleric of another race. Adventurers die, and Reincarnate can bring them back as a different race. They keep worshiping their original god.

[Gralamin]

Full attacks with ranged weapons don't provoke attacks of opportunity. The provocation for a ranged attack is only specified under the "Standard Actions" section of the Combat chapter. The table in the "Full-Round Actions" section says full attacks don't provoke AoOs, and the text there doesn't contradict that or make any exceptions.

How does this interact with choosing to move after your first attack in a full attack? Would it give you a Get out of AoO free card, or would it somehow retrocausationally cause the first attack to provoke an AoO?

[Curmudgeon]

How does this interact with choosing to move after your first attack in a full attack? Would it give you a Get out of AoO free card, or would it somehow retrocausationally cause the first attack to provoke an AoO?

It's just a fork in the option tree. At the time of the first AoO the player decides which way they're going to go: full attack (so no AoO), or take the AoO. If they commit to a full attack they can't take any move actions. If they take the AoO but then decide to full attack that's just too bad; they provoked by dithering, and that can't be undone.

[Sliver]

- Full Round Withdrawl.

I actually saw this one, used it (as a DM) and couldn't find it when a player asked about it mid-game...

[deuxhero]

Where is that in the SRD anyways? I know it was in Troika's ToEE.

[Yuki Akuma]

Rejoice, for I have used the Search function!

[The Dark Fiddler]

How does this interact with choosing to move after your first attack in a full attack? Would it give you a Get out of AoO free card, or would it somehow retrocausationally cause the first attack to provoke an AoO?

Isn't the movement a 5-foot step, and therefore AoO free?