Simple RAW Thread for 3.5 #35: 3/2 Score And Four Threads Ago

[Troacctid]

Q349 does an artificers craft reserve grant craft points when they gain a non artificer level?

"Reserve: An artificer receives a pool of points he can spend instead of experience points when crafting a magic item. Each time the artificer gains a new level, he receives a new craft reserve; leftover points from the previous level do not carry over. If the points are not spent, they are lost. An artificer can also use his craft reserve to supplement the XP cost of the item he is making."

It doesn't specify artificer level, so do you get a new craft reserve of your last craft reserve amount if you pick up a non artificer level?

No.

Q 350

About the smoky confinement spell from Complete Mage:



Please note the spell's duration is "instantaneous", so it cannot be dispelled.

A) What happesn if a vial containing a creature thanks to smoky confinement is brought into an antimagic area?

B) What happens if said vial is opened or broken inside an antimagic area?

C) That might not be doable depending on the answers to the above, but if a vial containing a dangerous creature is stoppered while inside the antimagic field of a wizard, slipped into his possessions (by a rogue using sleight of hand, for example), what happens when the antimagic field spell expires?

There's nothing for the antimagic to turn off. No spell is currently active on the bottle. It functions as normal.

[Bartmanhomer]

Q 351

Do I get spells with the Master Specialist prestige class?

[Saintheart]

A 351

Yes.

Spellcasting: At each level, you gain new spells per day and an increase in caster level (and spells known, if applicable) as if you had also gained a level in the wizard class. You do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained.

Expanded Spellbook: When you reach 2nd level, you can add one spell of your chosen school to your spellbook. The spell can be of any level that you can cast, and it is in addition to the normal spells gained when increasing your level.

You can add another spell of your chosen school to your spellbook at 5th and at 8th level.


That is, each level you gain the spells you would have gained had you continued in your entry class, and at second, fifth, and eighth levels in the PrC you can add one additional spell of your chosen school to your spellbook, but it has to be of a level you can cast at that point in the PrC.

[ManicOppressive]

Q 350

About the smoky confinement spell from Complete Mage:



Please note the spell's duration is "instantaneous", so it cannot be dispelled.

A) What happesn if a vial containing a creature thanks to smoky confinement is brought into an antimagic area?

B) What happens if said vial is opened or broken inside an antimagic area?

C) That might not be doable depending on the answers to the above, but if a vial containing a dangerous creature is stoppered while inside the antimagic field of a wizard, slipped into his possessions (by a rogue using sleight of hand, for example), what happens when the antimagic field spell expires?

A 350 yeah I'll take a stab at this. EDIT: Didn't notice Troacctid already answered, but I'll leave this since it's just elaboration.

A) Two possibilities I see, which will determine B and C.

1. If the vial is brought into an antimagic field, nothing happens. On the same logic that AMFs don't instantly kill corporeal undead or constructs, the smoke (which is corporeal, even if it's smoke) doesn't vanish. There's no spell effect to end so there's no way the AMF reverts the smoke to personhood, as you've guessed. This seems like the far more likely option to me with the most RAW support, but just to entertain the other possibility:

2. The smoke does wink out of existence, as a summoned creature or incorporeal undead. If this is the case, the smoke returns (presumably to the bottle but arguably to the exact spot the bottle was in) when the AMF disappears. This seems far less likely, as, again, smoke is corporeal and there's no ongoing magical effect preserving its state.

So I'm going to operate on the assumption of 1. moving forward.

B) The smoke drifts out of the containment vessel. It is still smoke, and behaves as smoke would. The moment both the vial and the smoke are no longer inside an AMF, the smoke will (regardless of its location) turn back into its natural form in the same space as the vial.

C) I assume you mean unstoppered, in which case see B, and the Wizard is about to have a really bad time.

[False God]

Q 352 Are the feats listed in a monster's stat block the ones they get from HD? Or do feats from HD only show up when they become PCs?

IE: A Bear has 3 feats; Endurance, Run, and Track regardless of if it's a PC or not.
or:
A Bear has 3 racial feats as above and a feat at 1st HD, 3rd HD and 6th HD that are only available to a PC Bear?

Which of these situations is correct? I find the rules unclear.

[KillianHawkeye]

A 352

The feats are for the creature's Hit Dice, unless marked with a superscript B which denotes racial bonus feats. For your bear, it has three feats because it is a 6 HD creature.

[ShurikVch]

Q 353

True Seeing spell, supposedly, always defeats illusion spells - such as Major Image or Permanent Image, and grants complete protection against Phantasms - such as Phantasmal Killer
Except...
What if illusion in question have no visual components at all? (i. e. just auditory, olfactory, etc)
Would True Seeing really help there, if there is nothing to see anyway?

[Elves]

A353

True seeing lets you "see through illusions", so it only affects visual illusions.

Q354

Is quintessence a nonmagical substance?

[YellowJohn]

Q355

If I use a Miracle to replicate a Limited Wish, do I have to pay Limited Wish's 300XP cost?

[Powerdork]

Q355

If I use a Miracle to replicate a Limited Wish, do I have to pay Limited Wish's 300XP cost?

A 355

When a miracle duplicates a spell that has an XP cost, you must pay that cost. (Miracle, PH 254)

[Venger]

A354 No. It's (creation) and instantaneous, so even though it's created through magic, it is not itself magic, like a piece of rock from a wall of stone.

[St Fan]

Q355

If I use a Miracle to replicate a Limited Wish, do I have to pay Limited Wish's 300XP cost?

Please note, though, that the Book of Templates, Deluxe Edition (a 3.5 sourcebook) adds the spell small miracle to the spell list, which is pretty much limited wish for Clerics.

[KillianHawkeye]

Please note, though, that the Book of Templates, Deluxe Edition (a 3.5 sourcebook) adds the spell small miracle to the spell list, which is pretty much limited wish for Clerics.

This is a third-party book not published by Wizards of the Coast.

[St Fan]

This is a third-party book not published by Wizards of the Coast.

Didn't realize that. Thanks for the precision.

Q 356
I do believe former editions had rules for when a wizard is trying to read a spellbook not his own, he can be helped by the original owner.

I can't find if this is the case in 3.5, though. So, what happens when a wizard (or wu jen) is trying to read and/or transcribe arcane spells from a spellbook (or an archivist with divine spells from a prayerbook) with the direct guidance of the writer of said spellbook? Any rules beyond Aid Another or a circumstance bonus?

[Debatra]

A 356

"To decipher an arcane magical writing (such as a single spell in written form in another’s spellbook or on a scroll), a character must make a Spellcraft check (DC 20 + the spell’s level). If the skill check fails, the character cannot attempt to read that particular spell again until the next day. A read magic spell automatically deciphers a magical writing without a skill check. If the person who created the magical writing is on hand to help the reader, success is also automatic."

Though they must still make the usual check to actually scribe the spell, and Aid Another seems to be the only RAW way for the book's owner to help with that part.

[Thurbane]

Q 357

Would a touch spell such as Chill Touch count as a melee weapon for a Death Attack?

If an assassin studies his victim for 3 rounds and then makes a sneak attack with a melee weapon that successfully deals damage, the sneak attack has the additional effect of possibly either paralyzing or killing the target (assassin’s choice).

[Chester]

Q358

In 3.5, does magical armor generally resists things like acid damage? For instance, a black puddings attack would automatically dissolve armor, but with a plus 1 shield or a plus 2 suit of armor resist that?

[Troacctid]

Q 357

Would a touch spell such as Chill Touch count as a melee weapon for a Death Attack?

No, weaponlike spells are not weapons. They count as weapons for some purposes, but this isn't one of them by RAW.

Q358

In 3.5, does magical armor generally resists things like acid damage? For instance, a black puddings attack would automatically dissolve armor, but with a plus 1 shield or a plus 2 suit of armor resist that?

Only insofar as its hardness (which is higher than the nonmagical version) applies to the damage. There's some ambiguity in the RAW as to how acid (and sonic) damage interacts with hardness, but either way, magic weapons and armor don't have any special resistance to it that other objects don't have, unless they have a property like blueshine that specifically says they do.

[Ruethgar]

Q 357

Would a touch spell such as Chill Touch count as a melee weapon for a Death Attack?

No, weaponlike spells are not weapons. They count as weapons for some purposes, but this isn't one of them by RAW.

A 357: Clarification
While Troacctid is correct, if you use the rules to activate the attack of Chill Touch with an unarmed attack, your fist may be considered a weapon for significantly more purposes.

[Troacctid]

You could also use a spectral dagger (MIC). That's a weapon.

[St Fan]

Q 359

Wizard summon a familiar a 1st level, following the normal rules.

At 3rd level, she takes the Obtain Familiar feat (planning to go for prestige classes and retrain the Familiar feature for an ACF).

Does she need to dismiss her original familiar, redo the 24-hour ritual and pay 100 gp, or can she keeps her original familiar, now covered by the feat instead of the feature?

[Thurbane]

You could also use a spectral dagger (MIC). That's a weapon.

Q 360

a.) Are there Any Sor/Wiz spells of the Evocation school of level 3 or less that count as a "melee weapon"? If so, which ones.

[edit] Found Arcane Maul (SoS p.126) and Vile Lance (BoVD p.108) [/edit]

b.) Are there Any Sor/Wiz spells of any other school of level 2 or less that count as a "melee weapon"? If so, which ones.

[Troacctid]

Q 360

a.) Are there Any Sor/Wiz spells of the Evocation school of level 3 or less that count as a "melee weapon"? If so, which ones.

[edit] Found Arcane Maul (SoS p.126) and Vile Lance (BoVD p.108) [/edit]

b.) Are there Any Sor/Wiz spells of any other school of level 2 or less that count as a "melee weapon"? If so, which ones.

Off the top of my head, flame dagger (SC) and scimitar of sand (Sa), both 2nd level.

[Venger]

A360b Fist of stone works, as does cutting hand. Are things like this that give natural attacks or similar by turning your hands into substances or snakes what you want or did you want things more like blade of pain and fear that make a physical weapon separate from your hand

[Nezkrul]

Q361

In regards to developing epic spells. Specifically the Ward seed. If I want to develop a ward against a set of specific spells, it says that for each spell, increase the spellcraft dc by +2 for each spell level higher than 1st.

My question is does the base ward used in this way provide nullification against all magical effects of 1st level and lower as-is?
Because it doesnt list how much the DC increases for each effect OF 1st level (or lower) you pick.

[ApologyFestival]

PSIONICS

Q362: The Linked Power metapsionic feat is popular for being, well, really strong, and really dumb. Given that...

The linked power is automatically targeted on the same area or target as the power you manifest in this round (if the power you manifest this round has no area or target, choose an area or target in this round for the linked power to affect in the next round).

Is it possible to use Linked Power to change the target of a power? Specifically, can I shoot an ally with an energy ray linked to inertial armour, to effectively cast inertial armour on them one round later?

[El'the Ellie]

Q363

How often can an intelligent item use it's Dedicated Power, if it doesn't specify a number of times per day/week/month?

[Thurbane]

Q363

How often can an intelligent item use it's Dedicated Power, if it doesn't specify a number of times per day/week/month?

A 363

Unlimited, at the items own discretion.

A dedicated power operates only when an intelligent item is in pursuit of its special purpose. This determination is always made by the item. It should always be easy and straightforward to see how the ends justify the means. Unlike its other powers, an intelligent item can refuse to use its dedicated power even if the owner is dominant

[FearlessGnome]

Q 364

Does the weapon immunity Hellwasp Swarms have protect them from a vampire's slam attack, which deals negative energy damage and energy drain? The way it seems to me, they are immune to weapons, which should include natural weapons, since it doesn't specify beyond 'weapon immunity'. Vampires and Vampire Lords inflict extra negative energy damage and level drain with their slam attacks. Does the drain and negative energy trigger even though the base slam is negated?

[St Fan]

Q 364

Does the weapon immunity Hellwasp Swarms have protect them from a vampire's slam attack, which deals negative energy damage and energy drain? The way it seems to me, they are immune to weapons, which should include natural weapons, since it doesn't specify beyond 'weapon immunity'. Vampires and Vampire Lords inflict extra negative energy damage and level drain with their slam attacks. Does the drain and negative energy trigger even though the base slam is negated?

A 364
A slam attack is a natural weapon that inflicts blunt damage. Immunity to weapons cover natural weapons.

When a special attack is conveyed by a physical attack, immunity to its damage also provides immunity to its special effect (notably mentioned when damage reduction is enough to negate damage; it is the same thing here), so yes, a swarm of diminutive or fine creatures is immune to the energy drain.

A swarm's immunities come from its number of individual members. A vampire swinging its arm in such a swarm is sure to swat and drain a few of the bugs, but in relation with their huge number it's too few to have any effect on the whole.