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

[Ripptor]

Thanks, you three!

[Venger]

Q 729 Is a vecna-blooded creature immune to true seeing?(For example he has disguise self up. Does true seeing punch through it or not?)

[Doctor Despair]

Q730

I know there must be a specific point at which creatures gain access to bonus spells, but for the life of me I'm not sure what it is. For example, I know that a level 1 wizard with 20 intelligence doesn't have a bonus 5th level spell. For that reason, I know it can't be keyed to spells known, because a wizard could just write a fifth level spell in their spellbook and gain a 5th level bonus slot from their ability score. I suspect it may be when they gain spell slots from that level as a result of a class feature, but I can't find any text on the SRD to corroborate that.

When does a creature get bonus spell slots from their ability scores?

[Kayblis]

A730

In Abilities And Spellcasters:

"In addition to having a high ability score, a spellcaster must be of high enough class level to be able to cast spells of a given spell level."

[Venger]

Q 731 If a character with criminal background (making sense motive checks against someone else pertaining to crime is dc15) uses sense motive on a character with mask of gentility (sense motive checks made against you is dc30) about something pertaining to crime, is the dc 15 or 30?

[Troacctid]

Q 731 If a character with criminal background (making sense motive checks against someone else pertaining to crime is dc15) uses sense motive on a character with mask of gentility (sense motive checks made against you is dc30) about something pertaining to crime, is the dc 15 or 30?

It's both. They're each using different functions of the Sense Motive skill. If you want to get a hunch about their purpose or nature, it's DC 30. If you want to ascertain criminal motives specifically, it's DC 15. The DM could choose to apply circumstance modifiers to the DC in either case.

[Venger]

It's both. They're each using different functions of the Sense Motive skill. If you want to get a hunch about their purpose or nature, it's DC 30. If you want to ascertain criminal motives specifically, it's DC 15. The DM could choose to apply circumstance modifiers to the DC in either case.

Let me clarify. It isn't one character with both feats: A has criminal background and tries to make a sense motive check about B's involvement in criminal activity. Is the dc 15 or 30? It cannot simultaneously be both values.

[Troacctid]

Let me clarify. It isn't one character with both feats: A has criminal background and tries to make a sense motive check about B's involvement in criminal activity. Is the dc 15 or 30? It cannot simultaneously be both values.

Yes, that's what I assumed with my answer. It's both because the DCs are for different things. One is a basic application of the skill: gaining a hunch about their motives in general. The other is a special application of it granted by the Criminal Background feat, similar to Vatic Gaze's ability to determine spellcasting ability.

[Doctor Despair]

Q 732

The wording of Enlarge Supernatural Ability (ToM) is confusing me a bit. Is it applicable to the Evangelist's Convert the Unfaithful? It seems like it has a range of 30 feet as a single-target ability, but I'm not certain how the interaction works.

[Venger]

A 732 What is confusing you? It works normally. Once per day, you may zap someone up to 60 feet away with it.

[Doctor Despair]

A 732 What is confusing you? It works normally. Once per day, you may zap someone up to 60 feet away with it.

The way the ability is phrased, and the vagueness in the "range" of abilities that don't call out the keywords. It just makes me hesitant. To clarify, the Evangelist ability says it affects a target within 30 feet, but is that a range? Without a clear range line, such as the one spells have, it's less clear-cut. RAI, I definitely think it applies.

I'll admit, I also had a "brain fart" when considering the status (line or not line) of the supernatural ability. I was thinking to myself, "Sure, it draws a straight line from the Evangelist to the target," but not thinking about how line is a pretty clearly defined shape of effects in dnd terminology.

__

Q 733

Another Evangelist (CD) question for Venger (or anyone, although Venger's been on fire with RAW thread answers lately), if you couldn't already tell what bug has got me recently.

Evangelists get the ability "Great Oratory," which is similar to bardic music, but is explicitly not bardic music. Emphasis mine:

Spoiler: Ability Text

Show

Great Orator (Su): An evangelist can inspire, protect, and otherwise improve the situation of his allies simply by speaking clearly and being heard. This ability is similar to the bard's bardic music ability (see page 29 of the Player's Handbook for a complete description) and, indeed, evangelist levels stack with bard levels to determine the strength of known bard songs. For example, a bard 3/evangelist 5 improves his inspire competence ability, but does not gain any new bard abilities. He could use bardic music to convert the unfaithful, countersong, fascinate, inspire the righteous, inspire courage +2, inspire dread or inspire hope, but would not gain the inspire competence, inspire greatness, or suggestion abilities. Alternately, a bard 7/evangelist 1 would be able to use bardic music to countersong, fascinate, inspire competence, inspire courage +2, inspire dread or inspire hope, and suggestion. Evangelist oratory abilities function in exactly the same manner as bardic music except the evangelist must speak loudly and clearly, rather than sing or play an instrument.

With that said, up until this point I have been treating it as entirely incompatible with bardic music feats. I was wondering if it is a strictly RAW answer to preclude them from synergizing, however. Take, for example, Melodic Casting (CM):

Spoiler: Benefit

Show

Whenever a Concentration check would be required to cast a spell or use a spell-like ability (such as when you cast defensively or are distracted or injured while casting), you can make a Perform check instead. In addition, you can cast spells and activate magic items by command word or spell completion while using a bardic music ability. Bardic music abilities that require concentration still take a standard action to perform.

Great Orator is not bardic music, but it does function in exactly the same manner as bardic music. If a feat modifies your ability to use bardic music, in order to function exactly like bardic music, would it not need to also function for Great Orator? Would you be able to make use of feats that alter your use of bardic music? Maybe I'm just reading too much into the "exactly the same manner" text, but I figured it was worth asking if I've been misreading a nerf to Evangelist all this time.

[Venger]

A 732 continued Yes, it has a range of 30 feet. Supernatural abilities don't have statblocks like spells, so none of them will not have a range line, just specify the range (if any) numerically like this. enlarge doubles it to 60 feet.

A 733 Evangelist's special abilities are not bardic music, so you cannot use melodic casting on them, or other feats or effects that effect bardic music.

[St Fan]

Q 734

I was under the impression, for a long time, that both drugs Luhix and Sannish (from the Book of Vile Darkness) granted immunity to pain. However, I realized recently that their wordings are different.

During the time that the secondary effect is in effect, the user is immune to pain (including the effects of spells such as symbol of pain).

The user becomes numbed to pain for 1d4 hours, immune to pain-induced penalties (such as from a
symbol of pain).

A) In both case, my guess is that the drugs render the subject immune to any penalty caused by pain, including spells such as angry ache, pain, symbol of pain, wall of pain, or the ambush feat Sickening Strike. Correct?

B) What about spells that inflict damage through pain, though? Such as love's pain or power word pain? Does luhix protect from the damage too? Is sannish inefficient?

C) Finally, what off spells that cause both damage and a penalty because of pain, such as eternity of torture or finger of agony? Would sannish avoid the penalty but not the damage?

[Kayblis]

A 734

As there is no [Pain] tag for spells, the ruling is less clear, so we must go by the specific descriptions of each spell or effect.

A) Yes, the drugs make the user immune to these spells and effects, by virtue of them working off of the feeling of pain.

B) Only Luhix would block the damage from pain by RAW, because it makes the user immune to pain without specifications. Sannish doesn't negate the damage.

C) Luhix would make these spells not work at all, because pain immunity. Sannish negates the penalties, but not the damage.

[ShurikVch]

Q 735

How things work on a Timeless planes?
Such as:

1. You may craft only for 8 hours/day; there are no neither "hours", nor "days" on a Timeless plane
2. To regain your spells(/power points), you need 8 hours of rest; there is still no "hours" on a Timeless plane
3. If you was under the DoT effect - would it be completely harmless while on a Timeless plane?
4. If you have Fast Healing - wouldn't it be useless while on a Timeless plane?
5. (Same for the nonlethal-damage-restoring part of Regeneration)
6. For that matter - would natural healing work at all? You're don't resting 8 hours, after all...

[Troacctid]

Q 735

How things work on a Timeless planes?
Such as:

1. You may craft only for 8 hours/day; there are no neither "hours", nor "days" on a Timeless plane
2. To regain your spells(/power points), you need 8 hours of rest; there is still no "hours" on a Timeless plane
3. If you was under the DoT effect - would it be completely harmless while on a Timeless plane?
4. If you have Fast Healing - wouldn't it be useless while on a Timeless plane?
5. (Same for the nonlethal-damage-restoring part of Regeneration)
6. For that matter - would natural healing work at all? You're don't resting 8 hours, after all...

It varies from plane to plane.

How the timeless trait can affect certain activities or conditions such as hunger, thirst, aging, the effects of poison, and healing varies from plane to plane.

[Nihilarian]

Q736
So the text of Moon Blade states
"However, if you are proficient with any type of sword, you can wield the beam as if it were any type of sword and thus gain the benefits of any special sword skill you might have, such as Weapon Focus."

Let's say I detour into Soulknife after picking up this spell. Does "any type of sword" include Mind Blade?

[Troacctid]

Q736
So the text of Moon Blade states
"However, if you are proficient with any type of sword, you can wield the beam as if it were any type of sword and thus gain the benefits of any special sword skill you might have, such as Weapon Focus."

Let's say I detour into Soulknife after picking up this spell. Does "any type of sword" include Mind Blade?

A mind blade isn't a type of sword; a sword is a type of mind blade.

[Thurbane]

Q 737

Can Corrupt or Sanctified spells be placed in a Minor Schema? If yes, who can activate it (without requiring a UMD roll)?

[Venger]

A 737 Yes. Any prepared caster can use them without a umd roll.

[Doctor Despair]

Q 738A

If you take a race with racial hitdie, and at level 1 you are subject to negative levels equal to your hitdie minus one, and you intentionally fail the saves, can you then train that one solitary hitdie into a class level instead? Just want to verify the RAW here.

Q 738B

If you train out of all your racial hitdie, what, if any, racial abilities do you lose? I seem to recall that you lose any BAB or save bonuses, racial skill ranks, and racial feats, but keep everything else (racial skill bonuses, racial abilities, attribute modifiers, type, etc). Is that accurate?

Q 738C

If you play as a race that doesn't have a listed adjustment for abilities, do you not adjust their abilities, or do you add/subtract 2 for each point of bonus the sample creature has? I am looking at the Needle Folk specifically, from the MM2 update (LA+1).

[Venger]

A 738a Of course you can. This is colloquially known as doing the wight thing. It is generally agreed upon that you lose hd in chronological order, so if you had some racial hit dice and then took class levels, you would lose your class levels first before it began to winnow down your racial hit dice. You couldn't lose your levels of giant or whatever first.

As far as whether you can retrain your first monster hd into a character class, it depends whether your race advances by class or not.

A 738b That is correct.

A 738c Yes. Another way to remember it is subtract 10 from even abilities and 11 from odd ones to get the creature's ability mods from race.

[Doctor Despair]

A 738a ...As far as whether you can retrain your first monster hd into a character class, it depends whether your race advances by class or not.

So I should look at their Advancement section to determine this? For example, a Fomorian (MM2) has "Advancement: By character class," so they could replace their 1HD, but Needlefolk have "Advancement: 4-9HD (Medium-size)," so they could not? The update added an LA, but didn't mention changing their advancement line.

[Sir_Chivalry]

Q739 Does immunity count as success on a saving throw?

I ask specifically so I know what occurs for instance if a bard with Repel Domination (+2 against mind-affecting spells and abilities created by undead) is under the effects of a mind blank spell, but I'm sure there's other effects which interact with it. I recall Dread Witch (become more powerful as you're exposed to fear effects) and Nightmare Spinner (immunity to fear) combining favourably, but that might be simply rose-coloured glasses or a trait of the two classes exact wording

[Venger]

A 739 If you are immune to an effect, you do not need to make a saving throw at all.

[Sir_Chivalry]

So I should look at their Advancement section to determine this? For example, a Fomorian (MM2) has "Advancement: By character class," so they could replace their 1HD, but Needlefolk have "Advancement: 4-9HD (Medium-size)," so they could not? The update added an LA, but didn't mention changing their advancement line.

Has nothing to do with Advancement, see Monster Manual

Humanoids and Class Levels
Creatures with 1 or less HD replace their monster levels with their character levels. The monster loses the attack bonus, saving throw bonuses, skills, and feats granted by its 1 monster HD and gains the attack bonus, save bonuses, skills, feats, and other class abilities of a 1st-level character of the appropriate class.

[Thurbane]

Q 740

Being a spell-completion item, could an intelligent Minor Schema activate the spell it contains?

Unlike most magic items, intelligent items can activate their own powers without waiting for a command word from their owner. Intelligent items act during their owner’s turn in the initiative order.

[Talakeal]

Q 741:

Can an earth elemental see while it is using earth glide?

[Ripptor]

Q 742 If I create a Use-Activated, Custom Magic Item of a level 1 spell (Standard Action, Personal, 1 minute) is the effect still 'no action', or does it still require a standard action to activate?

Specifically, I'm looking at gloves that cast Fist of Stone(SpC) 3/day, for 2400 GP, and want to know if it's going to eat up an action to activate the same way the spell does?

[KillianHawkeye]

A 742

Use-Activated means that the action needed to activate the item is subsumed by whatever action is necessary to use it. Examples of use-activation in the DMG include drinking a potion, swinging a sword, sprinkling dust, or putting on a ring.

To be honest, I'm not sure your theoretical items makes sense as a use-activated item. Most of them seem to be single use or unlimited use items. An item usable 3/day typically involves a separate action to activate.