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

[Troacctid]

Q 807

Do the Sudden metamagic feats in Complete Arcane require increased casting time for spontaneous casters?

For context, the MH printing has this note:



but I don't see any equivalent text in CA!

In the absence of any text contradicting Miniatures Handbook, the original rule stands.

[Venger]

A 805 (addition) Take supernatural transformation. It will turn your sla into a supernatural ability.

[newguydude1]

q 808

if a +caster level effect lasts 1minute, but a spell casting time is 12 hours, do you get the +caster level? its on at the start of casting but off at the end of casting.

q 809
can you activate immediate actions in the middle of casting as long as said immediate action is not a spell? like abrupt jaunt or discharging a spell that requires an immediate action to discharge.

[daremetoidareyo]

Q810: if you roll a diplomacy check and get less than a 1, can you try again, hoping to get less than a 1 the second time so that the enemy will take risks to harm you?

[Venger]

A 808 No.
A 809 Kind of. If you were to do this, the immediate action would "interrupt" whatever you were doing and would be considered to have come first, so you adjudicate your immediate, then finish whatever you were doing, as long as you weren't flat-footed.

[Troacctid]

q 809
can you activate immediate actions in the middle of casting as long as said immediate action is not a spell? like abrupt jaunt or discharging a spell that requires an immediate action to discharge.

A 809 Kind of. If you were to do this, the immediate action would "interrupt" whatever you were doing and would be considered to have come first, so you adjudicate your immediate, then finish whatever you were doing, as long as you weren't flat-footed.

I'll add a caveat: spell-like abilities are treated as spells for most purposes. It's likely that using one would break your concentration just as if you had cast a spell (even if it's an immediate action, like abrupt jaunt). Ask your DM.

[newguydude1]

A 808 No.
A 809 Kind of. If you were to do this, the immediate action would "interrupt" whatever you were doing and would be considered to have come first, so you adjudicate your immediate, then finish whatever you were doing, as long as you weren't flat-footed.

I'll add a caveat: spell-like abilities are treated as spells for most purposes. It's likely that using one would break your concentration just as if you had cast a spell (even if it's an immediate action, like abrupt jaunt). Ask your DM.

so the rule im worried about is this

A spell that takes 1 minute to cast comes into effect just before your turn 1 minute later (and for each of those 10 rounds, you are casting a spell as a full-round action, just as noted above for 1-round casting times). These actions must be consecutive and uninterrupted, or the spell automatically fails.

so you guys are saying if i use abrupt jaunt in the middle of casting a 1 hour spell, the spell doesnt fail and i get to keep casting it? so i can cast adept spirit, cast for 59minutes, and then use an immediate action to activate adept spirit (gives +1 caster level) and finish the spell?

[Doctor Despair]

Q811

Arcane Hierophant has this class ability:

Companion Familiar: Upon becoming an arcane hierophant, you must dismiss your familiar, if you have one (You do not risk losing XP for doing so.) You may retain any one animal companion you already possess... In addition, your animal companion (if any) gains many of the abilities that a familiar would normally possess. You add your arcane hierophant class level to your arcane spellcasting class level, and determine the Intelligence bonus and special abilities of your animal companion accordingly (see the sidebar Familiars, page 53 of the Player's Handbook).

I wanted to verify my interpretation here. The ability does not say you add your AH levels to any other levels in classes that grant a familiar, or something similar; it says you add your AH levels to your arcane caster class level and determine familiar abilities accordingly. To my reading, that suggests that a non-familiar-granting arcane caster would stack. For example, a Beguiler 4 / AH 1 would gain the level 5 familiar benefits, such as Speak With Master. Is that an accurate interpretation?

[Venger]

A 811 Yes, that is correct.

[remetagross]

Q 812

At 1st level, a monk gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. A monk’s attacks may be with either fist interchangeably or even from elbows, knees, and feet. This means that a monk may even make unarmed strikes with her hands full.

Emphasis mine. Is that something specific to Monks, or specific to the Improved Unarmed Strike feat. Can a non-monk character that has the IUS feat attack with both hands full?

[Kayblis]

Q 812
Emphasis mine. Is that something specific to Monks, or specific to the Improved Unarmed Strike feat. Can a non-monk character that has the IUS feat attack with both hands full?

A812
That's not specific to either. Using any part of the body is a part of the Unarmed Strike description. The Monk's description just re-states you can use any body part, because it's a crucial part of their combat style.

A Medium character deals 1d3 points of nonlethal damage with an unarmed strike, which may be a punch, kick, head butt, or other type of attack. A Small character deals 1d2 points of nonlethal damage. A monk or any character with the Improved Unarmed Strike feat can deal lethal or nonlethal damage with unarmed strikes, at her option.

[Doctor Despair]

Q813

Dragon Steed (Draconomicon) reads:

Benefit: You gain the service of a dragonnel as a steed. It serves loyally as long as you treat it fairly, much like a cohort.
Special: If you have a special mount (such as from the paladin class feature), this dragonnel replaces your special mount.

On page 139, it only seems to discuss advancing the dragon mount by paladin level.

Table 3-15: Dragon Special Mount Availability

Paladin Level	Dragon (Maximum Rider Size)
9th	Dragonnel (M)
11th	Spiked felldrake (M)
12th	Gold, wyrmling (S)
13th	Bronze, very young (S)
14th	Silver, very young (S)
16th	Gold, very young (M)
18th	Bronze, young
19th	Silver, young
20th	Gold, young

Later (on p. 140), however, it also has a table regarding Special Dragon Mount Abilities.

Most prestige classes and feats that I've found that affect mount progression seem to be predicated on increasing your effective paladin level for determing the abilities of your paladin mount. Holy Mount and Knight of the Blue Moon explicitly stack that way, for example.

Holy Mount: ...When determining the abilities of your paladin special mount, you can combine the levels of your paladin class with those of your other divine spellcasting classes. For example, a 5th-level paladin/3rd-level cleric with this feat grants his paladin special mount abilities as an 8th-level paladin.

Knight of the Blue Moon: ... At 1st level, you can call a special mount. This ability is identical to the paladin ability of the same name, except the mount will always match your alignment. Levels of paladin and Knight of the Blue Moon stack for purposes of determining the special mount's abilities. In addition, if you do not have a familiar, levels of sorcerer or wizard also stack for purposes of determining the special mount's abilities.

I wanted to confirm: does the type of dragon summoned seem to fall under "abilities," and so increase via these prestige classes that stack with paladin for that purpose, or does the type of dragon summoned seem to be governed entirely by your levels in the PhB Paladin class?

edited for better, clearer phrasing

Edit: Q814

The feat Dragon Steed's benefit line seems to imply that the dragon steed remains with you indefinitely. However, if it replaces your special mount, does that mean that it inherits the special mount's time limit on use (i.e. 2 hours/paladin level)?

Q815

Are there any rules governing what happens if the Dragon Steed ages up another category, either naturally or magically (such as via a Bestow Curse or something similar)? Dragons as Familiars on page 141 include a line that dragons that become very young or older become ineligible to continue to serve as a familiar, but there is no such language that I can find in the passage on Dragons as Special Mounts.

[H_H_F_F]

Q 816

Do rage variants such as whirling frenzy or berserker strength count as "rage" or "rage or frenzy ability" when it comes to feat/prc requirements? If so, would they interact normally with its benefits?

[Venger]

A 816 No. ten characters

[Thurbane]

Q 817

If you have the Skill Focus (diplomacy) feat, and take a level of Marshal, you can select a different bonus feat instead of the normally granted Skill Focus (diplomacy).

Using the retraining rules from PHB2, can you swap out Skill Focus (diplomacy) for something else, but still retain the bonus feat you got from Marshal 1?

[Chaos Jackal]

Q 818

The spell wings of cover states it provides protection from attacks. It also states that it provides full cover and blocks line of effect. Can wings of cover be used to block a spell that allows a saving throw but not an attack roll, like hold person for example, or does it only protect against spells that require attack rolls to be made?

[Venger]

A 818 It confers total cover, so anything that requires loe, such as hold person, does not work.

[St Fan]

Q 817

If you have the Skill Focus (diplomacy) feat, and take a level of Marshal, you can select a different bonus feat instead of the normally granted Skill Focus (diplomacy).

Using the retraining rules from PHB2, can you swap out Skill Focus (diplomacy) for something else, but still retain the bonus feat you got from Marshal 1?

A 817
Theoretically, yes. You can also do the same kind of things with the various feats granted by Bloodlines.

Some DMs might find it a bit sketchy, though.

[St Fan]

Q 819

If a character has both the death throes (Planar Handbook) and infallible servant (Exemplars of Evil) spells cast on him, which one will activate when he is killed?

[St Fan]

Q 820

Two questions about the Mage of the Arcane Order prestige class (Complete Arcane):

A: If a Mage of the Arcane Order calls a spell from the Spellspool, can she adds a metamagic feat to the newly prepared spell (assuming the available spell slot is of high level enough for the modified spell level)?

B: If a Wu Jen (who can fit the requirements) becomes a Mage of the Arcane Order, can he call (and cast) spells from the Spellpool that are not in the Wu Jen's spell list?

[Zerryzerry]

Q 819

If a character has both the death throes (Planar Handbook) and infallible servant (Exemplars of Evil) spells cast on him, which one will activate when he is killed?

A 819

They activate in the order They have been cast. In this instance, casting Death Throes first then Infallible Servant is the best solution (since your body would explode and then the pieces would liquefy, possibly expanding infallible Servant AoE, but this is not RAW, just a Dm decision)

Q 820

Two questions about the Mage of the Arcane Order prestige class (Complete Arcane):

A: If a Mage of the Arcane Order calls a spell from the Spellspool, can she adds a metamagic feat to the newly prepared spell (assuming the available spell slot is of high level enough for the modified spell level)?

B: If a Wu Jen (who can fit the requirements) becomes a Mage of the Arcane Order, can he call (and cast) spells from the Spellpool that are not in the Wu Jen's spell list?

A 820 - A

There is no indication of neither yes or no. Discuss it with your DM, but as a DM i would rule that you cannot. You bring out a spell of a certain level in a slot of that level.

A 820 - B

As answer A, depends on how the DM interprets the Spellpool. If the Spellpool is like a box containing spells like candies, and you can pick up one to "eat"(use), yes you can, as Wizards can then memorize spells that only Wu Jen can cast. But this means also that there is a chance that you are not able to find a certain spell you are looking for in the pool.
My interpretation is that the Spellpool is a well of magical energy, that you shape in the form of the wanted spell when you recall the energy. This limits the spells you can form to those of your base spellcasting class.
The second is the most likely interpretation, so i would say NO to your question

[Zerryzerry]

Q813

Dragon Steed (Draconomicon) reads:



On page 139, it only seems to discuss advancing the dragon mount by paladin level.



Later (on p. 140), however, it also has a table regarding Special Dragon Mount Abilities.

Most prestige classes and feats that I've found that affect mount progression seem to be predicated on increasing your effective paladin level for determing the abilities of your paladin mount. Holy Mount and Knight of the Blue Moon explicitly stack that way, for example.





I wanted to confirm: does the type of dragon summoned seem to fall under "abilities," and so increase via these prestige classes that stack with paladin for that purpose, or does the type of dragon summoned seem to be governed entirely by your levels in the PhB Paladin class?

edited for better, clearer phrasing

Edit: Q814

The feat Dragon Steed's benefit line seems to imply that the dragon steed remains with you indefinitely. However, if it replaces your special mount, does that mean that it inherits the special mount's time limit on use (i.e. 2 hours/paladin level)?

Q815

Are there any rules governing what happens if the Dragon Steed ages up another category, either naturally or magically (such as via a Bestow Curse or something similar)? Dragons as Familiars on page 141 include a line that dragons that become very young or older become ineligible to continue to serve as a familiar, but there is no such language that I can find in the passage on Dragons as Special Mounts.

A813

It means that unless you have Paladin levels, the mount does not get additional benefits from you advancing in level.
It can be ruled that gains benefits from the levels of any Paladin ACF, at least from the ones that have the Special Mount ability

A814

Yes, takes on all the bonuses and maluses of a special mount

A815

None that I have heard of.

[Doctor Despair]

Q821

The Mask of the Tiger (MIC) reads:

A "mask of the tiger" provides you with the benefit of the Track feat (or, if you already have that feat, a +5 competence bonus on Survival checks). In addition, you gain low-light vision

If a PrC required the "Feat: Track" as a prerequisite, would possession of the mask satisfy it?

[Khedrac]

A821 You would need to use the mmask to gain low-light vision, but you do not need the feat track.

Either of the full stop and the closing parenthesis between the effect if you already have track and the gaining of low light vision are sufficient to divorce this from that clause, so the low-light vision is "in addition" to the gaining of the track feat (or the bonus if you already have it).

Note: simple possession of the mask is not sufficent, it must be active in the correct magic item slot.

Edit: Apologies to Doctor Despair - I missed the fundamental part of the actual question - Venger is correct, it does meet the requirement for a prestige class while worn.

[Doctor Despair]

A821 You would need to use the mmask to gain low-light vision, but you do not need the feat track.

Either of the full stop and the closing parenthesis between the effect if you already have track and the gaining of low light vision are sufficient to divorce this from that clause, so the low-light vision is "in addition" to the gaining of the track feat (or the bonus if you already have it).

Note: simple possession of the mask is not sufficent, it must be active in the correct magic item slot.

W.R.T. A821

Yes, I agree that gaining the benefits of the track feat or bonus is independent of gaining low-light vision. However, does gaining the benefits of the track feat satisfy the prerequisites for a prestige class that requires "Feat: Track"?

[Venger]

A 821 clarification Yes, it does.

[Doctor Despair]

Q822

I've seen the following rules text referenced for Incorporeal creatures, but I can't seem to find a source. Does anyone know what book, if any, this rule comes from?

Incorporeal creatures hiding inside solid objects get a +2 circumstance bonus on Listen checks, because solid objects carry sound well. Pinpointing an opponent from inside a solid object uses the same rules as pinpointing invisible opponents (see Invisibility).

Q833

Can an Incorporeal creature stick its head out from inside of an object, trading its total cover out for regular cover in exchange for making a spot check?

An Incorporeal creature has cover (instead of total cover) when attacking from inside of an object. An attack can include unarmed strikes, such as a headbutt. I'm not sure if that translates to just sticking your head out though.

Likewise, when not in combat, I'm not sure if the rules for Local Movement would let an Incorporeal creature lean just its head into another square to maintain cover.

RAI, I think, suggests this should be a simple matter to resolve, but I was hoping for a second RAW opinion

[Venger]

A 822 It's in the rules compendium p65 under "environment"

A 823 No. A (say medium) creature can only be in one square at a time. You're either in the wall or out of the wall; you cannot be in both at once.

[Doctor Despair]

Q824

After looking at the following rules on taking 10, I was wondering if someone could clarify: is there any reason a hidden character would be precluded from taking 10 on a listen check, providing they are not in combat or threatened?

Spoiler: Taking 10

Show

When your character is not being threatened or distracted, you may choose to take 10. Instead of rolling 1d20 for the skill check, calculate your result as if you had rolled a 10. For many routine tasks, taking 10 makes them automatically successful. Distractions or threats (such as combat) make it impossible for a character to take 10. In most cases, taking 10 is purely a safety measure —you know (or expect) that an average roll will succeed but fear that a poor roll might fail, so you elect to settle for the average roll (a 10). Taking 10 is especially useful in situations where a particularly high roll wouldn’t help

.

[Troacctid]

A 823 No. A (say medium) creature can only be in one square at a time. You're either in the wall or out of the wall; you cannot be in both at once.

Adding to this: it would be possible out of combat, since only combat movement is locked to a grid.

Q824

After looking at the following rules on taking 10, I was wondering if someone could clarify: is there any reason a hidden character would be precluded from taking 10 on a listen check, providing they are not in combat or threatened?

Spoiler: Taking 10

Show

When your character is not being threatened or distracted, you may choose to take 10. Instead of rolling 1d20 for the skill check, calculate your result as if you had rolled a 10. For many routine tasks, taking 10 makes them automatically successful. Distractions or threats (such as combat) make it impossible for a character to take 10. In most cases, taking 10 is purely a safety measure —you know (or expect) that an average roll will succeed but fear that a poor roll might fail, so you elect to settle for the average roll (a 10). Taking 10 is especially useful in situations where a particularly high roll wouldn’t help

.

The DM has discretion to decide whether taking 10 is appropriate in a situation, but other than that, there's nothing that would prohibit doing this, no. Note that it may not be your decision if the Listen check is rolled secretly.