Simple RAW Thread for 3.5 #36: The Triple Dozen

[Duke of Urrel]

Q400:
a) a creature with change shape - specifically, a succubus - goes disguised as human. the ability description says that she has a +10 to disguise. it's not clear, however, if she has to roll disguise for imitating a specific person, or just to hide that she's a succubus. Is it possible to find her (or even just to realize that she's more than what she appears) by just a high spot check, without magic?
b) for this specific succubus, I inserted the limitation that she keeps violet eyes, mostly for fluff. the color exhist in humans, but it's exceedingly rare, and people may remark on it. if she does not want to be remembered, she could cast an illusion to change her eye color - she has a few wizard levels. what's the lowest level spell you'd deem appropriate for the task? and what would the dc be on a spot check to see such an illusion?
c) would her change shape register as magical to a detect magic spell?
in fact, would she register as magic in the first place, simply for being an outsider and a magic creature?

A 400 (a)

Does your succubus want to impersonate a specific human, or does she want to pass as a generic human? This makes a difference.

The SRD says that you don't have to make a Disguise check unless you draw attention to yourself. Moreover, even people who are professionally curious, "such as a guard who is watching commoners walking through a city gate," merely takes 10 on Spot checks, so if your Disguise skill is good and you don't have bad luck on your Disguise check roll, you're unlikely to be noticed as an impostor, particularly with the +17 modifier that a succubus adds to Disguise checks.

However, observers who personally know the individual you're impersonating add familiarity bonuses (+4 to +10) to their Spot checks. If you have to interact with an observer of this kind, you're going to draw attention to yourself, and you're not going to avoid having to make a Disguise check. Succubi are particularly good at impersonation, because their Bluff skill adds a synergy bonus of +2 to their Disguise checks whenever their disguise involves "acting in character." This raises the succubus's Disguise modifier up to +19.

On the other hand, spotting a disguise and knowing who or what the disguised creature really is are two different things, and the rules don't help us here. Ask your dungeon master.


A 400 (b)

There is no point in combining the Change Shape ability with an Illusion spell like Disguise Self. There is only one +10 bonus to Disguise checks: the one that you get from any "[m]agic that alters your form." This bonus doesn't stack with itself. Since the Change Shape ability adds +10 to Disguise checks, we can assume that it can change your eye color with no problem.


A 400 (c)

The Change Shape ability is a supernatural ability, not a spell, which means that spells like Detect Magic cannot detect it, whether the succubus is using it or not.

Since a succubus has a spell-like ability – Summon Demon – this can be detected by the Arcane Sight spell and the Greater Arcane Sight spell, and if the succubus activates this ability, the summoned demon (a vrock) radiates detectable magic that even the Detect Magic spell can detect.

[Venger]

A 400b (correction) The bonuses to disguise from change shape and other fx such as disguise self, polymorph, etc are untyped and from different sources, so they stack normally.

[DragonIceAdept]

Q401: What's the final LA of a warforged incarnate construct divine minion? One of my players says it's 0 (the -2 and +2 cancel), the other says it's +2 (the incarnate construct is undercapped at 0, and then the +2 of divine minion kicks in).

[Thurbane]

Q401: What's the final LA of a warforged incarnate construct divine minion? One of my players says it's 0 (the -2 and +2 cancel), the other says it's +2 (the incarnate construct is undercapped at 0, and then the +2 of divine minion kicks in).

A 401

This is somewhat debated, but this is my understanding.

Because of the order of operations required for this to be a legal combo, the Divine Minion template is applied after Incarnate Construct. IC has an LA modifier of -2: however, the rules do not make a provision for negative LA, therefore you cannot "hold it in reserve" to apply when you next gain LA.

By my reading, your IC Warforged has an effective LA of +0. If you then apply a +2 LA version of DM, the end LA is +2.

Note: some tables to allow negative LA, so in those cases the end result would be LA +0; AFAIK, though, this is a house rule, since the rules do not support negative LA to begin with.

[St Fan]

Q 402

Can a spellcaster uses the "violent thrust" option of a telekinesis spell to hurt someone in an antimagic field, as long as the affected items are picked up and accelerated outside of the field?

[Venger]

A 402 Yes. ten characters

[sreservoir]

Q 403

Suppose an incorporeal and corporeal creature of the same size category share a space, which per LM 142 grants the incorporeal creature cover and the corporeal creature concealment.
Does this allow both creatures to Hide?

[Venger]

A 403 Yes ten characters

[Maat Mons]

Q404: If you use the Upgrading a Business option in DMGII multiple times, does each use represent a different upgrade, and thus a different bonus, and therefore stack? Or are Upgrades a single bonus source, meaning you only apply the bonus from the most beneficial upgrade? Or some third interpretation I'm not seeing?

[St Fan]

Q 405

The description of familiars include this line:

Use the master’s base attack bonus, as calculated from all his classes. Use the familiar’s Dexterity or Strength modifier, whichever is greater, to get the familiar’s melee attack bonus with natural weapons.

The Dex part is obvious, most small animals have weapon finesse as a bonus feat. However, it makes no mention of size modifiers. Most familiars are tiny animals, thus with a +2 size bonus to hit. Does a familiar gets this bonus in addition to the increased base attack bonus?

[Duke of Urrel]

Q 405

The description of familiars include this line:



The Dex part is obvious, most small animals have weapon finesse as a bonus feat. However, it makes no mention of size modifiers. Most familiars are tiny animals, thus with a +2 size bonus to hit. Does a familiar gets this bonus in addition to the increased base attack bonus?

A 405

Yes.

Unless a familiar changes its size category, it retains its normal size modifiers. For example, a Tiny sized cat familiar adds a size modifier of +2 to its Armor Class and its attack rolls and a size modifier of +8 to its Hide checks.

[sreservoir]

Q 406
When you stop concentrating on a spell, when does it end exactly? (Immediately? At the end of your turn? At the beginning of your next turn?)

Q 407
Is it possible for a bard to stop a bardic music effect, e.g. to be able to cast spells again?

[Duke of Urrel]

Q 406
When you stop concentrating on a spell, when does it end exactly? (Immediately? At the end of your turn? At the beginning of your next turn?)

A 406

When you stop concentrating on a spell, it ends immediately, unless the spell's description tells you otherwise.

Since ceasing to concentrate on a spell is a free action, you may cause the spell to stop at the beginning of your turn, at the end of your turn, or somewhere in the middle.

A spell that requires you to concentrate also ends immediately if something breaks your concentration outside of your turn. For example, if an attacker grapples or pins you while you are trying to concentrate to maintain a spell and your Concentration check fails, your spell ends immediately.

A few spells that require concentration to maintain persist for a short time after you stop concentrating on them. For example, the Minor Image spell persists for two rounds after you stop concentrating and the Major Image spell persists for three rounds after you stop concentrating.

Q 407
Is it possible for a bard to stop a bardic music effect, e.g. to be able to cast spells again?

A 407

Yes, but when you stop performing, the effect of bardic music ends, unless the SRD tells you otherwise.

Starting to produce a bardic music effect again after it has expired takes a standard action.

Notice that some bardic music effects don't end when you stop performing but persist for some time after you stop.

1. The bardic music effects of Inspire Courage, Inspire Greatness, and Inspire Heroics persist for five rounds even after you stop performing.

2. The bardic music effect of Suggestion works "as the spell" of the same name. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that: (1) you don't have to continue performing to maintain the effect, and (2) the effect lasts equally as long as the Suggestion spell, that is, up to one hour per caster level. By "reasonable to assume," I mean: Ask your dungeon master.

[Thurbane]

Q 408

Question about the Ability Rip spell (SK):

In exchange for this new ability, the recipient permanently loses a supernatural ability it already possesses. If it has none to exchange, it instead loses two class levels (or 2 Hit Dice if it has no class levels).

The spell fails if used to transfer an ability to a creature that lacks the proper body parts, size, or other criterion for its use, or if the target creature has fewer than 2 Hit Dice and no supernatural abilities to trade.

Bolding mine.

What happens if the spell is cast and one of the creatures has exactly 2 HD, and no supernatural abilities to trade? Does the spell fail, or does that creature now have 0 HD (not sure how that would even work)?

Is this just a grammatical error in the spell? Having a hard time locating the SK errata.

[Maat Mons]

Q409: If you use the Running a Business rules in DMGII, and you take the option to run your business out of a wagon, how does the mobile nature of the wagon interact with the rules related to the location of the business? Can you pay startup costs for a wilderness location, then make profits for a location in a metropolis?

[Debatra]

[b]A 408[b] While by RAI it's probably an error, RAW is that the creature would have 0 HD. How exactly that works, I do not know. (Maybe it dies as if it had too many negative levels?)

The SK errata is silent on the issue.

Having a hard time locating the SK errata.

WotC's archives fortunately haven't been taken down yet.

[sreservoir]

Q 410
Is simply having any appropriately high caster level sufficient to satisfy a generic caster level requirement? For example, could a 6th-level cleric with the Knowledge and Oracle domain (who casts divination spells at CL 9) and Craft Magic Arms And Armor create a magic weapon with a +3 enhancement bonus?

Q 410b
Could a 6th-level specialist wizard with the Conjuration school banned, under effects of the Artifice, Craft, and Creation domain (who would cast creation spells at CL 9 but actually can't cast any such spells at all) create a magic weapon with a +3 enhancement bonus?

Q 411
When exercising the option granted by Dragonfire Inspiration, each inspired ally "loses the standard morale bonus on weapon attack rolls and damage rolls". The standard inspire courage effect grants morale bonuses "on saving throws against charm and fear effects", and "on attack and weapon damage rolls".

When using Dragonfire Inspiration, do the allies gain a bonus on non-weapon attack rolls?

[Thurbane]

Couple of questions that come up surprisingly often in our games. These are hotly debated, so any citations would be much appreciated.

Q 412

Can you 5-foot step while flying? Does the answer depend on your manoeuvrability rating? Does it make any different if the flight is natural (wings) or magical?

Q 413a

Can non-intelligent (mindless undead etc.) creatures make tactical decisions in combat such as 5-foot stepping, or using the Withdraw action?

Q 413b

Same question, but for animal-intelligence (Int 1-2) creatures.

[H_H_F_F]

Q 412

Can you 5-foot step while flying? Does the answer depend on your manoeuvrability rating? Does it make any different if the flight is natural (wings) or magical?

A 412

Yes, maybe, and no, I believe.

There's nothing in the RAW if 5-foot step saying you can't do it whole flying, assuming you qualify for it (i.e have movement greater than 10 ft, don't move that round, etc). It seems the only reason to think that wpuldn't be possible is the "step" terminology, but you can explicitly 5-foot step while swimming if you have a swim speed, so actually stepping (and not simply maneuvering through a medium in which you freely move in 3d) is not a requirement.

The reason for the "maybe" is that you need to hover in order to not move as a flying creature - but then again, you could argue falling is forced movement, which shouldn't count. I've never heard anyone say you can't 5-foot step in a round in which you've been bull rushed, so you could make that case.

[loky1109]

Q 413b
Same question, but for animal-intelligence (Int 1-2) creatures.

Undoubtedly yes.

Non-intelligent... It's more difficult. Zombie maybe no. It can 5-ft if it need move only 5-ft to attack. It's ok. For tactical advantage only if it have instruction, I think.
Vermins, in other hand... Ok, IRL vermins are not non-intelligent. Well, at least, not all. I can't believe in ant that can't do 5-ft to flank opponent, for example.

[St Fan]

Q 414

A familiar is separated from its master and his group, and is attacked by some dangerous monster. It manages to singlehandedly vanquish the opponent thanks to various spells or powers its master has cast or granted it.

Does the master receive the standard XP reward for its familiar beating an adversary by itself?

[loky1109]

Q 414

A familiar is separated from its master and his group, and is attacked by some dangerous monster. It manages to singlehandedly vanquish the opponent thanks to various spells or powers its master has cast or granted it.

Does the master receive the standard XP reward for its familiar beating an adversary by itself?

Yes. Familiar isn't just a separate creature, familiar is class feature.

[Maat Mons]

Fun fact: Until you reach 9th level, the rats your cat-familiar kills in its spare time are challenging enough to give you xp!

[St Fan]

Q 415

A changeling wizard picking the 5th-level racial substitution for wizards can gain the Morphic Familiar ACF. The familiar can thus "change its form to that of any creature that the wizard could normally have as a familiar".

A) If the campaign allows further type of standard familiars beyond those given in the SRD/Player's Handbook (for example, plenty are found on Dragon magazines), can the morphic familiar take these shapes too?

B) If the familiar's original form is a raven, it can speak a language of the master's choice. Since it is a supernatural ability, does a morphic familiar retains this power whatever form it takes?

[Venger]

A 415a Yes
A 415b No

[H_H_F_F]

Q 416

Can anyone say for sure whether the insectile creature template from SS adds 4 arms to a bipedal creature or makes one have 6 arms total? For example, would a human with the aberrant arms NPC trait have 8 or 6 arms?

[Thurbane]

A 416

The wording in Savage Species is quite clear - you add 4 to the number of your existing number of arms:

An insectile creature is a biped, and it gains four more arms.

Since you can generally apply inherited templates in the most beneficial order (the NPC traits are, in essence, templates), an Aberrant Insectile Human would have 8 arms.

[H_H_F_F]

A 416

The wording in Savage Species is quite clear - you add 4 to the number of your existing number of arms:



Since you can generally apply inherited templates in the most beneficial order (the NPC traits are, in essence, templates), an Aberrant Insectile Human would have 8 arms.

Thanks for the answer. SS also says (under the "attacks" section) "despite having six arms", which is why I was unsure.

[Maat Mons]

Q417: If you put on a Necklace of Adaptation, and then jump into the water, do you get wet?

[Venger]

A 417 Yes. ten characters