Simple RAW Thread for 3.5 #36: The Triple Dozen

[Khedrac]

A296 cont. - It still depends

Whoopsie, my bad. Didn't check up on the rules for the feat group as a whole before grabbing one as an example. Maybe something more like roundabout kick's bonus attack proccing on a critical hit whose damage has been negated would have been a more appropriate choice? xD

Another example are the x-Burst weapons where the burst effect can still happen if the attack would have been a critical.

The instruction to read the small print of the relevant abilities still applies. For example a creature with amorphous form is not subject to critical hits (nowhere is critical) and thus the burst damage is not triggered, but a creature with full fortification (does not take extra damage from critical hits) can be hit by a critical for the purpose of rider effects.

[bean illus]

Reading Murderous Intent, I'm not sure how it works.

[Vile]
Your favored enemies fear your savagery and inhumanity.
Prerequisite
Base attack bonus +9, favored enemy (any one),

Benefit
Choose one creature of a type or subtype you have selected as a favored enemy. As a full-round action, you can make a single melee attack against the chosen creature. If you deal at least 1 point of damage, that creature must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Cha modifier). On a failure, it is overcome with dread and can take only a move action or a standard action on its next turn.

You automatically confirm any critical threats made against a favored enemy

Prerequisite favored enemy. Choose one creature, damage causes save. GOT IT.


BUT ...
Q 297 I'm reading that ALL threats are confirmed vs ANY favored enemy. Though the save is vs a chosen creature, and that is a full rd action, you always confirm threats vs any favored enemy.
Is this true?

[Venger]

A 297 Your reading is correct.

Murderous intent gives you two abilities. One is using a full-round action to make a single attack against a creature of one favored enemy type, and if they fail they're staggered for 1 round.

The second ability is automatically confirming all critical threats against all favored enemy types you have beyond the one the first ability applies to.

[Afgncaap5]

Q 298

Are there any options that are specifically beneficial to creatures with the Reptillian subtype?

[Troacctid]

Q 298

Are there any options that are specifically beneficial to creatures with the Reptillian subtype?

Savage Species and Serpent Kingdoms both have options for reptilian creatures.

[Doctor Despair]

Q299a

Climb Aboard: To use this maneuver, you must move adjacent to a foe at least two size categories larger than you. In the following round, you may make a DC 10 Climb check as a free action to clamber onto the creature's back or limbs (you move into one of the squares the creature occupies). The creature you're standing on takes a -4 penalty on attack rolls against you, because it can strike at you only awkwardly. If the creature moves during its action, you move along with it. The creature can try to shake you off by making a grapple check opposed by your Climb check. If the creature succeeds, you wind up in a random adjacent square.

I'm a little confused about when you are allowed to use this maneuver.

• Suppose you take a move action and end your movement adjacent to an enemy. Can you use it right away, or do they have the opportunity to move away first?
• Suppose you take a move action and end your movement inside their square. Can you use it then, even though you're not "adjacent?"
• Suppose your opponent walks up to you rather than you moving up to them. Can you use it on your turn?

Q299b

The knight's code reads:

A knight never strikes a flat-footed opponent. Instead, you allow your foe to ready himself before attacking.

Does this prohibit touch attacks? For example, would a cross-class paladin-knight be prohibited from using lay on hands on someone suddenly? If so: tripping/grappling should still be fair game providing you don't deal damage, right?

[Venger]

A 299a
1) You would need to wait til the following round. Depending on your respective init counts, the enemy may be able to move away, preventing you from using giantbane.
2) No
3) RAW, no. Actual play, sure.

299b It refers to all attacks. If using lay on hands offensively against an undead, you would need to wait for them to get ready before doing it to stay within knight code. It does not specify attacks which deal hit point damage.

[Troacctid]

Q299a



I'm a little confused about when you are allowed to use this maneuver.

• Suppose you take a move action and end your movement adjacent to an enemy. Can you use it right away, or do they have the opportunity to move away first?
• Suppose you take a move action and end your movement inside their square. Can you use it then, even though you're not "adjacent?"
• Suppose your opponent walks up to you rather than you moving up to them. Can you use it on your turn?

1. You have to wait until the following round.
2. Well, you might be adjacent to one of their squares.
3. No.

Q299b

The knight's code reads:



Does this prohibit touch attacks? For example, would a cross-class paladin-knight be prohibited from using lay on hands on someone suddenly? If so: tripping/grappling should still be fair game providing you don't deal damage, right?

It prohibits anything that uses an attack roll.

[St Fan]

Q 300

An arcane caster that suffers a drastic reduction in his casting stat (for example, a feeblemind spell) can no longer cast any spell.

A) However, those spells are not lost, right? When the effect is removed, a wizard still has his full contingent of spells at his disposal (minus those already cast beforehand)... correct?

B) And even during the effect, the prepared spells are still there? For example, a Spellthief could still steal spells from a feebleminded wizard...

[Debatra]

A 300 Both of those statements are correct. The caster is only unable to cast them.

[Thurbane]

A 300 query

If a mental score dropped, would bonus spells from a high mental score be lost?

[Venger]

A 300 clarification No. The caster still has them prepared and they do not vanish. They just cannot cast them until their int is high enough to meet the minimum for the spell.

[Khedrac]

A 300 Contention

I think RAW is that the bonus spells are lost (same as if the caster takes off a stat boosting item, and then puts it back on). I think this is one of those cases where a rules quote is needed to show that the spells are retained (supressed) as the basic logic is they are gone.

However, considering the implications of this (and anti-magic shells, and dispel magic item suppression); I don't think the RAW is particularly practical for play and playing that they are just suppressed is a lot less bookkeeping.

Note: I would welcome a rules example as to why this is wrong.

[Venger]

A 300 clarification (again) No, they are not. The slots disappearing is what would require a citation. One cannot be provided because this does not happen. It's not possible to prove a negative.

As far as actual play/expediency, I completely agree with you.

Your example of donning and doffing a +casting stat item is a perfect explanation for why you don't lose spell slots. Say you removed a +stat item while you had some spells remaining. With it off, you would have no spells. By this token of logic you could cast your final spell with it on, take it off, and then put it back on and upon doing so, gain bonus spells from the ability boost again for unlimited spells. Since this is not a known exploit, bonus slots do not work this way, and the inverse (having your casting stat lowered temporarily) would also not cause you to lose the slots.

Circumstances where you do lose a prepared spell or spell slot, such as being energy drained, are always spelled out in the rules. Having your mental score lowered in general, such as through ability damage, makes no such stipulation, therefore you keep your normal amount of slots even though you might be unable to use your highest level spells due to not meeting the minimum ability score.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Q 301: Is there a comprehensive list of exotic armors and their effects anywhere, or any way to nab Exotic Armor Proficiency (All)?

Q 302: Is there any way to count as wearing armor without actually wearing the armor, say, if you're a monk and want the effects of gnomish twist cloth without actually wearing it or taking penalties?

[Venger]

Q 303 Is there any way to know whether an enemy's spell is modified by metamagic? If so, can you learn what metamagic specifically? As far as I can tell, spellcraft cannot do this.

[Thurbane]

Q 301: Is there a comprehensive list of exotic armors and their effects anywhere, or any way to nab Exotic Armor Proficiency (All)?

A 301 partial

A few base classes and PrCs say they are proficient with all armors, so by a strict RAW reading, this would include proficiency with exotic armors.

Sohei are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, and with all armor (but no shields).

Fleet runners are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all armor, and with shields (except tower shields).

Bone knights are proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with all armor and shields (including tower shields).

[Venger]

A 301 (cont'd) I also don't have a list of all exotic armors but the other classes that are proficient with all armors are chameleon, witch hunter, knight of the sacred seal, singh rager, spellsword, fighter, knight, shining blade of heironeous, and radiant servant of pelor.

[Doctor Despair]

Q304

Can a creature with no hands (such as an intelligent crab) use an activated item like an antimagic torc?

[ciopo]

Q305
If I have a swim speed, can I still get the benefit of the quick swimmer skill trick? Applied to the swim speed, I mean

[Troacctid]

Q 302: Is there any way to count as wearing armor without actually wearing the armor, say, if you're a monk and want the effects of gnomish twist cloth without actually wearing it or taking penalties?

I mean, there are ways to count as wearing armor even though you are technically not wearing armor—warforged feats come to mind—but I'm not sure how that would accomplish what you want.

Q 303 Is there any way to know whether an enemy's spell is modified by metamagic? If so, can you learn what metamagic specifically? As far as I can tell, spellcraft cannot do this.

This is a function of Spellcraft.

Q304

Can a creature with no hands (such as an intelligent crab) use an activated item like an antimagic torc?

MIC has rules for slotted magic items on nonhumanoid body types (page 219). It also stipulates that manipulation activations require a free hand (page 220). Command and mental activations should be unimpeded.

Q305
If I have a swim speed, can I still get the benefit of the quick swimmer skill trick? Applied to the swim speed, I mean

No. You have to succeed on a swim check in order to move the extra 10 feet. Since you don't roll swim checks at all, you cannot succeed on one, so you cannot use the skill trick. (You can make swim checks to avoid obstacles, but the trick only cares about swim checks made to move.)

[Venger]

A 303 (clarification) I did not see any function mentioning metamagic on the spellcraft chart in the phb. If metamagic is mentioned as an expanded/additional use for spellcraft elsewhere, would you mind telling me what book it's in?

[Troacctid]

A 303 (clarification) I did not see any function mentioning metamagic on the spellcraft chart in the phb. If metamagic is mentioned as an expanded/additional use for spellcraft elsewhere, would you mind telling me what book it's in?

Spellcraft is the skill used to identify spells and magic effects. That includes metamagic spells, unless you think they're neither spells nor magical effects.

[Doctor Despair]

WRT Q304

MIC has rules for slotted magic items on nonhumanoid body types (page 219). It also stipulates that manipulation activations require a free hand (page 220). Command and mental activations should be unimpeded.

Thanks for the reference!

Multilegged Creatures: Creatures with more than two legs can treat their foremost pair of limbs as their arms (allowing them access to the arms, hands, and rings body slots), even if those limbs are used for locomotion rather than manipulation. Creatures with multiple legs that also have arms (such as centaurs or driders) don't lack any body slots.

Would an intelligent crab then be able to wield a sword, bow, or shield using its front limbs based on that rule, as they'd treat their foremost limbs (presumably their claws) as their arms? Or would it need the Gloves of Man for that?

[Venger]

Spellcraft is the skill used to identify spells and magic effects. That includes metamagic spells, unless you think they're neither spells nor magical effects.

I didn't say that. If I make the basic ID to identify a spell, I automatically know all the metamagic feats that are applied to it? It doesn't increase the DC? That's convenient. So the reason I can't find an indication that it goes up by 5 per metamagic feat applied or what have you is because there is no such rule. Good enough. Thanks.

[Troacctid]

WRT Q304

Would an intelligent crab then be able to wield a sword, bow, or shield using its front limbs based on that rule, as they'd treat their foremost limbs (presumably their claws) as their arms? Or would it need the Gloves of Man for that?

The arms and hands slots are for gloves and bracers. While there are some rare weapons that take up the hands slot (e.g. storm gauntlets, which are gloves that also count as +1 spiked gauntlets), swords, bows, and shields are not among them.

[mattie_p]

I didn't say that. If I make the basic ID to identify a spell, I automatically know all the metamagic feats that are applied to it? It doesn't increase the DC? That's convenient. So the reason I can't find an indication that it goes up by 5 per metamagic feat applied or what have you is because there is no such rule. Good enough. Thanks.

A303 (caveat). 3.0 Book Tome and Blood (p19) states that, as usual, "You scrutinize the spellcaster, listening to the words used in the spell, observing the caster's gestures, and noting any material components or focus. For each of these elements that you cannot discern, the DC increases by +2. For example, if a foe casts a still and silent spell, your spellcraft check DC increases by +4."

I'm unaware of any other rule that increases the spellcraft DC from the standard 15+spell level.

Q 302: Is there any way to count as wearing armor without actually wearing the armor, say, if you're a monk and want the effects of gnomish twist cloth without actually wearing it or taking penalties?

A302: Yes. Arms and Equipment Guide has rules that permit adding special armor properties to Bracers of Armor, so long as the total enhancement bonus does not exceed +13 below epic levels. A monk could get Bracers of Armor and add the Ghost Ward property (from MIC) for an equivalent of +1, adding potentially +8 to all touch attacks including incorporeal touch attacks.

[Mrark]

Q306: if a wizard creates a simulacrum of a creature that got some inherent stat boosts from wish, will the simulacrum retain those stat boosts, or not?

[Venger]

A 306 Yes ten characters

[remetagross]

Q307: what happens to a flying creature, whose means of flight is extraordinary (ie wings), that starts to cower midair ?