Simple RAW Thread for 3.5 #37: 3d12+1

[Venger]

A 252 a Yes. Yes.
A 252b It's when the conflict happens.
A 252c Yes. It is standard procedure for casters who do not ban enchantment to walk around auto-dominated all the time for this reason. It offers an out via opposed cha checks if enemies zap you, and if anyone tries to take you to task for bad things you do on your own, you can honestly tell them to use sense motive on you and determine you are/were dominated.

[Nelfin]

Use a scroll from Use Magic Device only let you explicitly meet 2 of the 3 requirements for activating a scroll. The last requirement is the spell in the scroll being of the correct type.

Q 254 Does having a spell in your spell class list makes you automatically a spell caster?

[Troacctid]

Use a scroll from Use Magic Device only let you explicitly meet 2 of the 3 requirements for activating a scroll. The last requirement is the spell in the scroll being of the correct type.

Q 254 Does having a spell in your spell class list makes you automatically a spell caster?

No, having spellcasting makes you a spellcaster.

[St Fan]

Q 255

An archivist writes a spell on a scroll. Such a spell will be divine, no problem about that.

However, an archivist uses Intelligence to determine which level of spells he can learn, prepare, or cast, not Wisdom.

So, let's say she puts an 8-level druid or cleric spell on a scroll. Would the future reader of the scroll needs Intelligence 18 to use it, or Wisdom 18?

[Khedrac]

A 255 That would depend on the class of the character reading the scroll.

[Beni-Kujaku]

A 255 Addendum Basically, a scroll contains only four informations: what spell(s) is in it, what level the spell is at, is it arcane or divine, and what metamagic are applied to the spell. It doesn't care about the class who scribed it, only about the one who reads it.
An archivist scribes Heal as a 6th level spell (from the cleric spell list) at CL 11. A druid 12 finds it. He has Heal as a 7th level spell on his list, but can't cast it yet. He just follows the procedure. The spell level on the scroll is still 6, so the deciphering DC is 26, and he needs to have a Wisdom of 16 to cast it. His caster level is higher than that of the scroll (CL 11) and he has the spell on his list, so he can use the scroll despite not being able to cast Heal himself.

[Thurbane]

Apologies if I've asked this before...

Q 256

Is there anything preventing a Duskblade channeling spells through a natural weapon?

[Venger]

A 256 No. As long as it's a melee natural weapon, you're all set.

[Thurbane]

On the topic of scrolls...

Q 257a

A Wizard 1/Fighter 4 with the Practiced Spellcaster feat tries to activate a Scroll of Fireball (CL 5). This succeeds automatically, yes (assuming scroll has already been deciphered etc.)?

Q 257b

A Sorcerer 5 tries to activate the same scroll - this also succeeds automatically, even though he can't normally cast fireball until next Sorcerer level (again, assuming deciphering etc. has been completed)?

[Venger]

A 257a Yes.
A 257b Yes.

[St Fan]

Q 258

Among other limitations, a Barbarian's rage (or other form of raging) prevents from using "the Concentration skill, or any abilities that require patience or concentration".

Now (if the character is also a psionic one), meditating to gain psionic focus is a concentration check, so it clearly cannot be done while raging. However, do maintaining or expanding your psionic focus also fall into this category? Or can a raging character still use abilities depending on this?

[Flame of Anor]

A 258

To stay psionically focused does not require any sort of action, so you should be fine there.

To expend your psionic focus on a Concentration check is obviously not possible. To expend it to activate a psionic feat...that will require a judgment call. The description of rage clearly uses "patience and concentration" in a non-technical sense, especially since "patience" doesn't even have a technical meaning AFAIK. So even though expending your psionic focus does not require usage of the Concentration skill, the DM could quite easily rule that it does involve "patience and concentration" in a non-technical sense.

[ShurikVch]

Q 259

Can swarm of Diminutive or Fine creatures damage other swarm of Diminutive or Fine creatures? And, if yes - then would it be +50% damage?

[ksbsnowowl]

Q 260: Is there anything stopping a Spellthief from using a stolen spell to create a wand? (Either he has the Craft Wand feat, or he is assisting another character who does.)

Granted he only has the stolen spell for an hour, but the item creation rules never specify that the creator must have the spell available all day, nor does it specify that the spell is expended at the end of the 8-hour crafting day. Heck, it doesn’t even say the 8 hours of crafting each day has to be contiguous. So he could in theory leave his workshop to snag the spell from a target just before he needs to expend it for the day.

The caster works for 8 hours each day. He cannot rush the process by working longer each day. But the days need not be consecutive, and the caster can use the rest of his time as he sees fit.

[ShurikVch]

Q 261

If summoned creature is immune to magic - then would it be immune to attempts to banish or dispel it (presuming it's done by SR:yes methods)?

[Beni-Kujaku]

A 259 "Creatures with the swarm subtype don’t make standard melee attacks. Instead, they deal automatic damage to any creature whose space they occupy at the end of their move, with no attack roll needed." That's not weapon damage, and it affects an area. Any swarm can deal damage to a swarm of D or F creatures, and the swarm takes 50% more damage.

A 260 The spellthief doesn't have the spell prepared or known, nor do they have a spell slot to expend. The spell cannot be used to create items.

A 261 Yes.

[St Fan]

Q 262

I am undecided whether a protection from evil or magic circle against evil (especially a long-lasting version, like the one provided by celestial fortress), specifically thanks to its protection against possession and ongoing mental control, would provide any defense against a nightmare spell.

[Thurbane]

Q 263

This seems dumb, but: Iaijutsu Focus is an untrained, Cha based skill. Does this mean that every character and monster that draws a melee weapon and hits a flat-footed opponent should get a Cha check to apply extra dice of damage? Or do they need to be following some special method and/or declaring the attack as an Iaijutsu attack?

[Venger]

A 263 Your reading is correct. All intelligent monsters have the potential to do this if they meet the conditions.

That said, if you don't build specifically around it, attacking a flat-footed enemy right after having drawn a melee weapon really doesn't come up that often. Most monsters you encounter attack with natural weapons and when you're going through a dungeon if you're not normally a iaijutsu based character, you've probably already got your weapon drawn so you can attack enemies right away.

[Vaern]

Q 264
Iajutsu focus applies to an attack made against a flat-footed opponent immediately after drawing a melee weapon.
A. Does that attack have to be made with the melee weapon you just drew?
B. Does that attack have to be made with a melee weapon?
C. Does that attack have to be made with a weapon?

In other words, assume a target is flat-footed and I have just drawn a dagger with quick draw as a free action. The conditions for using iajutsu focus have been met. Could I then apply the extra damage from the skill check to:
A. a melee attack with a longsword that I already had equipped in my main hand?
B. a ranged attack with a crossbow that I already had equipped in my main hand?
C. a ranged attack with an orb of acid that I cast using my free hand?

[Venger]

A 264a No
A 264b No
A 264c No

So for your examples, the answer to all of them is "yes."

[Bobur]

Q265

How does Freedom of movement interact with being underwater/ swimming?
I had the situation where a paladin in full plate armor wanted to basically just walk on the bottom of the lake and I am really not sure what would happen.

[Venger]

A 265

The spell also allows the subject to move and attack normally while underwater, even with slashing weapons such as axes and swords or with bludgeoning weapons such as flails, hammers, and maces, provided that the weapon is wielded in the hand rather than hurled. The freedom of movement spell does not, however, allow water breathing.

There isn't really anything about fom that makes this easier. If they want to walk along the bottom of a lake they can do that without fom.

[MagneticDragon]

Q266

I've seen this suggestion before, but I'm not entirely sure it works.

The Morphing Weapon Special Ability allows the enchanted weapon to transform into any weapon of the same type. Light, one-handed or two-handed.

Meanwhile, the Sizing Weapon Special Ability, allows you to change the size of an item as a standard action at will.

Finally. The SRD says the following: 'In general, a light weapon is an object two size categories smaller than the wielder, a one-handed weapon is an object one size category smaller than the wielder, and a two-handed weapon is an object of the same size category as the wielder.'

Is it RAW that I can combine the Morphing Special Ability and the Sizing Special Ability to create a weapon that can be transformed into any weapon of any size that I want? Or is this something that I will have to ask my DM about?

Q267

The spell Shatter can be used to, well, Shatter, any single object that is up to 10lb per Caster Level. However, I have to ask, what defines a single object? Doors for example, are not simply great big chunks of wood or metal. But have hinges and a lock. Would I be able to use Shatter specifically on the hinges or lock of a door? What about a complex mechanism such as a trap? Would I be able to use shatter on individual gears and moving parts, or would I have to use Shatter against the entire trap at once?

I understand that this is likely a DM focused question, but I wanted to know if there is any RAW arguments before taking it to them.

[Beni-Kujaku]

A 266 This is a wording inherited from 3.0. In 3.0, big weapons could just be used as smaller two-handed weapons, and there weren't even light/1-hand/2-hand distinction. A one-handed sword was just described as a Medium weapon. In 3.5, a Large one-handed sword is just that. A Large, one-handed weapon. It can be wielded "as" a two-handed weapon by Medium characters, but it's still a one-handed weapon that is Large.

A 267 Despite other mentions of "single object", there's no real definition anywhere. I've seen people argue that every single one of your teeth were objects so that a runecaster could scribe a rune on each of them, and others who claim that the whole planet is a single stone object that could be blown up by one casting of Rockburst. Ask your DM.

[Sir Chuckles]

Q268
Does an Immediate Action spell provoke an AoO? Retributive Spell brought this up.

[Venger]

A 268 No. Swift and immediate actions never provoke aoos.

[KaNT]

Q267
Where is the rules for modifying XP based off level variance? The part that spells out the self correcting nature of XP. Been a while since I needed the rule, and I can't remember how it works for the life of me

[KillianHawkeye]

A 267

It's based on the XP Award table in DMG 3.5, page 38. An in-depth explanation (with example) can be found on the preceding pages.

[H_H_F_F]

Q 268
2 Stance of Immortal fortitude Questions:

268 a: When in a stance of Immortal Fortitude, does a character with die-hard make a fortitude save when it is dropped to hp between 0 and -9, or only when it is dropped to -10 or below?

268 b: If an undead or a construct in the stance of immortal fortitude takes 20 damage when at 1 hit point, what would be the DC for the save? And is the construct/undead immune to that save, and automatically gets back to 1 hp?