Simple Q&A D&D 3.5 (by RAW) XX

[Kuulvheysoon]

A 955

Yes. A wizard must keep track of how many pages a spell takes up for scribing purposes, as spells that take up multiple pages cost more to scribe.

[willpell]

Re: A955
But they could just charge by the level of the spell directly without tying it to a number of pages (that would be fluff at best and could easily be abstracted altogether). So it is legitimate, then, for a wizard to carry multiple spellbooks and exceed the 100-page limit, without having to trash the book at high levels and scribe a new one without the more useless early-level spells in it? 100 pages doesn't give you very many level 6+ spells even if you don't have 30-50 pages worth of lower-level ones already.

Q957
How much would it cost to get a weapon which is made entirely out of metal but otherwise functions as a quarterstaff? It would weigh more, but not enough so that you couldn't still fight with it in essentially the same manner (metal fighting poles totally exist IRL, there's no reason they can't in D&D), it would remain accessible to characters who don't even have Simple Weapon proficiency, and it would be harder to Sunder than a wooden pole and impossible to set on fire.

Q958
If a creature has no Attacks listed in the monster manual, it should still be capable of making a touch attack (normally having no effect, but D&D is not limited to the normal). Would there be anything to this beyond adding the creature's Strength (or Dexterity if it has Weapon Finesse) to its BAB and rolling to hit once per round as a standard action?

[Curmudgeon]

A 947 No.

The benefit is specific to daggers.

Re: A 955

There is no limit to the number of spellbooks a Wizard may own. Spellbooks are non-magical possessions.

A 957 Ask your DM.

Custom item creation is always subject to individual DM judgment. Your DM will determine if such a thing is possible in their game, and if so what the price would be.

[killem2]

A 951 cont.

It has nothing to do with your BAB.

A critical threat is any attack roll which could result in a critical hit. Each weapon has a threat range which is triggered by what number you roll on the die. Typically, you must roll a natural 20 to threaten a critical, but many weapons have a greater range (such as a longsword, which has a 19-20 critical threat range).

Curmudgeon's rules quote above was in reference to those weapons with expanded threat ranges. Normally, when you roll a 20 it is an automatic hit in addition to being a critical threat, however that is not the case for other numbers even if they could result in a crit. So in order to have a successful threat with such a weapon, you must still hit the enemy in addition to rolling the correct number. Basically, if your opponent's AC is so high that you need a 20 just to hit him, rolling a 19 won't threaten a crit even if you're wielding a longsword, since your attack will still miss.

So for your scenario with the fighter and the goblin, the correct answers are 1 and 3. When the fighter rolls a natural 20, he automatically hits and scores a critical threat, which activates Lightning Mace. This happens regardless of whether or not the critical hit is confirmed. A roll of 12 is unlikely to be a critical threat without some serious crit optimization, especially with a mace, so Lightning Mace won't activate even if the fighter has enough attack bonus to hit the goblin's AC.

1. Yes, this is a threat
2. No, not a threat
3. As 1.

A threat is a roll of 20 or a roll within the threat range and hitting the target's AC.

If you also had the improved critical (light mace) feat or some other way of increasing the threat range of the mace, in the example above you would also get the extra attack on a roll of 19, sicne you would hit AC 29 or less.

BTW BAB (base attack bonus) is irrelevant for this. Your total Attack Bonus plus the dice roll must equal or exceed the target's AC.

Thanks to both of you :), and I only posted BAB so the examples would work math wise.

[willpell]

A 957 Ask your DM.
Custom item creation is always subject to individual DM judgment. Your DM will determine if such a thing is possible in their game, and if so what the price would be.

I am my DM, and have no idea what would constitute a "fair" price. It wouldn't even have occurred to me to try if not for someone on these forums pointing out that a Heavy Mace costs more and weighs than a Morningstar despite not dealing piercing damage, for no other reason than that it's made of metal and thus harder for an opponent to Sunder. So apparently that makes it worth 1.5x the price, but a Quarterstaff's price is 0 so I'm completely at a loss to adapt it similarly.

Q959 (another old question reposted, but much more succinctly than the last time I asked):
If I'm a level 6 Psion and I spend 6 pp rather than 5 on Dispel Psionics, does that indeed boost my ML check to 1d20+8? And a level 7 can spend 7 pp to roll 1d20+11, and so forth? My initial assumption on reading the power was that the augment only functioned to remove the +10 cap on how much of your ML could be added to the dispel check.

[killem2]

Q 960: If I am a thri-kreen with multiweapon fighting, and I use two bone bows, is there a penalty at that point of -4 for using those bows? I was also looking for an improved version of multiweapon fighting but they all seem to reference Multidexterity which is a replacement of ambidexterity which was 3.0. Can i still take that feat?

[Curmudgeon]

A 960

Improved Multiweapon Fighting in 3.5 rules does not reference Multidexterity. (Confirm in the Wizards of the Coast official System Reference Document file.) That feat does not reduce penalties; instead, it allows an extra off-hand attack with an additional -5 penalty.

Using two bone bows with Multiweapon Fighting you would incur the following penalties:

• nonproficiency, without Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bone bow) : -4 to all attacks
• Multiweapon Fighting: -4 with both hands (instead of -6/-10)
• extra primary hand attacks: -5/-10/-15 for successive shots with the bow held in the Thri-Kreen's main hand, assuming minimum BAB of +6/+11/+16

You would add STR bonus to main hand bow shots, and ½ STR bonus to other shots.

[Andezzar]

You would add STR bonus to main hand bow shots, and ½ STR bonus to other shots.

Are you sure about that? Composite bows (which is how bone bows work) normally do a capped amount of extra damage from STR. Unless the user has the indicated STR he gets a penalty when using them, even if the user has a higher STR modifier, the bow only does as much damage as has been specified in the crafting of the weapon.
Now the question is, can a thri-kreen only use a bow with a half STR damage bonus in the off hand without penalty or full STR, since STR is compared and not the damage bonus from STR? What damage bonus would he get?

To be honest, I don't think thri-kreen should be allowed to use two bows at once. Now four hand crossbows is a different story.

[Telonius]

Q961
Suppose a character wants to throw an arrow (as an "improvised dagger," basing the suggestion on the rule about arrows count as improvised daggers in melee) at an enemy. Is this possible? If so, is the arrow treated as ammunition (destroyed on successful hit and 50% chance of destruction on a miss) or as a thrown weapon (not destroyed on successful hit)? I understand there are normally loads of nonproficiency penalties, but leave those aside for now.

Going along with that...

Q962
If an arrow is magical, do the enhancement bonuses apply in all uses of the arrow (improvised melee, thrown, etc), or just when it's fired out of a bow (whether the bow is magical or not)?

[killem2]

Are you sure about that? Composite bows (which is how bone bows work) normally do a capped amount of extra damage from STR. Unless the user has the indicated STR he gets a penalty when using them, even if the user has a higher STR modifier, the bow only does as much damage as has been specified in the crafting of the weapon.
Now the question is, can a thri-kreen only use a bow with a half STR damage bonus in the off hand without penalty or full STR, since STR is compared and not the damage bonus from STR? What damage bonus would he get?

To be honest, I don't think thri-kreen should be allowed to use two bows at once. Now four hand crossbows is a different story.

I'm not sure why a thri-kreen can't use two bows, they are a two handed ranged weapon. I also don't see why four hand cross bows is more likely.


I also didn't know though, that there is a different in str bonus with off hand bows/primary bows.

Interesting. This is getting more complicated than I thought lol.

[Urpriest]

Can a creature suppress an immunity (racial, originating from a spell, or otherwise) to allow a beneficial spell that it would otherwise be immune to?

What about non-spell special attacks?

[Andezzar]

I'm not sure why a thri-kreen can't use two bows, they are a two handed ranged weapon. I also don't see why four hand cross bows is more likely.

Just imagine drawing a bowstring and then imagine having another set of arms below the first set doing the same the same thing with another bow. The two bows would get in each other's way. Using four weapons similar to pistols should not be much more complicated than using two. They don't interfere with each other.

[Man on Fire]

Thanks for answers about LA, they were very useful

Q963

Does two-weapon fighting allows me to attack with unarmed strike? You know, first attack with one hand, second with another? And does it combine with flurry of blows, allowing me to make two?

[Curmudgeon]

A 961 No.

The dagger equivalent is specific to melee use.

An arrow used as a melee weapon is treated as a light improvised weapon (-4 penalty on attack rolls) and deals damage as a dagger of its size (critical multiplier ×2).

To determine the size category and appropriate damage for an improvised weapon, compare its relative size and damage potential to the weapon list to find a reasonable match.

Each improvised use goes back to this rule, and your individual DM will determine what the best equivalent is. Some improvised weapons will be so ineffectual as to be useless (i.e., incapable of reliably dealing even 1 point of damage), and your DM may decide that a thrown arrow falls into that category.

A 962

The answer depends on each specific enhancement. Some weapon properties are melee-only, some ranged-only, and some work in both contexts. For examples, spell storing is melee-only (since it requires the weapon to be wielded when it strikes), and splitting is ranged-only (since the magic only works in flight).

A 963 No.

You only have a single unarmed strike. As an example of this, if you wore a Necklace of Natural Attacks +2 to enhance your unarmed strike, you would gain +2 to strike with any part of your body, including with both hands; it is not possible to treat them as separate weapons.

Two-Weapon Fighting

If you wield a second weapon in your off hand, you can get one extra attack per round with that weapon.

Because you only have one unarmed strike, you do not satisfy the above highlighted requirement for Two-Weapon Fighting.

[TypoNinja]

A 957

I'd suggest starting with the price of 1sp per lb of iron as a trade good and go from there. For example.

Skilled hireling prices from the SHBG list a smith at 12 GP a month, so 4 silver gets you his services for a day. (probably take less time than that, but lets round up)

Add the 50% markup for retail and we're home free.

However, unless my math fails me. I think that might be a wee bit on the heavy size. Like 60lbs or more. I know how to figure a rectangle, but how to turn that into a round pole is escaping me at the moment. So I've just lopped an arbitrary value off. The weight of a 6 foot by 2 inch by 2 inch iron rectangle is about 80 lbs, so lets call the pole 60. (somebody who remembers highschool with a bit more clarity than me can give you a more precise number.)

Anyway, assuming I still remember how to figure volume right, that's 6 gold in materials, plus 4 sliver for the smiths time. 6.4 gold plus the markup is 12.8 gold. Have the thing come with a set of nice gloves to protect your hands and help your grip and we can call it 13gp.

[Urpriest]

Can a creature suppress an immunity (racial, originating from a spell, or otherwise) to allow a beneficial spell that it would otherwise be immune to?

What about non-spell special attacks?

Apologies for my negligence, this should be Q 964

[Curmudgeon]

A 964 No.

Spell Immunity

A creature with spell immunity avoids the effects of spells and spell-like abilities that directly affect it. This works exactly like spell resistance, except that it cannot be overcome.

A creature can voluntarily lower its spell resistance, but it can't ever turn off spell immunity. Other types of immunities can be overcome only if they specifically allow such an option.

[Urpriest]

A 964 No. A creature can voluntarily lower its spell resistance, but it can't ever turn off spell immunity. Other types of immunities can be overcome only if they specifically allow such an option.

Q 965

What does the term "special resistance to magic" in the following refer to, and what are the boundaries on its applicability?

Voluntarily Giving up a Saving Throw: A creature can voluntarily forego a saving throw and willingly accept a spell's result. Even a character with a special resistance to magic (for example, an elf's immunity to sleep effects) can suppress this quality.

[Malimar]

Q966
Can a wizard copy into his spellbook an arcane scroll of a spell that isn't on the sorcerer/wizard list (e.g. a scroll of cure light wounds scribed by a bard)? Why or why not?

[NeedsAnswersNao]

Q 965

What does the term "special resistance to magic" in the following refer to, and what are the boundaries on its applicability?

As Curmudgeon mentioned above SR can be voluntarily lowered.

Resistance to magic = magic resistance, by which they mean the special quality of spell resistance. The rules often do not succeed in saying what they clearly are trying mean.

[NeedsAnswersNao]

Q954: Would gaining the extraplanar (native to a lawful evil plane), lawful, and evil subtypes on an outside make a PC count as a "devil"?

Answering my own question: after thinking it over, I'd say this is correct.

[Chronos]

A 966:

I can find no rule restricting what spells a wizard can scribe into her spellbook. However, there is little reason to do so, since she still couldn't cast a non-wizard spell scribed in this way.

[willpell]

Q 965

What does the term "special resistance to magic" in the following refer to, and what are the boundaries on its applicability?

"For example, an elf's immunity to sleep spells" seems pretty clear. If a creature is inherently immune or resistant to particular spells, this is a quality distinct from spell resistance, but can be voluntarily lowered the same way. I don't agree with NeedAnswersNao's assumption that this is just another word for SR, as the example indicates it as applying to a regular elf rather than a drow or the like.

A 964 No. A creature can voluntarily lower its spell resistance, but it can't ever turn off spell immunity. Other types of immunities can be overcome only if they specifically allow such an option.

I contest this. "It cannot be overcome" seems like it's just saying "you can't make a caster level check to penetrate this as you could spell resistance". (NAN is right about one thing, the rules are notoriously good at explaining things badly.)

Still waiting on an answer to my last question BTW.

[killem2]

Just imagine drawing a bowstring and then imagine having another set of arms below the first set doing the same the same thing with another bow. The two bows would get in each other's way. Using four weapons similar to pistols should not be much more complicated than using two. They don't interfere with each other.

I was thinking more along the lines of a bow on each side, left and right. rather than top or bottom

[willpell]

Q967
Is there a way for a mostly-humanish character (no tentacles or the like) to gain the benefit of the Improved Grapple feat without possessing Improved Unarmed Strike, preferably in a manner that's compatible with any class (eg a feat rather than a spell) and available at an early level (ie hopefully not a 10K gold magic item)?

[Kuulvheysoon]

Q959 (another old question reposted, but much more succinctly than the last time I asked):
If I'm a level 6 Psion and I spend 6 pp rather than 5 on Dispel Psionics, does that indeed boost my ML check to 1d20+8? And a level 7 can spend 7 pp to roll 1d20+11, and so forth? My initial assumption on reading the power was that the augment only functioned to remove the +10 cap on how much of your ML could be added to the dispel check.

A 959

Yes. As it says in the d20SRD,

Augment

For every additional power point you spend, the bonus on your dispel check increases by 2 (to a maximum bonus of +20 for a 5-point expenditure).

It actually accomplishes both, as there is no Dispel Psionics, Greater.

A 967

Yes. If you take a level of monk, you may choose Improved Grapple as your bonus feat at 1st level, and it specifically states that you do not need to meet the per-requisites. (although Monk 1 gives you IUS as a bonus feat at first level anyways.)

[Andezzar]

I was thinking more along the lines of a bow on each side, left and right. rather than top or bottom

That's even worse. I doubt the distance between the outstretched arm and the one near the cheek would be too short to properly draw the bow - especially an extra large Bone bow.

Q 968

What's the DC to resist a Hat of Disguise?

[willpell]

A 967
Yes. If you take a level of monk, you may choose Improved Grapple as your bonus feat at 1st level, and it specifically states that you do not need to meet the per-requisites. (although Monk 1 gives you IUS as a bonus feat at first level anyways.)

Exactly my point. I specifically want the character not to have IUS for flavor reasons, even if it's free. I don't expect to get the actual iGrapple for free; I was thinking more along the lines of a Soulmeld or amulet or something that gives the effect (the way Impulse Boots give Uncanny Dodge and potentially Evasion, though Incarnum is just one of the possibilities for this sort of thing, I just can't think of aother example).

[Malimar]

A 966:

I can find no rule restricting what spells a wizard can scribe into her spellbook. However, there is little reason to do so, since she still couldn't cast a non-wizard spell scribed in this way.

Q 966 B
Where is the rule dictating what spells a wizard can cast (or prepare), other than the requirement that it be in his spellbook?

Q 968

What's the DC to resist a Hat of Disguise?

A 968
A Hat of Disguise replicates Disguise Self, which does not allow a saving throw, but instead adds +10 to any Disguise checks you make. Disguise checks are opposed by Spot checks, not saves.

[Thurbane]

Q 969

Can a creature with no land speed (say, a Will-o-wisp) use the Tumble skill normally (assuming it has ranks)?

Primarily, to avoid AoO during movement...