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

[RMS Oceanic]

Q 970

If I have levels in both Duskblade and Warblade, can I arcane channel a spell while executing a martial strike?

[MrLemon]

A 970
No, you can't.
Channeling Touch Spells through the sword is a standard action in and of itself.
As are martial strikes.
(You can however use a Boost or something similar as those are swift actions)

Edit: At 13th level, you can channel as part of a full attack, but RAW still not as part of a martial strike (as you can't use them with full attacks)

[Curmudgeon]

A 966B

Right in the Wizard class description.

Spells

A wizard casts arcane spells which are drawn from the sorcerer/wizard spell list.

If it's not an arcane spell from the Wizard spell list, a Wizard can't cast it.

[Andezzar]

Q 971

How often can a Level 13+ duskblade affect the same target with a spell on a full round action? The description says you can affect each target that you hit on your Full attack. It does not say it affects each target only once.

[killem2]

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.

Guess we'll just have to disagree and I'll have to be thankful you are not my DM. When you start using logic to support or not support a D&D rule, then it just doesn't become fun anymore.

Q 972: When a player casts wish, and they choose from one of the pre determined "safe" options that it lists such as increasing an ability score by +1, are those set in stone, and should a DM only be making the wish get out of hand if you are asking for something OFF that list?

[Duke of URL]

A 971

While common sense might dictate that the effects of the spell applies separately on each hit made with that full attack, the wording only specifies that the spell affects each target you hit in that round; such wording usually means each target is only affected once by that spell. It's ambiguous enough to defy a completely solid RAW answer.

A 972

By RAW, it appears that a wish can only be "perverted" if it asking for an effect greater than that listed.

You may try to use a wish to produce greater effects than these, but doing so is dangerous. (The wish may pervert your intent into a literal but undesirable fulfillment or only a partial fulfillment.)

If you're choosing an effect from the provided list, you should therefore get what you asked for without trouble.

Side note: this assumes you are the caster... if you are gaining a wish from a reluctant provider, the actual caster has every right to twist your words as much as they can get away with, if he/she/it wants to.

[danzibr]

Q 973

Does adding +1 to saves and +2 to Cha to a cloak cost more than 5k? In particular, going from no Cha bonus to a +2 Cha bonus is 4k, and going from no bonus to saves to +1 bonus to saves is 1k, but when you stack them do you have to pay more?

[Duke of URL]

A 973

According to the rules in the Magic Item Compendium, adding "common effects" such as resistance bonuses and ability score enhancements to an item in an appropriate item slot costs only the normal price for such effects.

So, as you suggest, a cloak of charisma +2 with resistance +1 costs 5,000 gp (the sum of the two separate prices).

[danzibr]

Thanks for the fast reply. Reminds me of another question.

Q 974

How does adding enchantments that don't have a +x value work? For instance, Fearsome and Dark from DotU. Could you have +1 armor which is both Dark and Fearsome for only 5k + 8k above the usual price of +1 armor? Can you do this with as many abilities as you want?

[Duke of URL]

A 974

Yes. Any number of fixed-price enhancements can be added to a magic weapon or armor/shield, each at their list cost.

[Jasdoif]

A958

The modifiers for a touch attack roll are determined the same way as for any other attack roll (being a touch attack influences the defender's AC, not the attack roll itself). The basic modifiers for a melee attack roll would be BAB, Strength modifier, and size modifier.

Also, this section on dealing with Invisiblity may be of interest to you:

A creature can grope about to find an invisible creature. A character can make a touch attack with his hands or a weapon into two adjacent 5-foot squares using a standard action. If an invisible target is in the designated area, there is a 50% miss chance on the touch attack. If successful, the groping character deals no damage but has successfully pinpointed the invisible creature’s current location. (If the invisible creature moves, its location, obviously, is once again unknown.)

So it seems a safe assumption that a generic touch attack as you described takes a standard action and does not provoke attacks of opportunity (as one is not mentioned there).

A969

Yes. Nothing in the Tumble skill restricts it to land movement, so it should apply normally to other methods of movement.

[mattie_p]

A958 dissent.

A creature can grope about to find an invisible creature. A character can make a touch attack with his hands or a weapon into two adjacent 5-foot squares using a standard action.

So it seems a safe assumption that a generic touch attack as you described takes a standard action and does not provoke attacks of opportunity (as one is not mentioned there).

I'm afraid it is not a safe assumption, the key word "attack" refers to the rules on actions in combat.

"Armed" Unarmed Attacks
Sometimes a character’s or creature’s unarmed attack counts as an armed attack. A monk, a character with the Improved Unarmed Strike feat, a spellcaster delivering a touch attack spell, and a creature with natural physical weapons all count as being armed.

Unless the character is groping with their weapon or has an "armed" unarmed attack in accordance with the list above, waving your hands in the face of an invisible character, hoping to find them, will provoke an attack of opportunity.

[Man on Fire]

Q959

I'm trying to understand rules of converting monsters into characters, tell me if what I did with this black bear is right:

* LA: 3 (CR+1)
* Racial Hit Dice: 3d8*
* Strength +4, Charisma -4, Intelligence -8
* Low-light vision, Scent, Endurance, Run
* Natural Armor +2
* Base speed 40 ft
* BAB +2
* Natural Weapons: Claw (+6 attack, 1d4 damage)
* Space/Reach: 5/5 ft
* Size: Medium
* Skill Points: 2+Int Modifier (x4 at first level)
* Racial skills: Climb, Listen, Spot, Swim
* Saves: Fort +4, Ref+3, Will+2

*- So, if I get what you told me about LA and hit dices, maximum he can advance are 14 class levels, right?

[Urpriest]

Q959

I'm trying to understand rules of converting monsters into characters, tell me if what I did with this black bear is right:

* LA: 3 (CR+1)
* Racial Hit Dice: 3d8*
* Strength +4, Charisma -4, Intelligence -8
* Low-light vision, Scent, Endurance, Run
* Natural Armor +2
* Base speed 40 ft
* BAB +2
* Natural Weapons: Claw (+6 attack, 1d4 damage)
* Space/Reach: 5/5 ft
* Size: Medium
* Skill Points: 2+Int Modifier (x4 at first level)
* Racial skills: Climb, Listen, Spot, Swim
* Saves: Fort +4, Ref+3, Will+2

*- So, if I get what you told me about LA and hit dices, maximum he can advance are 14 class levels, right?

A 959

Black bears do not have LA 3 in 3.5, and LA is unrelated to CR. If you are using Pathfinder rules you should ask in the Pathfinder thread.

While it is not entirely RAW, I recommend reading my Monster Handbook, link in sig.

[Jasdoif]

A958 dissent.

I'm afraid it is not a safe assumption, the key word "attack" refers to the rules on actions in combat.

Unless the character is groping with their weapon or has an "armed" unarmed attack in accordance with the list above, waving your hands in the face of an invisible character, hoping to find them, will provoke an attack of opportunity.

Hmm....While I can see what why you might come to conclusion, we're not making an unarmed attack here, because we aren't making an attack.

The closest equivalent action to a general touch attack would be a spellcaster delivering a touch spell (as a touch spell may be delivered on a round other than the one it is cast in, so the touch attack would be standalone), which as you listed does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

Personally, I'm blaming the confusion on the overuse of the word "attack" in the rules.

[Lateral]

Q 861

Are there any rules for psionic traps?

Also, Q 960

Do the True Dragons (the planar ones) in Draconomicon have the general traits listed under the SRD for True Dragons (all of the same natural attacks, the Sleep/Paralysis immunities, Blindsense, and Keen Senses)?

[mattie_p]

Snip discussion on Q & A 958

Hmm....While I can see what why you might come to conclusion, we're not making an unarmed attack here, because we aren't making an attack...

I know that Curmudgeon is no more authoritative in any real sense than either of us, but perhaps he would care to weigh in on this? I do not want to derail the thread, though, as it is not in accordance with the rules of the thread.

A 861 Talk to your DM.

If the DM rules that magic/psionic transparency exists, which is one of the options within the rules, then psionic traps will fall under the rules of magical traps, which always require DM adjudication. If the DM rules otherwise, also one of the options within the rules, then DM adjudication is still required.

[Curmudgeon]

Re: A 958

I know that Curmudgeon is no more authoritative in any real sense than either of us, but perhaps he would care to weigh in on this?

The Player's Handbook establishes that by default when you attack unarmed you provoke an attack of opportunity. The Improved Unarmed Strike feat and having your body charged with a touch attack spell provide overrides for this such that you are considered armed when making unarmed attacks. From PH pages 137 and 139:

Remember that even actions that normally provoke attacks of opportunity may have exceptions to this rule. For instance, a character with the Improved Unarmed Strike feat doesn’t incur an attack of opportunity for making an unarmed attack.

“Armed” Unarmed Attacks: Sometimes a character’s or creature’s unarmed attack counts as an armed attack. A monk, a character with the Improved Unarmed Strike feat (page 96), a spellcaster delivering a touch attack spell, and a creature with claws, fangs, and similar natural physical weapons all count as being armed.

In the "grope about to find an invisible creature" rules in the DMG Glossary there is no explicit exception to the usual rules for attacking unarmed. Therefore those attacks will provoke AoOs if the groping character does not have Improved Unarmed Strike, a touch attack spell charge in their body, or some other means of being considered "armed".

Spoiler

Show

The SRD conflates the Player's Handbook Glossary definition of invisible (pages 309-310) and the Dungeon Master's Guide Glossary treatment of invisibility (pages 295-296). However, the original source locations do matter here in terms of adjudicating disagreements.

Errata Rule: Primary Sources

When you find a disagreement between two D&D® rules sources, unless an official errata file says otherwise, the primary source is correct. One example of a primary/secondary source is text taking precedence over a table entry. An individual spell description takes precedence when the short description in the beginning of the spells chapter disagrees.

Another example of primary vs. secondary sources involves book and topic precedence. The Player's Handbook, for example, gives all the rules for playing the game, for playing PC races, and for using base class descriptions. If you find something on one of those topics from the Dungeon Master's Guide or the Monster Manual that disagrees with the Player's Handbook, you should assume the Player's Handbook is the primary source. The Dungeon Master's Guide is the primary source for topics such as magic item descriptions, special material construction rules, and so on. The Monster Manual is the primary source for monster descriptions, templates, and supernatural, extraordinary, and spell-like abilities.

Dealing with invisible opponents is a part of rules for playing the game. The Dungeon Master's Guide is where the "grope about to find an invisible creature" rules are. The DMG can supplement those PH rules, but it can't override them, or establish a conflicting default.

[Man on Fire]

A 959

Black bears do not have LA 3 in 3.5, and LA is unrelated to CR. If you are using Pathfinder rules you should ask in the Pathfinder thread.

While it is not entirely RAW, I recommend reading my Monster Handbook, link in sig.

(Q962 i think)
Well, I only skimmed through it, but it says that monsters with "--" are unsuitable as PCs. But what if I want to play Druid's Animal Companion?

[Curmudgeon]

A 962

Druid companions are Non-Player Characters. The DM plays those. If you want to function as a DM's assistant rather than a player, talk to your DM.

[willpell]

Q959
* LA: 3 (CR+1)

It is explained in Savage Species (or possibly the MM itself) that LA and CR measure two very different things. For instance a power being usable once per day versus once per hour doesn't have any real impact on a monster's CR, since it's unlikely that monster will be encountered more than once per hour (not impossible, but unlikely). If you're playing that monster, however, getting to use the power as many as 12-16 times in the course of an adventuring day, versus once, is a rather significant difference, so the once an hour version has more impact on LA. There are examples in the other direction too; a fight-me-once-and-then-I-die monster that was loaded up with hundreds of potions or similar one-use effects would have much more CR than a PC for whom those resources are actually expendable.

As usual Curmudgeon is giving an extremely narrowly RAW-based answer; "talk to your DM" technically covers everything else, but I'll go a bit farther and say that if you wanted to play something like an animal companion (or even to play the companion to another PC, assuming the DM and the other player are okay with this, which doesn't make you a "DM's assistant"), ie an awakened animal, this is perfectly reasonable but your DM will have to figure out what amount of LA would be fair (he can eyeball it by looking at similar creatures; a sentient monkey might work similarly to a Forestkith goblin, an awakened wolf is probably very much like a worg, etc). Keep in mind that most animals don't have anything that can be used as hands (though Savage Species has some magic items that can help), and that can make them unsuitable for many aspects of an adventuring career. Nothing is impossible in D&D, but some things require more on-the-fly adjudication than your DM may want to put up with.

Q961 (appears to have been skipped)
If a wilder Wild Surges a power, can he pay power points to augment it to a degree 1 short of what would otherwise be useful and let the wild surge complete the augmentation? For instance, Force Screen gives an additional +1 AC for every 4 power points you spend on it; as a level 4 Wilder, can I manifest it and spend 3 extra pp, which would normally do nothing, and then Wild Surge to add a "phantom" pp and get the extra +1 AC?

[killem2]

Q 963: Do spells such as alterself or polymorph change weapons to bigger or smaller sizes? Say an ogre wants to change himself to a human, or naga wants to change themselves to an ogre, do weapons follow suit?

[Jasdoif]

A961

I feel you're overcomplicating the wild surge mechanic. When you use wild surge to manifest a power, it alters the manifestation of that power; there's no reason you should consider manifesting the power wholly separate from the wild surge. Instead, consider your final manifester level and determine to what extent you could augment the power from there.

In your example case, a Wilder 4 using wild surge while manifesting force screen would have a manifester level of 5, sufficient to augment the 1st-level power by the four points necessary to increase the AC bonus. (One of those power points used to augment is "free" thanks to the wild surge, so you don't need to pay for it from your own power points.)


A963

There's no provision in alter self (or polymorph, which is based on alter self) for your equipment changing size along with you; and in fact, there's this bit:

When the change occurs, your equipment, if any, either remains worn or held by the new form (if it is capable of wearing or holding the item), or melds into the new form and becomes nonfunctional.

In the particular case of weaponry...it may remain usable after a size change depending on what type of weapon, although not as efficiently.

A creature can’t make optimum use of a weapon that isn’t properly sized for it. A cumulative -2 penalty applies on attack rolls for each size category of difference between the size of its intended wielder and the size of its actual wielder. If the creature isn’t proficient with the weapon a -4 nonproficiency penalty also applies.

The measure of how much effort it takes to use a weapon (whether the weapon is designated as a light, one-handed, or two-handed weapon for a particular wielder) is altered by one step for each size category of difference between the wielder’s size and the size of the creature for which the weapon was designed. If a weapon’s designation would be changed to something other than light, one-handed, or two-handed by this alteration, the creature can’t wield the weapon at all.

(It may be worth noting, for academic interest, that the "polymorph subschool" introduced in PHB2 says that with spells from the subschool, all gear is melded into your new form and becomes nonfunctional. It also says any existing spells based on alter self or polymorph should be considered to be of the subschool...which raises interesting questions about source precedence. But since the text about alter self and polymorph specifically says the spells' own rules take precedence over the subschool's, and those same spells' rules are where the gear-melding is described, it doesn't matter in the slightest )

[Aeryr]

Q964

Checking the 3.5 update to Monster of Faerun, found here I see that a Hairy Spider has a LA +0 does that mean that is playable?

[Curmudgeon]

A 964 Yes.

That's what it means. However, the "Int ─" notation means it's not playable as a PC; it could be played as a cohort pet.

Intelligence

Any creature that can think, learn, or remember has at least 1 point of Intelligence. A creature with no Intelligence score is mindless, an automaton operating on simple instincts or programmed instructions. It has immunity to mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects) and automatically fails Intelligence checks.

Mindless creatures do not gain feats or skills, although they may have bonus feats or racial skill bonuses.

Also note that a Hairy Spider has 1/8 HD, and hit dice do not round.

[killem2]

Q 965: Are there any spells like Enlarge Person that can be used on a Monstrous Humanoid?

[Hassassin]

Q 966 If I take the Elf domain (which gives Point Blank shot as a bonus feat) but I already have it, do I get another bonus feat to choose or do I lose the benefit?

[Fineous Orlon]

Q 967 Do the rules for the polymorph sub-school prohibit a Carmendine Monk/ Wizard from getting his Int-based AC bonus when he polymorphs into another form?

Thank you for your time, in advance.

[Curmudgeon]

A 966

There is no option to select an alternate feat. You would have two instances of the feat, with the same benefit as having it once. There are ways to substitute a feat after the fact involving spells or psychic powers, but no straightforward option in the rules to make a different choice.

[Jacque]

Q968

If you ready a move action versus enemy spellcasting are you then allowed to make the move as a response to the spell being cast, or only allowed to take a move-equivalent action?