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

[RMS Oceanic]

A few questions regarding monsters...

Q 1035

What are the rules for equipment associated with race? Do monster characters have to pay for the equipment they get as part of their of their race or do they even get it? Can they sell them and what happens if they lose/get it sundered? Also do you get the equipment under Special Attacks (such as Pincer Staff) when you Shapechange into a monster? What about Ability Focus ((enchanted) Pincer Staff) or the like?

Some monsters have special equipment without a specific special ability such as Solars and Ghaele Eladrins but especially in case of the Solar it is a clear part of their repertoire. Some have a special ability header for the equipment such as Balors and Kuo-toas.

This question might be outside the scope of this thread and if there is no easy answer I can make a separate thread sometime.

I think your starting equipment is up to the DM to decide. However I've never heard of counting equipment as a Special Attack that qualified for stuff like Ability Focus.

Q 1036

What happens to your ECL if you gain a template through your class? If you take the 10th level in Walker in the Waste (Sand, 89) and get the Dry Lich template (Sand, 155) do you suffer the LA?

Your LA does not change for templates granted through class levels.

Q 1037

Do you suffer an increase in ECL when you use a Polymorph subschool (PHB2, 96) spell to take the form of a creature with level adjustment? "In all other ways, the target's normal game statistics are replaced by those of the new form". What if you take a form with less natural HD than you have currently, does it lower your ECL as according to the Polymorph subschool description all the other statistics are derived from the HD of the new creature?

I believe that unless the spell itself says otherwise, your ECL is always based on your natural form.

Q 1039

A Swordsage with no other class levels takes a level in Master of Nine, granting him two maneuvers from any discipline. Is his initiator level for Devoted Spirit, Iron Heart and White Raven maneuvers equal to Swordsage+Mo9 levels or (Swordsage/2)+Mo9?

[KillianHawkeye]

Re: 1036

Your LA does not change for templates granted through class levels.

Can you please provide a citation for this answer?

[mattie_p]

Re: 1036


Can you please provide a citation for this answer?

From the D&D 3.5 Main FAQ, page 31:

A dragon disciple ignores the normal level adjustment applied from the half-dragon template; in effect, he’s already “paid” for the template through the 10 levels of his prestige class. This is true of any prestige class that applies a template or otherwise changes the character’s type or subtype.

[Featherman]

Q 1035

Made a separate thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=243414

[Callum]

Q 1040

a) Does a creature's reach extend upwards? That is, can a nalfeshnee demon attack a creature hovering 15 feet above its head?

b) If so, can a nalfeshnee demon use its primary bite attack on a creature hovering 15 feet above its head?

c) [Warning: non-RAW extension question!] If so, how do you envisage such an attack happening, physically?

[ILM]

Q1041: From another thread: Augment Healing, Magic of the Land, Sacred Healing (PHB2 version) and the Combat Medic's Healing Kicker all add various boosts to healing spells you cast. When casting a spell with multiple targets (such as a Mass Cure X spell), do these boosts apply to all targets or just one of them?

[killem2]

Q 1042: In stormwrack, for teh Ironclad, it says it is:

Space 80 ft. by 30 ft.; Height 15 ft. (draft 15 ft.);

Is this as clear cut as it reads, there isn't anything special with ships right?

If i wanted to mark this out on a battlegrid, it is 16 squares by 6 squares?

[Ditto]

Q1043

Necrotic Scrying
Necromancy [Evil]
Effect: Cyst-bearer serves as magical sensor

Detect Scrying
You immediately become aware of any attempt to observe you by means of a divination (scrying) spell or effect. The spell’s area radiates from you and moves as you move. You know the location of every magical sensor within the spell’s area.

Is Necrotic Scrying specifically meant to be immune to Detect Scrying (strict reading of first sentence of Detect Scrying)?
Or is the language in the third sentence of Detect Scrying regarding magical sensors meant to include spells that explicitly reproduce effects identical to a Scrying spell?

[Curmudgeon]

A 1040 Yes.

Natural reach is natural reach. The Nalfeshnee entry

Space/Reach: 15 ft./15 ft.

provides the information you need. The fact that most combat takes place on the ground just means the rules don't go into many examples of upward or downward attacks, but the space and reach rules apply in all drections. A Nalfeshnee occupies a 15' x 15' x 15' cube (27 5'x5' cubes) and its reach is 15' in all directions, so it can stretch briefly to put any attacking part of its body (teeth, claws) there.

A 1042 Yes.

A ship is a vehicle (a mobile structure), and there aren't too many special rules for that. One consideration worth mentioning is this (from Arms and Equipment Guide, page 47):

Even if they’re occupied, vehicles count as unattended objects, so they never make saving throws.

A 1043 Yes.

Detect Scrying's benefit is specific to Divination (Scrying) spells and effects, and does nothing with respect to Necromancy or other non-Divination spells/effects.

[Man on Fire]

Q 1044

Does Greater Magic Fang that gives me +5 to attack rolls makes unarmed strike count as magic weapon?

Q 1045

Does flurry of blows allows me to make multiple touch attacks?

Q 1046

Say I have BAB +20/+15/+10/+5, would any modifiers applied to that, like, say Str modifier +5, give me additional attacks like with standard attack progression?

[Andezzar]

A 1044

Not unless you have Improved Unarmed Strike. Only then is an unarmed strike considered a natural weapon and a valid target for (greater) magic fang.

A 1045

Not really. But if you manage to use all your normal attacks against the target's touch AC you would get extra normal attacks, which also go against the targets touch AC.

A 1046

No, only the Base Attack Bonus is relevant for extra Attacks. The actual Attackbonus is irelevant. A Level 6 fighter would still get two attacks even if his STR and Dex Scores were reduced to 1. They would be at +1/-4.

[Man on Fire]

Thanks. But just to make sure I get 1044 right - so if I have Improved Unarmed Strike Magic Fang makes my unarmed attack count as magic, right?

[Andezzar]

Neither Magic Fang nor Magic Weapon say so. So I guess not.

[hamishspence]

Page 307 MM "some monsters are vulnerable to magic weapons. Any weapon with at least a +1 magical enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls overcomes the damage reduction of these monsters"

Magic Fang and Magic Weapon grant an enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls.

[Andezzar]

I'm not so sure about that. While those are spells, and obviously magical, they do not grant a magical enhancement bonus.

[hamishspence]

Why wouldn't "enhancement bonus granted via magic" qualify as "magical enhancement bonus"?

[Andezzar]

Because there are non-magical enhancement bonuses (Masterwork for example) and the spells grant the effect of an enhancement bonus not a magical enhancement bonus. The spell does not specify that the attacks become magical either.

I agree that it probably was the intention of the authors to make the weapon/attack magical but the wording is not clear IMHO

[Curmudgeon]

A 1045 No.

Flurry of Blows gives extra strikes either unarmed or with special Monk weapons, but those are not touch attacks. However, if your body is charged with a touch attack spell, a successful unarmed attack (against regular, not touch, AC) will deliver the spell charge in addition to its usual damage. So will a successful attack with any other natural weapon.

[KillianHawkeye]

Re: 1036

From the D&D 3.5 Main FAQ, page 31:

Sorry for not being specific enough (in the Q&A by RAW thread), but can you provide an actual rules quote by RAW and not a FAQ answer?

[Kuulvheysoon]

Re: 1036


Sorry for not being specific enough (in the Q&A by RAW thread), but can you provide an actual rules quote by RAW and not a FAQ answer?

While not either of the specified examples, the Dragon Aspirant (?) from Races of the Dragon specifically mentions that the LA bump for the Draconic template is absorbed by the levels.

[Aeryr]

Q1047 Travel devotion and full attack

I'm sorry I am a bit obtuse.

You can move your speed and then take a full-round action, or move and take two other actions (two move actions or one move action and one standard action).

Full Attack

If you get more than one attack per round because your base attack bonus is high enough, because you fight with two weapons or a double weapon or for some special reason you must use a full-round action to get your additional attacks. You do not need to specify the targets of your attacks ahead of time. You can see how the earlier attacks turn out before assigning the later ones.

The only movement you can take during a full attack is a 5-foot step. You may take the step before, after, or between your attacks.

If you get multiple attacks because your base attack bonus is high enough, you must make the attacks in order from highest bonus to lowest. If you are using two weapons, you can strike with either weapon first.If you are using a double weapon , you can strike with either part of the weapon first.

Deciding between an Attack or a Full Attack

After your first attack, you can decide to take a move action instead of making your remaining attacks, depending on how the first attack turns out. If you've already taken a 5-foot step, you can't use your move action to move any distance, but you could still use a different kind of move action.

Travel devotion is normally used as a sort of pounce, and I always thought it legal, but today checking the full attack description I am not so sure. You moved more than 5' (you could move only 5' but that would waste travel devotion). Can you full attack, even if you moved since you only used a swift action?

Q1047b
If the travel devotion works since it is movement as a swift action. Does riding work too?

Stay in Saddle

You can react instantly to try to avoid falling when your mount rears or bolts unexpectedly or when you take damage. This usage does not take an action.

Control Mount in Battle

As a move action , you can attempt to control a light horse , pony , heavy horse , or other mount not trained for combat riding while in battle. If you fail the Ride check, you can do nothing else in that round. You do not need to roll for warhorses or warponies.

A paladin special mount or a familiar or even other player character intelligent enough to not need control in battle can just move towards the enemy while you "stay in saddle" (no action) and then... can you full attack? You have moved, but you haven't used any action.

Q1047c

If movement prevents full attack can a character (with Robilar's gambit, power attack, improved bullrush and knocback) move the enemies (via knocback) when they swing at him (via robilar's gambit) and prevent them from full attacking (even if they have reach to hit them after the movement)?

[Callum]

A 1040 Yes.

Natural reach is natural reach. The Nalfeshnee entry provides the information you need. The fact that most combat takes place on the ground just means the rules don't go into many examples of upward or downward attacks, but the space and reach rules apply in all drections. A Nalfeshnee occupies a 15' x 15' x 15' cube (27 5'x5' cubes) and its reach is 15' in all directions, so it can stretch briefly to put any attacking part of its body (teeth, claws) there.

Thanks. I agree with you, but I couldn't find any rules that actually state this, except possibly the following:-

Space/Reach
The number before the slash is the creature’s space, or how many feet one side of the creature occupies.

You have to take "side" to apply vertically, even though the rest of the time, when talking about creatures, the rules only refer to "squares".

It does lead to the odd situation of a 30-foot tall Huge creature only occupying a 15-foot space vertically, but that's life in a simulation, I guess...

[Douglas]

A1047a

The restriction you quoted is for movement during a full attack. Movement before or after the full attack does not violate it. So long as you don't try to throw the Travel Devotion movement in between attacks, it is legal to combine them.

A1047b

If your mount moves more than 5 feet, you can only make a single melee attack. Essentially, you have to wait until the mount gets to your enemy before attacking, so you can’t make a full attack.
...
You can make a full attack with a ranged weapon while your mount is moving.

A1047c

Such movement is forced on the enemy, not taken by the enemy, so it does not interfere with full attacks (provided reach is sufficient).

[Inspector]

Q 1048

Suppose a character (Lesser Aasimar) with the Transcendence (Su) class ability from level 5 of the Divine Disciple prestige class from The Player's Guide to Faerun, page 51-52.

The character has a Lawful Neutral alignment, so Transcendence gives him the Lawful Subtype, as well as the Outsider type and Native Subtype. Now suppose that character is Polymorph Any Object'ed into an Astral Deva, which has the type and subtype Outsider (Angel, Extraplanar, Good).

According to Polymorph, "The subject’s creature type and subtype (if any) change to match the new form."

Would the character's type and subtype become Outsider (Angel, Extraplanar, Good), thus losing Lawful and Native, or would the class feature be retained post-polymorph because it is a class feature, thus giving different subtypes? If the latter, which subtypes would the character have?

[Andezzar]

Q 1049

If you have a base attack bonus of +1 or higher, you can ready or loose a shield as a free action combined with a regular move.

Does that mean
1) You can ready/loose a shield, move and make a Standard Attack/Action but not a Full Attack or a non movement related move action and a Standard Attack/Action?
2) You can ready/loose a shield and make a Full Attack, but only if you also make a 5ft step?

2 is silly of course, but does it say anywhere that a 5ft step is not a regular move? Is a regular move defined anywhere?

Q 1050

Same question as above just replace ready/loose shield with draw/sheathe weapon.

[Larkas]

I think my previous question was missed, so I'll put it up again:

Q1038: A very specific question, regarding what is being discussed in another thread. Take a Wildshape Ranger 5/Master of Many Forms 10/Warshaper 5. When taking the last level of Warshaper, what would it get: Flashmorph, Multimorph or both? MoMF gives the character the Shapechanger subtype at level 10 through the "Evershifting Form" ability, which qualifies for Flashmorph, but the character changes form through the Ranger's Wild Shape, which qualifies for Multimorph.

As an addendum, regardless of the previous answer, what if the base character was a Changeling Druid? Would it get both Flashmorph and Multimorph?

PS: The first question is kinda pointless, since MoMF already changes forms as a move-action, making Fastmorph irrelevant. Just ignore this previous change, though, since you could have both abilities, they just wouldn't stack.

A new question:

Q1051: When you take the Wild Shape Ranger variant, when exactly do you gain fast movement and wild shape?

[Curmudgeon]

A 1048

This spell functions like alter self, except that you change the willing subject into another form of living creature. ... The subject’s creature type and subtype (if any) change to match the new form.

Your class and level, hit points, alignment, base attack bonus, and base save bonuses all remain the same. You retain all supernatural and spell-like special attacks and qualities of your normal form, except for those requiring a body part that the new form does not have (such as a mouth for a breath weapon or eyes for a gaze attack).

You keep all extraordinary special attacks and qualities derived from class levels, but you lose any from your normal form that are not derived from class levels.

The character's type and subtype become Outsider (Angel, Extraplanar, Good), losing Lawful and Native. Polymorph does not provide for general retention of class features in conflict with the specifics of the spell. As the above quotes indicate, Extraordinary special attacks and qualities derived from class levels are retained, but Transcendence is a Supernatural class feature. Polymorph retains Supernatural special attacks and qualities of the character's normal form, not those derived from class levels.

A 1049 & A 1050

A "regular move" is moving up to your speed as a move action, also described as "the simplest move action". While 5' steps are movement, they are not regular moves; they are officially listed as "no action". (I suppose that makes them irregular moves. )

A 1051

Gain: Wild shape (as druid; Small or Medium animals only), fast movement (as barbarian).

You gain the listed features at the same levels as would a Druid and a Barbarian, except it's your Ranger levels. So that's Ranger 1 to pick up the Barbarian 1 fast movement, and wild shape starts at Ranger 5 echoing the Druid 5 class feature.

[Andezzar]

Q 1052

In a lit room (i.e. people cast shadows) can a Shadowdancer stand next to an opponent and do a Full Attack, hide, full Attack, hide....
After a successful hide check, is the opponent considered flatfooted?

[Curmudgeon]

A 1052

Yes, if the Shadowdancer is within 10' of any shadow, including an opponent's, it can use Hide in Plain Sight to enable it to make Hide checks. In the core rules the opponent is denied their DEX bonus to AC, but is not rendered flat-footed. Rules Compendium introduced a new rule on page 92 which makes a creature be considered flat-footed, but only with respect to you, if your Hide check beats their Spot. Check with your DM to see if your game uses this rule.

[Inspector]

A 1048 The character's type and subtype become Outsider (Angel, Extraplanar, Good), losing Lawful and Native. Polymorph does not provide for general retention of class features in conflict with the specifics of the spell. As the above quotes indicate, Extraordinary special attacks and qualities derived from class levels are retained, but Transcendence is a Supernatural class feature. Polymorph retains Supernatural special attacks and qualities of the character's normal form, not those derived from class levels.

Okay, I had seen the "Rules of the Game" Polymorphing articles say that all class features were retained, so I was wondering if RAW also contained that clause somewhere. Apparently not. Thank you.