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

[Anodai]

A 822

Armor and shields for unusually big creatures, unusually little creatures, and nonhumanoid creatures have different costs and weights from those given on Table: Armor and Shields. Refer to the appropriate line on the table below and apply the multipliers to cost and weight for the armor type in question

A masterwork suit of armor or shield costs an extra 150 gp over and above the normal cost for that type of armor or shield.

It would seem that the normal cost of the armor is multiplied by the appropriate number for size category, then 150 is added.

[Urpriest]

A 821

From that quote, it appears that indeed if you became a zombie from another creature's Create Spawn ability and that creature dies, you could indeed adventure as a zombie, since it's LA - would be overridden by the ECL of the spawning creature, due to the wording. Note that in order to play such a character you would need to find a creature that has a Create Spawn which creates zombies and which does not have LA -. For example, a Mohrg is ECL 20, so you could play a zombie which was created by a Mohrg's Create Spawn ability as an ECL 20 character.

[willpell]

Q823
Do 3.5-compatible (3rd party or PF ok) stats exist for a Giant/Monstrous/etc Solifuge (aka Camel Spider or Wind Scorpion, though it is neither of those things)?

[ben-zayb]

Q824
Since shields can also be enchanted by weapon enhancements, do I get its bonus (like a Warning^MIC enhancement's initiative bonus) even if I do not hit my opponents with it (ie. I use it as a shield)? Or is it DM call?

Q825
Can a Light/Heavy Shield with Morphing^MIC (weapon) enhancement and Variable^MIC (shield) enhancement transform into any light or one-handed weapon? (i.e. I can either turn it into a light Light Shield or a one-handed Heavy Shield)

[Andezzar]

Q 824

Yes, the bonus applies as long as the "weapon" is held. By strict reading enchanting a shield spike however would not work as you never hold the spike itself.

[willpell]

Q826
Is there a way for a non-spellcaster (and non-psionic) character to spend XP on a regular basis? A spellcaster can craft magic items or throw Wishes and the like as often as he wants; what options do other characters have for intentionally not ever leveling up (other than to retire from adventuring)? I know only of the Reducing Level Adjustments thing, which is not something you can do just whenever.

[NeedsAnswersNao]

Q 813: If a creature with a morale bonus fails its will save and has mind blank cast on it, does it retain the bonus?

___Bump___

[Venger]

Q827Is there any RAW legal way of a warforged juggernaut who is killed being brought back to life?

[aza9999]

Q828
Are there any rules for hurting yourself when trying to break an object with unarmed attacks (punching doors/walls etc) The particular case I am looking at is whether my swordsage can use the "Mountain Hammer" strike (does +2d6 damage and ignores hardness and DR) to punch through a wall or iron bars if he was put in jail, and if he would hurt himself doing it.

[Venger]

A 828

No rules for this exist, so you can punch away without fear of reprisal. I can't link you to a relevant section in the rules (none exists) but I see nothing in Hardness that says you would be hurt

[aza9999]

Q829
While using the "Dance of the spider" stance from ToB:

A) if you take damage while climbing would you be required to make a climb check?
B) Can you use accelerated climb? Normally to do an accelerated climb you take -5 to your climb check but there is no climb check for movement with this stance (unlike creatures with a natural climb speed who still need to make climb checks)

Dance of the spider text:

While you are in this stance, you gain a benefit similar to the spider climb spell (PH 283). You gain a climb speed of 20 feet. You do not need to make a Climb check to traverse a vertical or horizontal surface, even if you attempt to move across a ceiling. You retain your Dexterity bonus to AC while climbing, and you must have at least one hand free to support yourself while you climb. You do not take any penalties, nor do your opponents gain any bonus when attacking you, while you climb. You cannot take a run action while climbing in this manner.

The big difference between this and the spider climb spell is that you only need one hand free so you can still fight while climbing.

[Darius Kane]

Q830:
Does falling damage and falling object damage get negated by Damage Reduction?

[Andezzar]

A 830

Possibly.

A creature with this special quality ignores damage from most weapons and natural attacks.

Falling is not neither a natural attack nore one from a weapon. So DR does not apply.
If the object is falling due to an attack (it should count as improvised weapon) DR would count. An avalanche on the other hand would not be mitigated by DR.

[Venger]

A 830

Possibly.

Falling is not neither a natural attack nore one from a weapon. So DR does not apply.
If the object is falling due to an attack (it should count as improvised weapon) DR would count. An avalanche on the other hand would not be mitigated by DR.

I would disagree on the following grounds:

under your proposed precepts:

A rock wielded as an improvised weapon by someone would be treated as a weapon, thus DR would apply.

a rock that is simply falling of its own accord would not have DR apply

assume a PC is standing at the foot of a mountain and a big rock hits him in the head. he assumes that it is from a rockslide and doesn't apply his DR.

in actuality, a frost giant, blending in with the snowy mountain peak, has thrown a rock at him. does the PC get warned about this from the DM and apply DR? does the DM reveal is later and replenish the HP he would have had? does his awareness of whether the rock exists as a weapon or force of nature play into this? what if the PC were low on health? if this would make the difference in him living or dying, would he be stuck in between somehow?

alternatively, if in a cave, PCs are fighting with enemies, and the psion uses energy ray (acid) on a stalactite to make it fall on an NPC:

is the rock treated as a weapon attack since it is directly resulting from a spell?
or as an attack from nature since it's part of the landscape and wasn't directly wielded by a character?

how does the telekinesis spell play into this? is it a weapon then?

since DR applies in such a narrow set of circumstances and ignores damage from mundane weapons (unless they're of the right type, etc) I think it would make the most sense to let DR apply to falling rocks. it's not as if they come up especially often .

whichever way you end up ruling in your game, I think consistency is important, otherwise the situations above can result. and that's silly.

[Darius Kane]

Yeah. I was planning on applying DR and treating the damage as from a weapon for this purpose, but I wanted to make sure it's not clarified somewhere in the rules.

[Andezzar]

I was just commenting on the RAW. RAW limits the DR to attacks. It does not matter if the victim perceives something as an attack but whether it actually is one. It does not make sense in all cases though and limiting it to kinetic damage regardless of the source would be more consistent but not RAW.

A rock wielded as an improvised weapon by someone would be treated as a weapon, thus DR would apply.

a rock that is simply falling of its own accord would not have DR apply

assume a PC is standing at the foot of a mountain and a big rock hits him in the head. he assumes that it is from a rockslide and doesn't apply his DR.

in actuality, a frost giant, blending in with the snowy mountain peak, has thrown a rock at him. does the PC get warned about this from the DM and apply DR? does the DM reveal is later and replenish the HP he would have had? does his awareness of whether the rock exists as a weapon or force of nature play into this? what if the PC were low on health? if this would make the difference in him living or dying, would he be stuck in between somehow?

Another option would be for the DM to subtract the DR if it was an attack and the player should not know about it.
If the GM did not know the amount of DR of the PC he could just tell the player that it was an attack and thus DR applies but the character does not know it.

alternatively, if in a cave, PCs are fighting with enemies, and the psion uses energy ray (acid) on a stalactite to make it fall on an NPC:

is the rock treated as a weapon attack since it is directly resulting from a spell?
or as an attack from nature since it's part of the landscape and wasn't directly wielded by a character?

There is no attack on the character. the only attack is on the rock.

how does the telekinesis spell play into this? is it a weapon then?

I believe in case of the spell you need an attack roll for hurling an object at a target. There are no rules for dropping something (heavy) on a target.

[cd4]

Q831 Can the factotum's Oppurtunistic Piety power divine feats as Turn Undead uses?

Q832 How does the maneuvers (Greater) Insightful Strike work with a critical? Lets say I have a concentration check of 1d20+14(ranks)+4(Con)

[Andezzar]

A 832

Your Strength modifier, your weapon’s magical properties (if any), and any other extra damage you normally deal do not modify this check (including extra damage from class abilities, feats, or spells).

I read this to not multiply the damage on a critical hit.

[willpell]

Q831 Can the factotum's Oppurtunistic Piety power divine feats as Turn Undead uses?

Pretty sure that's a "no" RAW-wise since it doesn't actually give you any daily uses of a Turn Undead ability, it just lets you perform the action of turning undead without requiring such uses. Though it sort of fits the general concept of OppoPie, so feel free to try to persuade your DM. I'd probably veto it personally but some might be okay with it.

Q833
The Bat Swarm is made up of Diminutive bats. According to the Swarm subtype rules, this should make it immune to all weapon damage, but the special qualities line of its statblock describes it taking half damage from slashing and piercing. Which is correct? (I suspect this of being a copy/paste error, as the bats also list the same Touch and Flatfoot AC values as the Rat Swarm despite the bats' higher Size modifier.)

[Curmudgeon]

Re: A 830

If the object is falling due to an attack (it should count as improvised weapon) DR would count.

Yes, that's the essence of the rule.

attack

Any of numerous actions intended to harm, disable, or neutralize an opponent. The outcome of an attack is determined by an attack roll.

If an attack roll is used then damage reduction applies.

Any attack which includes damage from gravity follows the falling object attack rules. A falling object attack is not an attack directly on the creature; instead it's an attack on their square (AC 5), applying any penalty for range increments and a –4 penalty for using an improvised weapon. A falling object which does not include an attack roll can only hit the desired square if it uses the D&D trap mechanics, including the trap cost and time rules. (The RAW says that applies even if the object is consciously dropped from a short distance above the desired square: it cannot hit the intended square without a successful attack roll. The DM can "fluff" that in any way they like: the object breaks into pieces too small to do damage; it lands edgewise and buries itself in the ground; or whatever ─ the object simply doesn't have any effect.) The falling object (regardless of size, and regardless of whether it's an attack) can always be avoided by a simple DC 15 Reflex save. See Heroes of Battle on page 68.

[Ranting Fool]

Q818

Can spell craft be used to understand know what a spell like ability is? (Such as a Warlock Blast which can be seen)

If so where is this stated?

Cheers.

Bump

[123456789blaaa]

Q 834

Does the assume supernatural ability feat work with the changelings minor shape change ability?

[MrLemon]

Q 813: If a creature with a morale bonus fails its will save and has mind blank cast on it, does it retain the bonus?

A813: Yes, Mind Blank (as per the 8th level PHB spell) does not affect saving throws at all.

A833: It's in the errata

The bat swarm and spider swarm are immune to weapon damage.

A834: Yes, though I'd like to see why you would want that

[The Dark Fiddler]

Q829
While using the "Dance of the spider" stance from ToB:

A) if you take damage while climbing would you be required to make a climb check?
B) Can you use accelerated climb? Normally to do an accelerated climb you take -5 to your climb check but there is no climb check for movement with this stance (unlike creatures with a natural climb speed who still need to make climb checks)

A 829: The Spider Climb spell states that you do not make climb checks. As such, A: you do not need to make a climb check when you take damage.

The description of accelerated climbing states "By accepting a -5 penalty, you can move half your speed (instead of one-quarter your speed)." I read that to mean that you must take the penalty to make an accelerated climb, but since there's no check to penalize, you may not.

[Andezzar]

A813: Yes, Mind Blank (as per the 8th level PHB spell) does not affect saving throws at all.

I'm not sure that is the answer to the question. I thought the poster meant that if a character with a morale bonus (to whatever) is targeted by a mind-blank spell and fails his save against the spell or does not make a save at all (because the spell came from an ally) would it retain the morale bonus as it is now immune to mind-affecting abilities? If that is the case, it would depend on the source of the morale bonus. [Mind-affecting] spells and abilities would cease to enhance the characters whereas other abilities like Inspire Courage not classified as mind-affecting but providing a morale bonus would still affect the character.

[2gig]

Q835
Do the movement speed increasing class features from Barbarian, Monk, and/or Scout apply to the flight speed granted by the Starspawn feat (LoM p181). If they do, it's only half, right?

[Andezzar]

Q 836

What weapon special abilities/weapon crystals/other enhancements reduce the actions of a target?

[The Dark Fiddler]

Q835
Do the movement speed increasing class features from Barbarian, Monk, and/or Scout apply to the flight speed granted by the Starspawn feat (LoM p181). If they do, it's only half, right?

A 835: Monk's ability would not, as it is explicitly an enhancement bonus while Starspawn is based off of base land speed. Barbarian's ability says "A barbarian’s land speed is faster than the norm for his race by +10 feet," so that would be a yes. I don't have the description of the scout's ability handy to check that.

Yes, it would only be half the bonus.

[NeedsAnswersNao]

Q837: Does Elation's "and their speed increases by 5'" apply to multiple movement forms, like fly speeds?

[Baphomet]

Q839
I'm confused about the interaction between a supernatural ability and detect magic, particularly its ability to determine spell strength and spell school via spellcraft checks.

Say, for example, you had a Balor, which has continuous true seeing (as the spell), a wreath of flames which is not like any spell, and (oddly) a +1 vorpal longsword, all as supernatural abilities. You cast detect magic and stare at it for three rounds. What happens?

True seeing is explicitly listed "as the spell", so I'm assuming you'd see that as somewhere from a moderate to strong aura (it fluctuates between 5th and 7th on different spell lists). I guess it's a "nonspell effect" so you could then make a DC 25 (15 + 1/2 caster level) spellcraft check to determine that it's a divination effect, right? Or, does it not count because it's a supernatural ability that happens to be like a spell? And for the sword, vorpal is spelled out as a strong necromancy and transmutation effect at caster level 18. Do you read that for the sword, or does the supernatural ability that allows it to possess the sword show up as well? And the wreath of flames doesn't have a spell level, caster level, or magic school. I'm assuming you'd see SOMETHING there, but how strong is the aura, what school of magic is it, and what's the DC to figure that out?