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

[willpell]

Re: A854
So natural weapons aren't weapons? Run that one by me again. They're obviously not manufactured weapons, and it's pretty likely that RAI here was to have "weapon" be read with an implied "manufactured", but this is the RAW thread, where we never let common sense get in the way of a rules exploit. So the quoted text does make it seem as though a tiger's claws or a vampire's fangs would be destroyed according to a very literal reading, although you're right about the Monk being safe.

[Curmudgeon]

A 853

There is no interaction between Starmantle and evasion.

If she makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, she instead takes no damage.

If an attack does not normally deal half damage on a successful Reflex save, the modification of Starmantle makes that into an abnormal Reflex save for half damage; evasion still does not apply.

A 854

A Monk's hands/feet/head/elbows are not D&D weapons, and are unaffected by Starmantle. From the definition of natural weapon:

natural weapon

Natural weapons are weapons that are physically a part of a creature.
...
Natural weapons have types just as other weapons do. The most common are summarized below.

• Bite
• Claw or Talon
• Gore
• Slap or Slam
• Sting
• Tentacle

Those natural weapons would be affected by Starmantle, leading to inevitable DM headaches. However, the definition of unarmed strike says this:

unarmed strike

A successful blow, typically dealing nonlethal damage, from a character attacking without weapons. A monk can deal lethal damage with an unarmed strike, but others deal nonlethal damage.

An unarmed strike is officially a natural weapon attack, but ─ by definition ─ does not use any (specific) weapons. Starmantle can only affect "any nonmagical weapon", and thus is harmless to an unarmed attacker.

[Fitz10019]

Q855
Can a Sending spell be purchased as a spellcasting service when the caster-for-hire does not know the target of the Sending?

You contact a particular creature with which you are familiar and send a short message...

For example, would the customer saying, "I want a Sending to my sister. Her name is ___ and she lives in ____" be enough for the caster to direct the message?

[Andezzar]

A 855

No, someone who has just heard a person's name and address is not familiar with that person. I am not aware of any game specific definition of the adjective.

The spell Teleport has a definition for familiarity with a place. If you used that for persons contactable by Sending the caster would not be able to cast Sending either, because he as never in any form perceived the person itself, he only heard the person's name and address.

[willpell]

Q856
The Enfeebling weapon ability from BOXD says it deals "temporary Strength damage". Does this mean something different from just "Strength damage"? The crafter of an Enfeebling weapon is listed as requiring the Ray of Enfeeblement spell, which inflicts a Strength penalty rather Strength damage; that spell wears off after a caster-level duration, but Enfeebling doesn't say anything about how long the damage lasts, so I assume it defaults to the normal rules for healing Strength damage (and that the word "temporary" is simply here to distinguish it from Strength drain. However, the entry also includes the beautifully frustrating phrase "Spell resistance applies." (that's the entire sentence". That seems to imply that the weapon is indeed casting the Ray of Enfeeblement spell on its target, so I'm back to wondering if the Strength damage is indeed "temporary" and ceases to affect the target after some (unstated) duration. There does not seem to be eratta on this, and I have no idea how to resolve the part about spell resistance given that this isn't a spell.

[Sewercop]

Q857

I remember that i once read a feat or class ability that changed a spells type into a necromancy spell. Can anyone tell where to find it.

I cant seem to find it anywhere and my google fu are lacking it seems. I might be wrong as well.

Edit: I found it, Its called Song of the dead. A metamagic feat.

[The Dark Fiddler]

Q 858: Is there a way to simultaneously qualify for classes as though Chaotic and Lawful?

[God Imperror]

A 858 Not that I know.

Though ordered chaos from fiendish codex, allows you to count as chaotic for abyssal heritor feats and effects.

[Callum]

Q 859

If a creature uses Alternate Form to assume the form of a human, what are its physical ability scores?

[Callum]

A 845 [dispute]

Does that mean a spell slot that is not filled with a spell is lost for the day or does it mean divine casters can like arcane ones later prepare a spell in a previously open slot?

Divine casters have to prepare all of their spells in one go. As your quotes say, your "mind is considered fresh only during his or her first daily spell preparation". Slots left open can't be filled after the fact, so don't leave any open.

The special edition of the PH unequivocally states that a divine spellcaster can leave spell slots open to be filled later:

A divine spellcaster does not have to prepare all his spells at once. He can leave some of his spell slots open in order to fill them later, just as a wizard can. However, the character’s mind is considered fresh only during his or her first daily spell preparation, so a divine spellcaster cannot fill a slot that is empty because he or she has cast a spell or abandoned a previously prepared spell.

This makes it clear that "freshness of mind" affects empty spell slots, making them suitable for filling, either now or later; empty spell slots created by casting or abandoning a spell aren't suitable for being filled with a spell until the mind is refreshed.

I suggest that the original questioner starts a thread to discuss it further if they want it hashed out.

[qwertyu63]

Q 860:

If you have racial hit dice, do you gain feats as your total class levels, or as your ECL?

Q 861:

Same as above, but about gaining an ability point every 4 levels.

[dextercorvia]

Q 862

If you are possessing another body using Magic Jar, do you use your HD, or the HD of the body to determine how you interact with spells that check HD (Like Holy Word)?

[The Dark Fiddler]

Q 860:

If you have racial hit dice, do you gain feats as your total class levels, or as your ECL?

Q 861:

Same as above, but about gaining an ability point every 4 levels.

A 860 and A 861: Racial hit dice count towards gaining feats and extra ability points.

[Curmudgeon]

A 856

Normal Strength damage is temporary, and enfeebling causes normal Strength damage. Because "Spell resistance applies" for an enfeebling weapon, the attacker needs to beat (equal or exceed) a target's SR with 1d20 + 5 (the listed caster level for the effect), just as if they were casting a spell on each critical hit.

A 860 & 861 Neither.

Total class levels exclude racial hit dice. Effective character level also includes level adjustment. The correct answer to both questions is total hit dice, which is the sum of racial hit dice and class levels, not including level adjustment.

A 862

If you are successful, your life force occupies the host body, and the host’s life force is imprisoned in the magic jar.

You use your own hit dice, because your life force makes you the "creature" in the body. An example from the Enervation spell:

You point your finger and utter the incantation, releasing a black ray of crackling negative energy that suppresses the life force of any living creature it strikes.

[willpell]

re: A861
An important point to note is that while creatures as presented in the books have 1 Feat for every 3 Hit Dice, they do NOT have +1 to an Ability score for every 4 hit dice. The creatures in the Monster Manual and so forth have average Ability scores; if you're creating a PC of such a race, roll or point-buy stats the same as any other character, and apply the race's Ability adjustments as per the "X as Characters" section. If you're playing a member of that race and starting with one or more class levels (or if you're a Dragon PC who's built as a certain age category but then gains more HD than the category's minimum), you DO gain a +1 to an Ability every time your total HD reaches a multiple of 4, but you do NOT gain them for multiples of 4 that were already present in your beginning HD.

Example 1: A 3-HD White Dragon Wyrmling who advances to 4 HD gets a +1, but a Brass Wyrmling starts at 4 HD and doesn't get his first +1 until 8 HD, when the White would gain a second.

Example 2: A Centaur has 4 HD and a +2 Level adjustment. If the GM declares character creation rules as "start at level 10, 25-point buy", then you'll pick 25 points worth of Abilities, apply the Centaur's bonuses (+8 STR, +4 DEX, +4 CON, -2 INT, +2 WIS), apply his 4 Racial HD, pick two Feats, then give him 4 class levels, pick one more feat, and add a single +1 to an Ability for the fourth class level, but NOT for the fourth racial Hit Die. If the game was starting at level 9, you'd only apply 3 class levels and would not get a +1.

(This information is courtesy of Ur-Priest's Monstrous Guide to Monsters, which I highly recommend.)

[KillianHawkeye]

Q 863

Are there any alchemical items which can restore hit points? My party is short on healers.

[NeedsAnswersNao]

Bump. For clarification, "their" refers to the allies affected by the spell's burst

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

[Kuulvheysoon]

Q 864

From the Mind's Eye Expanded Classes (Part 4), where it shows the Tracker archetype, was the Psionic Stride ability (obtained at 8th level) ever defined? It's curiously missing.

[Curmudgeon]

A 863

Healing Salve (Tome and Blood, page 72) heals 1d8 HP alchemcally.

[Andezzar]

Q 865

Can at least the off-hand side of a double weapon benefit from Weapon Finesse? Or can both?

[Curmudgeon]

A 865

Using the full attack action and attacking with both ends of the double weapon, the off hand side will be treated as a light weapon and will benefit from Weapon Finesse.

[Andezzar]

Q 866

Is the extra damage from Smite Evil triggered by an evil alignment, the evil subtype, an evil aura (as per detect evil) or all of the above?

Q 867

Would a lawful neutral level 3 cleric of a LE deity have a moderate aura of law and a moderate aura of evil? If that character also were an outsider with the [good] Subtype would it also have a moderate aura of good?

[Sith_Happens]

Q 868

If I have the Cloudy Conjuration feat (page 40 of Complete Mage) and cast a Conjuration spell that targets an area (e.g.- Glitterdust), can I place the Cloudy Conjuration cloud on or adjacent to the target area of the spell?

[KillianHawkeye]

A 866

If the paladin accidentally smites a creature that is not evil, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up for that day.

The only listed criterion seems to be the actual alignment of the creature. However...

Any effect that depends on alignment affects a creature with this subtype as if the creature has an evil alignment, no matter what its alignment actually is.

This means that a creature with the Evil subtype will take damage from Smite Evil regardless of their actual alignment. Merely having an aligned aura doesn't seem to be enough without actually having the proper alignment or associated subtype.



A 867 Yes, the Aura class feature of a Cleric depends on the alignment of the deity (if the Cleric worships one) or from any alignment domains the Cleric may have.

It is unclear from the detect evil spell whether or not an alignment subtype is enough to trigger it (it only says "evil outsiders", not "outsiders with the evil subtype"). I want to say that such creatures do get detected, however I can't find confimration in the RAW. The line (quoted above) says that creatures with an alignment subtype only count as that alignment for "any effect that depends on alignment," and it seems a stretch to count divinations which merely detect alignment as such because the targets are not being affected.

So, your example character will definitely show a moderate aura for detect law and detect evil, but may or may not show up to detect good depending on how the DM rules on the alignment subtype issue.

[Piggy Knowles]

Q 869: Are there any non-chaotic drow deities?

[NeedsAnswersNao]

A 864: Only some are missing and they aren't hard to guess. "While psionically focused you gain" +5', or 10' ms, etc. Its not the best written article as it added a t1 class...

[Getsugaru]

Q 870: Is there a way to get 9th level casting on a mystic ranger, bard, etc.?

[INoKnowNames]

Q 871

Other than Combat Reflexes, are there any other feats that let you make more than 1 attack of opportunity per turn, provided a certain x (where x can be stat, level, whatever) is high enough?

[Andezzar]

Q 872

I'm pretty sure there are templates for cones and spheres of various sizes and orientations in one of the books but cannot find them at the moment. Can anyone help me?

Q 873

What can an extraplanar creature do to prevent being sent to its home plane by dismissal, Holy word etc.

Q 874

Would undetectable alignment or a spell with a similar effect prevent Holy word/Blasphemy from sending a non-good/evil creature away?

[mattie_p]

A 872: In the back of the DMG, page 300 ish.