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

[silverwolfer]

Q 334


Can you planar bind creatures that have no intelligence score, or are of only animal intelligence?

[Koury]

Q335

Can a frightened creature take AoOs? I could see an argument for killing something helping you get away from it.

Q336

A Medium creature is standing in a 5' doorway. It is grappled by a Large creature. Can the Large creature move to occupy the medium creature square to maintain the grapple? If it can, does this invoke any sort of penalty?

Q337

What type of damage do Swarms do? Specifically, the bat, rat and spider swarms summonable by a Warlock.

[Curmudgeon]

A 335 Yes.

A frightened creature must flee if possible, using actions it takes on its turn. Attacks of opportunity are provoked by another creature's actions. Responding to a provocation is not counted as an action, and does not impair the creature's ability to flee. As you noted, it might help in that regard.

A 336 Yes.

This is covered by the squeezing rules, except that grappling overrides the usual prohibition against remaining in an enemy's space. The penalties include -4 on attack rolls and -4 to AC.

A 337

The Monster Manual has this information; see pages 237-240, and also here.

[Andezzar]

Q 338

Do you still threaten those squares you normally threaten while running?

[Kumori]

A 337 additional

I think the information you are looking for is actually found listed under the Swarm Subtype (MM p315-316). In summary, a swarm attack is not defined as dealing any particular type of damage (bludgeon/pierce/slash) which is susceptible to all damage reduction, except when the individual monster entry lists it as being magical.

A 338 Yes.

It is possible that I've overlooked a ruling somewhere, but I can find no indication that you don't threaten squares while running.

[DeltaEmil]

Q 339

Can you use an unarmed strike when using the Escape Attack skill trick found in Complete Scoundrel?

[rockdeworld]

A334
Yes, provided it is an elemental or outsider. Eg. You could bind a Lemure.

Target: One elemental or outsider with 6 HD or less

[killem2]

Q 340: Can a warbeast mule have barding and a pack saddle with load, as long as it has no rider?

[Phelix-Mu]

Q341

From Complete Arcane, the Obtain Familiar feat

OBTAIN FAMILIAR
You gain a familiar.
Prerequisites: Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks, arcane caster
level 3rd.
Benefi t: You can obtain a familiar in the same manner as
a sorcerer or wizard (see the sorcerer class description and
the accompanying sidebar, page 52 of the Player’s Handbook).
As with a sorcerer or wizard, obtaining a familiar takes 24
hours and uses up magic materials worth 100 gp.
For the purpose of determining familiar abilities that
depend on your arcane caster class level, your levels in all
classes that allow you to cast arcane spells stack.

Please clarify what kinds of class levels "allow you to cast arcane spells." It sounds better than the normal class ability of sorcerers and wizards, but I'm not sure how much better.

[memnarch]

A341

Classes that cast spells from the arcane spell list. This includes wizards, sorcerers, beguilers, bards, warmages, wu jen, etc. In the case of this feat, it would include prestige classes that give "+1 level of existing class" for spellcasting.

[Curmudgeon]

A 339 Yes.

An unarmed strike is always considered a light weapon.

While an unarmed strike doesn't use any actual weapon, it's treated as being in that melee weapon category for qualification purposes.

[Razanir]

Q 342: Can you interact with your own illusions from disguise self?

[DeltaEmil]

Q 343

a) If you are prone while being grappled, can you stand up as a move action, or do you need to succeed on an opposed grapple check to use the move action to stand up?

b) Could you attempt a Tumble check to stand up as a free action while being grappled?

Q 344

If you grapple a prone target, do you pin the target?

Q 345

Can you make a bull rush, trip, overrun, disarm or feint attempt against an opponent you're grappling with?

[willpell]

Q346
If Eagle's Splendor is cast on a Paladin, does he gain more Turn Undead uses and more Lay on Hands points than his usual daily limit? If so, are these "extra" points expended first or last? (EG: I have 2 uses of Turn Undead, then I gain 2 more from Eagle's Splendor, then I use 3 uses, then Eagle's Splendor wears off...do I have a "natural" use left, or did I have to use those before the extra ones from the spell were available?)

Digression regarding A327 (spoilered for being Rule 0 more than RAW).

Spoiler

Show

A327
It's a hard limit. The spell is referencing long-distance movement, i.e. Overland Movement.

Table: Movement and Distance gives a hustle at 40' speed as 8mph, or 64 miles per day.

Addendum: The reason the overland movement section may not synch up with your per-round movement rate is stated as being that it may involve alternating periods of movement and rest. This is explicit in the case of running (alternate periods of running and rest work out to a hustle), but it's a sensible generalization to say that a character who spends 8 hours hustling may take a few moments to rest (in the case of overland flight this might involve catching a thermal updraft or something), and so it's not necessarily the exact distance you would cover if you moved your speed every round for 8 consecutive hours - if you did that, the DM might call for Constitution checks due to exhaustion, or some similar complication which seems appropriate for the spell you're using.

EDIT: Q347
The section on Paladin special mounts in the PHB lists a Heavy Warhorse as having a Jump modifier of +12, as well as its Spot and Listen checks; the Monster Manual entry for the Warhorse doesn't mention a Jump check. Since the statblock does not take a paladin mount's bonus hit dice into account, the horse should not have any Skill points beyond those devoted to its Jump and Listen ranks, so where is it getting a +8 to its jump check (along with its +4 strength)? Is this stated anywhere else?
Nevermind, it's under the Jump skill, I shoulda looked there first.

[Curmudgeon]

A 343 a) No.

Grappling is executed independent of whether any of the combatants are prone. If you wish to stand up while grappling you're limited to the actions allowed:

If You’re Grappling

When you are grappling (regardless of who started the grapple), you can perform any of the following actions.

• Activate a Magic Item
• Attack Your Opponent
  • You can make an attack with an unarmed strike, natural weapon, or light weapon against another character you are grappling. You take a -4 penalty on such attacks.
• Cast a Spell
• Damage Your Opponent
• Draw a Light Weapon
• Escape from Grapple
• Move
  • You can move half your speed (bringing all others engaged in the grapple with you) by winning an opposed grapple check. This requires a standard action, and you must beat all the other individual check results to move the grapple.
• Retrieve a Spell Component
• Pin Your Opponent
• Break Another’s Pin
• Use Opponent’s Weapon

Because none of these specify standing up, and none of them allow regular movement, you are not allowed to stand from prone as a move action.

A 343 b) Yes.

You can perform one or more free actions while taking another action normally.

As long as you take one of the allowed actions when you're grappling, you may attempt the DC 35 Tumble check as a free action while doing so.

A 344 No.

Again, grappling is executed independent of whether any of the combatants are prone.

A 345

Attack Your Opponent has restrictions; see above. Only attacks which you can execute unarmed or with a light weapon, and without normal movement, are permitted, so Bull Rush, Overrun, and Feint are not possible. Trip and Disarm attacks are possible.

[Kumori]

Q347

Can you retrain a feat you didn't actually choose, but gained as part of class progression (example: Ranger's Toughness)?

[Douglas]

A346

Yes, he does gain extra. These are spent last, to use your terminology. It goes a bit further than that, however - if he spends them all, the spell wears off, and Eagle's Splendor is cast on him again, he does not get a new set of extra uses/points.

Think of it as, instead of having a number of uses remaining, you have maximum uses and number used. If your maximum is temporarily 10 points of healing per day and you spend it all, the fact that your maximum drops down to 6 a few minutes later doesn't change that you've spent 10. Increasing your max back to 10 won't help because you'll still have already spent all 10. Adding something else to boost your max to 12 would, however, let you spend another 2 points.

Alternatively, uses remaining can go negative as a result of reduction in maximum uses.

This is clarified in the FAQ.

A347

No. Retraining only applies to feats that you chose.

[rockdeworld]

A340
No.

A barded animal cannot be used to carry any load other than the rider and normal saddlebags.

Normal saddlebags are given by a different entry (labelled "saddlebags") on Table: Mounts and Related Gear from a Pack Saddle.

A342 partial
Assuming you mean interact as in "make my hair longer and then pull on the end of it," then no.

The spell does not provide the abilities or mannerisms of the chosen form, nor does it alter the perceived tactile (touch) or audible (sound) properties of you or your equipment.

"Abilities" can include "ability to be touched," which is explicitly called out when it says "perceived tactile properties." You can add extra hair with the spell, but you can't touch it.

[Malimar]

A cleric’s alignment must be within one step of his deity’s (that is, it may be one step away on either the lawful-chaotic axis or the good-evil axis, but not both). A cleric may not be neutral unless his deity’s alignment is also neutral.

A cleric who grossly violates the code of conduct required by his god loses all spells and class features, except for armor and shield proficiencies and proficiency with simple weapons. He cannot thereafter gain levels as a cleric of that god until he atones (see the atonement spell description).

Q348I Is it spelled out anywhere that switching to a prohibited alignment counts as "grossly violat[ing] the code of conduct required by his god"?

Q348II If not, what happens if a cleric switches to a prohibited alignment, but otherwise adheres strictly to his deity's code of conduct?

Q348III In particular, what happens if a cleric of a non-neutral god becomes true neutral, but otherwise adheres strictly to his deity's code of conduct, and remains within one step of his deity?

[Curmudgeon]

A 348 I

Yes, on Player's Handbook page 33:

Ex-Clerics
A cleric who grossly violates the code of conduct required by his god (generally by acting in ways opposed to the god’s alignment or purposes) loses all spells and class features, except for armor and shield proficiencies and proficiency with simple weapons.

The System Reference Document removes some necessary explanatory text from the rules, and this is an example of such. Failing to stay close to the deity's alignment causes the Cleric to lose the specified capabilities.

A 348 II N/A

A 348 III

This is again disallowed by RAW, and counts as opposed to the god's alignment.

[willpell]

A346

Yes, he does gain extra. These are spent last, to use your terminology. It goes a bit further than that, however - if he spends them all, the spell wears off, and Eagle's Splendor is cast on him again, he does not get a new set of extra uses/points.

Got it, thanks. I'm glad no such shenanigan exists, though I would not have thought to consider it.

Q349
I've been through chapter 3 of Races of Stone several times, and I don't see it anywhere. Do they give the Height, Weight and Age information for Goliaths anywhere in that book (or a web supplement to it)? There's a table in chapter 4 which has this info for the five "other races of stone", including the Feral Gargun which is related to the Goliath, but I can't find it for the Goliaths themselves. I'm probably just being a blind bat like the ones in my belfry, but if someone can gimme a page reference or a link to the info online, I'd greatly appreciate it. :)

[Andezzar]

A 349 Partial

P. 54 has height and weight range. I can't find age though.

[off-topic]Cool, you have a belfry.[/off-topic]

[willpell]

Q350
Just to confirm, when you build a level 1 Warblade and you select your three starting maneuvers and your one starting stance, can they use one another as prerequisites? For instance, both Tiger Claw stances and one of the level 1 maneuvers (Sudden Leap) use "one tiger claw maneuver" as a prerequisite, so can you start the game with both of those maneuvers and one of the stances - taking Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, and some non-TC maneuver, along with one of the TC stances, all at level 1?

[off-topic]Cool, you have a belfry.[/off-topic]

Alas, it is figurative, as are the bats. The only blessing is that the same is true of the guano.

EDIT - Q351 (multi-part question involving the Sudden Leap maneuver)
a) Sudden Leap says you provoke attacks of opportunity "with this movement"; does that mean you provoke even with movements that don't normally provoke (such as when entering the last square of your move, if the square previous was not threatened but this final one is?).
b) Also, you move "the distance indicated by the jump check", and you may make Tumble checks as normal to avoid provoking. But you normally have to move half-speed to avoid provoking with Tumble, so does that mean your Tumble check is automatically -10 because you aren't moving half speed? Or can you halve the distance you jump in order to not take the -10 on Tumble?
c) Also, since you never have a running start for a Sudden Leap, do you typically (ie if you aren't a Goliath or something) automatically halve your jumping distance?
d) Since you move "the distance indicated" by your Jump roll, does that mean you have to go the whole distance you rolled, or can you choose a lesser distance as the "target"? This is confusing because the Jump check DCs all assume you're traveling a set distance and trying to jump that far, but the text of Sudden Leap doesn't mention a DC for a target square, it just says "roll and jump that far", so it's not clear whether you have any control over where you land depending on your roll.
e) Finally, Jump distance normally counts toward your maximum movement; I assume if you move and then initiate Sudden Leap, the maneuver overrides the normal fact that you can't move any further that round, but is the reverse also true? Can you Sudden Leap and then move as if you hadn't jumped any distance, or is your Sudden Leap distance subtracted from your remaining move?

EDIT 2 - Q352
I've probably seen this before or asked it myself on this thread, but in case the answer isn't here (and so I don't have to Search for it, which I keep forgetting how to do)...since a goliath's Powerful Build lets him use Large weapons as if he were Large, can he also use a Medium weapon as if he were Large, reducing its effective size category by 1? For instance, if he dual-wields a Large scimitar and a Medium one (yes it's Goliath Drizz't, sue me), does he take TWF penalties for the smaller scimitar's actual One-Handed nature, or is it effectively a Light weapon for him so the penalties are lower?

[Andezzar]

A 352

No the Powerful Build ability mentions no such option. Moreover a scimitar one size too small would make it a light weapon, but you would get a -2 for using a weapon of inappropriate size.

Repost

Q 315

If you drop an opponent with a Heedless Charge and have the Cleave feat, is the extra attack still performed at the same Attack bonus as the attack that dropped the target, or do you have to use power attack normally?

Q 316

How does Mighty Cleaving work? Do you need to drop two opponents in a round to benefit from it, or do you get two extra attacks once you dropped one opponent?

Q 353

If you cast shapechange and change into a creature with special abilities that can only be used a number of times per time period, can you change into another species after using up the limited abilities and then back to another member of the first species to get additional uses?
Example: Change into Zodar, Use Wish (1/year), change into something else, change into (another) Zodar, use wish and so on.

[mattie_p]

A 350: Yes. The maneuvers and stances selected in your example warblade are legal, and serve as pre-requisites for each other.

A 351 (partial)

A 351(a): This triggers an AoO only if you move out of a threatened square, much as moving your speed only triggers if you move out of a threatened square.

A 351(c): Sometimes you might have a running start. For example, if taking a double move action, you could use the maneuver in between move actions for additional distance, and have a running start. But without a running start, or an ability similar to Goliath's racial ability, this distance is halved.

A 351(e): As a swift action, this does not count against your normal movement, much as abrupt jaunt (an immediate action) does not count against normal movement. (Also see p75 of the 3.5 Main FAQ).

[Andezzar]

Q 354

Am I reading this right?

You can safely wish for any magic item. All artifacts are magic items. Ergo you can safely wish for any artifact.

[mattie_p]

A 354: No. While the SRD is silent on the topic, the PHB says the following under the greater effects clause: "For example, wishing for a staff of the magi might get you instantly transported to the presence of the staff’s current owner." Staff of the magi is a minor artifact.

For clarification, wish allows you to create a magic item. The following text is found in the SRD under artifacts:

Minor artifacts are not necessarily unique items. Even so, they are magic items that no longer can be created, at least by common mortal means.

The wish spell is mortal means. The DMG has some additional "fluff" text about artifacts in general which confirms this as the rule for all artifacts.

[willpell]

No the Powerful Build ability mentions no such option. Moreover a scimitar one size too small would make it a light weapon, but you would get a -2 for using a weapon of inappropriate size.

A Medium scimitar, though too small for a Large creature, is not too small for a Medium creature with powerful build. So it is usable normally, but I guess it would always be a one-handed weapon. (Of course if I'm reading these rules right, Goliaths can't actually use Two-handed weapons which are sized for Large creatures, since they would become heavier than two-handed weapons, even though IIRC several example NPCs have Large greatswords and the like. So if restricted to using Large 1-H weapons which can only be used as 2-H, or Medium 2-H weapons, or Large Light weapons which are used as 1-H, or regular Medium 1-H and Light weapons, goliaths are a bit less exciting than if they can use Large 2-Hs. I may houserule to the contrary just for Rule of Cool reasons.[/thinkingaloud])

A 351(e): (Also see p75 of the 3.5 Main FAQ).

I do not know where this is.

For clarification, wish allows you to create a magic item. The following text is found in the SRD under artifacts:

The wish spell is mortal means. The DMG has some additional "fluff" text about artifacts in general which confirms this as the rule for all artifacts.

The "common" part is debatable IMO, as a Wish is probably "uncommon mortal means", but that's me nitpicking the text; RAI is almost certainly that you can't Wish for artifacts, though the proof is not ironclad IMO (but then so little of 3E actually is).

[Andezzar]

A Medium scimitar, though too small for a Large creature, is not too small for a Medium creature with powerful build. So it is usable normally, but I guess it would always be a one-handed weapon.

Exactly. The ease of use does not change. So a Goliath with TWF could wield two large scimitars at -4 to each attack, just like any other medium creature could wield two medium scimitars.

(Of course if I'm reading these rules right, Goliaths can't actually use Two-handed weapons which are sized for Large creatures, since they would become heavier than two-handed weapons, even though IIRC several example NPCs have Large greatswords and the like. So if restricted to using Large 1-H weapons which can only be used as 2-H, or Medium 2-H weapons, or Large Light weapons which are used as 1-H, or regular Medium 1-H and Light weapons, goliaths are a bit less exciting than if they can use Large 2-Hs. I may houserule to the contrary just for Rule of Cool reasons.[/thinkingaloud])

No. The ease of use does not change ("without penalty"). A Goliath could wield a large Greatsword (3d6 damage) as a two-handed weapon with no penalty, but would not get increased reach, before applying size altering effects.

I do not know where this is.

Here.

[Curmudgeon]

A 351 b)

Yes, you are required to accept the -10 Accelerated Tumbling penalty if you move more than half speed. If you move at half speed on your leap (i.e., the Jump check is computed based on half your speed, including a penalty if half speed is less than 30') you do not need to apply this Tumble penalty.

A 351 d)

Check: The DC and the distance you can cover vary according to the type of jump you are attempting (see below).

Long Jump
... If your check succeeds, you land on your feet at the far end.

All Jump checks involve a DC. By specifying the distance you wish to leap you establish that DC. If your roll does not meet the DC you do not land on your feet where you wished to, and your DM determines exactly how you fail (fall prone in your initial square, fall prone after leaping partway, or whatever) since the rules don't specify failure details.