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

[TaiLiu]

A 929 Clarification: As far as I know "core books" is not a game term. Can you clarify what you mean?

Re: A929 Clarification: I believe that the Core books refer to the Monster Manual, the DMG, and the PHB, though I may be in error.

[nyjastul69]

A 929 Addition:
There is only one core book that contains monster stats, the Monster Manual: Core Rulebook III. The others are the Player's Handbook: Core Rulebook I and the Dungeon Master's Guide: Core Rulebook II. No other sorces are core sources. I think you might mean official WotC material, of which there are many.

Edit: Ninja'd a bit. The link provided above is not entirely correct. I haven't seen any psionics books that are identified as a core rulebook. That which is contained within the SRD are not the core rules.

[AlanBruce]

Q. 930

Would a creature with magic immunity, like a golem, be subject to eldritch blast damage that is not vitriolic blast? Even if the warlock were using a variant that granted her a Smite Eldritch Blast which ignores SR?

[TuggyNE]

A930: No. Golem-style magic immunity is infinite SR for all intents and purposes, so if the blast is SR:No for any reason, it's not immune to it.

[Ranting Fool]

Q931

I know when doing a Coup de Grace you add Sneak Attack but do you add Power Attack/Pally Smite/Weapon Enchants such as flaming ect?

[Yora]

Q932: If you cast a spell with a 1 round casting time, do you have to aim at the moment you start casting, or can you wait with that until the moment the spell comes into effect on your next turn?

[mattie_p]

A 931: Yes. Reading the rules on Coup de Grace:

As a full-round action, you can use a melee weapon to deliver a coup de grace to a helpless opponent. You can also use a bow or crossbow, provided you are adjacent to the target.

You automatically hit and score a critical hit.

Extra dice of damage are not multiplied, but non-variable bonus damage such as Power Attack or Smite Evil are.

A 932: The latter.

You make all pertinent decisions about a spell (range, target, area, effect, version, and so forth) when the spell comes into effect.

[Andezzar]

A 931

Yes, coup de grâce is an attack, even if you automatically hit. At least according to the glossary (PHB and web), where the perpetrator of that action is called attacker. The SRD and p. 153 f. of the PHB don't do that.

[G.Cube]

Q933 Are there any large races with powefulbuild?

Alternatively, how would I enable a medium race to wield a huge weapon without incurring penalties?

[Curmudgeon]

Re: A 927

do you mean it just protects me from the "being held helpless" option, or that it renders me entirely immune to all the effects of the power?

Freedom of Movement will let you move and attack normally despite Control Body.

[Venger]

Q933 Are there any large races with powefulbuild?

Alternatively, how would I enable a medium race to wield a huge weapon without incurring penalties?

A 933

No.

A medium character who manifests expansion and augments it to bump him 2 size categories is huge, and can thus wield huge weapons.

Enlarge person + strongarm bracers (magic item compendium. allow you to wield weapons 1 size larger w/o penalty) also works for a medium character.

[Urpriest]

Q933 Are there any large races with powefulbuild?

Alternatively, how would I enable a medium race to wield a huge weapon without incurring penalties?

A933
There are several Medium races with Powerful Build, any such race under an effect that increases their size to Large (whether a template like Half-Goristro, or a spell, or any other such effect) becomes a Large race with Powerful Build.

[Xenogears]

Q934 The Anarchic Initiate class gives you the Psychic Enervation class feature at level 3 and references the Wilder class feature of the same name. The feature says that "A wilder who is overcome by psychic enervation is dazed until the end of her next turn and loses a number of power points equal to her wilder level."

So if I enter the Anarchic Initiate PrC through a Psion does that mean I lose 0 PP on an enervation since my Wilder level is 0?

[Venger]

Q 935
If I apply fell drain to a spell that deals damage over multiple turns (such as murderous mist, belker claws, boreal wind, or evard's black tentacles) then does the enemy take damage upon each successful hit, or only on the first hit?

[G.Cube]

Q936 Would Powerfull build stack with monkey grip or strongarm bracers to enable a medium size creature to wield a huge weapon?

[Xenogears]

A936 (Partial) Strongarm Bracer specifically does not stack with powerful build although I am unsure about Monkey Grip.

[Poacherbud]

Q937

PHB(pg74) describes the attack trick as Attack (DC 20): The animal attacks apparent enemies. You may point to a particular creature that you wish the animal to attack, and it will comply if able. Normally, an animal will attack only humanoids, monstrous humanoids, giants, or other animals. Teaching an animal to attack all creatures (including such unnatural creatures as undead and aberrations) counts as two tricks.

DMG(pg206) describes pointing at an enemy and declaring to attack a complex instruction and uses a standard action. A character can give a simple verbal command, such as “Attack” or “Come,” as a free action, provided such a command is among the tricks the animal has learned. A more complex instruction, such as telling an animal to attack and pointing out a specific target, is a standard action.

Which one is correct? Free action or standard(in reference to druids)?

[mattie_p]

A 936: As mentioned above, strongarm bracers explicitly don't stack. Monkey grip (CW) specifies "one size larger than you are", which won't stack with powerful build, because powerful build allows a creature to "use weapons designed for a creature one size larger" - the effect is essentially the same wording.

[Gildedragon]

Q938
Can one teleport (via spells or maneuvers) out of being shackled to a wall?
Q938-A
If 938 is true, will using benign/baleful transposition place the other target in the shackles?
Q938-B
If 938 is true can one teleport out of handcuffs? (And if the answer to this is no: why not?)

[TuggyNE]

A937 For a druid or ranger specifically the point is irrelevant;

Link (Ex)
A druid can handle her animal companion as a free action, or push it as a move action, even if she doesn’t have any ranks in the Handle Animal skill. The druid gains a +4 circumstance bonus on all wild empathy checks and Handle Animal checks made regarding an animal companion.

Anything normally taking a standard action in Handle Animal, then, only takes a free action. (There is similar text for rangers.)

[mattie_p]

A 938: Maybe. Teleport, Benign Transposition, and Baleful Transposition require only Verbal components, and thus may be cast while shackled. For maneuvers, "you must be able to move." Being shackled might or might not (depending on the length of the chain/shackles) prevent you from moving (although you can still take move actions regardless).

A 938A: Maybe, ask your DM. They transport all possessions, but the shackles holding you to the wall may or may not count as a possession. You trade positions, but it is unclear if this requires the two transposed characters to exactly swap body positions, or squares.

A 938 B: No. Handcuffs will count as possessions (whether you want them to or not) and will be teleported with you when you cast teleport.

[Gildedragon]

Q939 a-c
What if someone is holding the handcuffs or is also chained to them?
How is possession-ness adjudicated? What is the threshold between cuffs and manacles for this?

[The Random NPC]

Q940
What is the minimum caster level for 1st level Paladin spells?

[Curmudgeon]

A 940 2nd.

Through 3rd level, a paladin has no caster level. At 4th level and higher, her caster level is one-half her paladin level.

A Paladin never has a caster level below 2nd.

You can cast a spell at a lower caster level than normal, but the caster level you choose must be high enough for you to cast the spell in question, and all level-dependent features must be based on the same caster level.

[Cuthalion]

Q940
What is the minimum caster level for 1st level Paladin spells?

A940: 4th, counting bonus spells, I believe.

[The Random NPC]

A940: 4th, counting bonus spells, I believe.

I think you may have misread my question, I don't need the Level that you get spells, I want to know the minimum caster level, mostly for crafting purposes.

[mattie_p]

A 939 C: Ask your DM. I am unaware of any rules for shared possessions, you might or might not still be cuffed, depending on the particular locking mechanism and chain(s). As far as the dividing line between possessions, in general if you are carrying it, it counts as a possession. Compare attended and unattended objects. So cuffs and manacles count as possessions, stocks or being shackled to the wall do not.

[Thurbane]

Q 941

Regarding the Maug (FF) as a player character. In it's description, it says the Maug gets skill points as an outsider (i.e. 8 points per HD, quadruple for the first HD). Is this overwritten by the 3.5 Construct type description that says Constructs receive 2 skill points per HD?

[Flame of Anor]

Q931

I know when doing a Coup de Grace you add Sneak Attack but do you add Power Attack/Pally Smite/Weapon Enchants such as flaming ect?

A931 additional

You can use all of those (assuming you have them), but you'd have to declare the non-automatic ones, and you'd have to write off one of your daily uses of Smite Evil. As for Power Attack, though you'd have to declare it also, there's absolutely no reason not to, as the attack automatically hits.

Q 935
If I apply fell drain to a spell that deals damage over multiple turns (such as murderous mist, belker claws, boreal wind, or evard's black tentacles) then does the enemy take damage upon each successful hit, or only on the first hit?

A935

I think it's just for the first hit. The text says that any living creature dealt damage gains a negative level. It does not say that each instance of dealing damage deals a negative level. Being "a living creature that is dealt damage" is a binary state--you either are or you aren't. So you either get the negative level or you don't.

[Curmudgeon]

A 941 No.

The example 2 HD Maug monster has many more skill ranks than can be explained by the standard Construct skill allocation. Despite having 2 HD of Construct, you're treated as if those were 2 HD of Outsider for skill points.