Simple RAW Thread for 3.5: Score and Nine

[Troacctid]

A 172 partial
Elemental Master and Unholy Ravager of Tiamat (both from Draconomicon) require breath weapons, but they're true dragon prestige classes not suitable for PCs, so I suppose that's probably not what you're looking for. I don't know of any others offhand.

[Andezzar]

A 172 partial
Elemental Master and Unholy Ravager of Tiamat (both from Draconomicon) require breath weapons, but they're true dragon prestige classes not suitable for PCs, so I suppose that's probably not what you're looking for. I don't know of any others offhand.

I see no restriction to true dragons on those PrCs. Any dragon would do.

[Necrovosh]

Q 173
If one takes the time to qualify for Shadowcraft Mage as a Warlock, can the invocation Flee the Scene be utilized with Shadow Illusion, as it creates a Major Image?

[TheCrowing1432]

Q175:

Are the extra attacks by the Two Weapon Fighting Line, Full Attacks only, or can they be used as part of the standard attack?

[Curmudgeon]

A 175 Full attacks only.

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.

[Sian]

A 173:

No.

Flee the Scene specifies that the Major Image it leaves are always a image of yourself, while Shadow Illusion depends on you making an image of a spell.

[Baphomet]

I've been struggling with the wording of something for a homebrew, and I'm coming up against the apparent vagueness surrounding the nature of temporary HP. I have two related questions. For the sake of these questions, we'll call your amount of HP without temporary HP "base" HP, and your amount counting both base and temporary "current" HP.

Q176
If a character's base hit point total is 0 or less, but they have enough temporary hit points to bring their current HP above 0, are they still considered unconscious, disabled, dying, or dead as dictated by their base hit point total?

Q177
If a character has lost some hit points, then gained more temporary hit points than the amount that they lost (bringing their current HP over their maximum HP), can they still be affected by spells that heal hit point damage, like cure light wounds? If so, when the temporary hit points wear off, does their current hit point total reset to what it was before they gained the temporary hit points, or that amount plus the amount that they were cured (provided it doesn't exceed their maximum)?

EDIT TO CLARIFY: For example, say you have 30 maximum HP and are at full health. You take 10 damage, bringing your base and current HP to 20. Then you gain 20 temporary HP, bringing your current HP to 40 (20 base and 20 temporary). Someone casts Cure Light Wounds on you, healing 15 damage. Before the temporary HP wears off, does your current HP become:

A) 40 (20 base, 20 temporary, the cure has no effect)

B) 50 (30 base, 20 temporary, cure heals your base hp but is capped at your maximum)

C) 40 (30 base, 10 temporary, cure heals your base hp capped at your maximum, but replaces an equal amount of temporary HP)

D) 55 (20 base, 35 temporary, cure increases your temporary HP)

B seems most sensible as RAI, but I am not sure which one is RAW.

[Curmudgeon]

A 176 No.

Most rules regarding hit points do not distinguish between normal and temporary HP. The character would be in whatever state their total number of HP dictate.

A 177

Healing Limits

You can never recover more hit points than you lost. Magical healing won’t raise your current hit points higher than your full normal hit point total.

Again, no distinction is made regarding the type of hit points. You would need to remove the temporary HP to be able to restore your normal HP to their maximum value. After that, you could add temporary HP again.

[HaikenEdge]

Q178

What happens if you have a Weapon of Legacy for which you've performed the Least Ritual, but, upon reaching level 11, fail to perform the Lesser Ritual?

[Andezzar]

Q 179

Are the elemental planes made up entirely of their respective elements or are there patches of water, air and solid ground in all of them?

Q 180

Besides the Mineralize Warrior spell, how can a creature acquire the Mineral Warrior template?

[Khedrac]

A 179 There are patches (bubbles or whatever you want to call them) of foreign materiel in all of the elemental planes - these are where outsiders to the plane are likely to congrgate.

[unseenmage]

A180

Though not strictly 3.5, unless you count unupdated material as carrying over, Savage Species page 147 under Rituals details the Ritual of Unlearning and Ritual of Vitality which allow the character to gain the ECL of the goal creature for either levels or xp. It also details the Wish spell as a means of transforming into a goal creature.

And I could've sworn there was a Magical Location or somesuch in DMG2 that allowed for miscellaneous transformations too. My apologies but I couldn't find it.

[ddude987]

Q 181

If a Cloistered Cleric trades knowledge domain for knowledge devotion, do they still have all knowledge skills on their skill list?

[Chronos]

A Cloistered Cleric getting all Knowledge skills is a result of having the Knowledge domain. If they don't have the Knowledge domain, then they won't have the skills (though they will still have four of them, three from the base Cleric class and one from the Knowledge Devotion feat).

[ZamielVanWeber]

Q 182
How do I lower the Saint's Protective Aura? It says I can raise it as a free action but has no clause on how to lower it.

A 178
You continue to pay the costs but do not gain the abilities until the ritual has been performed.

[Curmudgeon]

A 182

Protective Aura is a Supernatural ability.

Using a supernatural ability is a standard action unless noted otherwise.

The Saint template notes otherwise for raising the Protective Aura, but not for lowering it. Accordingly, it takes a standard action to lower Protective Aura.

[Seharvepernfan]

Q 183

Is a net thrown with one hand or two? It's just listed as a ranged weapon.

[Curmudgeon]

A 183 Two.

If you control the trailing rope by succeeding on an opposed Strength check while holding it, the entangled creature can move only within the limits that the rope allows.

To throw the net and also hold the trailing rope would require two hands.

[Seharvepernfan]

A 183 Two. To throw the net and also hold the trailing rope would require two hands.

But just throwing it?

[Curmudgeon]

But just throwing it?

The RAW presents no option for throwing a net without holding onto the trailing rope, so you would need to take that up with your individual DM.

[Telonius]

Q 184 If a manifesting Ghost has a Ghost Touch weapon as part of its "ghostly equipment," does that weapon strike as a regular attack against the target's regular AC, or does it "pass through armor" (as described in the Manifestation section), making it a touch attack?

[Khedrac]

A 184 partial

By strict RAW a ghost has no strength score so it cannot wield a ghost-touch weapon (and it is a — not a 0 so it cannot be enhanced).

Normally, I think (not certain) that it counts as a normal attack not a touch attack.

[kkplx]

Q 185

If a Dragon uses the Expansion power to grow in size, does this increase the size and/or damage of his breath weapon and grant it additional attacks, on top of the benefits of growing in size outlined by expansion?

And if yes, does it gain other benefits as well that I didn't list?

[kkplx]

Q 186

If you add 2 class levels to a dragon, does its CR increase by 1, or by 2?

[Chronos]

A 186:

It depends on what two levels you add. If you add associated class levels to a monster, the CR goes up by 1 per class level. If you add non-associated class levels, then it goes up by 1 per two class levels. What class levels are associated or not is partly up to DM judgement, but in general, a class level that plays to a monster's strengths is associated, and one that does not is not. A dragon is powerful in melee, so Fighter, Barbarian, and other martial classes would be considered associated. It also casts as a sorcerer, so Sorcerer would also be considered associated (the levels stack for casting). Levels in other casting classes, though, wouldn't do much for a dragon, so those would be non-associated.

[Belkarseviltwin]

A 186
It depends on the class and whether it's associated or nonassociated. That decision is up to the DM, except for specific stated cases.

Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin and Ranger are associated classes for "monsters that rely on their fighting ability" which probably includes dragons. If the monster can already cast spells like a member of a spellcasting class then that class is associated, so a dragon old enough to cast spells as a Sorcerer will treat Sorcerer as an associated class.

2 levles of an associated class increase CR by 2, 2 levels of a nonassociated class increase it by 1.

[Niwrad]

Q 187:

What happens when a creature succeeds its will save vs disbelief against shadow evocation effects that do not deal damage and either allow a save vs a debuff or simply create an effect? And how does the spell resistance allowed by shadow evocation interact with these effect-only spells?

E.g resilient sphere (when used to protect the caster), wind wall, defenestrating sphere, or wall of ice

[TheCrowing1432]

Q188.

Do Improved Natural Attack and the Fanged Ring stack with each other?

[Curmudgeon]

A 188 No.

The Fanged Ring (Dragon Magic, page 101) grants the wearer Improved Natural Attack (unarmed strike). The rule for feats is as follows:

Benefit

What the feat enables the character ("you" in the feat description) to do. If a character has the same feat more than once, its benefits do not stack unless indicated otherwise in the description.

In general, having a feat twice is the same as having it once.

[MilesTiden]

Q188.

Do Improved Natural Attack and the Fanged Ring stack with each other?

A188: No

Improved Natural Attack explicitly is not able to be taken multiple times for the same natural attack. Fanged Ring is not an exception to this rule, it cannot give you a feat you already have.