Simple RAW Thread for 3.5 #32: More Seasons than the Simpsons

[alkinoostobi]

Q1 How many skill ranks does an engineer get (Gnome if that helps somehow). I searched a lot and I found nothing about the skill ranks of the engineer.

[Bronk]

Q 603

If you are using the total defense action while flanking an opponent with an ally, do you still provide the +2 flanking bonus?

A603

Yes.

You provide the flanking bonus when you're in the right position and you threaten the opponent's square. The rules for threatening a square are found in the section covering attacks of opportunity, and say that you threaten a square you can make melee attacks into, following that up with rules for making attacks of opportunity into threatened squares. However, while total defense says that you can't make attacks of opportunity while using that combat action, it doesn't specify that you stop threatening.

[nyjastul69]

Q1 How many skill ranks does an engineer get (Gnome if that helps somehow). I searched a lot and I found nothing about the skill ranks of the engineer.

Can you source cite the Engineer class please?

[GilesTheCleric]

Q 604 Does the feat Aberration Banemagic (LoM 178) apply its +2 DC increase to all spells cast with the feat, or only to saves rolled by aberrations affected by a spell with the feat?

[Jowgen]

Q 605

Can a Paladin wearing a Ring of Negative Protection (MiC p. 126) active a Sacrificial Smiting weapon (CoV p. 60)?

[Metahuman1]

Q 606: Do setting sun throws that do not explicitly go out of there way to say they deal normal damage, but also do not explicitly state they do not do normal damage,


A: Do normal damage in addition to whatever the effect of the maneuver is.

B: Only preform the maneuver's explicit effect.

C: something else and if so, what?




Q 607: Is the extra attack gained form making a trip attack with the improved trip feat a free attack that comes from the improved trip feat, or does it use up one of your attacks of opportunity for the combat round?

[Andezzar]

A 606

B If the maneuver does not say it deals damage it does not deal damage. Maneuvers and regular attacks are separate (except for boosts), you either do one or the other.

A 607

It is uses an AoO, but the initial AoO (the one used to trip) is free:

If you trip an opponent in melee combat, you immediately get a melee attack against that opponent as if you hadn’t used your attack for the trip attempt.

Emphasis mine

[Gelcur]

Q 608 Woodland Archer (RoW) allows use of Pierce the Foliage. To trigger the character must hit foe with a ranged attack despite the miss chance from concealment. On the next round shots versus that foe don't incur the miss chance. Could Pierce Foliage trigger again on the second round for that same foe or does the wording "despite the miss chance" mean it only triggers if a miss roll was made?

[Eladrinblade]

Q 609

In the image below, the blue is a fighter, the red and purple is an ogre, and the green and purple is the fighter's threatened squares with his glaive. Can the fighter attack the ogre from where he is standing? He can only target the purple parts of the ogre, but those are it's back....so how does that work?

[jmax]

Q610: Is a devil's Summon Devil spell-like ability a standard action? Or 1 round? The rules for spell-like abilities state that SLAs have the same action as the spell they mimic, usually Standard - but is that "usually Standard" because most spells are standard actions? Summon Devil doesn't actually duplicate a named spell. It's close in feel to the summon monster line - longer duration (1 hour) but with a smaller list of creatures and often a percentage chance for failure. Does it default to a Standard Action because it doesn't duplicate a specific spell, even if the "usually Standard" clause is only referring to the most common spellcasting action?

Q611: Is there any way to identify a spell-like ability with Spellcraft while it's being cast? There are no verbal, somatic, or material components. (Context: Assuming the answer to Q610 is "It's a Standard Action", I want to use celerity to cast perfect summons (Book of Exalted Deeds) in response to devils summoning more devils. I could cast perfect summons in advance, but it'd be wasted if the devils in that room don't use it. I only have one instance prepared, so I want to make it count. And I don't want the devils to see it coming :-D)

[Andezzar]

A 609

It simply works, don't think too much of it. Longer explanation: apart from some edge cases (Gelatinous Cube) creatures do not completely fill their space, but can be found anywhere in their space. So it shouldn't be a problem to hit them when they are in one of the more distant squares. Creatures do not provide cover for themselves.

A 610

Usually standard action means standard action unless specified otherwise. The summon devil ability does not specify otherwise so it is standard action.

A 611

No. The rules are right in the texts you linked:

Identify a spell being cast. (You must see or hear the spell’s verbal or somatic components.) No action required. No retry.

A spell-like ability has no verbal, somatic, or material component, nor does it require a focus or have an XP cost.

Emphasis mine.
Instructions how to remove control over enemies' summoned creatures is beyond the scope of this thread.

[heavyfuel]

Q 612

From where do you count the range of a spell?

Eg: 5th level cleric casts Spiritual Weapon and commands it to attack an archer. The spell has the following text:

Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Duration: 1 round/level (D)

If the weapon goes beyond the spell range, if it goes out of your sight, or if you are not directing it, the weapon returns to you and hovers.

If the archer moves to 160ft from the cleric, and the cleric doesn't move, the weapon hovers next to the cleric.
But what if on his turn, the cleric moves 30ft closer to the archer (current distance between them is now 130ft). Does the weapon continue to attack the archer?

Is the spell range counted from where it was first cast, or from the current position of the caster?

[KillianHawkeye]

A 607 correction

The extra attack from Improved Trip is not an Attack of Opportunity, simply a free bonus attack. You can use Improved Trip as many times in a round as you can attack (provided there are enough targets who aren't already prone).

[BloodSnake'sCha]

Q 613

Which Maneuvers can do non-letal damage?

***
I want to knock out someone using a damaging maneuver with unarmed strike with my Crusader and I don't know if I can do it by RAW.

[Andezzar]

A 607 correction

The extra attack from Improved Trip is not an Attack of Opportunity, simply a free bonus attack. You can use Improved Trip as many times in a round as you can attack (provided there are enough targets who aren't already prone).

Actually it is. You do not gain an additional attack after the trip, you can use the attack that you previously used for the trip (the AoO) again, as if you hadn't made the trip, which again in this case is an AoO and as such removes one from your number of AoOs per round. The second AoO can of course again be spent on a trip attempt, and if it succeeds, be reimbursed for another AoO, and so on.

[KillianHawkeye]

Actually it is. You do not gain an additional attack after the trip, you can use the attack that you previously used for the trip (the AoO) again, as if you hadn't made the trip, which again in this case is an AoO and as such removes one from your number of AoOs per round. The second AoO can of course again be spent on a trip attempt, and if it succeeds, be reimbursed for another AoO, and so on.

The question wasn't about a trip made during an AoO, just the free attack from Improved Trip in general. I repeat, the free attack you get from Improved Trip IS NOT an AoO, it is a free (extra) attack.

[Thurbane]

A 609 contention

I'm fairly certain the above answer is wrong. Regardless of some of the Ogre's square's being in the Fighter's threatened area, the Fighter is using a reach weapon, which are fairly specific in saying you cannot attack an adjacent creature - and the Ogre is most definitely adjacent to the Fighter.

[Andezzar]

It is ambiguous. There is no rule that says you must strike at the closest square a creature occupies. The ogre is a target within 10 feet but it is also a creature in an adjacent square.

[Thurbane]

I can certainly see where you're coming from, but the language on reach weapons seems fairly specific to me:

Most reach weapons double the wielder’s natural reach, meaning that a typical Small or Medium wielder of such a weapon can attack a creature 10 feet away, but not a creature in an adjacent square.

...it's hard to argue that the ogre is not in an adjacent square to the character in question.

I thought one of the pictures in the combat section of the PHB might clear it up, but unfortunately not.

[Calthropstu]

I can certainly see where you're coming from, but the language on reach weapons seems fairly specific to me:



...it's hard to argue that the ogre is not in an adjacent square to the character in question.

I thought one of the pictures in the combat section of the PHB might clear it up, but unfortunately not.

I have to agree with the original answer. It is both adjacent AND 10 feet away. Envision having a polearm... a bec de corbin. A human standing in front of you will be verry hard to hit... your weapon is pretty much a stick you can block with. But something large enough for the axe portion to bite into its side with a full swing even though it's standing in front of you, that axe head is still going to go into it.

[Hamste]

I have to agree with the original answer. It is both adjacent AND 10 feet away. Envision having a polearm... a bec de corbin. A human standing in front of you will be verry hard to hit... your weapon is pretty much a stick you can block with. But something large enough for the axe portion to bite into its side with a full swing even though it's standing in front of you, that axe head is still going to go into it.

This is a RAW thread, logic has nothing to do with this. (Besides the same logic applies to a longspear which would have a problem with any enemy that close even if they were big enough to also be 10 ft away)

A strict reading of RAW says adjacent creatures can't be hit and the use of but means that it overrides the ability to hit enemies 10 ft away. Unless someone presents anything otherwise then the answer seems to be no you can't hit the ogre (though you may wish to make a new thread seeing this sparked some debate)

[ksbsnowowl]

Q 614

The Party Wizard has an Anticipate Teleport spell going, out to 50 feet. Within that area, the following events happen in this order, in the same round:
1. The fighter uses his Anklets of Translocation to escape a grapple, his arrival location is still within the spell area, so his arrival is delayed a round.
2. The wizard uses his Abrupt Jaunt [Reserve] feat to move 30 feet (ie - arrival would be within the field's area at the time he left).

Is the Wizard's teleportation delayed at all? Presumably the field would cease temporarily as soon as he teleported, so he should arrive immediately, right?
Is the Fighter's one round delay on arrival ended early, on the Wizard's turn, as the wizard winks out momentarily while he teleports?


Q 615

Does Break Enchantment work to remove the effects of Insanity?
Insanity lists a pretty long list of what does work to end it, and even mentions one thing that won't end it, but fails to say anything about Break Enchantment.

Insanity
Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting]
...
Duration: Instantaneous
...
Remove curse does not remove insanity. Greater restoration, heal, limited wish, miracle, or wish can restore the creature.

Edit: Just found my answer in Break Enchantment's text...

If the spell is one that cannot be dispelled by dispel magic, break enchantment works only if that spell is 5th level or lower.

Since Insanity is 7th level, then it won't work.

But suppose that Insanity was 5th level (due to Bard casting, or some PrC), would Break Enchantment still work to end it?

[King of Nowhere]

Q616 A nymph gaze attack forces a saving throw against blindness, but how often? does one have to make a saving throw once per round (assuming they are not closing eyes or anything)? Or once per encounter?

Q617 Does "protection from evil" make immune from "hold person"? And from the aforementioned nymph special attacks? Does protection from evil grant immunity even if the mind-affecting effect comes from a good creature? In general, how large is the blanket immunity offfered by protection from evil, and what are its imitations

Q618 Can monster's natural attacks count as magic weapons for overcoming damage reduction? Because I haven't seen it specified in any monster sheet, and yet it seems implausible that a simple resistance against nonmagic weapons could make one completely immune to the attacks of a tarrasque or elder dragon.

Thanks in advance

[nyjastul69]

A 616 Usually once per round at the beginning of the character's turn, twice if the creature actively uses it's gaze attack.

A 618 DR/magic is typically overcome by the natural attacks of creatures that also have DR/magic. See here for more details.

[heavyfuel]

A 617 Yes for Hold Person; no for Blinding Beauty

Protection from Evil protects you against:

any attempt to possess the warded creature (by a magic jar attack, for example) or to exercise mental control over the creature (including enchantment (charm) effects and enchantment (compulsion) effects that grant the caster ongoing control over the subject, such as dominate person).

Considering Hold Person is a Compulsion effect that gives you ongoing control over the subject's body, Protection from Evil blocks it

[Keral]

Q 619

Would this combo work?

Blurstrike weapon with wandchamber (wraithstrike wand).
Improved Feint
Expert Tactician.

Combat as follows:

1. Activate wand
2. Make a first attack
3. Feint as move action
4. Make a second attack with Expert Tactician

Also, if I were to use group fake out skill trick to feint multiple opponents, would I be able to hit 3 times (or 3 enemies) the following turn? That is 2 from bab and one from Expert Tactician?

[heavyfuel]

A 619

Sure, assuming your DM allows the 3.0 material (Expert Tactician) without changes

[Dmdork]

Q620 does a ghosts draining touch (su:) have a saving throw?

[heavyfuel]

Q620 does a ghosts draining touch (su:) have a saving throw?

A 620

Assuming you're talking about the Ghost Template's ability found here, then no.

[Draculstar]

Q621

What happens when a 2 HD creature with the unseelie fey template uses a scroll of Iron Body?