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

[nyjastul69]

A285 Additional

There is a variant critical miss rule on page 28 of the DMG.

[ComaVision]

Q286

If a Fey Spirit Shaman uses the Chastise Spirits class ability, does it hurt itself as well?

[ksbsnowowl]

Q 287:

A) The party is on an iron cube in the Infernal Battlefield of Acheron. A druid casts Transmute Metal to Wood centered on the cube surface. Is an entire 40-foot radius hemisphere of iron (down into the "ground") turned into a half-sphere of wood? Or does the surface provide cover to the below iron, and only the top layer (how thick?) is turned to wood?

Note that Transmute Metal to Wood is a Burst, which is blocked by total cover.

B) Similar situation, but the spell is cast against the wall of a fortress which is entirely composed of riveted steel plates. Would only the exterior wall be transmuted within 40 feet of the point of origin? Or would interior walls within 40 feet also be transmuted? Keep in mind the interior walls would have total cover from the point of origin.

Transmute Metal to Wood
Transmutation
Level: Drd 7
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area: All metal objects within a 40-ft.-radius burst
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes (object; see text)

This spell enables you to change all metal objects within its area to wood. Weapons, armor, and other metal objects carried by creatures are affected as well. A magic object made of metal ...

A burst spell affects whatever it catches in its area, even including creatures that you can’t see. It can’t affect creatures with total cover from its point of origin (in other words, its effects don’t extend around corners). The default shape for a burst effect is a sphere, but some burst spells are specifically described as cone-shaped. A burst’s area defines how far from the point of origin the spell’s effect extends.

[Andezzar]

A 287

It depends on whether the object (iron cube/iron wall) is wholly within the area of the spell. The spell does not allow to divide object into smaller objects, so objects only partially within the area are not within the area and thus not affected.

[ksbsnowowl]

A 287

It depends on whether the object (iron cube/iron wall) is wholly within the area of the spell. The spell does not allow to divide object into smaller objects, so objects only partially within the area are not within the area and thus not affected.

Ah, an interesting take that I had not thought of. So a few plates in the riveted steel fortress wall could be affected, but the iron cube could not? I think i like that interpretation.

But the counterargument would be that a Huge creature only partially in the area of a Fireball would then not be affected? (Not the best example, since you CAN burn only half your body, but imagine some magical effect based burst spell instead, that rather than damage, induces a new state on the creature, Bless for example).

And taking that to the next logical conclusion.... the iron cube on Acheron is at least partly in the area of the spell... so why isn't the whole cube altered?

[St Fan]

Q 288

Does a character immediately knows if an opponent is reduced below 0 HP by an attack?

For example, if surrounded by several foes and making a full attack, can a character specifically choose to strike those with remaining HP, or is there a risk of hitting twice one that is about to fall down from the first attack?

[Andezzar]

A 288

Without any special means of finding out a character does not know an opponent's hit points, however on a full attack you resolve one attack after the other, so it should not be an issue. Once a target drops, you can decide who to attack next.

[Troacctid]

Q 288

Does a character immediately knows if an opponent is reduced below 0 HP by an attack?

For example, if surrounded by several foes and making a full attack, can a character specifically choose to strike those with remaining HP, or is there a risk of hitting twice one that is about to fall down from the first attack?

A character can use her normal sensory abilities to perceive the opponent's reaction to the attack (i.e. she can see that their head is caved in and they've fallen to the ground, and she can hear them yell "Oh no, you have killed me, I am dead now, goodbye cruel world*") but she will not know their hit point total unless she has a special ability that allows her to know it, such as the Combat Awareness feat or the deathwatch spell.

*Most enemies say this when they die, as per page 226 of Monster Manual IV. This is a true fact that I did not make up.**
**Okay, fine, maybe I made it up a little bit.

[Mischa4ever]

Q289

I'am a lvl4 Druid and used SNA II last Session and summoned a Black Bear (MM269) right next to an Enemy.
Next Round i could use a Full Attack with him and did 2 Claws + 1 Bite Attack which resulted in:
2d4+8 (both claws) and 1d6+2 (bite) = avg. around 17 dmg
and now i had some feats to pump up my summoned allies (+4 str & con +3 luck on attack rolls)
this ended up to make more dmg then every other class in our party and this was only 1 spell of mine.
Did i do something wrong ? Dont want to be Overpowered in my group :/ i ruined the fun for my group one earlier campaign because of my uber barbarian T_T
If not then some suggestions to ballance full round attacks ? Seems to be strong as f*** compared to other summoned allies (crocodile)

[Andezzar]

A 289

Yes you did something wrong, but the bear is even better, if you use all your abilities. The +4 STR increases the damage. The claws then each deal 1d4+6 and the bite 1d6+3.

Also what you wrote can be interpreted as you designating the position of the bear at the beginning of the casting, you only have to do it at the end. So stepping away during the casting is not enough, an opponent would have to move out of your range (LOE within 25 ft +5 ft/2 levels)

It's not a bug it's a feature. Summoning is powerful especially if you summon the right creature for the right job.

As for the rest of your question, rebalancing suggestions are beyond the scope of this thread. If you want to discuss this, feel free open a thread.

[sjeshin]

Q 290

I am DM in a game where I want to have a lot of skeletons. By RAW, if a character uses the spell animate dead over and over until they hit their limit of HD, the extra skeletons are "released". What does this mean? Are they destroyed? Skeletons in the MMI say they will take no initiative on their own. If they are not destroyed, but the character doesn't control them, will they follow their last command? Is there any RAW to cover this?

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Q291: I found the text for the mystic monk ACF here, which grants divine spellcasting to a monk in exchange for a bunch of largely useless abilities, but I can't find the source for it. Anyone have a clue where it might be?

The ACF is below:

Spoiler: Mystic Monk

Show

When: Monk 4th

Cost: Slow fall progression, ki strike progression, body progression (wholeness, purity, diamond, timeless)

Benefit: The monk gains wisdom based prepared divine spellcasting off of the monk spell list.

A mystic monk’s spellcasting requires precise and flowing movements, so it suffers from the same spell failure chances due to armor that arcane spellcasting incurs.

Also, the farthest a monk can affect with their magic is touch range, so the range on all of the spells that have ranges other than 'personal' becomes touch.

However, all monk spells are silent (as though affected by the Silent Spell metamagic). A monk may not apply the Still Spell metamagic to any of their spells.

Any level where a monk would gain 0 spells, they may only prepare spells granted by a high ability score.

Any prestige class that may freely cross-class with Monk, and that advances both monk AC bonuses and unarmed strike damage also advances mystic monk spell progression.

Level		Spells: 
		1	2	3	4	5	6

4		0	-	-	-	-	-
5		1	-	-	-	-	-
6		2	-	-	-	-	-
7		3	0	-	-	-	-
8		4	1	-	-	-	-
9		4	2	-	-	-	-
10		4	3	0	-	-	-
11		4	4	1	-	-	-
12		4	4	2	-	-	-
13		4	4	3	0	-	-
14		5	4	4	1	-	-
15		5	4	4	2	-	-
16		5	4	4	3	0	-
17		5	5	4	4	1	-
18		5	5	4	4	2	-
19		5	5	4	4	3	0
20		5	5	5	4	4	1

[ComaVision]

A291

It's homebrew.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

A291

It's homebrew.

That makes me sad.

[thethird]

Q292: Do racial HD (such as those from a monster) qualify as levels for the purpose of feat selection? Some feats have special requirement, this feat may only be taken at first level, can a multiple racial HD creature take several with its racial HD?

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Q292: Do racial HD (such as those from a monster) qualify as levels for the purpose of feat selection? Some feats have special requirement, this feat may only be taken at first level, can a multiple racial HD creature take several with its racial HD?

A293: Yes, racial HD are levels for all purposes. They don't qualify as, say, fighter levels, but they are levels.

[The_Iron_Lord]

Q93: Are there any LA +0 humanoid medium races with claw attacks?

[Troacctid]

Q 290

I am DM in a game where I want to have a lot of skeletons. By RAW, if a character uses the spell animate dead over and over until they hit their limit of HD, the extra skeletons are "released". What does this mean? Are they destroyed? Skeletons in the MMI say they will take no initiative on their own. If they are not destroyed, but the character doesn't control them, will they follow their last command? Is there any RAW to cover this?

It means you no longer control them.

Q93: Are there any LA +0 humanoid medium races with claw attacks?

Yes.

[St Fan]

Q 295
Two questions about Improved Trip:

A: Does the bonus granted by the feat apply only to unarmed trip attempts, or also apply to trip attempts made with a weapon, like a whip?

B: Does the free attack if you manage to trip your opponent applies if the trip itself was an attack of opportunity?

[Andezzar]

A 295

Yes and Yes. Improved trip neither specifies that you have to use a certain tool nor that you have to use a certain action for the trip attempt. It just requires you to make a successful trip attempt.

[Sir Chuckles]

Q 294
Do the feats Deadeye (Dragon Compendium) and Crossbow Sniper (PHII) stack with each other and why?

[Andezzar]

A 296

As long as the target is within 30ft, you add 1.5 times your DEX bonus to the damage of crossbow weapons. The bonuses stack because they are unnamed bonuses.

[Khedrac]

A 296 contention

As long as the target is within 30ft, you add 1.5 times your DEX bonus to the damage of crossbow weapons. The bonuses stack because they are unnamed bonuses.

If asked on the fly I would probably agree with Andezzar on this one, but I think I would be wrong.
The bonuses are named - they are Dex bonuses. The fact that the feats do not give the name does not remove the name from an existing bonus (dex bonus) which is being applied to a new roll (crossbow damage).
Statistics bonuses are exactly that - statistic bonuses. If you add your strength bonus to anything it remains a strength bonus unless something explicitly says it becomes a different bonus type.

Hence I believe the correct answer is "no, they don't stack, the greater one applies (i.e. 1 × DEX bonus)".

That said, this is very much open to debate (e.g. the halving of the dex bonus could be argued to make it a new type of bonus [counter argument: what about strength and secondary natural weapons]).

This thread is not the place for such debate, that would be a new thread specific to the question. No one will look askance at you for using Andezzar's answer (as I said, I'd go with it if I did not stop to think), in fact I would consider it the majority opinion on the question. If you use my logic be prepared to defend the answer as it will get questioned.

[Andezzar]

You are right, Ability modifier is a modifier type. I forgot about that one. This has some interesting consequences though...

[Troacctid]

If asked on the fly I would probably agree with Andezzar on this one, but I think I would be wrong.
The bonuses are named - they are Dex bonuses.

Here is your mistake: Crossbow Sniper does not give you a Dexterity bonus to damage—it provides an untyped bonus that is equal to 1/2 your Dex bonus. Untyped bonuses stack with everything, as long as they're not from the same source. Since the bonuses are from two different sources, they stack, definitively.

[Inevitability]

Q297 Can a creature (say, an Unbodied) choose to deal nonlethal damage with its incorporeal touch attacks if it takes a -4 penalty to the attack roll?

[The_Iron_Lord]

Q298: I wasn't clear with my wording, but could I have some specific examples of what I asked in Q293?

[Hamste]

Q298: I wasn't clear with my wording, but could I have some specific examples of what I asked in Q293?

A298
The Razorclaw Shifter has 2 and is medium sized is the one I can think of. If HD are not a problem (I.E. You just don't want LA) Anthropomorphic also probably works though I don't know enough about it to be sure.

[Debatra]

Yes.

[The_Iron_Lord]

Q298　Addendum：　With no "extra levels", thus, no Racial HD.

Thanks, though!