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

[Keral]

Q 549


Does a creature with no constitution score get a constitution score if a template which increases the base constitution is applied to it?

[Xaroth]

Q 549


Does a creature with no constitution score get a constitution score if a template which increases the base constitution is applied to it?

A 549

No, as you cannot increase a score you do not have.

[Xaroth]

Q 550

Are things from the Epic Level Handbook usable at non-Epic levels, or is it an innate rule? I ask because of the "Worm that Walks" template, that doesn't appear to specify you must be epic level to take it.

[TIPOT]

A550

Not sure about the general rule on epic stuff being available for epic characters, but for the worm that walks template it doesn't have a level adjustment, this means it's not suitable for players to use (so barring specific DM allowance you can't take it).

[Andezzar]

A 550 Correction.

A550

Not sure about the general rule on epic stuff being available for epic characters, but for the worm that walks template it doesn't have a level adjustment, this means it's not suitable for players to use (so barring specific DM allowance you can't take it).

This is not true and the book explicitly says so:

“Worm that walks” is a template that can be added to any evil wizard or sorcerer. It uses all the original character’s statistics, special abilities, and equipment, except as noted here.

I underlined the key parts. First of all it is suitable for any evil wizard/sorcerer, not just epic ones. Secondly it does not change the Level Adjustment of the base creature because it does not say it adds or modifies such a property. If the creature had an LA before adding the template it still has the same LA (or LA 0 for those "without" LA). Most importantly it does not add "LA: -", which would make the templated creature ineligible for players.

[ShurikVch]

Q 551

Breath Weapon of Diamond Dragon PrC:

Breath Weapon (Su): At 4th level, you can manifest a breath weapon attack, similar to those of various dragons. Doing this costs 5 power points and deals cold, electricity, fire, or sonic damage (chosen at the time of manifestation; see below for details); a successful Refl ex save (DC 10 + class level + your Int modifi er) halves the damage. Each of the damage types acts slightly differently, as detailed below.
Cold: This 30-foot-long, cone-shaped breath weapon deals 5d8 points of cold damage and allows a Fortitude save (not a Reflex save) for half damage.
Electricity: This 60-foot-long, line-shaped breath weapon deals 5d6 points of electricity damage and adds 2 to the save DC.
Fire: This 30-foot-long, cone-shaped breath weapon deals 5d8 points of fire damage.
Sonic: This 30-foot-long, cone-shaped breath weapon deals 5d4 points of sonic damage and ignores object's hardness.
For every additional power point you spend on your breath weapon, you deal an extra die of damage. You can spend a number of power points on this ability equal to or less than your manifester level.

a) Since it's a Breath Weapon - is it possible to use "metabreath" feats with it?
b) Since it use word "manifest" and cost power points - is it possible to apply [metapsionic] feats?

[Andezzar]

A 551

a) No.

To take a metabreath feat, a creature must have a breath weapon whose time between breaths is expressed in rounds.

b) No. The breath weapon is not a psionic power.

[zergling.exe]

A 550 Correction.

This is not true and the book explicitly says so:I underlined the key parts. First of all it is suitable for any evil wizard/sorcerer, not just epic ones. Secondly it does not change the Level Adjustment of the base creature because it does not say it adds or modifies such a property. If the creature had an LA before adding the template it still has the same LA (or LA 0 for those "without" LA). Most importantly it does not add "LA: -", which would make the templated creature ineligible for players.

The table places the Worm that Walks creature at ECL 27, with 23 HD it has 4 LA from somewhere, and as as 23rd level Wizard, they must come from the template. Keep in mind that the ELH also uses 3.0 LA that includes RHD. (I think, the example uses +25 LA to make a 26th level character but also uses a creature with 32 RHD as the base) So a Worm that Walks may even have +27 LA by RAW.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the only monster actually with official LA in the entire ELH is the Mercane.

[Andezzar]

The table places the Worm that Walks creature at ECL 27, with 23 HD it has 4 LA from somewhere, and as as 23rd level Wizard, they must come from the template. Keep in mind that the ELH also uses 3.0 LA that includes RHD. (I think, the example uses +25 LA to make a 26th level character but also uses a creature with 32 RHD as the base) So a Worm that Walks may even have +27 LA by RAW.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the only monster actually with official LA in the entire ELH is the Mercane.

1. Examples often contradict the rules in various books. The rules do not assign any LA through the template.
2. Text trumps table. In the text the example creature does not have any LA.
3. +27 LA is total nonsense for the example creature, because it has 23 wizard levels. If the ECL is to be taken as correct, at worst it would have +4 LA.
4. I have no idea how they came up with LA +25 for the Winterwight, unless they just fiated it as the book suggests:

   Nonstandard races that are candidates for player characters possess (or can be assigned) a racial trait called level adjustment.

Q 552

How does a wizard get 100 spell slots, to guarantee to become Worm that Walks before epic levels?

[Goladar]

Q. 553

Can you aid another on an Intelligence check?

[zergling.exe]

1. Examples often contradict the rules in various books. The rules do not assign any LA through the template.
2. Text trumps table. In the text the example creature does not have any LA.
3. +27 LA is total nonsense for the example creature, because it has 23 wizard levels. If the ECL is to be taken as correct, at worst it would have +4 LA.
4. I have no idea how they came up with LA +25 for the Winterwight, unless they just fiated it as the book suggests:

The template not mentioning LA != no LA, it's a 3.0 template where LA was a barely used after thought. The table gives a calculable LA value, while the template does not mention it so there is no contradiction between them. The table gives an ECL value for the sample creature, which does not have an ECL in its stat block, as there is no contradiction and the only information on the base creature we have is that it was a level 23 wizard, the template must have LA +4.

[Duke of Urrel]

Q. 553

Can you aid another on an Intelligence check?

A 553

Generally, yes, you can use the Aid Another action to assist someone with either a skill check or an ability check (such as an Intelligence check). However, the dungeon master is explicitly allowed to set circumstantial limits upon the use of the Aid Another action.

For details, refer to page 10 of the Rules Compendium.

[HeadlessMermaid]

Q 552

How does a wizard get 100 spell slots, to guarantee to become Worm that Walks before epic levels?

1. This isn't a RAW question, it's an optimisation question. You can start another thread, and if you get a reply that looks iffy, come back here and ask if it's RAW.
2. I don't personally guarantee that this would get you Worm That Walks pre-epic...
3. That said, if you play an illumian (aesh-krau sigils, so that bonus spells are based on Str instead of your casting stat), and you draconic polymorph yourself to something with ridiculous strength, and you boost strength even more with buffs, and you persist all that, then your bonus spells will be... a lot. This combo works better with Archivists (who get access to Bite of the Werebear among other things) or Wu Jens (who get access to that silly Giant Size spell), but it might work with wizard, haven't done the math. You'd need to jump through many many hoops.

[Venger]

Q 554 how many small or medium characters can fit into a single square outside of grappling?

[ShurikVch]

Q 555

Is it possible to use Paraelemental Power metapsionic feat (Complete Psionic) with s2p variant of Dragon Breath spell (Spell Compendium)?

[Morphic tide]

Q 555

Is it possible to use Paraelemental Power metapsionic feat (Complete Psionic) with s2p variant of Dragon Breath spell (Spell Compendium)?

Yes. One of the few disadvantages of STP Erudite is that they have to use Metapsionics, which are much more limited in variety, rather than the more varied and supported Metamagic. Of course, cases like what you just gave are one of the things that let STP Erudite do stuff that Wizards can't.

[Telonius]

Q556 In the Undead type description, we have this line:

Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).

Are "mind-affecting effects" limited to this list, or are those effects just listed as examples of mind-affecting effects?

Q556a Would something that does ability damage to Intelligence - but isn't among the list of examples - count as a mind-affecting effect?

[Andezzar]

The template not mentioning LA != no LA,

Yes it is. As quoted before the creature retains all its usual characteristics, except those changed/added by the template. If the base creature has an LA (whether numeric or LA: -), it retains that LA. If it does not have an LA, no LA is added unless the template says so, which it does not.

it's a 3.0 template where LA was a barely used after thought.

Which has been updated to 3.5 through the Epic Level Handbook Update. So it is fully compatible with 3.5, which means, if the template does not add an LA, the creature retains whatever LA it had before applying the template.

The table gives a calculable LA value, while the template does not mention it so there is no contradiction between them. The table gives an ECL value for the sample creature, which does not have an ECL in its stat block, as there is no contradiction and the only information on the base creature we have is that it was a level 23 wizard, the template must have LA +4.

No, you cannot not calculate the LA added by the template from the information in the table and the example creature. The rules tell us to take the statistics of a wizard and modify whatever is mentioned in the template description. Nothing more nothing less. So either the example creature had an LA before hand (remember, you can use any wizard, not just those with LA 0) or there is an error in the table.

[Hamste]

A556
Anything listed as mind affecting or with the mind affecting tag, affect the mind. Those are examples of things that are either all mind affecting or close to all being mind affecting.

[snailgosh]

Q557
Can a creature with the Regeneration special quality be slain by a Vorpal Blade's death effect, if the weapons damage type is not one that overcomes the regeneration?

Q557a
If the creature is not slain, does the Vorpal Blade still decapitate the creature?

[tyckspoon]

A 557

There is a distinction made by the Vorpal property between death and losing one's head. The Vorpal weapon does not inflict death. It removes the subject's head. If the subject can be killed or inconvenienced by removing its head, then it is suitably killed or inconvenienced by being Vorpal'd. If not, then it doesn't. This does call for some GM decisions as to exactly what happens, if, for example, you cut the head off an Earth Elemental - it probably doesn't actually need its head to live, but if all its sensory organs are located there, it may suffer significant penalties. Likewise, cutting the head off a Troll won't actually kill it, but as its eyes, ears, and brain are all located there, it certainly removes it as a combat threat (at least until somebody reattaches the old head or it Regenerates a new head.) So.. ask your GM, I guess, because the game usually doesn't get into the level of detail of explicitly stating whether or not something requires its head to live.

So, answer is: No, the Vorpal property will not necessarily kill a creature with Regeneration, and Yes, the creature's head will be removed anyway, if it has one - this is what Vorpal does. This may or may not actually kill the thing, but will often be sufficient to effectively win that combat anyway.

[Ilveshlea]

Q558

Some questions about the domain access alternate class feature for sorcerers (Complete Champion);
Are the domain spells you get cast off Charisma or Wisdom?
How many spells known do you give up? Just one first and one second, one one less every time you level up? If this is the case, do you get to chose which level spell you don't get?

[St Fan]

Q 559

I noted this on the description for the "Stand Still" feat:

"Normal: Attacks of opportunity cannot halt your foes in their tracks."

A) Just to make things clear... attacks of opportunity don't normally halt a foe that tries to move if hit... unless it is something like a successful trip attack, which can be done as an AoO. That sure should stop a foe on its tracks, right?

B) And while I'm at it... if a character tries to move out of a threatened square, but is stopped (by Stand Still or a trip attack) before moving even a square, is the move action thus wasted?

[Duke of Urrel]

Q 559

I noted this on the description for the "Stand Still" feat:

"Normal: Attacks of opportunity cannot halt your foes in their tracks."

A) Just to make things clear... attacks of opportunity don't normally halt a foe that tries to move if hit... unless it is something like a successful trip attack, which can be done as an AoO. That sure should stop a foe on its tracks, right?

B) And while I'm at it... if a character tries to move out of a threatened square, but is stopped (by Stand Still or a trip attack) before moving even a square, is the move action thus wasted?

A 559

A. Yes, attacks of opportunity don't normally halt a foe. They have the same effect as any other attack; that is, they deal damage. Usually, dealing damage doesn't stop a foe from moving, unless of course it reduces the foe's Hit-Point level below zero. So this is the "normal" case mentioned in the description of the Stand Still feat; normally, attacks of opportunity "cannot halt your foes in their tracks."

The effect of a Trip attack is to make your foe fall prone, which ends your foe's move. If this move was only a standard move (and not a withdraw action or a run action), your foe can stand up from prone by taking another move action, but this brings your foe's turn to an end. With a Tumble check at DC 35, your foe can stand up from prone as a free action and then perhaps take another standard move, but that's the only way I know that your foe can keep moving after being tripped.

B. Stopping a foe with the Stand Still feat must bring a foe's move to an end, because otherwise, your foe could simply continue moving after being stopped, in which case stopping your foe would have no tactical effect. So yes, if you halt your foe's move, your foe's standard move (or withdraw action or run action or charge) is wasted.

[Debatra]

Q558

Some questions about the domain access alternate class feature for sorcerers (Complete Champion);
Are the domain spells you get cast off Charisma or Wisdom?
How many spells known do you give up? Just one first and one second, one one less every time you level up? If this is the case, do you get to chose which level spell you don't get?

A 558a Charisma

A558b One of each spell level.

[GilesTheCleric]

Q560: When you cast a Save: yes (harmless) spell on yourself, does it take effect automatically (ie no save), or are you assumed to choose to fail your save?

[Troacctid]

Q560: When you cast a Save: yes (harmless) spell on yourself, does it take effect automatically (ie no save), or are you assumed to choose to fail your save?

You can attempt a saving throw if you choose. I assume since you are intentionally casting it on yourself, you would not choose to do that.

[GilesTheCleric]

Okay, thank you.

Q561: Does Vile damage stop regeneration?

[Metahuman1]

Q 562: Is there a rule dictating that a creature a certain number of size category's larger then another can simply move over that creature with out being stopped by that creature occupying that space? Or that a smaller creature can move under a creature a certain number of size category's bigger then it similarly unimpeded?


Something that is NOT the Overrun attack option?

If so, what book and page number is this rule found in/on? (I'd also settle for an SRD link right too it if it happens to be there.).

[nyjastul69]

A 562: Yes