Simple RAW Thread for 3.5 #33: Doesn't everything popular die when 33?

[Andezzar]

A 546

First of all this math only applies to game values like damage not real world values like length, mass, time etc.
Secondly it only applies when the same game value is multiplied more than once.

I am not aware of any game value that is first multiplied by 1.5 and then by another number.

Generally the weird math works like this 1st multiplier * 2nd multiplier := 1st multiplier + 2nd multiplier -1
So
2 * 3 := 2 + 3 - 1 = 4
2 * 4 := 2 + 4 - 1 = 5
3 * 3 := 3 + 3 - 1 = 5
etc.

I am not sure what you mean by "multipliers of different size are got stacked somehow" AFAIK multipliers in sizes only apply to real world values.

[Zombimode]

Q546 Addendum

It helps to think of any references of multiplying damage not as "weird math" but as "increasing a multiplier" (which is by default 1).

So instead of trying to figure out the damage formula for a critical hit with a valorous greataxe an a charge ("doubbleing" for the valorous charge and "trippeling" for the crit) with "weird math", translate "doubbleing" as "increases the damage multiplier by 1" and "trippeling" as "increases the damage multiplier by 2".

In this way you can solve any questions on how to multiply with simple addition.

*2*3? 1 + 1 + 2 = *4
*1.5*4? 1 + 0.5 + 3 = *4.5

And so on.

This is what the "weird math" actually maps to.


Q 547

Can you improve Specific Weapons and Armor (like a Rogue Blade)?
And if so, how do you determine the price for the upgrade?

[Andezzar]

A 546 Correction

While most of what Zombimode wrote is true, AFAIK there is no 1.5 multiplier that is further increased. The only 1.5 I know modifies the STR Bonus on a two-handed weapon. There is nothing else that multiplies the STR bonus. If different values are multiplied once each (like the STR bonus, the Power Attack bonus, the weapon damage, the whole damage) no multiplier is increased, each uses their normal mmultiplier. So STR bonus * 1.5, Power Attack Bonus *3, weapon damage*2, damage * 2

A 547

Ask your DM. Those are custom magic items and as such are in the purview of the DM.

[justiceforall]

Q 548

Does the SRD clearly state that a soulknife with no power points cannot use their abilities? If so, can someone please provide a reference?

Q 549

Can a soulknife mindblade benefit from the Shadow Blade feat, assuming of course you manifest it in its shortsword form?

Q 550

The wording of the Pharoahs Fist feat from Sandstorm appears to also affect the character making the stunning attack (unless they have reach). Is that true?

[heavyfuel]

Q 548

Does the SRD clearly state that a soulknife with no power points cannot use their abilities? If so, can someone please provide a reference?

Q 549

Can a soulknife mindblade benefit from the Shadow Blade feat, assuming of course you manifest it in its shortsword form?

Q 550

The wording of the Pharoahs Fist feat from Sandstorm appears to also affect the character making the stunning attack (unless they have reach). Is that true?

A 548

No. You need "psionic power" in order to use the Mind Blade, and the Wild Talent class feature gives you this power.

A character with power points from other sources also has psionic power, but you don't need power points to have psionic power.

A 549

Yes. The mind blade is identical to a short sword.

A 550

By a strict RAW reading, you would also need to make save of you're adjacent to the target (as would any of your allies too)

[Afgncaap5]

Q551

Does having an Animated Shield floating around you count as "Using" a shield for the purposes of things that say "you can't use this and also use a shield"? The Deadly Defense feat in particular.

[Thurbane]

Q551

Does having an Animated Shield floating around you count as "Using" a shield for the purposes of things that say "you can't use this and also use a shield"? The Deadly Defense feat in particular.

A 551

Yes. You are still treated in all meaningful ways (except for having your hand free) as if you're wearing the shield.

A character with an animated shield still takes any penalties associated with shield use, such as armor check penalty, arcane spell failure chance, and nonproficiency.

[Goaty14]

Q 552

A charge attack can be made whenever a character has a single action in a round (such as if they were affected by a slow spell). So can a charge attack be made
1: In the surprise round
2: With the extra action granted by using the cleave feat?
(Edit)
Q 553

Could Fling Enemy (RoS) be mechanically used in place of Fling Ally if your ally purposely fails the grapple check? Like, could an ally 'take 1'?

[heavyfuel]

Q 552

A charge attack can be made whenever a character has a single action in a round (such as if they were affected by a slow spell). So can a charge attack be made
1: In the surprise round
2: With the extra action granted by using the cleave feat?
(Edit)
Q 553

Could Fling Enemy (RoS) be mechanically used in place of Fling Ally if your ally purposely fails the grapple check? Like, could an ally 'take 1'?

A 552
1: Yes
2: No. The single action must be a standard or move action (Cleave simply grants you another attack)

A 553
No. You can only throw foes, and allies are not foes

[King of Nowhere]

Q554: If you roll a cloth or towel around your arm and cast greater magic vestment on it, can you use it as a shield? (base shield bonus 0, you only get the enhancement bonus)

I'm thinking about it for the purpose of giving a shield bonus to a cleric with vow of poverty, since the vow does not allow a shield but a towel around your arm hardly breaks the intent of the vow.

[heavyfuel]

Q554: If you roll a cloth or towel around your arm and cast greater magic vestment on it, can you use it as a shield? (base shield bonus 0, you only get the enhancement bonus)

I'm thinking about it for the purpose of giving a shield bonus to a cleric with vow of poverty, since the vow does not allow a shield but a towel around your arm hardly breaks the intent of the vow.

A 554

No. The target for Magic Vestment is "armor or shield touched"

A towel is neither.

While the spell makes an exception for regular clothing, the clothing gives an Armor Bonus to AC, not a Shield Bonus.

A spell that works similarly might be possible with the spell research rules, but these rules strictly fall under the DM's purview.

[daremetoidareyo]

Q554: If you roll a cloth or towel around your arm and cast greater magic vestment on it, can you use it as a shield? (base shield bonus 0, you only get the enhancement bonus)

I'm thinking about it for the purpose of giving a shield bonus to a cleric with vow of poverty, since the vow does not allow a shield but a towel around your arm hardly breaks the intent of the vow.

dc 10 survival check allows you to apply mud armor to yourself, which is free. I'm on my phone right now so I don't remember the source, but you can check my skill guide for survival that is linked in my signature

[heavyfuel]

dc 10 survival check allows you to apply mud armor to yourself, which is free. I'm on my phone right now so I don't remember the source, but you can check my skill guide for survival that is linked in my signature

A 554 Correction

A Vow of Poverty Character can't have armor, free or otherwise.

[Thurbane]

Just as an aside, the source for mud armor is Races of Faerun, p.158.

[AthasianWarlock]

Q555

Do you need to know a creatures name to use Imprison Soul (Heroes of Horror) if you gained it as an SLA? What about if it was an SU?

[justiceforall]

Q556

a) Can a human(oid) soulknife manifest two mind blades at level 1?

I can't find anything that indicates that a Soulknife cannot manifest two mindblades at level 1. It is implied in the "Shape Mindblade" ability by the fact that its specified that you can split the mindblade, but the RAW text under the mindblade ability doesn't seem to preclude it. It seems that as long as you have a free hand, you could manifest a second one as a second move action, and also keep the first?

b) If yes, how does this interact with the ability to enhance the blades once you gain the appropriate ability?

Are they all identical?

[ksbsnowowl]

Q 557

Does the spell Avoid Planar Effects (SpC, p. 19) protect one from the potentially damaging winds of Pandemonium, which, among other possibilities, physically pick you up and dash you against the tunnel walls (MotP, p. 97, sidebar)? Basically, does the phrase "or other attributes of the plane itself," include protection versus wind effects?

You gain a temporary respite from the natural effects of a specific plane. These effects include extremes in temperature, lack of air, poisonous fumes, emanations of positive or negative energy, or other attributes of the plane itself (DMG 150).

Note that the DMG reference page is wrong. The section starts on p. 148.

The spell specifically lists protecting against the fire damage cause by the fire-dominant planar trait, allows the breathing of water on water-dominant planes, and ignoring the suffocation risks of earth-dominant planes. It also lists protecting against the self-exploding aspect of the Positive-dominant trait, and the damage from the Negative-dominant trait.

Note that every singe one of these outlined protections are protection against specific effects explicitly called out under the Elemental and Energy Traits section on pages 148-149.

The spell then goes on to say:

In addition, some effects specific to a plane are negated by avoid planar effects. In the D&D cosmology, avoid planar effects negates the deafening effect of Pandemonium and the cold damage on the Cania layer of the Nine Hells.

It specifically lists protection versus the deafening effect of Pandemonium, but does not mention protection against the effects of the winds, aside from the deafening.


Q 558

A Caligrosto Loumara demon (from Dragon Mag, building off the new subtype in FCI) is able to possess slashing weapons only.*

If an evil spy network were wanting to get the Caligrosto into the non-slashing magic weapon of a specific person, there are tortuous ways to go about doing that (Dispel Magic on the target +1 Short Sword, which makes it non-magical for 1d4 rounds; immediately use Polymorph Any Object on it to make it into a longsword, and the Caligrosto immediately inhabits the now non-magical slashing weapon with no save. Then dispel the PAO, since it would otherwise be permanent). I think the common thinking is that since it was a slashing weapon at the moment the Caligrosto possessed it, the fiend will continue to possess it after its form has reverted to a +1 Short Sword.

Assuming the above is true, my question comes to this part of the Caligrosto's Possess Blade ability:

Once a caligrosto possesses a weapon, it may come and go as it pleases, taking a move action to enter and leave the blade.

Would a Caligrosto, that has tortuously contrived its way into a non-slashing weapon, be able to leave and re-enter the non-slashing weapon "as it pleases?" Or, once it leaves the reverted non-slashing weapon, would it be unable to once again enter said weapon without going through the tortuous transformations of the weapon into a slashing weapon once again?

* "Possess Blade (Su): Unlike most loumaras, caligrostos cannot possess living creatures. Their ability to possess is limited to slashing weapons. ..."

Q 559

If a +1 Short Sword were subjected to Dispel Magic, then changed via Polymorph Any Object into a (at the moment nonmagical) longsword, what happens at the end of the 1d4 rounds of the dispel effect? Does its magic return, effectively becoming a +1 Longsword? Or does it remain "nonmagical" (but with a permanent PAO effect on it)?

[Thurbane]

Q 560

Is the CL of a Minor Schema (MoE) always the minimum to cast the spell? Is there any option to create them with a higher CL?

---

Q 561

Are there any spells (preferably 3rd level or lower, and a range of touch) that give an elemental subtype to the target?

[Uncle Pine]

Q562

Has there been any errata, sage advice, official answer, or ruling about what cost must be paid if you select a spell with a material component of variable cost (i.e. Animate Dead) for features such as an Archmage's spell-like ability high arcana, or a Runesmith's permanent rune?

[Troacctid]

Q555

Do you need to know a creatures name to use Imprison Soul (Heroes of Horror) if you gained it as an SLA? What about if it was an SU?

Yes. As per the description, you must know the name of the creature to cast the spell.

Q556

a) Can a human(oid) soulknife manifest two mind blades at level 1?

I can't find anything that indicates that a Soulknife cannot manifest two mindblades at level 1. It is implied in the "Shape Mindblade" ability by the fact that its specified that you can split the mindblade, but the RAW text under the mindblade ability doesn't seem to preclude it. It seems that as long as you have a free hand, you could manifest a second one as a second move action, and also keep the first?

No. A Soulknife only has one mind blade. It's the same one each time.

Q 557

Does the spell Avoid Planar Effects (SpC, p. 19) protect one from the potentially damaging winds of Pandemonium, which, among other possibilities, physically pick you up and dash you against the tunnel walls (MotP, p. 97, sidebar)? Basically, does the phrase "or other attributes of the plane itself," include protection versus wind effects?

Note that the DMG reference page is wrong. The section starts on p. 148.

The spell specifically lists protecting against the fire damage cause by the fire-dominant planar trait, allows the breathing of water on water-dominant planes, and ignoring the suffocation risks of earth-dominant planes. It also lists protecting against the self-exploding aspect of the Positive-dominant trait, and the damage from the Negative-dominant trait.

Note that every singe one of these outlined protections are protection against specific effects explicitly called out under the Elemental and Energy Traits section on pages 148-149.

The spell then goes on to say:
It specifically lists protection versus the deafening effect of Pandemonium, but does not mention protection against the effects of the winds, aside from the deafening.

The spell's text gives examples; the rest is up to the DM to adjudicate. Expect table variation.

Q 558

A Caligrosto Loumara demon (from Dragon Mag, building off the new subtype in FCI) is able to possess slashing weapons only.*

If an evil spy network were wanting to get the Caligrosto into the non-slashing magic weapon of a specific person, there are tortuous ways to go about doing that (Dispel Magic on the target +1 Short Sword, which makes it non-magical for 1d4 rounds; immediately use Polymorph Any Object on it to make it into a longsword, and the Caligrosto immediately inhabits the now non-magical slashing weapon with no save. Then dispel the PAO, since it would otherwise be permanent). I think the common thinking is that since it was a slashing weapon at the moment the Caligrosto possessed it, the fiend will continue to possess it after its form has reverted to a +1 Short Sword.

Assuming the above is true, my question comes to this part of the Caligrosto's Possess Blade ability:

Would a Caligrosto, that has tortuously contrived its way into a non-slashing weapon, be able to leave and re-enter the non-slashing weapon "as it pleases?" Or, once it leaves the reverted non-slashing weapon, would it be unable to once again enter said weapon without going through the tortuous transformations of the weapon into a slashing weapon once again?

* "Possess Blade (Su): Unlike most loumaras, caligrostos cannot possess living creatures. Their ability to possess is limited to slashing weapons. ..."

It's possessed the weapon once, so it can come and go as it pleases.

Q 559

If a +1 Short Sword were subjected to Dispel Magic, then changed via Polymorph Any Object into a (at the moment nonmagical) longsword, what happens at the end of the 1d4 rounds of the dispel effect? Does its magic return, effectively becoming a +1 Longsword? Or does it remain "nonmagical" (but with a permanent PAO effect on it)?

Magic items are not just an illegal target for polymorph any object—they're also unaffected by the spell. Says right there, "Magic items aren’t affected by this spell." So if an object that has been PAO'd becomes a magic item for any reason—whether because its magic was only temporarily suppressed, or because someone went through the normal crafting process, or whatever other reason—the polymorph effect stops working on it (until/unless it becomes nonmagical again).

Q 560

Is the CL of a Minor Schema (MoE) always the minimum to cast the spell? Is there any option to create them with a higher CL?

The rules for creating schemas do not natively allow for increasing the caster level, but there are options—feats and class features and such—that can increase the caster level of magic items in general.

Q 561

Are there any spells (preferably 3rd level or lower, and a range of touch) that give an elemental subtype to the target?

Yes. Some examples: mineralize warrior from Underdark adds the Earth subtype; and dragonshape and lesser dragonshape from Dragon Magic and shape of the hellspawned stalker from Complete Mage add the Fire subtype.

Q562

Has there been any errata, sage advice, official answer, or ruling about what cost must be paid if you select a spell with a material component of variable cost (i.e. Animate Dead) for features such as an Archmage's spell-like ability high arcana, or a Runesmith's permanent rune?

There has not.

[Matrota]

Q 563

What is the caster level progression for Blackguards? Is it full caster level or half caster level like paladins? I cannot quite tell from the PrC description. Also, does this caster level stack with paladin (of tyranny)?

[KillianHawkeye]

Q 563

What is the caster level progression for Blackguards? Is it full caster level or half caster level like paladins? I cannot quite tell from the PrC description. Also, does this caster level stack with paladin (of tyranny)?

A 563

No, the Blackguard's spellcasting is not based on a Paladin's.

A blackguard prepares and casts spells just as a cleric does (though a blackguard cannot spontaneously cast cure or inflict spells).

A Blackguard is a full spellcasting prestige class; their Caster Level is equal to their class levels.

Blackguard has nothing to do with Paladin of Tyranny, and like any other case of multi-classed spellcaster, their spells and Caster Levels do not stack.

[King of Nowhere]

Q564: can you teleport out of a resilient sphere? can you move in or out using ethereal form or other similar jaunts?

[ksbsnowowl]

Q564: can you teleport out of a resilient sphere? can you move in or out using ethereal form or other similar jaunts?

A564

Force effects extend onto the Ethereal Plane, so you cannot travel out of one ethereally. Force effects do not normally interact with the Astral Plane, so unless there is something else preventing teleportation (dimensional anchor, etc.) or blocking access to the Astral, teleportation would work to leave the sphere.

Assuming you were in a shaded area, you could even Shadow Walk out.

[Piggy Knowles]

Q 565: What is the challenge rating for a familiar (say, for purpose of abilities/effects dependent on CR)? Is it the same as the base creature despite the additional abilities?

[Andezzar]

Q 565 Partial

Unless you are using a familiar without its wizard the creature does not have its own CR. It is included in the owner's CR.

[heavyfuel]

Q 566

A Druid summons a Yellow Musk Creeper (Fiend Folio p190) with Summon Nature's Ally IV. The Creeper then proceeds to "Consume Intelligence" from a nearby helpless creature who passes the Fortitude save and is now a Yellow Musk Zombie. Some questions about this situation:

A- Does the Druid have control over the zombies while the creeper is still summoned?

B- After the SNA expires, do the zombies die?

C- After the zombies die (for whatever reason) they spawn creepers as usual. Does the Druid have control over these creepers?

[flappeercraft]

Q567
What is the length of a Prismatic Wall? The description of the spell gives 4ft/level wide and 2ft/level high yet doesn't give length.

[heavyfuel]

Q567
What is the length of a Prismatic Wall? The description of the spell gives 4ft/level wide and 2ft/level high yet doesn't give length.

A 567

The wall is a "plane of light" and, as such, is a two dimension barrier with no thickness/length

[inexorabletruth]

Q 568
One of my players has a question:

My intent is to take a level 4 companion (a Leopard, most likely), and retain the level 4 bonuses to it for being a level 4 druid, instead of having the bonuses be as a Druid 4(-3)=1. The wording on Natural Bond is fuzzy in this regard, and I've seen it argued both ways (which is why I asked).

Which way is it?