Simple RAW Thread for 3.5 #34: Mere mortal, not immortal, not starcrossed, anymore

[LibraryOgre]

(This is a fairly high procedure thread; please read the entire instructions carefully before posting. Thanks.)

Ever have a simple, straight-forward rules question that you can’t figure out the answer to? Ask it here. No question is too simple. No more worrying about whether your question is “worth” starting a thread. Ask here and receive an answer. You are, of course, welcome to start a thread for your question, and if you think your question is subject to many interpretations or will start a debate, you are encouraged to start a new thread for it.

This thread will serve as a catch-all for simple, discreet questions that can be answered quickly according to the RAW (Rules As Written). This thread is for all simple RAW questions about D&D 3.5. If your question is not about the RAW for 3.5, please look in the appropriate threads in the appropriate forums.


The Procedure:

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Here are some sample questions. “Bad” questions just mean they should be asked in their own thread where you can get many answers and opinions. “Good” questions just mean that these are the types of questions that are amenable to a quick straightforward answer (probably).

Sample “Bad” Questions:
How do I play D&D? (Great question, but not for this thread.)
What is a good 10 level TWF build? (Far too broad and requires much opinion)
What +2 LA race should I take for my sorcerer build? (Again, an opinion question)
Which is better GURPS or D&D?

Sample “Good” Questions:
Q.1. Are there any Large +0 LA races?
Q.2. As a sorcerer/rogue, do I get to add sneak attack damage to my attack spells?
Q.3. What effect would Dispel Magic have on a golem or similar construct?
Q.4. Is there a feat that allows me to get a familiar?

Please start over with the numbering. When this one reached 50 pages, please report it so that we can start a new one. Thanks.

[Debatra]

Reposting a few (not all) unanswered questions from the last thread:

Q 1
Assuming undead aren't involved, can Bracers of Entangling Might (MIC 80) be used with Chill Touch to deal extra Strength damage?

Q2
Assuming a caster level of 20, what first-level spell gives the largest bonus (of any type) to AC?

Q3
What if any rules exist for when flight has no listed maneuverability?

Q4
If you have both the Knock-Down and Vae School feats, do you get two attempts to trip an enemy if they're flat-footed when you deal at least ten damage to them with a whip or spiked chain?
---

A humanoid or monstrous humanoid slain by a vampire’s energy drain rises as a vampire spawn 1d4 days after burial.

If the vampire instead drains the victim’s Constitution to 0 or lower, the victim returns as a spawn if it had 4 or less HD and as a vampire if it had 5 or more HD. In either case, the new vampire or spawn is under the command of the vampire that created it and remains enslaved until its master’s destruction. At any given time a vampire may have enslaved spawn totaling no more than twice its own Hit Dice; any spawn it creates that would exceed this limit are created as free-willed vampires or vampire spawn. A vampire that is enslaved may create and enslave spawn of its own, so a master vampire can control a number of lesser vampires in this fashion. A vampire may voluntarily free an enslaved spawn in order to enslave a new spawn, but once freed, a vampire or vampire spawn cannot be enslaved again.

Q 5-A
Assume a Vampire with ten HD. Does the bolded portion mean this vampire can control up 20 HD worth of vampires/spawn, or that he may control up to 20 individual vampires/spawn regardless of their HD?

Q 5-B
If the former: If a vampire is exactly at his limit of commanded vampires/spawn, what happens if one of his commanded vampires/spawn gains a level?
---
Q 6
Are there any magic items that truly provide infinite rope?

A Spool of "Endless" Rope can only provide 500' of rope at a time, which disappears if it's separated from the spool.

Q 7
An Incarnate/Wizard with Lightning Gauntlets (Magic of Incarnum, pg 76) bound casts Whirling Blade (Spell Compendium, pg 238). Does the electricity damage apply to all attacks, or only the first?

Q 8
Is a Kensai's (Complete Warrior, pg 49) Signature Weapon limited by his level in total power, or just added power?

For example, let's say a 1st-level Kensai obtains a +2 weapon which he wants to make his Signature Weapon. Can he not actually do anything with it aside from declare it his Signature Weapon, or could he make it a +3 weapon?

(The book's example for improving a magic weapon doesn't give the level of the Kensai in question, just the XP cost of doing so.)

Q 9
How far can a normal Human see on a clear night when the only illumination is from the moon? Citation please.

[Goaty14]

A 5

While the text seems to imply a HD-based cap (such as the one with animate dead), it does not have a similar clause (a la "X HD per X Y), and thus means that a 10 HD vampire can have no more than 20 enslaved vampires at any time, regardless of each individual HD.

[cartejos]

Q 10 When wielding two weapons and an effect states "When you make a full attack with your (specific weapon)," and both weapons are such specific weapon, does the ability trigger for your off-hand weapon?

[Venger]

A 10 Yes, it does.

[St Fan]

Q 11

The "Mêlée à Trois" question...

PC is flanked in melee by two enemies, both quite intent on killing him. Problem, those two enemies are not friendly to each other; they belong to opposite factions and would just as well fight each other if not for the PC between them...

Do they still both receive the +2 bonus for flanking against the PC in this case?

[Venger]

A11 No, they would not. You need your flanking buddy to be your ally. You cannot flank with an enemy.

[mesc]

Q 12
Can you make an angel undead? For example what happens if you killed an angel with a fell animate spell?

[Venger]

A12 Yes, you can make it undead like any other monster. In that instance, you apply the zombie template normally.

[mesc]

Q13
If you have a slaymate and cast a necromancy spell enhanced with a metamagic feat that has a cost of +0, does the spell you cast use a spell slot of -1?

[Venger]

A13 Yes, that's what happens.

[mesc]

Q14
How does a transdimensional spell interact with a Mordenkainen's magnificent mansion? For example does a transdimensional fireball harm creatures inside the mansion?

Mordenkainen states: "You conjure up an extradimensional dwelling that has a single entrance on the plane from which the spell was cast......
Since the place can be entered only through its special portal, outside conditions do not affect the mansion, nor do conditions inside it pass to the plane beyond"

Transdimensional states: "A transdimensional spell has its full normal effect on incorporeal creatures, creatures on the Ethereal Plane or the Plane of Shadow, and creatures within an extradimensional space in the spell's area. "

[Venger]

A14 It affects them normally. Yes.

[Kalkra]

Q15
Can your familiar or animal companion acquire a template? I know that there are spells which can give things templates, but I meant in general, can you add any acquired template for which your familiar or animal companion qualifies?

[Venger]

A15 Sure, as long as they qualify for it.

[Khedrac]

A 14 contention - usually No The answer for a transdimentional spell and a Mordenakinen's magnificent mansion is complex. Because the mansion has a single point of entry the chances are that the creatures inside are not within the spell's area of effect. tds is desinged to enable spells to hit creatures that are present in the area, but not on the same plane. Creatures in a Mmm are not present.
What one needs to do is work out what would hapen if the creatures were in a room with a door at the point where the Mmm's entrance is - following the rules for bursts and spreads etc.
Next problem: "the portal is shut and made invisible behind you when you enter" - there's an undefined barrier closing the doorway the spell needs to get through. This means that the spell must be capable of getting through the door before it can affect anyone beyond it. Without knowing if the door has hardness or hp we pretty much have to assume that it cannot be detroyed but can be forced open following the usual rules for opening stuck doors. So if you cast a tds knock it should be able to open the Mmm's door, at which point other tds spells can go in...

A 15 contention For animal companions - ask your DM; for familiars - yes.
For animal companions the rules are usually interpreted to mean that they cannot be anything other than a normal animal and thus adding a template will stop them from being a companon. The rules are ambiguous however, so this interpretation is also widely debated (I think the "no" camp has more acceptance that the "yes" camp - but the fact that there is so much debate shows how ambiguous it is).

[Venger]

A 14 contention - usually No The answer for a transdimentional spell and a Mordenakinen's magnificent mansion is complex. Because the mansion has a single point of entry the chances are that the creatures inside are not within the spell's area of effect. tds is desinged to enable spells to hit creatures that are present in the area, but not on the same plane. Creatures in a Mmm are not present.
What one needs to do is work out what would hapen if the creatures were in a room with a door at the point where the Mmm's entrance is - following the rules for bursts and spreads etc.
Next problem: "the portal is shut and made invisible behind you when you enter" - there's an undefined barrier closing the doorway the spell needs to get through. This means that the spell must be capable of getting through the door before it can affect anyone beyond it. Without knowing if the door has hardness or hp we pretty much have to assume that it cannot be detroyed but can be forced open following the usual rules for opening stuck doors. So if you cast a tds knock it should be able to open the Mmm's door, at which point other tds spells can go in...

A 15 contention For animal companions - ask your DM; for familiars - yes.
For animal companions the rules are usually interpreted to mean that they cannot be anything other than a normal animal and thus adding a template will stop them from being a companon. The rules are ambiguous however, so this interpretation is also widely debated (I think the "no" camp has more acceptance that the "yes" camp - but the fact that there is so much debate shows how ambiguous it is).

A14 No. The same language regarding the entryway is used for rope trick, which transdimensional spells affect normally. Creatures in an MMM are affected normally by a transdimensional fireball as long as they are in the aoe.

A15 No. There is no ambiguity. Familiars are magical beasts, so they may acquire templates that have "magical beast" as a potential base creature.

[Kalkra]

Q16
Can an artificer apply metamagic to an item he creates with UMD? If so, does he need to have that metamagic feat? The SRD for creating magic items says that you can add metamagic to spells, and the artificer class says it can pretend it has spells with a UMD check.

From the SRD:
Using metamagic feats, a caster can place spells in items at a higher level than normal.

From the artificer class description:
An artificer can create a magic item even if he does not have access to the spells that are prerequisites for the item. The artificer must make a successful Use Magic Device check (DC 20 + caster level) to emulate each spell normally required to create the item.

The SRD implies that a spell with metamagic is just treated like a different spell, i.e. magic missile is a 1st-level spell, and maximized magic missile is a different 4th-level spell. From that it seems like an artificer shouldn't even need the metamagic feats in question to emulate a spell modified by them.

However, the artificer isn't casting the spell, and therefore it seems shouldn't be able to apply metamagic feats to it. Furthermore, the artificer class description also says UMD can't be used to emulate feat requirements.

He cannot emulate skill or feat requirements, however, including item creation feat prerequisites.

This sounds like it's talking about item creation feats and the like, but it could be read as also talking about metamagic feats, meaning that to make a wand of maximized magic missiles you would need maximize spell.

If all the above somehow ends up with an artificer being able to emulate metamagic with UMD, what about metamagic reducers? The minimum caster level for a maximized magic missile is normally 7th (I think), but if a spelldancer cast it, the minimum caster level would be first. Spelldancing isn't a feat, it's a class ability, which isn't specifically addressed in the artificer entry.

[Thurbane]

Q 017

Would having Summon Monster as an SLA through the Touch of Summoning or Fiendish Legacy feats meet the "knowledge of at least one summon monster spell" req for Nar Demonbinder?

The "Specific Spell Requirements" section of Complete Arcane p.72 would seem to indicate yes, but the wording in Nar Demonbinder is a little different than the way specific spell reqs usually appear.

[Venger]

A17 Yes.

You've got access to at least one summon monster spell, so you meet that req. The summon monster spell doesn't have to be of lvl 4 or higher.

[RoboEmperor]

Q18

Can you cast Animate Objects multiple times to animate a Colossal Object?

Takes 1 CL for small, 2 CL for medium, 4 CL for large, 8 CL for huge, 16 CL for gargantuan, and 32 CL for colossal.

So can a level 12 cleric cast Animate Objects 3 times on 3 objects and then spend a move action to redirect all of his animate objects effects onto a single colossal object?

[Venger]

A18 No. Spells that allow you to do stuff like this, like warp wood, call that out specifically in the spell text. Animate objects doesn't, so you can't.

[RoboEmperor]

A18 No. Spells that allow you to do stuff like this, like warp wood, call that out specifically in the spell text. Animate objects doesn't, so you can't.

That is a perfect, spectacular example and reasoning. Awesome. Thanks.

[weckar]

Q19 Can templates that don't indicate otherwise reduce ability scores below 1?

[Jowgen]

Q 20

Does an Undead Dread Necromancer of 8th level who applies the Spelltiched template to himself gain the Str/Dex/HP benefits from the Undead Mastery ability?

[St Fan]

Q 21

A good number of spells are cast on areas/locations (like Energy Transformation Field, Forbiddance, Teleportation Circle, etc.) Some of them are permanent, or can be made permanent with Permanency.


What happen if the concerned area/location is mobile? For example, if it is part of a large land vehicle, a sea vessel, or a spelljammer ship? Does the location spell follow along?

[Venger]

A 19 No

A 20 No. Spellstitched is applied to things that're already are undead. Undead mastery only applies to spells that you create yourself

A 21 Unless a spell specifies that it can be cast on a mobile object, such as silence, you cannot do that. If you cast forbiddance on an area on top of a rolling siege tower, it would stay in that objective space as you moved around.

[Troacctid]

Reposting a few (not all) unanswered questions from the last thread:

Q 1
Assuming undead aren't involved, can Bracers of Entangling Might (MIC 80) be used with Chill Touch to deal extra Strength damage?

Bracers of the Entangling Blast deal extra damage of any type dealt by the spell. But ability damage is a damage category, not a damage type.

The three main categories of damage are lethal damage, nonlethal damage, and ability damage. In addition, wherever it is relevant, the type of damage an attack deals is specified, since natural abilities, magic items, or spell effects may grant immunity to certain types of damage. Damage types include weapon damage (subdivided into bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing) and energy damage (positive, negative, acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic).

So it only works if you interpret Strength damage to be a type of ability damage, which is debatable. Expect table variation.

Q3
What if any rules exist for when flight has no listed maneuverability?

Just the standard rules that allow for the DM to adjudicate ambiguity in the rules. There's no default maneuverability.

Q4
If you have both the Knock-Down and Vae School feats, do you get two attempts to trip an enemy if they're flat-footed when you deal at least ten damage to them with a whip or spiked chain?

Yes.

Q 6
Are there any magic items that truly provide infinite rope?

A Spool of "Endless" Rope can only provide 500' of rope at a time, which disappears if it's separated from the spool.

Not as their primary function.

Q 7
An Incarnate/Wizard with Lightning Gauntlets (Magic of Incarnum, pg 76) bound casts Whirling Blade (Spell Compendium, pg 238). Does the electricity damage apply to all attacks, or only the first?

Just one attack, but it doesn't have to be the first.

Q 8
Is a Kensai's (Complete Warrior, pg 49) Signature Weapon limited by his level in total power, or just added power?

For example, let's say a 1st-level Kensai obtains a +2 weapon which he wants to make his Signature Weapon. Can he not actually do anything with it aside from declare it his Signature Weapon, or could he make it a +3 weapon?

(The book's example for improving a magic weapon doesn't give the level of the Kensai in question, just the XP cost of doing so.)

It limits the amount of enhancement the Kensai can "place into" the weapon. Any ambiguity in that statement is subject to the interpretation of the DM.

Q 9
How far can a normal Human see on a clear night when the only illumination is from the moon? Citation please.

This section gives maximum distances for spotting creatures in various types of terrain: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/wilderness.htm

Barring any impediments, there's no limit to how far you can see. (For example, you can look into the night sky and see stars even if they are billions of miles away.) But you do take a penalty to Spot checks based on distance, which affects how WELL you can see, and without low-light vision, you'll suffer the normal penalties for concealment.

[Deeds]

Q 22: My Fighter/Crusader is level 6 and it has a initiator level of 5 (2 levels fighter, 4 levels crusader.) If I take the Martial Study feat, can I pick a 3rd level maneuver from a different school such as Iron Heart Surge?

[Venger]

A 22 Yes, that's how that works.