Simple RAW Thread for 3.5 #35: 3/2 Score And Four Threads Ago

[Sir_Chivalry]

Q 865 Can Improved Binding (+2 to effective binder level) increase the effective binder level of Improved Bind Vestige (effective binder level 5) to 7? The (Improved) Bind Vestige feat doesn't actually grant Soul Binding as a class feature which is a prerequisite of Improved Binding, right?

Just trying to do something for flavour and realized the RAW might not line up

[newguydude1]

q 866

if i cast polymorph on a construct or undead that cannot heal from resting, does it get healed from the polymorph? what if the resulting form is one that can be healed from resting?

[InvisibleBison]

A866

Ordinarily, polymorph can't target undead or constructs because its target is "Willing living creature touched". Assuming you've found some way around that, yes, the polymorphed undead or construct would heal, assuming it wasn't polymorphed into an undead or construct form. The inability to heal from resting is a property of the undead and construct type, polymorph changes the subject's type, and the healing occurs after the subject has changed form and thus type (the phrasing is "Upon changing, the subject regains lost hit points"; consider other sentences of the form "Upon X, Y", e.g. "Upon seeing the steak I became hungry", and you'll see that Y occurs after X). If the creature was polymorphed into an undead or construct, though, it would retain the type-based inability to heal naturally and thus would gain 0 hp - the same as it normally would after resting for a night.

[newguydude1]

q 867

if limited wish replicates a spell with a material component greater than 1000gp he must provide the component. if you use supernatural spell from dweomerkeeper to make limited wish free, do you still have to provide the material component if the spell your replicating has one that costs more than 1000gp?

[Venger]

A 867 No. Supernatural spells do not have any components.

[St Fan]

Q 868

A character with the Run feat doesn't lose his Dexterity bonus to AC while running. Can he also uses the Deflect Arrows feat while running (if a hand is free)?

[Venger]

A 868 Yes. ten characters

[sreservoir]

A 867

Yes, the fact that you must provide the component isn't one of limited wish's components, it's part of its effect.

[newguydude1]

A 867 No. Supernatural spells do not have any components.

A 867

Yes, the fact that you must provide the component isn't one of limited wish's components, it's part of its effect.

which is it? even though its not listed in limited wish, its still a "component" and you get to ignore all "components".

[sreservoir]

which is it? even though its not listed in limited wish, its still a "component" and you get to ignore all "components".

When casting limited wish, V, S, XP components are normally required. The XP cost is expended when you cast the spell, whether or not the casting succeeds. Decisions about the spell, on the other hand, are made when the spell comes into effect. In the case that the casting fails, e.g. if you're interrupted and fail a Concentration check or if you fail an ASF roll, any material components or XP costs of the spell are expended but you never even get to the point of making decisions about the spell effect.

Supernatural Spell makes those components not required. (You can, presumably, still provide them if you want. Unlike SLAs, nothing says that Su abilities can't have components. This can be useful if you get additional effects from optional components, such as by a few Frostburn feats or certain spells like forbiddance.)

When you make decisions about the spell, if you choose for limited wish to duplicate a spell that has a material component costing more than 1000 gp, the requirement that you provide the component is the effect of limited wish. It is not a component of limited wish; it is not expended during the casting process; if the casting fails, you do not expend it. You just can't choose to duplicate the spell without providing the material component, any more than you can choose to use a passwall effect on a metal wall or use call lightning's effect underwater. The reason you can't do it is because the spell says you can't.

Likewise, if you don't pay at least 300 XP, you cannot use limited wish to duplicate a spell with an XP cost. This is only tangentially related to the component, which Supernatural Spell lets you not provide; the spell effect just doesn't let you choose to duplicate a spell with an XP cost unless you pay.

Supernatural Spell eliminates components, not logical requirements stated by spell effects.

This got a bit long, so it'd probably be a good idea to take any further discussion to a new thread.

[unseenmage]

Q869
If an intelligent magic weapon wins the Ego fight to control a host who is nonproficient with it..

..whose proficiency matters, the item's or the host's?

From my IRL group's chat on the topic,

Actually, I guess that it all depends on whether you consider it a dominate effect or a possession effect. Dominate would use the host’s proficiency, while possession would use the item’s.

_{thanks iceifur}

Do we have any RAW indication as to whether it is a Dominate or a possession effect?

[AvatarVecna]

Q870

A Blink Dog is altered with the Half-Fiend template, which changes type to Outsider but specifies not to alter anything connected to HD. The dog is then advanced in HD (per the advancement line) as a process of becoming an older tougher Half-Fiend Blink Dog. Are these additional HD "Magical Beast HD" in all respects, or are they Outsider HD (and the "Do not recalculate Hit Dice, base attack bonus, or saves" line is only about HD possessed at the time of the template application)?

[Venger]

A 870 They are outsider hit dice. "Do not recalculate hit dice" applies to hit dice when you get the template, not to hd you get later.

[YellowJohn]

Q871
Can a dragon make Unarmed Strikes?

[Venger]

A 871 If they have the feat, sure.

[KillianHawkeye]

A 871 addendum

You don't need any feat to make an unarmed strike (although Improved Unarmed Strike is recommended), provided you have an appropriate appendage.

Creatures with natural weapons generally don't bother with unarmed strikes, but that doesn't make them incapable. An animal would likely need to be trained to make unarmed strikes, while unintelligent (mindless) creatures probably wouldn't understand the concept (but a controlled undead could perhaps be instructed to).

[madangrypally]

Q872

Staffs can use the wielders CL and DC from class features according to Raw. How about other class features that improve the spells? If I cast a Conjuration spell from a staff and a class feature doubles duration like the extend feat will it be doubled?

[Kaleph]

Q873

Are spells like Evard's menacing tentacles and Evard's black tentacles eligible for the metamagic feat fell frighten? The feat applies to spells that deal damage to the enemies, but it's not clear to me if this must happen directly (e.g. magic missile), possibly through a weapon-like spell (e.g. orb of acid), or also through a sort of conjured creature or the like.

[ApologyFestival]

Q874

If a manifester has more than one psionic focus, they can apply more than one metapsionic feat to a power. Can they apply the same metapsionic feat more than once to a single power?

Metapsionic feats do not have an equivalent of the following line from the SRD describing the limitation on metamagic feats, under "Multiple Metamagic Feats on a Spell":

You can’t apply the same metamagic feat more than once to a single spell.

[Doctor Despair]

Q875

Is there a way to have more than one psionic focus apart from having your schism make a new focus or having your psicrystal take your current focus?

[newguydude1]

Q874

If a manifester has more than one psionic focus, they can apply more than one metapsionic feat to a power. Can they apply the same metapsionic feat more than once to a single power?

Metapsionic feats do not have an equivalent of the following line from the SRD describing the limitation on metamagic feats, under "Multiple Metamagic Feats on a Spell":

yes. you can double extend powers.

[Doctor Despair]

Q876a

Psionic Dominate states:

By concentrating fully on the spell (a standard action), you can receive full sensory input as interpreted by the mind of the subject, though it still can't communicate with you.

Swift Concentration states:

You can maintain concentration on a spell or similar effect as a swift action.

Would Swift Concentration enable a character to concentrate on the Domination as a "similar effect" via magic-psionic transparency, providing the psionic character had invested the power points to make its duration at least 1 hour long?

Q876b

The Psionic Power Overview contains this section on powers with a duration of concentration:

Concentration
The power lasts as long as you concentrate on it. Concentrating to maintain a power is a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Anything that could break your concentration when manifesting a power can also break your concentration while you’re maintaining one, causing the power to end. You can’t manifest a power while concentrating on another one. Some powers may last for a short time after you cease concentrating. In such a case, the power keeps going for the given length of time after you stop concentrating, but no longer. Otherwise, you must concentrate to maintain the power, but you can’t maintain it for more than a stated duration in any event. If a target moves out of range, the power reacts as if your concentration had been broken.

Were a character to maintain concentration on a Psionic Dominate with a duration of at least 1 hour without using their standard for the turn, either via Swift Concentration or Schism or some other action-economy mechanism, could they manifest another power that round? I'm not sure if concentrating on the psionic dominate would activate the referenced clause or not, as it seems to be directed at, as stated above, the duration of "concentration" rather than any concentration directed at all, but I thought it best to get a second opinion.

[Venger]

A 873 Yes, it applies to spells that deal direct damage directly like ray of flame, but not to summons, etc.

A 875 Yes. You can conduct a metaconcert, for one, and probably others I'm not thinking of.

A 876a Yes

A 876 Yes.

[St Fan]

Q 877

The Dungeon Master's Guide II introduces bonded magic items, which can be created through a bonding ritual even by characters not having an Item Creation feat or spellcasting. They have then the same properties as normally created magic items, except those properties work only for the creator.

Now, let's imagine a character turning a masterwork weapon into a +1 magic weapon through a ritual.

A) Said character can attach and use an augment crystal of lesser rank to the weapon, since for her it is a +1 magical weapon. However, if another character seize the weapon, it is only a masterwork weapon in his hand, so does the lesser augment crystal also cease to function?

B) A magic weapon needs at least a +1 enhancement to have further magic powers attached to it. Can a proper item maker (Item Creation feat plus spellcasting and all) add new powers to the magic weapon despite not being the bonded item creator?

C) If the answer to B) is yes, and the weapon is now given further enhancement bonus and powers, what happens when it is seized by another character than the bonded one? Since the initial, +1 enhancement of which depend all the others only activate in the hand its original creator, does the weapon lose all its magic in the hand of the wrong wielder?

[Doctor Despair]

Q878

Burrowing Power states:

... If a power requires line of sight (which includes most powers that affect a target or targets instead of an area), you cannot manifest it as a burrowing power unless you can somehow see the target, such as with clairvoyant sense...

Synesthete states:

Spoiler: Synesthete Effect

Show

You receive one kind of sensory input when a different sense is stimulated. In particular, you can either feel light or feel sound. You can shift your stimulated sense between these two options once per round as a swift action. Your senses continue to work normally as well, unless they are impaired for some reason.

Your face must be uncovered to use this power, because it is the skin of your face that acts as the sensory receiver.

If you are feeling light by absorbing ambient light onto your skin, you have your normal visual abilities (except for darkvision), even if your eyes are closed or you are blinded. If your eyes are working normally, you gain a +4 circumstance bonus on all Spot and Search checks. While feeling light, you are immune to gaze attacks.

If you are feeling sound by absorbing sound onto your skin and your ears are working normally, the expanded audio input provides you with a +4 circumstance bonus on Listen checks.

Psionic or magical displacement effects, invisibility effects, illusions, and other similar effects confuse your synesthete senses just as they would your normal senses.

You can also use this power to see sound if you are deafened, or hear light if you are blinded, thus removing all penalties associated with either condition (though you gain no bonuses for using the power in this way if you are not deafened or blinded).

You can explicitly use the power to see using sound or hear using light (I'm not sure which is most appropriate to help a person who doesn't normally have line of sight or line of effect to a target
-- probably seeing sound?). However, it tells you that you gain no bonuses for using the power if you are not deafened -- although that may be referring exclusively to the bonus to listen checks. My question is this: could a character use Synesthete to satisfy the "somehow see the target" clause of Burrowing Power, either by seeing their sound or hearing their light?

[Arparrabiosa]

Q879

Can I cast an area spell in an intersection I can't see because it has total cover? How about cover? Does it matter if it's a spread or a burst in this case?

[Venger]

A 877a That is correct
A 877b Yes. Similar to 877a, the item would have whatever enhancements were put onto it for the person it was bound to, but not for anyone else. Think of it as making a magic item with xyz specific prereqs, but no cost discount for the crafter.
A 877c Yes.

A 878 Yes.

A 879 You need loe (line of effect) in order to cast an area spell in a particular intersection. If it has total cover relative to you, you cannot cast a spell there. Depending on the specific effect, you could cast the spell someplace you do have loe to and then the burst would hurt or kill whoever is hiding from you.

[LibraryOgre]

The Mod Ogre: Y'all, give us a head's up when these things hit 50. Honestly, we don't mind.