Simple Q&A D&D 3.5 (by RAW) XXIII

[Curmudgeon]

Re: A 363 [correction]

Oriental Adventures was upgraded in a Dragon Magazine, but that is not an official RAW update (though probably better than some official updates) so it definitely comes out as DM's call.

Dragon magazine throughout its run was published either by TSR, Wizards of the Coast, or by Paizo Publishing under license from Wizards of the Coast. Every issue of the magazine carries some version of the official D&D® logo on the cover. Dragon # 318, which carries the 3.5 update for Oriental Adventures has this one:

Dragon magazine is specified by Wizards of the Coast to be 100% official, so it has the same status as supplements like Complete Arcane.

Trademarks related to the Dungeons & Dragons brand ... are used under license from Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a division of Hasbro, Inc.

[Gargravarr]

Q 365

Could a PC simply go shopping for exotic weapons/splash weapons introduced in supplementals and buy at the listed market price or is one required to craft them in order to use them?

[Andezzar]

A 365

Unless the DM changes something about the standard game world, item availability in shops is only determined by price not by item type. So yes you could simply walk into a store and ask for an Elven Thinblade and expect to get it in most locales.

[Metahuman1]

Q 366

If a Pyrokinetisist get's his level 9 Heat Death ability, does he have to apply it to just Psionic attack powers or can he do it with other things that deal fire damage that he has form class levels, such as fire based spells or Desert Wind Martial Maneuvers?

[OMG PONIES]

A360: Ask your DM.

As a rule of thumb, weapons cannot have modifications unless they have a solid hilt or handle that is at least 6 inches in length. For example, a longsword, crossbow, or trident would qualify, but a spiked chain or sling would not.

Since no standard length for dagger hilts is within RAW, this would be a judgement call.

A361 partial: As per the invocations presented on pg 9 of Complete Arcane:

• Brimstone Blast deals fire damage
• Hellrime Blast deals cold damage
• Vitriolic Blast deals acid damage

There may be more listed in other sources.

A362: Yes, but check with your DM about Dispel Magic. As per the sidebar "Ward: Another Use:"

Instead of creating an epic spell that uses the ward seed to nullify all spells of a given level and lower, you can create a ward that nullifies a specific spell (or specific set of spells). For each specific spell so nullified, increase the Spellcraft DC by +2 per spell level above 1st.

To specifically nullify dispel magic, disjunction, and antimagic field, you'd add +30 to the Spellcraft DC (+4 Dispel, +16 Disjunction, +10 Antimagic Field). Granted, I don't know how the ward created would interact with this rule:

The ward could be brought down by a targeted dispel magic spell.

My thought is that a targeted dispel magic could still drop the ward, but an area dispel could not.

A366: Neither. Heat Death is a specific psi-like ability that takes a full attack action to activate, as per pg 152 of Expanded Psionics Handbook. Are youthinking of a different ability?

[Chronos]

A 366: The Heat Death ability says nothing about using any particular other ability, psionic or otherwise. You just have to expend your focus and make a full attack. You could use the ability by punching someone with an unmodified unarmed strike.

[OMG PONIES]

A366 clarification: The (Ps) next to Heat Death on page 152 of the Expanded Psionics Handbook indicates that it is a psi-like ability. It stands alone and does not require any attack to hit. The reference to a "full attack action" is simply one to how long it takes to activate the ability. When you expend your focus and take a full attack action to activate Heat Death, your target must make a Fort save or die. On a successful save, they still take 4d8 points of fire damage. There is no need to punch, stab, etc. your target; you simply select a valid target within 30 feet.

[GoodbyeSoberDay]

Q 367

If a psionic character with dweomer of transference wanders into an existing spell effect - e.g. solid fog, wall of fire - what happens?

[Gargravarr]

Q 368

Can the total skill rank bonus of the Item Familiar be reapplied each level or is it fixed once chosen?

Say I level up, have 8 skill points, I invest 6 into the Familiar, so max bonus +2 to any skill. I choose Hide to have +2. I level up again, can I reallocate that bonus when I invest more skill points, or is it Hide +2 fixed but new invested skill points get a bonus elsewhere for that new level?

[NeoPhoenix0]

A 367

The character is affected by the spell because it wasn't cast at him.

[Codyage]

Q 369

If someone has a base land speed of 30ft, and a fly speed of 20ft(Average Maneuverability), can that person move 30 ft on land, and then 20ft through the air as part of a single movement action?

[Gargravarr]

A 369

No. Each counts as a move action. But you could do so with access to feats like Travel Devotion.


Q 370

When leveling up, do I need to take the steps in the exact order as described in the PHB or could I take a feat first and then allocate skill points, for example into an item familiar feat gained at the same level?

[mattie_p]

A 370: By the RAW, you must follow the steps in the order described on p 58-59 of the PHB.

[Clistenes]

Q 371: If a character whose alignment has been temporally changed (due to a spell like Morality Undone, for example) dons a Helm of Opposite Alignment while still under the effect of the spell...his/her new alignment is the opposite of the real/original one, or the opposite of the fake/temporal one?

[Kred]

Q372
War Leader's Charge (Tome fo Battle)
E.g. i can make a several hits in charge, will a get an extra 35 points of damage for every hit?

[Curmudgeon]

A 371 Ask your DM.

Because the item description states that your alignment is "altered to an alignment as different as possible from the former alignment", your individual DM has the freedom to determine which former alignment is referenced. The Dungeon Master's Guide establishes that cursed items fall into three categories (page 272):

Cursed items are magic items with some sort of potentially negative impact. Sometimes they’re directly bad for the user; sometimes they’re just inconvenient. Occasionally they mix bad with good, forcing characters to make difficult choices.

An item which has only a positive impact (i.e., an effect that's directly in line with the user's wishes) does not fall into these categories. Thus your DM would be strictly within the RAW to turn the temporary alignment shift into a permanent selection by use of such a cursed item.

A 372 No.

If your charge attack hits, it deals an extra 35 points of damage.

War Leader's Charge uses the singular, so it adds extra damage to just one attack.

[Chronos]

Q 373:
Aside from Planar Shepherd 10, does there exist any method for becoming a native of an arbitrarily-chosen plane?

[Corinath]

Q 374

By RAW, would a rogue wearing a Blindfold of True Darkness (MIC p75) be able to Sneak Attack an adjacent enemy while both are in concealment via a Darkness spell or SLA?

[Curmudgeon]

A 374 Unlikely.

Only total concealment would normally provide the opportunity required for the Rogue to enable sneak attack. Darkness provides (ordinary) concealment, which merely dims sight; the Rogue is still apparent but the shadowy illumination provides a 20% miss chance due to reduced visibility. This does not deny the enemy their DEX bonus to AC. For that, the Rogue must be visually undetectable to the enemy. Because they're visible in the shadowy illumination, the Rogue would not satisfy the "not being observed" requirement to use the Hide skill. Adding an ability like Hide in Plain Sight to this scenario could make sneak attack possible.

[Andezzar]

Q 375

Can someone please calculate the maximum horizontal displacement of a creature with a flying speed of 30 ft and average maneuverability moving at a 45° upward angle? Can someone make a formula for other angles?

Q 376

What happens if a character who is wearing both a Robe of Eyes and a Blindfold of True Darkness is hit by a gaze attack?

[Corinath]

A 374 Unlikely.

Only total concealment would normally provide the opportunity required for the Rogue to enable sneak attack. Darkness provides (ordinary) concealment, which merely dims sight; the Rogue is still apparent but the shadowy illumination provides a 20% miss chance due to reduced visibility. This does not deny the enemy their DEX bonus to AC. For that, the Rogue must be visually undetectable to the enemy. Because they're visible in the shadowy illumination, the Rogue would not satisfy the "not being observed" requirement to use the Hide skill. Adding an ability like Hide in Plain Sight to this scenario could make sneak attack possible.

Re: 374b

Silly of me, I should have been more specific.

In a situation where all other Sneak Attack variables are fulfilled, does Blindsight, strictly by itself, provide enough precision to enable the use of Sneak Attack.

Sneak Attack from the PHB (p. 50):

Spoiler

Show

The rogue must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach such a spot.

And, if I'm inferring correctly, you're saying this is possible? :)

[Corinath]

Q 375

Can someone please calculate the maximum horizontal displacement of a creature with a flying speed of 30 ft and average maneuverability moving at a 45° upward angle? Can someone make a formula for other angles?

A 375
Physics!

15 ft. At a 45 degree angle, exactly half of it's velocity is translated vertically and half of it is translated horizontally.

At 90 degrees it's going straight up. So calculate your angle from the ground as a percentage of a 90 degree angle.

I.E. if the bird flew at 30 degrees. 30 degrees / 90 degrees = 1/3rd. Ergo, 1/3rd of it's total speed is converted vertically. Leaving 2/3rds of it horizontally. 30ft * 2/3 = 20 feet.

Thus,

Where x= degrees measured from the ground...

Horizontal displacement = (Speed) * (1-(x/90))

[Andezzar]

A 375 Contention

That is what I first thought as well, but It is not that easy because:

Up Speed
How fast the creature can climb.

This is half for average maneuverability.

[Corinath]

A 375 Contention

That is what I first thought as well, but It is not that easy because:This is half for average maneuverability.

A 375 cont...
Can you link the SRD? Google-Fu failed me.
But! If you're saying that the vertical vector needs to be halved because of this rule. The equation would be:
---
[OMIT: See below
---
Thus, a 45 degree angle yields 7.5 vertical feet and 15 feet horizontal.
And a 30 degree angle yields 20 feet horizontal and 5 feet vertical.
Though, this logically makes no sense to me. IRL Climb != Flight. Different skill set.
EDIT: had to reformulate the formulas.

DBL EDIT: Andezzar sent me the SRD page. It sounds like before anything else is taken into account, the speed of a climbing flying creature is halved unless it has perfect maneuverability.

SRD: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/movement.h...AerialMovement

If that's true, then the equation is:

---
Where x= degrees measured from the ground...

Perfect Maneuverability:
Vertical displacement = (Speed) * (x/90)
Horizontal displacement = (Speed) * (1-(x/90))

Anything else:
Vertical displacement = (Speed/2) * (x/90)
Horizontal displacement = (Speed/2) * (1-(x/90))
---

Thus, in imperfect maneuverability, your speed drops from 30 to 15ft. Plug in the remaining variables.

45 degrees yields 7.5 ft in both vectors.
30 degrees yields 5 ft. vertically and 10 ft horizontally.
And 60 degrees yields 10 ft. vertically and 5 ft. horizontally.

Thoughts?

[Mr.Bookworm]

A 376

You're still immune to the gaze attack. Robe of Eyes does nothing to affect that.

EDIT: Or, more to the point, you can't see out of the Robe of Eyes while you have the Blindfold on; its shuts off your ability to use vision of any sort.

[Andezzar]

Re: A 375

How does that take into account that diagonal movement is supposed to take up 1.5 as much movement as movement along the axes of the grid?


Q 377

Is flying at an altitude of 5 ft over a square occupied by a medium creature that is taller than 5 ft considered moving through an occupied square?

[Chronos]

A 375 contention:
That's assuming that the movement consists of a horizontal movement and a vertical one, not a single diagonal movement. In real-world physics, that would mean you'd need trigonometry. In game physics, it's more complicated, by virtue of being simpler: Diagonal movement along a 45 degree angle ordinarily uses one-and-a-half times the movement required for one leg of the triangle, but it's unclear how this interacts with the half-speed for upward flight.

[Andezzar]

Diagonal movement along a 45 degree angle ordinarily uses one-and-a-half times the movement required for one leg of the triangle, but it's unclear how this interacts with the half-speed for upward flight.

That was exactly my problem.

[Corinath]

Re: A 375

How does that take into account that diagonal movement is supposed to take up 1.5 as much movement as movement along the axes of the grid?

A 375 cont...

SRD: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/mov...ndDistance.htm

According to diagonal movement in this, it isn't that it takes 1.5, it's that it averages 1.5. The first square counts as 1 movement. The second counts as 2.

I think, unless someone with way more experience than me has a solution, this is coming close to DM/Housing it. If it were me, I'd allow a 10 ft. movement in one axis, and a 5 ft. movement on a perpendicular axis (to reflect the 30 and 60 degree angles, and also that your first diagonal square moved is effectively "1 for 1"), or 15ft. along a singular axis (to reflect a 0 or 90 degree angle), or 10 ft. along a diagonal axis (to reflect 45 degrees + the 1 square 2 square SRD rule linked above).

Just me though. Definitely would like to hear a more official answer. Think I got in over my head with being excited about math.

[Mr.Bookworm]

A 377

No.

Squares (or cubes in this case) are abstractions. A 7 and a half foot tall Goliath still fits into a 5x5x5 space. Unless the Medium creature has a space of greater than 5 feet (which is noted in the Space/Reach entry), it just takes up the one cube.