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

[ahenobarbi]

A 1186
Yes, they can. There is no requirement in the section for characters to be epic.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Originally Posted by ahenobarbi

Q1184
I'm interested in mechanics to get above-WBL money. I know about Mercantile Background and Landlord feats. Is there something else?

The methods of exceeding wealth by level that actually work best are all simple interactions between spells and the value of trade-goods. E.g. wall of iron gets you several hundred pounds of iron that can be divided up and sold for a few coins per pound. Ultimately though, deliberately trying to exceed wealth by level is trying to break the game and should probably be avoided unless WBL wasn't being utilized anyway.

[willpell]

Q1187
Say you're a Wizard, then you take a level of fighter with the Armored Mage ACF in Complete Mage, intending to eventually qualify as an Eldritch Knight. Since Eldritch Knight causes you to gain extra spells "as if you gained a level in" the previous class, which is in this case Wizard, if you've named Wizard with Armored Mage, does the immunity to ASF apply to spells gained through your Eldritch Knight levels? Or do the spells actually have to come from a Wizard level to count as Wizard spells?

[Kelb_Panthera]

Originally Posted by willpell

Q1187
Say you're a Wizard, then you take a level of fighter with the Armored Mage ACF in Complete Mage, intending to eventually qualify as an Eldritch Knight. Since Eldritch Knight causes you to gain extra spells "as if you gained a level in" the previous class, which is in this case Wizard, if you've named Wizard with Armored Mage, does the immunity to ASF apply to spells gained through your Eldritch Knight levels? Or do the spells actually have to come from a Wizard level to count as Wizard spells?

Wizard spells are wizard spells. Advancing them through PrC is irrelevant in this case. That said, it's not a good idea. You're only ignoring ASF for spells up to a level equal to your fighter level. For the typical eldritch knight that's only 1st level spells.

[willpell]

Originally Posted by Kelb_Panthera

Wizard spells are wizard spells. Advancing them through PrC is irrelevant in this case. That said, it's not a good idea. You're only ignoring ASF for spells up to a level equal to your fighter level. For the typical eldritch knight that's only 1st level spells.

2nd level, actually; you use your fighter level +1 for Armored Mage. And I'm pretty sure it would apply to a 2nd-level spell metamagicked in a 3rd level slot; between that and the fact that higher-level spells are increasingly likely to be something you cast before the battle which does good stuff for a long long time, I think it's a viable build (though hardly a strong one).

[Sith_Happens]

Originally Posted by Sith_Happens

Q 1032

When a feat, ACF, etc. refers to those spells that a wizard "knows," does that mean all spells on the Sorcerer/Wizard list or only those spells in a given wizard's spellbook (or perhaps something else)?

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon;14019043[B

A 1032[/b]

A Wizard may know any number of spells, but the number known is a limited subset of their class list. Spells known refers to those spells the Wizard has learned either automatically from class abilities (initial level 0 and 1 spells, plus 2 spells per subsequent level) or as demonstrated by the relevant successful Spellcraft checks and study days. See the primary definition of learn: "to acquire knowledge of or skill in by study, instruction, or experience". It is not necessary for the Wizard to have written these spells in a spellbook, but they must have succeeded on all tasks leading up to the actual writing.

A 1032 (dispute) (Yes, doing this on my own question)

I just found this in the PHB glossary:

Originally Posted by Player's Handbook I, pg. 310

known spell: A spell that an arcane spellcaster has learned and
can prepare. For wizards, knowing a spell means having it in their
spellbooks. For sorcerers and bards, knowing a spell means having
selected it when acquiring new spells as a benefit of level
advancement.

I don't know the RAW-relevance of the glossary (it's not reflected anywhere in the SRD, for one), so I might make a new thread on this later to be sure.

[Sponson]

Q1188

After taking the Lolth-Touched Template (MM IV pg 93), a character's alignment shifts to Chaotic Evil. Yet no where does it say it has to remain that way.

Is it possible to eventually have a non-chaotic-evil Lolth-Touched player character?

[Curmudgeon]

A 1188 Ask your DM.

Lolth-touched creatures are blessed specially by the Spider Goddess of the drow.

The Monster Manual (the primary rules source for templates) has a section on ADDING A TEMPLATE, STEP-BY-STEP. However, it has no rules for removing parts of a template. Thus there are three ways this can be addressed:

• Removing a part of a template permanently removes all template benefits. This is consistent with the general treatment of deity-granted boons, and the description of Lolth as a goddess who continually tests worshipers to determine if they are worthy (Complete Divine, page 114). As a codicil, the DM may determine that rejection of this special blessing of Lolth is fatal, in keeping with this passage from Drow of the Underdark (page 15):

  As should be expected from so violent a society and so rapacious a deity, the holy rites of Lolth are brutal and bloody affairs. Living sacrifice is a central tenet of all but the most minor of rituals. The drow worship not out of love, but out of fear, and their faith demands that their fear be spread to others. Lolth watches, Lolth tests—and above all, Lolth consumes.

• Removing a part of a template temporarily removes all template benefits. This stems from the primary treatment of alignment in Player's Handbook (page 104):

  Choosing an alignment for your character means stating your intent to play that character a certain way.

  Having consciously chosen the Chaotic Evil alignment consequent with the special blessing of Lolth, the template benefit is dependent on that choice. Actions causing a shift away from Chaotic Evil could be reversed through the standard mechanism: a renewed dedication reflected in actions appropriate to the required CE alignment, and an Atonement spell.
• Removing the alignment part of a template through actions consistent with another alignment, over a number of levels, will result in the DM deciding what the character's new alignment is, but have no other consequences regarding template benefits. This basically is "rule 0": (page 4 of Dungeon Master's Guide):

  You are the master of the game—the rules, the setting, the action, and ultimately, the fun. This is a great deal of power, and you must use it wisely.

[Angelus789]

Q 1189

Not sure if this is really a RAW related question, but here goes.

A Gargantuan dragon with Clumsy maneuverability is flying towards a castle the players are guarding.

When the dragon is within 240 feet the CL 18 cleric casts Gate - Planar Travel and "I aim it right in front of the dragon, with destination to the elemental plane of fire."

I ruled that the dragon would be allowed a Spell Resistance as well as a Will:Saving Throw since...

Planar Travel

As a mode of planar travel, a gate spell functions much like a plane shift spell,

Plane Shift

Target: Creature touched, or up to eight willing creatures joining hands (...)
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

According to the RAW I would say that the call was justified. The players argued that the spell Gate has to be looked at separate from the Plane Shift thus allowing neither SR nor ST. Another argument was that

and anyone or anything that moves through is shunted instantly to the other side.

Was my call good according to RAW?

Gate
Plane Shift

[douglas]

Originally Posted by Angelus789

Not sure if this is really a RAW related question, but here goes.

A Gargantuan dragon with Clumsy maneuverability is flying towards a castle the players are guarding.

When the dragon is within 240 feet the CL 18 cleric casts Gate - Planar Travel and "I aim it right in front of the dragon, with destination to the elemental plane of fire."

I ruled that the dragon would be allowed a Spell Resistance as well as a Will:Saving Throw since...



Plane Shift


According to the RAW I would say that the call was justified. The players argued that the spell Gate has to be looked at separate from the Plane Shift thus allowing neither SR nor ST. Another argument was that


Was my call good according to RAW?

Gate
Plane Shift

No, it was not. The mention of Plane Shift in the Gate description is a note of similarity, not a statement that Gate inherits mechanics from Plane Shift. Even if this were not the case, such an inheritance of mechanics only applies to factors that are not overridden in the derived spell's description - and Gate specifically lists no save and no SR.

For the implied not strictly RAW question of how to prevent this from becoming a no-save instant fight ender, I calculate that even with clumsy maneuverability the dragon would be able to turn around and fly right back out in a mere 125' of movement, and that's based on just the fly speed and maneuverability without considering any extra factors such as the Hover, Wingover, and Improved Maneuverability (I don't recall the book for this one) feats. Any dragon that big will have plenty of speed to do that in one move action whether or not he has feats or other abilities to help, and the damage from a brief dip in the plane of fire will be barely noticeable. The player can close the Gate by not concentrating on it, but he can't time that to be during the dragon's turn - either the dragon won't have gone through yet, or it will already be back.

[Andezzar]

Gate is a standard action spell. Couldn't the caster ready his action to come to pass when the dragon is at a certain distance and then cast it 5' in front of it?

[Angelus789]

cont. Q 1189

Forgot to add that yes, the cleric did delayredy the action.

Add... Come to think of it, players accidentally step through portals "all the time" in dungeons and are usually not allowed a ST to avoid being sucked through.

PS: I'll send you a PM about the no-save instant fight ender douglas.

[Cog]

Q 1190
Are there any Humanoids that have the [Evil] subtype by default?

[AxeD]

Q1191:
when an opponent stands from prone and gives you an AoO, can you use a another trip attack? If so, do you get a +4 to the trip attack since the target is prone? Or is it assumed that by the time you trip them, they are already standing?

[AxeD]

Q1192:
Does a goliath monk with its powerful build racial ability do unarmed strike damage as a large sized monk or a medium sized monk?

[willpell]

A1191
This one has already been asked on this thread. The AoO occurs in response to the opponent taking the "stand up from prone" action, before that action is resolved. The character is still prone, so you cannot trip them; you make any other sort of AoO that would be legal, and then they finish their action and stand up.

A1192
Unarmed strike is not a "weapon", and more to the point does not have a size category, so I'm 95% certain it wouldn't be affected by Powerful Build. One more thing wrong with the Monk, I guess....

[Medic!]

A1184 Suppliment

Originally Posted by Kelb_Panthera

The methods of exceeding wealth by level that actually work best are all simple interactions between spells and the value of trade-goods. E.g. wall of iron gets you several hundred pounds of iron that can be divided up and sold for a few coins per pound. Ultimately though, deliberately trying to exceed wealth by level is trying to break the game and should probably be avoided unless WBL wasn't being utilized anyway.

The only other source of hard currency I know of that can increase your WBL is the Vassal of Bahamut class feature "Shared Trove." At PrC levels 2, 5, and 8, a stack of platinum literally poofs in front of you in the amount of 100x your character level. Though it isn't actual wealth, you do get a pretty spiffy suit of armor from the PrC for free as well (a Masterwork Chain Shirt with a +8 armor bonus.)

[Crake]

Originally Posted by willpell

A1192
Unarmed strike is not a "weapon", and more to the point does not have a size category, so I'm 95% certain it wouldn't be affected by Powerful Build. One more thing wrong with the Monk, I guess....

Actually, it is counted as both a natural and manufactured weapon for all effects, as stated in its entry. There is also a table for small and large monk unarmed strike damage. The only issue that could say that a goliath could not would be the wording of the powerful build ability
"A goliath can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty."
So you can use larger weapons, but your unarmed strike would technically still be medium.

[ahenobarbi]

Q 1193
What source book does Feat Rogue variant come from?

[Andezzar]

Q 1193

Unearthed Arcana p. 58

[Kred]

Q1194
1. Can frenzied berserker make 2 hits (allowed by his frenzy) + power attack (every hit with PA) during his round?
2. Can i do same things with Robilar's Gambit? I.e. i can do 2 AoO in round. 2 foes hit me, i make AoO (2 hit + PA) for every foe.

[willpell]

Originally Posted by Crake

Actually, it is counted as both a natural and manufactured weapon for all effects, as stated in its entry. There is also a table for small and large monk unarmed strike damage. The only issue that could say that a goliath could not would be the wording of the powerful build ability
"A goliath can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty."
So you can use larger weapons, but your unarmed strike would technically still be medium.

In this case I would go with the logic that a monk's unarmed strike isn't "designed" for any size. Likewise, you are never larger than yourself, so even if you count your body as a weapon "designed" for you (you could argue that this is what monk training accomplishes), it is never designed for a size other than your own.

[Andezzar]

A 1194

1.) Yes, every character even has to take the penalty and bonus from Power Attack until his next turn.
2.) As above.

[willpell]

Q1195
A level 2 Evil Cleric can Command 2 HD of undead. If he has one of the elemental domains, say Fire, can he also Command 2 HD of fire creatures, or does he have a single 2-HD cap among all Commanded creatures?

Q1196
When you take a standard action to issue mental orders to your commanded undead, do you have to take one action per creature, or can you send the same command to all your minions at once? Will they continue following the order indefinitely if able, or do you have to keep directing their actions anew every turn? What's the limit on how sophisticated the orders can be; if you command something intelligent like a vampire, can one standard-action command force it to begin acting out a five-hundred-year campaign of moves and countermoves? If an undead is sentient, can it interpret a vaguely-worded command creatively if not pre-empted with very explicit wording? If an undead is not sentient, can it be "programmed" with a detailed sequence of rote actions, or does it have a very limited "memorY' and thus require very short and simple commands at every step of a process?

[RFLS]

Q 1197
Is there a way to get 9th level spells on a fixed list caster that has PrCed into Rainbow Servant?

[killem2]

Q 1198: Can a medium sized thri-kreen wield a large sized two-handed weapon, with penalty? (assume all required proficiencies have been reached.)

[Kelb_Panthera]

Originally Posted by killem2

Q 1198: Can a medium sized thri-kreen wield a large sized two-handed weapon, with penalty? (assume all required proficiencies have been reached.)

Only by taking monkey grip, or wearing strong-arm bracers.

There's no provision in the rules that allows for a 3 or 4 handed weapon. It'd make for an interesting houserule though.

[cd4]

Q1199 Is there a spell, power or item that works like a two-way communicator for a whole group? That is group A can talk with group B without having to go through a spokesperson like Sending does. I do not have access to the Dragon Magazines so don't suggest anything from there.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Originally Posted by cd4

Q1199 Is there a spell, power or item that works like a two-way communicator for a whole group? That is group A can talk with group B without having to go through a spokesperson like Sending does. I do not have access to the Dragon Magazines so don't suggest anything from there.

Aspect mirror in complete scoundrel, and rary's telepathic bond in the PHB. The former is an item that works like a set of up to 8 video phones with no maximum range between them. The latter is a spell.

[PetterTomBos]

Q1200 Help me find a monster. I remember it being made out of old scrolls and staffs. I think it had a drawing of it as well, but I can't remember where I saw it!