Thanis Kartaleon's page

Why, on earth, can't WotC not split the books into a PLAYER PART and a DM PART?

I'm with you there. If making two books would break the budget too much, at least having the DM only material separate from the player appropriate material would be nice.

(offtopic) Wouldn't an Eberron boxed set be just great? The ECS, updated to include the current errata (and with all the DM secrets split off either in another book or the back of the ECS), Sharn, a big cloth map, special Eberron dice, and a listing of all other Eberron material currently out and stuff that's slated to come out within the next year.... I'd pay... lesse, $100 easy... maybe as much as $140 depending on the quality of the map. (/offtopic)

can a monk effectively gain the unarmed attack damage a monk one size larger by taking the Improved Natural Attack feat?

I've checked the errata and FAQ and haven't been able to dig up an answer.

Personally I don't allow it, and every time I've seen the issue come up, the response from higher-ups at WotC and the majority of the experienced players on WotC's forums has been to not allow it. However... The latest Sage Advice column has completely reversed that. It's been added to the FAQ, version 10/27/05, on page 13, second column.

IMO, that ruling was made in error, but for now it's official.

if you smite a creature and drop it do the bonus from smite add to subsequent cleave attacks?

In a word, no. The smite ability only applies to a single attack made by the character each time.

I'm trying to put together a Cleric of Lydia (Greyhawk goddess of daylight, song/poetry, etc) and I'd like to multiclass into Bard and hit some sort of Prestige class (and/or just some Bard-Cleric feat options).

My DM came up with a PrC in our current campaign just for Bard/Clerics, the Sacred Chorister. It requires Base Will +7, bardic music class feature, ability to turn undead, ability to cast 2nd level arcane and divine spells. (I think that's all the prerequisites)

The SC gets d6, good Will, 4 base skill points, average BAB, full Bardic Music and Turning, and +1 to one spellcasting class each level. I believe class skills were Concentration, Craft, Decipher Script, Diplomacy, Heal, Knowledge (religion), Listen, Perform, Profession, Sense Motive, Speak Language, Spellcraft, and Spot

Hope this helps.

I need something that could change the world so greatly, that D&D would never be the same again!

*NOTE* Whatever the item does, it WILL happen, though everyone will still live, just under harsh circumstances (i.e. Demons and Devils may roam the world freely w/o trouble) {thus beginning SEASON II of "Luna City" campaign.

The best evil items always have the players saying, "I thought it was a good idea at the time..."

Artifact: The Abyssal Executor

Abyssal Executor: +3 axiomatic chaotic outsider bane keen speed thundering cold iron falchion; AL LE; Int 19, Wis 10, Cha 19; Speech, telepathy, 120 ft. darkvision, blindsense, and hearing; Ego score 33.
~Lesser Powers: darkness 3/day, deathwatch continually active, detect magic at will, major image 1/day.
~Greater Powers: detect chaos at will, dimensional anchor 1/day, magic circle against chaos 1/day
~Special Purpose Slay demons and bring on the Infernal Age.
~Dedicated Power greater shout 3/day.
~Other Powers: Whenever the Abyssal Executor strikes a foe with the tanar'ri subtype, that foe gains 2 negative levels, the wielder of the Executor gains 10 temporary hit points, and the Executor gains a charge. When the Executor reaches 666 charges, it gains the following spell-like ability, usable at will:
~Infernal Armageddon: This spell-like ability cracks the earth, creating a huge rift through which baatezu devils begin to pour through. This rift may be used as a gate to Baator while it is active. The first round this rift is in existence, 2d4 bone devils arrive. Two rounds later, they are joined by an ice devil. Two rounds later, a pit fiend arrives. Once the pit fiend has arrived, the rift is no longer active, though it remains, a permanent, infernal scar on the land. This is a conjuration (calling) effect, so the devils are free to use their own methods of summoning to increase the force. This spell-like ability has an effective spell level of 10.
~The Executor may also expend 9 charges at any time, as a standard action, to cast any of the following spells: binding, demand, greater teleport, mind blank, moment of prescience (can cast on wielder), plane shift, protection from spells, summon monster VIII, trap the soul (7 gems in hilt and pommel)
~Personality: The Executor was forged by the pit fiend Ceript'vox as the final key to both the victory of the Blood War and the domination of the Prime Material plane. It will remain silent until it has fulfilled its purpose. It is cruel, calculating, and above all patient.

What about the 3rd level Rahjas spell that was insanely overpowered? Does anyone think that was a stinker? Beats a much higher level spell and lasts for days/level.

Is there anyone checking these articles for balance?

Well, it does have a few drawbacks; the six hour wait and the need for focus proximity. It's perhaps a bit over the top IMO; if they had made it a 4th level spell I don't think I would have had any qualms about it at all.

Does the article provide a clear background for those of us who are non-Eberronians.

The crunch on the rajah overlords is not setting specific, with the exception of part of their remote sensing ability. But if you read the fluff (highly recommended), you'll be able to figure out things from there.

If you don't want rakshasas to play a big part in your campaign, then this article won't be nearly as useful.

There are, however, 2 creatures mentioned that are not rakshasas, and have pretty cool backstories (an advanced pit fiend and a succubus assassin). Did I ever mention this article has very nice art? It does.

What I find funny is that Boccob, Greyhawk's god of magic, wouldn't stand a chance against Sul Khatesh in an arcane duel.

I assume it was an error that Sul Khatesh (page 68) had no CR listing, right? I'd say she's in the upper 50's, but it'd be nice to see an official word on this.

Think of the Overlords as Deities with divine rank 7. Because that's what they're based off of. So, no CR. If your party manages to defeat an Overlord, that's one of those "okay, you all just gained 2 levels" moments.

Let's start with the good - everybody likes good, and there's a lot of it here.

Editorial: Well Erik, I do believe you've convinced me to take a good look at Wrath of the Dragon God. Matt had me pretty edgy about the whole thing; your comments were echoes of my thoughts.

Letters: I'm looking forward to the new format for Class Acts. It sounds like you're taking a good direction with this.

Monsters of the Mind: The Tentacular Terrors/Illithid Prestige Classes Sideboard was a really good idea, especially for those of us not in possession of Lords of Madness. Have more of these when you do creature features.

DoI - Zuggtmoy: Very nicely done. It has a real good balance of fluff and crunch. I was pleased that Zugg's Transformation ability applied a fluffed fiendish template instead of "another new fungus-fiend-creature" template. The "Thrall of" PrC is decent, not outstanding, but I believe the first to have a Plant apotheosis. The Hallucination sidebar is fun to read and has uses beyond Zuggtmoy... >:-D

Eternal Evil - The Lords of Dust: As an Eberron enthusiast, I can't help but feel biased toward this article. The art was very well done... Very well done. The fluff was beautifully detailed, and the crunch... well let's just say that's not all the players will be hearing when one of these guys starts hammering the party.

Ecology of the Shadar-Kai: I'd actually never heard of these fey before (and lack the book they're in), but their backstory sent ripples of new ideas through my mind. Keep including sample encounters; they're great for introducing the monster to a party.

Wormfood: Despite not being terribly useful to me (buying magic items in Eberron is covered in Sharn, which I do own), this article does have a few interesting NPCs that may see use in other games.

Class Acts - the Monk: The Metered Foot feats are intriguing, and though I'm not a fan of Monks in general, this gives me some ideas for more general feats.

There's other good stuff in there too, but that's what stood out in my mind.

Now then... on to the less positive criticism.

Twenty-four full-page and full-spread ads in this issue, taking up about a quarter of the magazine's pages... I haven't really looked at the other issues, but it just seemed like there were more full-page ads than usual this time. A lot of them were Wizards ads, too. Now, we've already got a section devoted to new stuff coming out for Wizards (First Watch), so why take up more space?

Eternal Evil - Lords of Dust: Just a bit of an odd one here: Kashtarhak is supposedly the Voice of Chaos, yet he's Lawful Evil? Keith, I've caught you on this one before... :-)

Ecology of the Shadar-Kai: I'd never heard of these fey before, so was curious as to their source. It would help a good deal if the book they're out of (unless it's the MM) is listed on the first page, instead of in a sidebar on the 5th. (Fiend Folio page 150, for those who can't find it)

Sage Advice:

Can you use polymorph to turn into a creature with a template?

Again, the rules don't explicitly prevent this...

Actually, they do.

Polymorph ... This spell functions like alter self, except that...

Alter Self ... You cannot take the form of any creature with a template, even if that template doesn't change the creature type or subtype.

So, no abusing polymorph and becoming half-red dragon half-blue dragon celestial half-celestial dire tigers just because they're the same HD as normal dire tigers. Shapechange doesn't change this rule, as far as I can see.

I don't see a problem with allowing some templates, but it's on a case by case basis; if polymorph templating is always allowed, it's open season for munchkins.

There were a few other things I disagreed with in the issue, but these were all the real complaints.

All in all, I was pleased with this issue. I'm planning on running the Temple of Elemental Evil at some point in the future, so information on Zuggtmoy was awesome. And an article on the Lords of Dust by Keith himself... heaven. The man can write beautiful articles (plus the art was eye candy in that one). I'll probably look into the Shadar-Kai more before I start another campaign, and if nothing else, Wormfood is turning out to be a great source for quirky NPCs.

Any other articles I didn't mention I either liked or didn't, but neither to the point of comment.

So sorry to be the one to bring this up, but they delayed Twilight Princess until I believe next April (2006)... It irks me to no end, as I've got a preorder on it, but what can you do?

What my question is, since some of the monsters that I want to use haven't been converted yet, does anyone know how to convert from v2.0 into v3.5 or where to find that information

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/DnD_CYC_intro.asp

have fun!

You're in the right on this point, rules-wise. In the end, it's the DM's decision, but the rules are on your side.

The main question here is: does the javelin then have a range increment of 90 ft. or 120 ft.? By the rules for critical multipliers, it would be 90 ft. (30 base + 30 distance + 30 far shot); however, I've seen a few cases (speed issues, mostly), where you could argue for 120 ft (30 base x 2 distance x 2 far shot).

Secondly, why? Even if you're given the chance to throw at this range (which in most adventures is unlikely, and very improbable in a dungeon crawl), you've now thrown your +1 javelin of distance (worth 8,301 gp) and probably hit (for 1d6+1 plus strength and possibly other modifiers; Average damage is likely around 10 or so with a strong build and feats). If I was a canny enemy, I'd run away with the thing stuck in my chest (and since I'm already pretty far away, you're going to have trouble catching me), and when I get a chance, hawk it to get something that can't be lost so easily.

Now, if you also enchanted your javelin with returning, that'd be more reasonable (though also more costly, of course).

Just my 2 crowns.

Natural attacks (like claw, slam, bite, gore, etc.) don't get more attacks from the creature's base attack bonus. Either a creature has 2 claw attacks, or it doesn't.

In any case, the rend ability (which usually works based off of a specific natural attack the creature has) comes into play any time that particular natural attack successfully hits twice in one round.

Color me stupid, but how does 1d10+2 equal 2 hit dice?

Right you are, serves me for posting at 3 in the morning.

I've actually taken such a liking to the new stat blocks that I've built myself a character sheet using them. Here's a sample:

Dude_01
Male Human Fighter 1 (________/1000 XP)
CN Medium humanoid (human)
Str 15, Dex 8, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 10
Action Points 5
Init -1, Senses Listen +1, Spot +1
Languages Common, Terran

AC 17 (-1 Dex, +6 Armor, +2 Shield), touch -8
Protection (60 lbs.) Splint Mail (45 lbs.), Heavy Steel Shield (15 lbs.)
hp 12 (1d10+2; 2 HD)
Fort +4, Ref -1, Will +1

Speed 20 ft./x3 in heavy armor (30 ft./x4 normally)
Melee battleaxe +4 (1d8+2/x3 s)
Ranged sling +0 {Range: 50 ft./x5} (1d4+2 b)
Ammunition (5 lbs.) 10 bolts
Weaponry (6 lbs.) battleaxe (6 lbs.), sling
Base Atk +1; Grp +3
Atk Options Cleave, Power Attack

Str 15, Dex 8, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 10 (This line normally only appears as the top of the second page if one is necessary)
Proficiencies All Simple, All Martial; All Armor, All Shields
Feats Cleave {bonus, Fighter}, Power Attack {bonus, Human}, Weapon Focus (battleaxe)
Unusable Skills Decipher Script, Disable Device, Handle Animal, Knowledge, Open Lock, Profession, Sleight of Hand, Speak Language (other than listed), Spellcraft, Tumble, Use Magic Device
Skills (acp -9)
~ Balance -10 (acp)
~ Climb -3 (4 c, acp)
~ Craft (basketweaving) +5 (4 c)
~ Escape Artist -10 (acp)
~ Hide -10 (acp)
~ Intimidate +4 (4 c)
~ Jump -13 (-6 speed, acp)
~ Move Silently -10 (acp)
~ Swim -12 (4 c, double acp)
Clothes explorer's outfit (8 lbs.)
Gear {66/133/200 load limits} (85.5 lbs; Medium Load) protection, ammunition, and weaponry (71 lbs.) plus backpack (2 lbs.), bedroll (5 lbs.), belt pouch (1/2 lb.), flint and steel, 2 trail rations (2 lbs.), 1 torch (1 lb.), waterskin (4 lbs.), 3 gp, 7 sp, 9 cp

---------------------
Temporary stuff (like damage) is recorded on 3' x 5' notecards. A new sheet is printed out every level.

Comments?

Ok first off looking for prestige classes for a conjurer specialty wizard. Suggestions would be nice I havent realy seen anything that deals with it per say.

I've got this summoner build I've been dying to try: wizard [conjurer] 5 cleric [boccob] 5 mystic theurge 5 thaumateurgist 5

It's not a full arcane build, but it gets you a pretty nice summoner.

Other options are the alienist PrC from the complete arcane, though it's of course a tad on the icky side. There's also a summoner PrC in the Ultimate Prestige Classes Vol. 1 by Mongoose, but it's a) 3.0 and b) not formatted well IMO.

Bob now Takes 6 Attacks for like 60D6 sneak attack Dmg Plus 6 attacks (thats if they all somehow hit) We are talking like 360dmg plus six Weapon hits.

Yes, but at that level Bob can have heavy fortification armor, which denies all sneak attacks. And he could also have the two-weapon chain and two weapons of speed, so he could hit that rogue back for 9 attacks, likely with a higher strength bonus and extra damage from specialization.

Each class has its pros and cons. *shrugs*

Just last night, played a group of Aerenal elves (or at least it looked that way). 2 players, each controlling 2 characters. I had the fighter and the cleric, the other player had the warlock and the changeling rogue (not that any of the other characters knew this). The fighter left Aerenal years ago and wants to return, the cleric was sent by the Aerenal Embassy to keep an eye on him, the warlock is the cleric's friend (trained in the dark arts in Stormreach), and the rogue (whom the fighter once knew as a tall dwarf in an entertaining troupe) is interested in the fighter and has decided, for not much reason beyond simple boredom, to become best friends with him (in a different guise, of course). They're currently drinking buddies.

...a wildshaped druid is a valid target for any spell that requires an animal or plant - awaken comes to mind, for example. ;)

The awaken spell comes with some parameters that do not make sense if the caster himself is the target of the spell. First off, the target gets a random 3d6 Intelligence score.

Secondly, the awakened druid with scrambled intelligence can speak only one language that he knows (which becomes recursive if you think too hard about it) plus 1 per point of intelligence bonus.
Also, casting awaken on yourself would turn you into a magical beast (augmented animal) permanently, as well as the scrambled Intelligence, +1d3 unnamed bonus to Charisma and +2 HD (which the spell does not say if they are d8s for being an animal at the time of casting or d10s for becoming a magical beast).

Seeing as wish, which is 4 levels higher, grants (at 20 to 60 times the cost in XP to get the same value) an inherent bonus that caps at +5 (and no other extras with that same casting), it becomes easy to see that, while not explicitly written, druids should not be allowed to cast this spell on themselves while in wild shape.

Any easy way to unbreak the spell is to modify polymorph to say thus:

The subject's creature type and subtype (if any) change to match the new form and it gains the augmented subtype.

And then alter Awaken to say thus:

Target: tree or unaugmented animal touched.

That solves everything nicely, I think.

So I've been working on an idea I have for a critical threat feature: a paladin possessed by a powerful fiend. As I read through the Book of Vile Darkness, however, I found that a possessed creature receives little-to-no "stat boost," so to speak, from being possessed.

At any time, for any reason, a possessing fiend can bestow a +4 profane bonus to any single ability score of it's choice upon a willing possessed character. It can also bestow a -4 penalty to any ability score on a possessed character, willing or not (pages 24-25 of the BoVD, or page 101 of the ECS, or a slightly different description on page 204 of the Fiend Folio).

As a homebrew rule, you could have the fiend bestow the fiendish template on a creature instead (though I believe you have to stick to the core rules with the Critical Threat submissions).

I've had fun with possessions before; in one campaign I ran, I managed to convince everyone in the party to drink this "sacremental water," which was of course fiend-infested. They figured that their increased abilities were some sort of sacred bonus. Imagine their surprise later on when they were attacked by an only slightly misguided holy assassin (Slayer of Domiel if you have the BoED) who determined that the only way to rid them of their curse was death!

Truly a master of the MSN search. Can't quite figure out how the Jade did it on that. Google easy, MSN not so (for me anyway)... the internet is a marvelous thing.

Strength and con are much more usefull then int cha or wis. The way I was taught, unless you have a spellcaster, for racials physical abilities count as 1 1/2 mental.

That depends on the type of game you're in/running. If it's a dungeon crawl, sure, but if you're trying to survive the Lord's Masquerade Ball, Charisma is King. Wisdom is another vital score, even for nonspellcasters, as it prevents you from being mind controlled, and also alerts you to danger (keeping you from being surprise attacked. Intelligence means skill points, and who doesn't like having a couple points in Tumble, even cross-class. My 12th lvl tiefling paladin has a +3 to Tumble in full plate... it's saved his can on a number of occasions. Adding those extra skill points to an already Intelligence-based skill (like Knowledge), and your character becomes a walking information factory. If you use the situational advantage variant on Knowledge skills from Giant in the Playground (www.giantitp.com), you're almost guaranteed that extra +1 or +2 that could mean the difference between success and failure in combat.

Action Points: refresh 'em daily! I enforce 28 point buy, so the players end up with slightly above average people, stat-wise, that can do amazing things.

2 action points: emulate a feat for 1 round. Costs an extra point for every prerequisite you are missing. Unlike the normal use for action points (+1d6 to a d20 roll), this can be used as many times in a round as you want, as long as you have the AP to do so. So a 1st level elven sorcerer with 12 Int and heroic spirit (for 8 AP total) can blow all his AP for the day to perform a whirlwind attack with his quarterstaff at no penalty. This does not, however, allow him to also pick a dodge opponent for that round or make any other use of any prerequisite he lacks. He could, however, pay another AP (if he had one) to be emulating one of the feat prerequisites (such as Dodge). Note: emulating Toughness doesn't mean that 3 of the damage you take that round go away... Toughness would be a poor choice to emulate.

Also, that Will save to remain conscious at death's door thing? Brilliant. Same with the death's door extending to Con score (sucks to be the half-fey elf though!). I already use Con% to stabilize instead of 10% (though a Fort save of some sort also makes a sort of sense... will have to ponder that one some more.)

Beyond these uses, I really don't see why you would ever bother with the skill. Who creates Indiana Jones-style boulder traps, anyway?

Someone with the clairaudience spell and a twisted sense of humor. >:-D

Also, properly built (as a circular tube), this kind of trap would require minimal effort to reset. (or clean if you're using a sphere-shaped gelatinous cube as the boulder)

The ol' Stronghold Builder's Guide has an interesting bit that could interest you here.

In medieval Europe, castles often took years to build, and truly massive structures took even longer. Main construction on the cathedral in Reims, France, took 80 years, with decorative work continuing centuries after the groundbreaking in 1211.

Such long construction times don't work well in most D&D campaigns, because the pace of characters' lives moves too quickly. Characters could undertake multiple epic adventures while their castle was being built, and they would only get to live in their strongholds after they had retired. Any character willing to spend hard-earned gold on a stronghold deserves to enjoy the finished product.

The SBG sets the time to build strongholds at one week per 10,000 gp in price. Which is somewhat close to the cost of creating magical items (1,000 gp per day). So as a quick way to speed up trapmaking (or any other type of Crafting), you could set it to, for instance, 100 gp per day unless magic is used (in which case you'd follow the same rules as magic item creation).

As another alternative, you could have the weekly check result be in gold peices, or the daily in silver.

It would give a druid wildshaped into a tree, what, a move speed and senses?

A druid can't wild shape into a tree; a plant creature has to have wisdom and charisma scores.

I dunno... half-orcs have two penalties for one bonus, and not much else beyond darkvision. I generally rule 0 charisma penalties unless there's a very good reason behind it; in Eberron, goblins are a fallen race, their massive empires long destroyed. Their charisma penalty makes a bit of sense. Wood elves? I don't know their history.

I second this; Dragon needs some of that online-supplement lovin' that Dungeon's been getting for a while now ^^