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Ah, interesting. Good to know.

Hrm. So is Nikolai correct, then? Usually I see a chorus of agreement/answers to solidify a position.

Really? This line has been throwing us for a loop, then:

"Giants have a number of racial Hit Dice and never substitute such Hit Dice for class levels like some humanoids."

We have an Ogre in the party and we're trying to get his HD correct. The template is taken from the Advanced Race Guide: Other Races. Our question here is, as an Ogre, does he get the 4d8 listed from normal Ogres, or is it different?

The race would benefit from the trait, whether it uses racial HD or not. It just means that a Fighter would be able to consider Perception and Stealth as class skills so that he could get the potential bonus from it.

No creature with an Intelligence score of 3 or higher can be an animal.

It's for each time you roll damage, not each die rolled.

Modifiers affect skills (positively or negatively) depending on the size of the town.

A profession check in a town with -4 Economy, for example, is 4 lower than the sum total. In a town with +4 Economy it is 4 higher.

In the case of Crime, the modifier negatively affects Sense Motive. Thus -4 Crime makes it 4 points easier while +4 makes it 4 points harder.

It affects ALL skills of ALL people in the city.

Very true point, Spook. I haven't had to deal with a party larger than six (yet) and I also find that action economy makes a large difference in battles.

I've actually considered treating players beyond the sixth as a "separate party" in terms of determining APL, but I'm not sure whether this is fair to players since I haven't had the opportunity to test it.

Thanks! Does this have a source anywhere, or is it something people have found to work over time?

So, the books are nice enough to tell you that challenges for a group of 6 or higher should be 1 APL higher. My question is basically this: is there a point where this extra "challenge" simply isn't enough to keep up with the number of players involved?

Example of application: A group of 100 archers fire at a 90 HP creature with DR 10/-. Every GM I have ever seen will say "this does nothing to the 90 HP creature, even if they all hit." Per the rule (which, incidentally, is the FIRST SPECIAL HIGHLIGHTED AND BOLDED PART OF DAMAGE, as important as adding your STR Bonus, or Getting your multiplier right, etc...) if all of them hit, the creature would be knocked unconscious by the force of 100 arrows (which didn't penetrate its skin, but did knock it out).

Depending on the creature's type, nonlethal damage doesn't apply. It really depends on the creature references. But yes, I do believe it is an underused rule.

The reason a person with low-light vision can see twice as far as normal is because most sources of illumination have two distances. The first is normal, the second is low light. The second distance is almost always double the distance of normal light.

A creature with low-light has no issue seeing areas illuminated by the moon at night. It's areas that don't have illumination that are the problem.

Being the DM, it's his call to make, but I would also question how a magic item wouldn't be ready before the end of the day once you've completed it unless it has a daily use attached to it.

I also have to ask why it's important that it be done in the middle of the day. Generally things like this occur in safe environs so there's no real rush to have the item function that day.

I could see the spell itself being cold so the energy/magic of it doesn't quite affect them. It's a bit less 'physical' and more on the 'metaphysical/magical' side of explanation.

Just a note again, that this wasn't an argument with my GM (who is my wonderful husband. ^_^ ) more of something that we looked at and went 'uh... wha... wait a minute' and one of us saw it one way but the other way did make sense too, and vise versa. So we were left confused and he made a temporary ruling that it wouldn't work until we were able to find out for sure what the answer was.

So unless somehow there's something found/pointed-out that really clarifies it, I'm thinking that we're going to keep it as cold immunity includes cold spell effects (unless the damage somehow gets through and it's attached to taking damage), giving the reason as the magic of the spell itself is shrugged off... kind of like spell resistance just fizzles it.

So, now off to prepare my spells to face frost giants and white dragons with a better idea of what to choose.

Ah. I would agree that in the case of 'it just happens', the immunity would likely shrug it off.

Have fun!

The chart shows easy calculations. The reason it skips some numbers (between 4 and 6, for example) is because 5 creatures of one CR does not equal a new CR.

Basically: you should only use the table if you're trying to quickly calculate the xp total of a group of monsters in an encounter.

An encounter's CR is determined by the sum total of all creatures' xp values.

If it helps you to conceive of why a Frost Giant would be effect by a suffocation spell, but not a snowcast suffocation spell, remember that the snowcasting is indeed changing the spell. Mechanically, this just gives it the cold descriptor which will provide certain bonuses (for you a higher caster level) and certain detriments, such as cold immune creatures not being effected by it. Beyond the mechanics though, it also changes the spell. I'm not familiar with any fluff snowcast might have with it, but whatever it has, it clearly changes the spell, in this case to use the power of cold, as well as just necromancy. You can picture this fluff anyway you like. Perhaps the cold freezes the lungs, perhaps ice crystals prevent normal breathing. In any case, it is then easier to imagine why a cold immune creature would not be harmed by the spell.

Except that being immune to cold still wouldn't keep you breathing when lungs are filled with material. It doesn't matter how much cold energy you can shrug off when you're having barrels full of ice shoved into your lungs.

I generally find that multiplying for size after additions makes a great deal more sense. Why should the cost of adamantine in a Large suit of full plate cost as much as the amount used in a Small set?

As such I use (base+special)*size.

Question : Does lullaby works in combat ? I assume that it doesn't since the conditions are not at all "sleepy", but just to be sure...

It does, in fact. It's a good way to prep for the sleep spell.

Any creature within the area that fails a Will save becomes drowsy and inattentive, taking a –5 penalty on Perception checks and a –2 penalty on Will saves against sleep effects while the lullaby is in effect. Lullaby lasts for as long as the caster concentrates, plus up to 1 round per caster level thereafter.

That table helps you to determine the XP value of a certain number of creatures.

Example: A CR 1 creature is 400 xp. The chart says that two creatures are CR + 2. CR + 2 = CR 3, which is 800 xp.

Immunity to an energy type does not make them immune to any secondary effects of a spell. If a spell would normally deal cold damage and knock a creature over but the creature is immune to cold, it would still run the chance of being knocked over even though the energy damage was negated. The creature is immune to COLD, not immune to being KNOCKED OVER. Immunities to affects and afflictions need to be stated in the creature's type or general defensive abilities.

Unearthly cold only does half the damage that would have hit a cold immune creature. They would roll damage dice as normal and then half the amount would be the damage taken for Unearthly Cold.

Unearthly cold only applies to damage.

So in short: unless it is specifically immune to the secondary effect, it will still be affected even though it is immune to damage of that type.

Seems improbable. While you might declare that you are two-weapon fighting you are not, in fact, two weapon fighting. You've already used both hands in a two-handed attack with one weapon.

thanks a lot

a more question
can a spell caster grappled use spells ? i would say no but...

You have to succeed a concentration check. The DC is 10 + grappler's CMB + spell level.

EDIT:

Also, in case you're unfamiliar with concentration

When you make a concentration check, you roll d20 and add your caster level and the ability score modifier used to determine bonus spells of the same type.

1) The tentacles rise from the ground, so there's no reason for the walls to be able to stop them.

2) If caught, he stops in the square he is grappled. If not caught, he stops in the same square thanks to rough terrain unless he has specific abilities or feats that let him act otherwise. Each square affected by the tentacles attempts an attack when entered.

3) It seems as though it only deals damage on the grappled creature's turn, since creatures cannot move away without attempting to escape, and declining attempts to escape means that the tentacles win another grapple check and do more damage. I missed a line. Yes, they do damage on the caster's turn, since they are allowed another check on the caster's turn against everyone in the area.

4) Yes. Only movement is prohibited without escaping first.

5) Yes. As stated previously, the AoE of the tentacles is rough terrain, thus limiting most characters to a 5 foot movement within the area. Entering any square affected by the spell provokes more attempts to grapple. You can only move your max speed if you're able to somehow ignore rough terrain or you exit the affected area.

The best I can offer you as evidence

Damage

Quote:

Damage reduces a target's current hit points.

Ability Damage is called out separately at the bottom of the section, suggesting it is distinct.

This topic seems to come up every so often, but usually in reference to abilities that flatly add to "damage".

Basically my argument is this
-"Damage" is defined as above
-every place where they intend a SQ to affect "Ability Damage"(and/or "Drain"), it is specifically noted as such
-ergo, every reference to simply "Damage" only entails HP effects

I never would have thought to look up the game's definition for damage. Given the quoted material, I believe it's a solid stance to say that Deathless Spirit does not apply to ability damage.

I'd likely go with your ruling too, as it seems too powerful otherwise, but I'm wondering if there is something more definite.

I'm curious as well and am currently trying to find anything concrete. If I find it, I'll be sure to post it. Perhaps someone else will beat me to it.

EDIT: The only thing I can find is the description of resistance in general -

A creature with resistance to energy has the ability (usually extraordinary) to ignore some damage of a certain type per attack, but it does not have total immunity.

Each resistance ability is defined by what energy type it resists and how many points of damage are resisted. It doesn't matter whether the damage has a mundane or magical source.

When resistance completely negates the damage from an energy attack, the attack does not disrupt a spell. This resistance does not stack with the resistance that a spell might provide.

This seems to indicate that there IS a possibility that the trait would stop nearly all of the STR damage, since resistance only states that it must be damage, which is what STR damage technically is. So... I suppose it's quite possible.

The alternate racial trait for Aasimar, "Deathless Spirit" says, among other things:

Quote:

They gain resistance 5 against negative energy damage.

The Shadow Entry says:

Quote:

A shadow's touch deals 1d6 points of Strength damage to a living creature. This is a negative energy effect.

Is the shadow's strength damage negative energy damage? If not, to what end is it identified as "a negative energy effect"?

I would personally rule that the resistance only applies to negative energy that does damage directly to a character's health. The fact it is identified as "negative energy" means that a creature like a Dhampir, who reverses the negative/positive aspects of positive and negative energy, would either be unaffected (or even better) by it.

Personally, I find the ability works as a sort of 'camouflage' inherent to Fetchlings. It's not that they're creating supernatural shadow so much as they blend in to shadows better than most races. As such, while the source of their camouflage may be supernatural in origin (they're Native Outsiders) they are not creating supernatural shadow.

As for Su beating Ex? No. Just no. There are Ex abilities that make creatures INDESTRUCTIBLE. The ability to see through something as paltry as being harder to discern in shadows to the Human eye is not beyond reason. In fact, Ex reads as this:

"Indeed, extraordinary abilities do not qualify as magical, though they may break the laws of physics."