Kinithin's page

I'm fairly sure it's intended to function like the Jump spell, and you can move 30' in a direction of your choosing.

That doesn't explain how to jump over a creature, the question at hand.

So here goes.

The High Jump activity allows one to perform a 5' vertical jump, enough to surpass the height of a Medium creature. It's a two-action activity which requires an Athletics check, and requires moving as part of the activity. The Quick Jump feat makes it a single action, and it removes the need/ability to move first.

The Powerful Leap feat increases the height of your vertical leaps to 5'.

Either way, you'll need to leap horizontally from there. But you could possibly jump over more than one creature with that leap.

Dream Shield provides a rule-based answer.

If the target falls asleep or is otherwise rendered unconscious

This makes it clear that a sleeping character is considered unconscious. In fact, the spell description takes this further and uses the words "sleeping" and "unconscious" interchangeably.

You ward the target’s mind against intrusion and influence while she is unconscious. While sleeping, the target [gains benefits].

and

If the target falls asleep or is otherwise rendered unconscious, the [benefits gained when sleeping] of the dream shield resume.

I love it!

Unfortunately, your unarmed strike isn't considered a melee weapon unless you're a Monk. This means that Enforcer, Sap Adept and Sap Master don't work with unarmed strike.

Improved Unarmed Strike merely allows your unarmed attack to deal lethal damage, and removes the AoO that would otherwise be caused by your unarmed attack. It doesn't cause your unarmed strike to be considered a weapon.

For that, you need the monk's Unarmed Strike class ability. Among other things,

A monk’s unarmed strike is treated as both a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons.

That said, most GMs should allow this nonetheless. If not, use a sap and pretend you're not :)

There are also problems with the wording. Effects don't target. Effects are what happen. A more precise wording might be something along the following lines:

When I'm targeted by a spell, item or ability that deals energy damage,
when I'm in the area targeted by a spell, item or ability that deals energy damage, or
when I'm about to enter an area in which I'd be subjected to energy damage.

But that raises a question: How can the target of the spell be known before it's cast? How can the type of damage (if any) a spell-like deals be known before it takes effect?

Spells take time to cast, and they have components from which they can be identified before they are cast, but this doesn't reveal what their target are going to be, and neither spell-like nor supernatural abilities have these tell-tale signs at all.

I'm extremely wary of triggering on things that will happen. It's one thing to trigger on a weapon being about to hit you (which can reasonably be extrapolated from its current motion), and it's another to trigger on something entirely in someone else's intentions.

Contingency effectively suspends a spell cast at the same time as contingency is cast until a trigger condition is met.

Decisions that occur during casting must therefore occur when contingency is cast. RAW, the type of energy from which protection from energy protects you must be chosen when it's cast.

However, it seems pretty obvious that point of "the type of energy you specify when you cast [protection from energy]" is that you must choose the type when it starts taking effect, and that you can't change the type of energy afterwards. As such, you could argue that you can choose the type of energy as the spell starts taking effect (i.e. when the trigger condition is met).

However, you are also arguing that the type of energy a spell will deal is known before the spell is fully cast. It seems to me that the two arguments are contradictory.

qlawdat wrote:

I was just wondering if there were any ways to become incorporeal.

As a Wizard you can cast gaseous form. That's probably the easiest way at lower levels.

Gaseous Form does not make you incorporeal. It's very similar, but incorporeal beings can enter objects while Gaseous Form transforms you into a mist capable for passing through small cracks.

(Same applies to Dust Form)

A level 13 Psychic with the Formless Adept archetype can become incorporeal for a small number of rounds (3 + Charisma modifier) per day.

Did the text of Rend change since this thread was created? The text of the ability at d20pfsrd.com repeatedly and consistently calls it an attack.

If it hits with two or more natural attacks in 1 round, a creature with the rend special attack can cause tremendous damage by latching onto the opponent’s body and tearing flesh. This attack deals an additional amount of damage, but no more than once per round. The type of attacks that must hit and the additional damage are included in the creature’s description. The additional damage is usually equal to the damage caused by one of the attacks plus 1-1/2 times the creature’s Strength bonus.

[I no longer need the answer to this question]

Mirror Hideaway requires a person-sized mirror ("creatures can enter only if they can fit through an opening the same size as the mirror"). I can't find any price for this.

A mirror is basically a polished sheet of metal, and polishing a mirror that size would be very labour-intensive. As such, what I'd rather have is the price for a framed sheet of metal the size of a person. I'd use Shrink Item and Mirror Polish to turn it into mirror.

So, how much would it cost for a framed sheet of metal (or a mirror) the size of a person? (Ballpark is good enough.)

Does 4x the price and weight of heavy steel shield sound like more than enough?

The relevant part is:

Quote:

you can decide whether or not to allow it to affect you

The moment you declare "I don't want it to affect me", it is gone. It does *not* affect you.

The text doesn't say it lingers on and waits for your current polymorph effect to go away to afect you. It doesn't affect you, and that's that.

The question isn't What happens to the new spell if you declare "I don't want the new spell to affect me"?

The question is What happens to the old spell if I declare "I do want the new spell to affect me"?

A spell can still exist without affecting anybody or anything. For example, a silence spell cast way up on the top of a tall tree on a battlefield where nobody is climbing or flying.

The example is incorrect. The silence spell *is* affecting an area. But like the example, that's besides the point.

I don't buy that the original polymorph spell lingers around (say, to absorb a Dispel Magic targeted at the caster) if the spell isn't suppressed or suspended. I acknowledge that it's possible; I just believe it's not what actually happens.

That's what I figured too. Suppression always comes with an explanation or example.

(And yeah, I meant suppressed, not suspended.)

I was hoping to take a break from a greatly extended Beast Shape by using Alter Self.

You can only be affected by one polymorph spell at a time. If a new polymorph spell is cast on you (or you activate a polymorph effect, such as wild shape), you can decide whether or not to allow it to affect you, taking the place of the old spell.

If you decide to have the new effect "take the place" of the old one, is the old one suspended or dismissed?

In other words, if the new effect ends, will the old one resume?

Mental Barrier is an immediate action that grants a shield bonus to AC. When's the latest you can use it.

- After it's been determined that the attack would hit?
- After the foe rolled the to-hit dice?
- As the foe declares they are attacking?
- Earlier?

I suspect it needs to be used as the foe declares they are attacking.

A Formless Adept can turn incorporeal. What forms of movement do they have in this form?

I presume they keep their Fly speed, but what if they don't have one.

They can't touch the floor, and they don't fall. Does that mean they can Air Walk their land speed?

Thought so, thanks.

Gaseous Form says

A gaseous creature can't run, but it can fly at a speed of 10 feet

Is this in addition to the character's 30' walking speed, or does it replace it?

Thanks all. I'll relay this to our archer.

Can one use a bow or crossbow against a target in an adjacent square? What about thrown weapons? It seems weird, especially for thrown weapons, but I can't find any rule against it. (Obviously, it merits an AoO, and it doesn't provide flanking.)

I still like FarmerBob's ruling (:

His [strike]ruling[/strike]opinion is self-contradictory. He states the mind-affecting pattern should cause the effect to be perceived even when it can't actually be perceived, but then contradicts himself:

"Those without ocular organs (ie sightless), or mindless then logically cannot be affected."

That should simply be:

"The mindless logically cannot be affected".

Then, you'd be adding colour* to the game without changing the mechanics of the game or of the spell. I'm all for that.

I always start with RAW, and make the fluff match.

Doing otherwise would requiring changing the effect of just about every spell, and that's just not feasible.

Rofl, wow Kinithin, way to necropost! :)

One of my players dug it up and sent me a comment on it by email. I figured I'd post the reply I sent to him.

* -- Pun intended :)

There's nothing in the spell description about requiring the effect to be seen. The colors are simply part of the effect, not the cause of the effect.

It would definitely not light up an area of magical darkness. 1) It doesn't have the [light] descriptor. 2) Even if it did, the spell creating the darkness would have to be of lower or equal level, and there is no such spell to my knowledge. 3) And even ignoring [1] and [2], the two spells would simply cancel each other out in the overlapping area temporarily; Color Spray wouldn't light up the area.

It is a [mind-affecting] illusion spell, and it can affect people without being seen. From the Core rulebook,

Pattern: Like a figment, a pattern spell creates an image that others can see, but a pattern also affects the minds of those who see it or are caught in it. All patterns are mind-affecting spells.

(Emphasis mine.)

Run speed is more based on how much weight you are carrying and pretty much nothing else.

That's not true. Run speed is explicitly affected by armor category.

Run (×3): Moving three times speed is a running pace for a character in heavy armor (about 7 miles per hour for a human in full plate).

Run (×4): Moving four times speed is a running pace for a character in light, medium, or no armor

When attached to a light armor, such as a chain shirt or a haramaki, does an armored kilt slow you down?

Yes. The core rulebook specifies "Medium or heavy armor slows the wearer down."

The core rulebook also explicitly associates armor category with speed. "... one category lighter than normal for purposes of movement and other
limitations."

The amount by which Armored Kilt slows down the wearer is not explicitly stated, but it doesn't take a genius to figure it out.

This could definitely be made clearer. Flagged for FAQ.

Being pinned in and of itself does nothing against ranged attacks.

It does according to the Core Rulebook.

Core Rulebook: "A pinned character also takes an additional –4 penalty to his Armor Class."

But the GM screen says something very different.

GM screen: A defender that is pinned takes a -4 to penalty to his AC vs melee attacks and a +0 bonus to his AC vs ranged attacks.

Is this a mistake, or is the GM screen factoring something else in? (If so, what?)

The GM screen also claims pinned characters take no AC penalty for ranged attacks. Why is that?

A pinned creature cannot move and is denied its Dexterity bonus. A pinned character also takes an additional –4 penalty to his Armor Class.

If a character is pinned, do they "lose any dex bonus to AC", or are they "treated as having a Dexterity of 0" (helpless).

Sounds like the former to me, but the GM screen groups pinned with helpless.

Almost certainly not the intent PER SE, but I don't see why not based on the rules,

or even why it really conflicts with the game-universe 'why' of the ability,

Indeed. Note that it's labeled as "Sp", meaning it's a spell-like ability. That means the ability is magical, and the description states the effect is based on teleport. Hands down, the ability *can* achieve the stated result.

(Being Sp also means that it triggers an AoO, but that makes absolutely no sense. They surely simply forgot to specify it doesn't.)

but then I realized that this is exactly the sort of thing a deity associated with Trickery would approve of.

And it works from a role-play point of view too. Perfect!

Thanks.

Dennis Baker wrote:

The impression I got was that activate blindly does not bypass the need for a command/ completion word. For example you could never use UMD to activate a wand/ staff blindly in a silenced area.

Then what in the heck does it do? Cause that's explicitly what it states it does!

No, it doesn't. It's far from explicit. It simply says "you do have to perform some equivalent activity in order to make the check", but it doesn't specify what an equivalent activity is.

From the name of the skill, it sounds to me the intent of Activate Blindly is to allow you to use an item you haven't identified. As such, one would Blindly Activate a wand by inventing a command word to replace an unknown command word, hoping the wand understands your intent.

This would allow the monkey to screech to satisfy the command word requirement for activating a wand. (I might even give a small bonus if the monkey actually knows the word but just can't pronounce it.) Of course, it still needs to pass the spellcasting knowledge requirement with a second UMD check (DC 20).

I can see why you think the skill could also be used to circumvent Silence and the like. The text does seem to allow this, although I don't believe that's the intended use.

Personally I think the whole of the UMD rules is currently a mess than needs some straightening out.

I mean you know the command word of a wand (which wands apparently don't have) and you still can't use it because you don't have the spell knowledge?

Well which is it that operates the wand? The command word or the spell knowledge?

Both are required.

Wands use the spell trigger activation method

Spell Trigger: Spell trigger activation is similar to spell completion, but it's even simpler. No gestures or spell finishing is needed, just a special knowledge of spellcasting that an appropriate character would know, and a single word that must be spoken.

stupid Iphone it should have its a go until told otherwise.

Thanks for the clarification! You might want to check out http://damnyouautocorrect.com/.

So if they're underground, which would normally be darkness, and suddenly their Light effect goes from being normal light to dim light, then they know they've entered the area of effect of a Darkness spell. But they can still see.

You missed this "Magical light sources only increase the light level in an area if they are of a higher spell level than darkness."

So no, light doesn't help them see into darkness. Well, not unless daylight is also used to cancel darkness.

The order is highest attack roll to lowest attack roll.

prd wrote:

If you get multiple attacks because your base attack bonus is high enough, you must make the attacks in order from highest bonus to lowest.

That only applies to attacks granted by BAB. Natural attacked aren't obtained because of high BAB, so the condition is false, so the subordinate clause is irrelevant.

Furthermore, that doesn't specify anything about the order in which different weapons must be used, just about the order in which the bonuses must be applied. In fact, those attacks are usually done with a single weapon, but the question was about the order in which different (natural) weapons must be used.

The emphasised phrase is not even close to being relevant. The sentence following the one you emphasised is actually the relevant one:

If you are using two weapons, you can strike with either weapon first.

Like I said based off the previous example and the fact the its "Direct" sunlight my games its a no until told otherwise.

I'm confused. Your previous example explained how it was most definitely yes in 3.5. How can that be the basis for your answer being "no"? Is there a typo somewhere?

If it's already dark, you could have darkness, dim light, and normal light occurring simultaneously in the same place.

There can only be one level of illumination in a given square, so that makes no sense.

The question is if really "darkness" the resulting illumination in the specified conditions (naturally dark + subject to daylight + subject to darkness). Absent special rules, the light level would be dark -> bright (from daylight) -> normal (from darkness).

But there is two special rules.

1) "Daylight brought into an area of magical darkness (or vice versa) is temporarily negated, so that the otherwise prevailing light conditions exist in the overlapping areas of effect."

If I read that right, the light would got from dark -> bright (from daylight) -> dark (from darkness). This rules seems crazy. A 2nd level spell completely cancels a 3rd level spell when its description wouldn't even do that normally.

It also means the only way to light up an area that is naturally dark and subject to darkness is to use both daylight and a non-magical light source, even though daylight is higher level.

Or does it? Let's look at the second special rule.

2) "Daylight counters or dispels any darkness spell of equal or lower level, such as darkness."

So again, I ask: What does this mean? Does one need to specifically cast daylight to dispel darkness, or is the darkness dispelled by simply being within the area of a daylight?

*** SPOILER FOLLOWS ***

This is not speculative. Council of Thieves part 1 has an underground setting with enemies that cast Darkness. One of the PCs can cast daylight (1/day), and another can cast light at will. They might not have torches or lamps, so they'll be blind in melee even if they use the powerful 3rd level daylight spell if I'm reading this right. If the bad guys do this right, they'll slaughter the PCs.

Strength modifier of the small elemental's strength

Elemental Shape specifically modifies your strength, and your strength is used for your attacks in this form, so I think your strength is used for this attack's save.

How do you justify your answer?

Save DC HD modifier would only apply to a small elemental

I think you misspoke, because this makes no sense -- the HD modifier is not conditional, and it applies to the whirlwind attack -- and doesn't answer the question. Could you please clarify?

There are no rules for damaging weapons by a slam

I guess I wasn't clear enough because the question wasn't about damaging the weapon.

Whirlwind can slam and pick up creatures it touches. Does touching a creature's weapon count as touching a creature, or must it touch its flesh?

There are no rules for a whirlwind acting like wind wall

Whirlwind carries away entire creatures like a tornado, which is very much like Wind Wall. It's just very light on details (and gives a save) whereas Wind Wall is very heavy on details (and doesn't give a save).

One assumes by the time the whirlwind whips at the weapon it has already done its damage.

No, weapon damage is done on contact, and the whirlwind damage is done on contact. Damage would be simultaneous.

Whirlwinds can only engulf creatures as small as or smaller than themselves. So small whirlwind = not a lot, certainly not a standard human/elf/dwarf.

The whirlwind of a small elemental is between 10' and 20' tall, and has the following diameter at various heights:

5' in diameter at the base.
5' in diameter at 5'
5' in diameter at 10'
7' in diameter at 15' (it it chooses to be this tall)
10' in diameter at 20' (it it chooses to be this tall)

It could actually engulf two medium sized creatures!

"Daylight brought into an area of magical darkness (or vice versa) is temporarily negated, so that the otherwise prevailing light conditions exist in the overlapping areas of effect."

Say someone is in a dark room and he casts darkness on himself. This means that daylight won't reveal him at all, even though it's a higher level spell that would otherwise raise the light level by 2 more levels than darkness would drop?

"Daylight counters or dispels any darkness spell of equal or lower level, such as darkness."

I can't find anything about using one spell to dispel another. Does that meant that one can cast daylight targeting a darkness spell, leaving neither functional?

The light level is dropped to that of "underneath a forest canopy during the day", which noone would call direct sunlight.

In my opinion, that the light level is dropped by the spell means it is being filtered, and thus no longer direct.

Keep in mind that Darkness is of rather short duration, and that Daylight or Dispel Magic would put you in grave danger. (The former doesn't even need a saving throw.)

Two more:

"A creature that comes in contact with the whirlwind must succeed on a Reflex save or take damage as if it were hit by the whirlwind creature’s slam attack."

9) What happens when a whirlwind is hit by a sword?

10) What happens when a whirlwind is hit by an arrow?

Hello,

I'm pretty sure I know the answer to all of these, but I'd like confirmation regarding questions about taking the form of an Small Air Elemental using Elemental Body I, and about its whirlwind ability.

Small Air Elementals have the whirlwind ability.

1) Is becoming a whirlwind a standard action?

2) Is returning from a whirlwind a free action?

3) Does activating whirlwind provoke an AoO?

There is no listed limit on how often the Small Air Elemental can use its whirlwind ability.

4) Does that mean it can use it at will?

5) Does that mean it remain in that form indefinitely?

The whirlwind ability says "A creature that comes in contact with the whirlwind must succeed on a Reflex save (DC 10 + 1/2 the monster’s HD + the monster’s Strength modifier)".

6) Is the HD of a Small Air Elemental used (2) or is the character level used?

7) Is the Str of a Small Air Elemental used (12) or is the character's strength used?

Air Elementals have Weapon Finesse.

8) Assuming the character doesn't have Weapon Finesse, does that character use his Dex or his Str to determine whether the slam attack hits?

Thanks.

If you have Still Spell, no Concentration check is required.

It's likely to be a stressful situation, and it's a condition in which one is not accustomed to casting.

Like casting in wind and rain, a Concentration check is appropriate for casting while bound.

The description of Flyby Attack (monster feat) is clear as mud to me. Could someone please clarify it for me?

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/monster-feats/flyby-attack

You can't apply an archetype of one class to another class.

Let's say the GM allows you to ignore that.

You can't apply an archetype to a class that doesn't have some the necessary abilities to replace.

Let's say the GM allows you to ignore that.

You can't apply the abilities of an archetype to a class that doesn't have the necessary abilities to replace.

Let's say the GM allows you to ignore that.

Then, you could apply the Sylvan archetype, take the Sylvan bloodline, and take the Animal Companion ability.

These prerequisites must be met for the item to be created. [...] In addition, you cannot create spell-trigger and spell-completion magic items without meeting their spell prerequisites.

The second sentence is obviously trying to impose additional limitations.

However, if "you" refers to the cooperating team, then the second is purely redundant and does not add any additional limitations.

As such, it seems that "you" refers to the item creator and not a co-operating team, and thus, the Original Poster's scenario is not possible according to the RAW.

The quoted paragraph really needs a rewriting, though.

This was discussed recently.

The Duration entry should be "instantaneous; see text."

Previously,

The duration should be "1 round."

if a character has an intelligence of 20, he gets 5 bonus languages.

Is this correct?

Not quite. He gets the 5 from his intelligence plus any bonus languages from his race.

You apply your character's Intelligence modifier to [...] the number of bonus languages your character knows at the start of the game. These are in addition to any starting racial languages and Common. If you have a penalty, you can still read and speak your racial languages unless your Intelligence is lower than 3.

If something is covered with glowing sparkling particles which stick to it, it isn't outlined. its coated. But the text of the spell says something is outlined.......

It depends on the density of the coating. A light coating would create a 3D outline as you could still see into the invisible character's space and beyond.

Seriously, if that is the player's reasoning, it demonstrates an intelligent use of mechanics to actually augment actual role-playing.

That type of thinking needs to be encouraged, not shut down.

++