Patrick "Varg" Meade's page

This is perhaps self-evident, and either my player or I am not getting it, but we've had a disagreement on the wording and intent of Spiritual Weapon (and this would likely affect the arcane version, Mage's Sword).

The weapon always strikes from your direction.

I read that as something similar to Interposing Hand. The caster designates a target, and the weapon will place itself between the caster and the target, striking the target "from the caster's direction". Allowances are made if there are other allies/enemies/obstacles in a particular square, but the intent is that it will strike from whatever direction the caster happens to be.

My player, who also DMs on alternating weeks, doesn't agree. He wanted to place the spiritual weapon BEHIND the target (as it related to his actual direction). Which would essentially have the spiritual weapon strike TOWARD the caster's direction, rather than FROM the caster's direction. When arguing his side, he seemed to think that by disallowing his desired placement, that negated the allowance of the Range of the spell (Medium range). I disagreed, as it allows you to direct the weapon to any target within medium range. Just that...it should be placed in a square between the caster and the target.

I suppose the intent could be more in the line of "at your direction", where direction isn't so much a mapped ordinal direction (north, south, etc), but more in the line of it acts as you direct it. If you don't direct it, it doesn't choose a new target for itself, so you must do it yourself. But, to me, that would be "at your direction", not "from your direction".

I could just not be finding them, or there may not be any. But, are there any rules for damaging/ruining items submerged underwater for an extended period of time?

I know there are rules for combat and movement and such, so I don't mean something on a character who's underwater for a bit. I'm focusing on sets of armor, such as Leather, that have been sitting in 30' of water for days/weeks/months/years. I would imagine metal armor and weapons might be damaged as well, though I think it would take longer.

Am I overthinking things? Is it perfectly fine to say, "you find a set of padded armor. It's been down here for 10 years, but it's perfectly fine"? At what point would it become, "you find what looks like might have been padded armor, but it's become ruined and unusable"?

I just want to verify that I'm reading/interpreting this correctly.

Grayflame weapon ability: "This weapon responds to channeled positive and negative energy. When the wielder spends a swift action to channel energy through the weapon, it ignites with a strange gray flame that sheds light as a torch, increases the weapon’s enhancement bonus by +1, and deals +1d6 damage (as the divine power from flame strike) to creatures struck by the weapon. This flame lasts for 1 round for every d6 of damage or healing the channeling normally provides.
When charged with positive energy, the flame is a silvery gray, good creatures are immune to the weapon’s extra damage, and the weapon counts as a good and
silver weapon for the purpose of bypassing damage reduction.
When charged with negative energy, the flame is an ashen gray, evil creatures are immune to the weapon’s extra damage, and the weapon counts as an evil and cold iron weapon for the purpose of bypassing damage reduction.
This special ability can only be placed on melee weapons."

Death's Kiss: "You can cause a creature to take on some of the traits of the undead with a melee touch attack. Touched creatures are treated as undead for the purposes of effects that heal or cause damage based on positive and negative energy. This effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your cleric level (minimum 1). It does not apply to the Turn Undead or Command Undead feats. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier."

So based on this, an evil cleric of Urgathoa with the Undead subdomain could touch a living opponent, thereby preventing the opponent (or it's allies) from healing it with a Channel Positive Energy or Cure spell. The opponent's party would also have to have an Inflict spell or ability to Channel Negative Energy in order to heal them.

If this cleric also happened to have a Grayflame weapon, and channeled Negative energy into it, and struck that same opponent (who was not evil), would that opponent take the additional 1d6 damage?

I would say "yes". The Grayflame weapon changes the energy somehow, in one of two ways perhaps. One, it changes the determination of effect from living or undead, to good or evil. Whereas naturally, Negative Energy would still harm an Evil Living creature, with Grayflame it would be immune to that damage. Two, with the reference to Flame Strike, the energy is no longer Negative (or Positive), it is simply Divine.

I can just see a question/argument about this, as if you are channeling Negative Energy (into the weapon), and Negative Energy now heals the target, that target shouldn't receive the extra damage.

Just thought I'd get the forum's thoughts.

If you specialize in an arcane school, rather than studying each school equally (as universalists do), you gain an extra spell slot for each level of spell you can cast. You can prepare only spells of your chosen arcane school in these extra slots. In addition, you can prepare an extra cantrip of your chosen school. You also add another arcane spell of your chosen school to your spellbook.

- Page 207 2E CRB "Arcane Schools"

I'd like to check my understanding of the extra spell you get in your book for specialists of a school. Is this a single spell during character creation? Or a single spell at any time? A spell each time you level? Or a spell each time you get a new level of spell? I think what would have been clearer is:

You also add a 6th 1st level arcane spell, which must be of your chosen school, to your spellbook."

-or-

You also add a 3rd arcane spell, which must be of your chosen school, to your spellbook each time you level."

-or-

You also add another arcane spell of your chosen school to your spellbook for each level of spell you can cast."

-or even-

You may add a single arcane spell of your chosen school to your spellbook , of a spell level you can cast, but this spell may be chosen at any level (you could save this until 17th level to gain an extra 9th level spell)."

In support of one of the middle two options (more than just a single additional spell, whether 1st level or any level), the first sentence on Page 204 states:

You gain additional spells and spell slots for spells of your school.

So, it should be multiple extra spells, I'm just not sure how many. Does a 20th level Specialist Wizard get 9 or 10 extra spells? Or 20?

Sorry if this has been answered, but I can't find it if it has. In Ultimate Combat, "Magic Siege Engine, Greater" has a Range of Close, but a Target of one siege engine touched. So I'm confused. Is it a Touch spell, or is it a Ranged spell?

Based on Magic Siege Engine, I would say it's a Touch spell, but sometimes details like this change when going from the base to the improved or greater versions.