Writing a new version of D&D is a great opportunity to clear up some ambiguous rules. But what qualifies as ambiguous? Well, WotC publishes a FAQ; presumably everything in the FAQ has confused at least one player at least one time. Frankly, some of the questions seemed perfectly clear to me, but there's someone out there who would disagree with me.
So I went through the FAQ and seeing which issues Pathfinder has clarified. I marked each question as "Yes, Pathfinder has clarified it" or "No, Pathfinder has not clarified it". I removed a bunch of questions that I don't think belong in the Pathfinder "core" rule book, but I used my personal judgement (which you're free to disagree with). Likewise, I used my judgement over whether Pathfinder's wording is any clearer; in most cases, the wording is identical to WotC's, so it's a moot point.
The overall verdict: Pathfinder did pretty well on clarifying wild shape, mirror image, polymorph and undead turning. Some areas to work on are: natural weapons, the monk's flurry of blows, two-weapon fighting and invisibility.
Cheers!
hogarth
I'd like to know just how intelligent a human character
with an Intelligence score of 3 is. What is the character's
approximate IQ?
-No.
How do racial Hit Dice factor into the computation of a
multiclass character's uneven class and a favored class?
Are they ignored completely?
-No.
Does uncanny dodge protect a character from losing his
Dexterity bonus to AC to a successful feint?
-No.
If my character gains evasion from two different
classes, does he now have improved evasion?
-No.
Do drow and other creatures with light sensitivity or
light blindness count as `creatures to which sunlight is
harmful or unnatural' for the purpose of sunbeam and
sunburst?
-No.
Can a dwarf wearing medium or heavy armor or carrying a
medium or heavy load use the Tumble skill?
-No.
The barbarian's fast movement does not list a bonus type.
Is it meant to stack with other movement-increasing
effects?
-No.
Does a raging barbarian lose the effects of his rage
(including the extra hit points from his increased
Constitution) when he falls unconscious?
-No.
Does a dwarf barbarian wearing heavy armor retain the
fast movement ability?
-No.
Can a bard use bardic knowledge anytime a Knowledge
skill check called for?
-Yes; bardic knowledge works differently now.
If a cleric's turning check results in a `Most Powerful
Undead Affected' Hit Dice of 0 or less, does that mean the
cleric's turn attempt failed, or is 1 HD always the
minimum?
-Yes; channel energy works differently now.
How do I know when my cleric can prepare spells? Does
he need to rest first?
-No.
My DM says that my cleric has to drop his morningstar
to cast spells. Is he right?
-No.
Can a cleric turn undead while under the effects of
greater invisibility? Page 159 of the Player's Handbook says
only that the cleric must present his holy weapon to attempt
to turn undead. Does `present' imply that the holy symbol
must be visible or just held forth?
-No.
I assume that my lawful good cleric of a lawful neutral
deity must opt to turn undead and not rebuke. If he later
becomes lawful neutral, can he opt to start rebuking instead
of turning? What if he then becomes lawful evil? What if he
is a lawful good cleric of Wee Jas who becomes lawful
neutral?
-No.
When a cleric has a temporary bonus to his Charisma
score, does it affect his turning check or turning damage?
Does it change the number of times he can turn or rebuke
per day?
-No.
Can a cleric/wizard lose a prepared wizard spell to
spontaneously cast a cure spell?
-No.
Does the +1 caster level bonus from such domains as
Good, Knowledge, and Law apply to all spells (of the
appropriate school, subschool, or descriptor), to divine
spells, or only to cleric spells?
-Yes; those domains work differently now.
When you add Hit Dice to a druid's (or ranger's) animal
companion as the master's level goes up, does the animal
get any bigger?
-Yes; animal companions work differently now.
In 3.5, it appears that druids lose their abilities only
when using metal armor or shields, but not when wielding
nondruid weapons (as was previously true). Is this the case?
For instance, could a barbarian/druid wield a greataxe
without losing his abilities?
-No.
The Player's Handbook says that a druid loses his
abilities if he `carries a prohibited shield.' Can a druid
carry such an item (say, in a backpack) without actually
using it and not lose druid abilities?
-No.
In the animal companion sidebar (Player's Handbook,
page 36), it says that animal companions have good
Fortitude and Reflex saves, which are also the good saves
for all regular animals. However, dire animals have good
progression in all three saves. Thus, what happens when a
dire animal becomes a druid's animal companion?
-Yes; animal companions work differently now.
My druid wants to take an animal companion that isn't
listed in the Player's Handbook. How can I figure out what
druid level is required for the animal I want?
-No.
When a druid reaches the equivalent of 3rd level, does
his wolf animal companion grow to Large size (with all of
the benefits and penalties associated with size increase)?
-Yes; animal companions work differently now.
Can a druid cast awaken on a plant that isn't a tree?
What about on a shambling mound, treant, or other
creature with the plant type?
-No.
Can a druid cast awaken on an already awakened tree?
-No.
Are the additional languages an awakened tree or
animal gains based on the Intelligence of the caster or on
the new Intelligence score of the awakened creature?
-No.
Can a druid (or other character) take an awakened tree
or animal as a cohort using the Leadership feat? If so, how
do I figure out how powerful the cohort is in terms of level?
-No.
If an awakened animal's type permanently changes
back to animal (from magical beast), can it then become an
animal companion, familiar, or special mount?
-No.
Does a druid's trackless step ability function even when
she's using wild shape? What about her other
nonspellcasting class abilities, such as woodland stride or
resist nature's lure?
-Yes; wild shape no longer causes you to lose abilities.
A druid with trackless step doesn't leave tracks. Is this
because she doesn't exert any weight on the surface she
walks on, and if so does this mean she wouldn't break
through thin ice or similar surfaces?
-No.
As per the errata for wild shape, despite an altered
Constitution score the character's hit points do not change
accordingly. Does this mean that regardless of Constitution
changes while wild shaped a character's hit points are
unaffected?
-Yes; wild shape works differently now.
If a wild shaped character takes Constitution damage or
drain, which Con score do I use to determine when the
character is killed by being reduced to 0 Con--the original
score or the new one?
-Yes; wild shape works differently now.
I've been reading the new Player's Handbook, and I'm
confused about the monk. The new monk class description
says a monk gets an extra attack from the flurry of blows
ability by taking -2 on all of her attacks. Additionally, she
gets an additional attack at her full attack bonus at 11th
level. The table for flurry attacks shows this progression
through 3rd level, but then the progression breaks down. At
5th level, the monk's base attack is identical to 4th level, but
her attack bonuses for her flurry attacks increase by one,
and this keeps happening. Also, is the additional attack at
11th level taken at the monk's full base attack bonus? Or is
it taken at base attack -2, as with the other flurry attacks?
Assuming the text and not the table is to be followed, a
20th-level monk should either attack at +13/+13/+13/+8/+3
or +15/+13/+13/+8/+3. Which is correct?
-No.
Exactly how often can a monk attack with a single
manufactured weapon when using the flurry of blows
ability? For example, if I have a +1 alchemical silver dagger,
and I'm allowed three attacks in a flurry, how many of
those attacks can be dagger attacks? What if I have two
daggers? How about with natural weaponry, such as a claw
or bite? For example, if I have a vampire monk, can I
flurry with a slam attack and drain energy multiple times
from one living foe? If natural weaponry doesn't work with
a flurry, why not?
-No.
The description of the flurry of blows ability says
there's no such thing as a monk attacking with an off-hand
weapon during a flurry of blows. What does that mean,
exactly? Can the monk make off-hand attacks in addition to
flurry attacks?
-No.
Can a monk fight with two weapons? Can she combine
a two-weapon attack with a flurry of blows? What are her
penalties on attack rolls?
-No.
Can a monk who has natural weapon attacks (such as a
centaur monk) attack unarmed and still use his natural
weapons? For example, let's say he's a 4th-level monk. Can
he use a flurry of blows and attack at +5/+5/+0 unarmed
(plus other bonuses) and then at +0/+0 for 2 hooves?
-No.
Can a monk make disarm, sunder, and trip attacks
during her flurry of blows? What about grapple checks?
What about bull rushes, overruns, or other special combat
maneuvers?
-Yes and no; some combat maneuvers work differently.
Can a monk wear a gauntlet and still use her flurry of
blows? Does she gain any other special abilities of the
gauntlets with her unarmed strikes?
-No.
If a creature with multiple natural attacks (such as the
standard two claws and a bite array) takes levels of monk,
how do flurry of blows and its natural attack progression
interact?
-No.
Does the monk's ki strike (magic) only allow her to
overcome damage reduction or does it make her natural
attacks count as magic weapons for all effects (such as
affecting incorporeal opponents)?
-No.
Does the monk's spell resistance class feature stack with
spell resistance gained as a racial trait?
-No.
When a monk reaches 20th level and becomes an
outsider, does she stop aging? Does she still die when she
reaches the maximum character age or does she live
forever?
-No.
Can a monk get her unarmed strike enhanced as a
magic weapon?
-No.
Does a cloak of Charisma, an eagle's splendor spell, or other
Charisma enhancements increase the saving throw bonus
from a paladin's divine grace class feature?
-No.
Does a paladin's mount share the paladin's nonspell
special abilities, such as immunity to fear?
-No.
Does a paladin turning undead use his paladin level or
his turning level (three below his paladin level) to see if he
destroys undead?
-Yes; channel energy works differently now.
Regarding a paladin's lay on hands: the name of this
ability implies a paladin must have both hands free to use
it. The description does not make this clear, though; it
implies the paladin just needs one hand free. Could you
please clarify this?
-No.
Does a paladin who gains a special mount other than a
warhorse (such as a hippogriff or unicorn) need to train the
creature for combat with the Handle Animal skill, or is the
special mount automatically considered combat trained?
-No.
Does a ranger still deal extra damage to a favored enemy
immune to critical hits (such as constructs or undead)?
-No.
If the ranger uses the Manyshot feat against a favored
enemy, does the favored enemy damage bonus apply to all
arrows fired in the attack?
-No.
Can a rogue deal nonlethal damage with a sneak attack
using a normal weapon if she takes a -4 penalty on her
attack roll? What if the rogue tries to deal lethal damage
with a normally nonlethal weapon; can she make a sneak
attack then?
-No.
One of my players, who has a rogue character, was
reading the rogue class description and found an
explanation of a rogue using a sap or unarmed strike in a
sneak attack to deal nonlethal damage. He was wondering,
since a sap is a martial weapon, should it have been listed as
one of the martial weapons that a rogue is proficient with,
or should it be listed as a simple weapon? Or, is it assumed
in the class description that the rogue took the Martial
Weapon Proficiency (sap) feat? What happens if a rogue
isn't proficient with a sap and tries to make a sneak attack
with it? Do you have to be proficient with the weapon
you're using to make sneak attacks?
-Yes and no.
I have a multiclass barbarian/rogue. I was wondering if
he can sneak attack while raging?
-No.
If a rogue gets multiple attacks in a round (such as from
a high base attack bonus or the Rapid Shot feat), can she
make sneak attacks for all of them?
-No.
Can a rogue feint in combat, take a 5-foot step, and use
a ranged attack against the target of his feint in order to
make a sneak attack?
-No.
Can a rogue with skill mastery take 10 on a Use Magic
Device check?
-No.
Does a rogue apply sneak attack damage when
throwing alchemist fire or casting a spell such as acid
splash?
-Yes and no; splash weapons work differently now.
Can a wizard cast a spell directly from his spellbook? If so
what effects on the spellbook are there?
-No.
Can a wizard carry her familiar, or must they be at
least three size categories apart to share the same space?
How do I determine if the familiar is affected by an attack
against the master?
-No.
If my character's familiar dies (and my character loses
experience points for it) but a cleric resurrects the familiar
does my character get back the XP he lost?
-Yes; familiars work differently now.
The Player's Handbook says a wizard can scribe a spell
from a spellbook or scroll into her spellbook. Can she scribe
a spell from an arcane scroll that isn't on the wizard's spell
list?
-No.
How does a multiclassed druid/ranger determine the
statistics for her animal companion?
-No.
The section on
prestige classes in the new Dungeon Master's Guide no
longer mentions that you don't suffer an experience penalty
for having levels in a prestige class. Is this a change or an
error?
-Yes; there are no xp penalties for un-favored classes now.
What can or can't an assassin do while studying a
victim for his death attack ability?
-No.
One of my players plays a half-celestial sorcerer, and he
wants to take the dragon disciple prestige class. What
happens to his character's creature type when he reaches
the 10th level of dragon disciple? Is he still an outsider
(from his template), is he a dragon, is he both, or is he
something else? Should he gain a level adjustment from
becoming a half-dragon?
-Yes; dragon disciple works differently now.
The text for synergy under the Diplomacy skill on page
72 of the Player's Handbook states: `If you have 5 or more
ranks in Bluff, Knowledge (nobility and royalty), or Sense
Motive, you get a +2 bonus on Diplomacy checks.' I'm
assuming that means if a character has 5 ranks in Bluff,
Knowledge (nobility and royalty), and Sense Motive that
the character would receive only a +2 synergy bonus on
Diplomacy checks. Or would the character receive a +6
synergy bonus (+2 for each)?
-Yes; there are no synergies now.
How does the Disable Device skill work? Say my rogue
has spotted what looks like a pressure plate. How does he
go about disabling it? How can you disable a trap if you
don't know what it does? Or is figuring out the trap part of
disabling it?
-No.
When using a Ride skill check to claim cover from your
mount, exactly when do you start claiming cover from your
mount? When must you stop claiming cover from your
mount? The skill description says you react instantly to
claim cover, and it doesn't take an action. Does that mean
you can do so anytime, even when it's not your turn? The
skill description says you can't attack or cast spells while
claiming cover. Why is that significant if you can claim
cover anytime without using an action?
-No.
Can a character use the Tumble skill from a prone
position? Specifically, if my character is prone, can he use
Tumble to move out of a threatened square without
provoking an attack of opportunity?
-No.
The Cleave feat states that the extra attack is `at the
same bonus as the attack that dropped the previous
creature.' Does this really mean that all bonuses and
penalties on the first attack roll--aid another, smite evil,
flanking, true strike, and so on--apply to the second?
-No.
When a character with 0 hp and the Cleave feat drops a
foe with an attack, does he drop to -1 hp before or after he
makes the extra attack? What if he has Great Cleave?
-Yes; Cleave works differently now.
If an attack of opportunity drops a foe, can the attacker
then make a follow-up Cleave attack?
-Yes; Cleave works differently now.
When fighting with two weapons, does the Combat
Expertise feat apply to both weapons individually or
together? For example, do I take a -2 on attack rolls for
both weapons to add +2 Armor Class? Or do I take -2 on
attack rolls for both weapons for a +4 bonus to Armor
Class?
-No.
When using Combat Expertise or Power Attack, does
the penalty you take also apply to opposed attack rolls
(such as when you are involved in a disarm or sunder
attempt)? What about on grapple checks?
-No.
Suppose a character with the Improved Trip feat uses
the Bluff skill to successfully feint in combat and uses his
next melee attack to trip the duped opponent. It seems clear
that the character ignores that opponent's Dexterity bonus
to Armor Class for the touch attack to initiate the trip.
Assuming that the trip attempt is successful, Improved Trip
provides an additional attack as if the character hadn't
used her attack for the trip attempt. Does this mean that
the character continues to ignore the tripped opponent's
Dexterity bonus to Armor Class for the additional attack
granted by Improved Trip feat? How do other `next attack
only' effects (like the true strike spell) work with the
Improved Trip feat?
-Yes; tripping works differently now.
One of the players in a campaign that I run took the
Manyshot feat from the Epic Level Handbook. His character
gets three attacks if he takes the full attack action, from a
base attack bonus of +6/+1 and the Rapid Shot feat. He
claims that with Manyshot he can fire six arrows as a full-
round action. I say he can't, since the feat applies only to
standard actions. I think that the feat allows him to fire two
shots during a standard action as opposed to the usual
single shot that is allowed. Does Manyshot apply to full
attack as well as standard actions? I would greatly
appreciate it if you could shed some light on the situation.
-Yes; Manyshot works differently now.
Does Quick Draw (Player's Handbook, page 98) allow
you to sheathe a weapon as a free action?
-No.
Can a character with Quick Draw and a base attack
bonus of +6 or better make a melee attack with one weapon
and a ranged attack with another weapon in the same
round? What if the melee weapon requires two hands to
wield?
-No.
Can I use Power Attack when fighting with two
weapons? How does it work if my off-hand weapon is light?
-No.
Can other feats like Precise Shot and Rapid Shot be
used in connection with Manyshot?
-Yes; Manyshot works differently now.
When you use Manyshot, does your Strength bonus
from a mighty composite bow apply to each arrow's
damage?
-No.
Can you use Manyshot with a sneak attack? If so, do all
the arrows deal sneak attack damage?
-No.
Is it possible to use the Shot on the Run feat in
conjunction with the Manyshot feat?
-Yes; Manyshot works differently now.
Does Spell Focus increase the DCs of spell-like abilities?
Can I apply metamagic feats or effects to spell-like
abilities? What if the feat doesn't change the spell's level?
-No.
Can a character with Spring Attack who begins her
turn hidden move up to a foe, attack him, then return to a
position of hiding? Is she considered to be hiding (that is,
invisible to the foe) when she makes the attack? What if the
character has the camouflage or hide in plain sight class
features?
-No.
Can a rogue using Spring Attack to . . .
1) gain an extra attack against his foe in the middle of
his move?
2) deal sneak attack damage on both attacks if his target
is caught by surprise or flanked?
-No.
If you have the Trample feat, and you perform a
mounted overrun, your target cannot choose to avoid you,
and if you knock your opponent prone with the overrun,
your mount can make one hoof attack against your
opponent. Suppose you're mounted on something other
than a horse. Should the mount get one attack with its
primary natural weapon (a hoof attack is the horse's
primary attack), or does a creature without a hoof attack
get no free attack to attack against the trampled and prone
opponent?
-No.
A feat sometimes requires you to have a certain ability
score, which is the case with Two-Weapon Fighting (it
requires Dex 15). A character has, say, Dex 13, but wears
an item, in this case gloves of Dexterity +2, and now her Dex
score is 15. Can she take the feat and have it be active only
when she wears the item?
-No.
Normally, you have to use a light weapon to benefit
from the Weapon Finesse feat. You can also use a rapier or
a spiked chain with Weapon Finesse. You cannot use the
Power Attack feat with a light weapon. Can you use a
spiked chain or a rapier and benefit from both Weapon
Finesse and Power Attack at the same time?
-No.
Do you gain the benefits of Weapon Finesse (Player's
Handbook, page 102) while fighting with two light weapons
simultaneously? What if you wield a light weapon and a
one-handed weapon (such as a short sword and longsword)
simultaneously?
-No.
Can a character wearing heavy armor use Whirlwind
Attack (Player's Handbook, page 102)? A character cannot
use Spring Attack (Player's Handbook, page 100), a
prerequisite for this feat, in heavy armor.
-No.
A sorcerer needs at least a full-round action to cast any
spell modified by a metamagic feat. Does this means the
spell takes effect in the following round, or does it go off at
the end of the round in which it is cast?
-No.
If a spontaneous spellcaster applies two metamagic feats
to a spell does the casting time increase to 2 rounds?
-No.
Do Empower Spell and Maximize Spell affect d20 rolls
made as part of a spell's effect (such as an attack roll or
dispel check)?
-No.
Can Silent Spell be used when attempting to remain
quiet as well as to bypass the effects of a silence spell?
-No.
Can Still Spell be used when entangled to allow the
caster to avoid a Concentration check to cast the spell?
-No.
Can I use my normal 3rd-level fireball to counterspell a
fireball spell to which the caster applied a metamagic feat,
or would I need to use a version of the spell with the same
metamagic feats applied to it?
-No.
Can I counterspell a quickened spell?
-No.
The equipment section in the Player's Handbook says hemp
rope can be burst with a successful DC 23 Strength check.
Does this mean that a bound character, no matter how
cleverly tied up, can simply escape by making a DC 23
Strength check? A character with a Strength score of at
least 16 (+3 bonus) could do that automatically by `taking
20' on the check.
-No.
To activate a spell completion or spell trigger item, the
spell in the item must appear on your class spell list. How
do you handle a cleric's domain spells? Most deities have
three or four domains, but a cleric chooses only two of
them. Are only the spells from the domains the cleric has
chosen on his class spell list for the purpose of activating
these items? Or are the spells for all domains associated
with the cleric's deity on his class spell list? Also, which
spells are on a specialist wizard's class spell list? Do all
wizard spells remain on the wizard class spell list, even
when the wizard has chosen a specialty and his prohibited
schools?
-No and yes; specialist wizards work differently now.
The section on page 159 of the Player's Handbook that
covers using a weapon to make a trip attack says some
weapons can be used for tripping, and then it lists a few
weapons. Is the list the complete list of weapons that you
can use to make trip attacks, or are there others? Can a
character use, say, a quarterstaff to trip?
-No.
Suppose I have a weapon that is bane vs. constructs and
it is not made of adamantine. If I attack an iron golem with
this weapon, does the weapon bypass the golem's damage
reduction? In general, will a bane weapon bypass damage
reduction when you use it to attack a designated foe?
-No.
You can get a host of benefits from wielding a two-
handed weapon, such as 1-1/2 times your Strength bonus
on damage (and twice your damage bonus from the Power
Attack feat) and a +4 bonus on your opposed attack roll if
someone tries to disarm you. So when is a weapon `twohanded?' For example, a lance is a two-handed weapon,
right? But you can wield it in one hand when you're
mounted. Since the weapons table shows that a lance is a
two-handed weapon, I get all the two-handed benefits no
matter how I wield the lance, right?
-No.
Do flasks of holy water hurt tieflings? Would a bane
weapon against evil outsiders get its increased enhancement
bonus against tieflings and deal extra damage against
tieflings?
-No.
How long does it take to activate a scroll with an identify
spell on it? How about a scroll with any of the summon
monster spells or a wand of summon monster?
-No.
I'm trying to find out if my rogue, wearing leather
armor, can make a Use Magic Device check to trigger a
wand containing an arcane spell. What is the DC for doing
so? It appears from the rules that the armor will cause a
10% chance of arcane spell failure, if the spell being cast
has a somatic (S) component (Player's Handbook, page 122).
Is it true that casting a spell from a spell-trigger item, such
as a wand, removes the requirement for the somatic
component, and thereby eliminates this 10% chance of
failure?
-No.
Who can use a wand or other item that is activated with
a spell trigger? I would think that you would have to be
able to cast the stored spell.
Still, some of my friends
insist that you can use any spell trigger item (wand or staff)
if you have at least one level in a class that could possibly
cast the spell.
-No.
Is a character wielding a two-handed reach weapon
(such as a longspear) and wearing spiked armor
threatening all squares within 10 feet? Assuming he has
Combat Reflexes, can he make an attack of opportunity
with his longspear and then with his armor spikes in the
same round?
-No.
On page 217 of the Dungeon Master's Guide, it states
that `the cost of the masterwork quality and any magical
enhancement remains the same' regardless of a creature's
unusual size or shape. Adamantine and mithral both state
that items made from such material are masterwork quality
and the masterwork cost is part of the material cost listed.
How much would a set of mithral chainmail barding for my
warhorse cost?
-No.
Can you activate magic items within the area of a
silence spell?
-No.
If I attack from inside an antimagic field (Player's
Handbook, 200) using a magic weapon, do I gain the benefit
of the weapon if the target is outside the antimagic field?
What about if I attack from outside against a target inside?
-No.
The description of the magical bashing property for shields
says it can be added only to light or heavy shields. Does this
exclude shields with shield spikes? That is, can you have a
+2 spiked light shield of bashing?
-No.
What happens when you make a shield from
adamantine or mithral? The adamantine description says
you can make a shield from the metal, but there's no cost
given. What is the price for an adamantine shield? What
benefits do you get from an adamantine shield? Do you get
damage reduction?
-No.
Can one use a tower shield while mounted?
-No.
Can a character make a shield bash attack using the
shield as a primary weapon or can it be used only as an offhand weapon?
-No.
If you don't have the Tower Shield Proficiency feat, you
suffer the shield armor check penalty (-10) on all your
attack rolls. The tower shield description, however, says
anyone using the shield as a normal shield has a -2 penalty
on attack rolls. If you're not proficient with the shield, do
you get the -10 penalty instead of the -2?
-No.
Ghost touch armor is supposed to protect you from
attacks by incorporeal foes, but all these creatures have
incorporeal touch attacks, and touch attacks ignore armor,
so ghost touch armor is really worthless, right?
-No.
Do ghost touch armors and shields function like force
effects? It says that the armor and shield bonuses apply
against incorporeal attacks, but most incorporeal creatures
have a touch attack, to which armor and shield bonuses
specifically do not apply.
-No.
Does the glamered armor property (Dungeon Master's
Guide, 219) change any of the statistics of the armor it
affects?
-No.
I have a bard in my game who has a bit of money to
spend. She buys a set of bracers of armor +3 and a suit of +3
leather armor. If the bard wears both at the same time, the
armor bonus from the bracers (+3) overrides the armor
bonus from the leather armor (+1). Our question is, does
the +3 enhancement bonus from the armor still get applied
for a total of +6, is it subsumed by the magic of the bracers,
or is it just ignored completely? Since the enhancement
bonus and armor bonus are different types of bonuses, the
bard thinks her total Armor Class bonus should be +6.
-No.
Just how and when can you use armor spikes? If you're
using two weapons already, can you use armor spikes to
make a second off-hand attack? What if you're using a
weapon and a shield? Can you use the armor spikes for an
off-hand attack and still get a shield bonus to Armor Class
from the shield? What if you use a two-handed weapon?
Can you wield the weapon in two hands and still make an
off-hand attack with the spikes? What are your options for
using armor spikes in a grapple? Can you use them when
pinned? If you have another light weapon, can you use that
and your armor spikes when grappling?
-No.
Just how fast can a dwarf barbarian, or other race with
a speed of 20, move in medium armor? There are two
prevailing opinions on this: 25 feet (10 feet more than that
of a typical dwarf in medium armor) or 20 feet (the result
of consulting table 7-6 for a creature with a speed of 30
feet). What is the intent of the statements on page 122 of the
Player's Handbook regarding table 7-6: `Dwarves, gnomes,
and halflings have an unencumbered speed of 20 feet. They
use the second column.' That is, where should the emphasis
be placed, on the mention of race or on the inclusion of
unencumbered speed?
-No.
Is a character proficient with light armor, such as a
rogue, considered to be proficient with mithral breastplate?
What about a character proficient with medium armor,
such as a barbarian--is he considered proficient with
mithral full plate armor?
-No.
If you cast resurrection on dragonhide armor does the
dragon come back to life?
-No.
Is it possible to fire a repeating crossbow with one hand like
a modern semiautomatic pistol?
-No.
Is a double weapon considered a two-handed weapon or
a one-handed weapon plus a light weapon, for the purposes
of feats such as Weapon Finesse and Power Attack?
-No.
Is it possible to make slashing attacks with a rapier,
perhaps at some kind of penalty? This is particularly
important for my swashbuckling character, for doing
things like sundering necklaces without harming the
wearer, and so forth.
-No.
The flaming burst, icy burst, and shocking burst
weapon powers require a critical hit to trigger the burst.
What happens when you attack a foe that isn't subject to
critical hits? Will the burst power work? A flaming burst,
icy burst, or shocking burst weapon also is a flaming, frost,
or shock weapon, respectively. What happens when the
burst power is triggered? Does the burst damage augment
or replace the damage from the energy power?
-No.
The new descriptions for the flaming, frost, and shock
weapon special abilities say that these weapons' energy
effects work only on command. Why was this changed in
the revision? Does that mean that their wielders must use a
standard action to activate them for each attack? Or do the
energy effects last awhile? If so, how long do they last?
-No.
How do reach weapons work if they are of a different
size than the creature wielding them? Say, an ogre wielding
a Small or Medium glaive, or a human with the Monkey
Grip feat wielding a Large ranseur? What is the reach for
each situation?
-No.
Exactly when is a weapon light, one-handed, and two-
handed? And when do you take the -2 penalty for using a
weapon of the wrong size? How does the system of weapon
sizes work with exotic weapons such as the bastard sword
and dwarven waraxe, which are one-handed exotic
weapons, but two-handed martial weapons? If my dwarf
wants to use a dwarven waraxe in one hand, how big a
dwarven waraxe can she wield? Suppose my dwarf wants to
fight with two weapons and use a dwarven waraxe as a light
weapon in her off hand. How big a dwarven waraxe can she
use then?
-No.
The description of the spiked chain states that it is a
reach weapon that can be used against adjacent foes. What
if a Large creature wields a Large spiked chain? Can it
attack the squares that are 10 feet away? What are the
adjacent foes of a Large or larger creature?
-No.
Can I throw weapons with both hands? What happens
if I also use Rapid Shot?
-No.
Finally, what happens when a weapon or shield has a
special quality that increases the item's price as an
additional enhancement bonus? Does the item gain
hardness and hit points for that extra enhancement bonus?
What about magic items that don't have enhancement
bonuses? Do they get any extra hardness or hit points?
When a special material gives a nonmagical enhancement
bonus, such as adamantine, does the item gain any extra
hardness or hit points from that bonus?
-No.
Are weapons made from cold iron resistant to spells
that provide an enhancement bonus or a special ability,
such as magic weapon or align weapon?
-No.
The descriptions of ghost touch weapons on pages 224
and 225 of the Dungeon Master's Guide says that a ghost
touch weapon functions as either a corporeal or an
incorporeal object, whichever is more beneficial to the
wielder at the time. Does that mean that ghost touch
weapons also ignore armor and natural armor bonuses to
their target's AC in the hands of corporeal creatures?
-No.
Does the sun power of a sunblade (see the Dungeon
Master's Guide, page 228) count as sunlight for the purpose
of affecting vampires or other creatures vulnerable to
sunlight?
-No.
When buying ammunition using the special materials
from Chapter 7 in the Dungeon Master's Guide, is the cost
given to upgrade a single piece, or do you get twenty pieces,
as you do when buying nonmagic ammunition? For
example, do twenty adamantine arrows cost 61 gp (twenty
arrows for 1 + 60 gp for adamantine ammunition), or 1,201
gold pieces (twenty arrows for 1 +60 gp per arrow for
adamantine ammunition)?
-No.
In the question above the Sage states, `The ammunition
prices for special materials are per piece. A single
adamantine arrow costs 61 gp. Twenty such arrows would
cost 1,220 gp (not 1,201 gp).' Does that apply to all special
materials, or just those that are automatically masterwork,
or just those that have an addition to the cost rather than a
multiplier?
-No.
Does ammunition made with a special material, such as
adamantine, break after use as with magical ammunition?
-No.
For creatures that have damage reduction bypassed by
epic weapons, does the weapon have to be a +6 or greater
weapon, or can it just have enhancements that push it into
the epic category (like a +5 keen shocking burst vorpal
longsword)?
-No.
Can you use a whip with two hands, thus gaining 1.5 x
Strength bonus?
-No.
Can you use the Power Attack feat in combination with
a whip?
-No.
When releasing a dancing weapon (Dungeon Master's
Guide, 224), what attack modifier does it use? Does it attack
on the round it is released?
-No.
The seeking property for ranged weapons says it
negates `any miss chances that would otherwise apply'
(Dungeon Master's Guide, 225). Does this also negate the
AC bonus from cover, since that creates a chance that your
attack will miss?
-No.
I'm looking at the descriptions for the various command-
activated magic rings in the Dungeon Master's Guide, and I
can't find any mention of how long these powers actually
last once activated. For example, how long do you blink
when you activate a ring of blinking? How long can you
turn spells when you activate a ring of spell turning? What
happens if I activate a ring twice? Do the durations stack?
-No.
What is the duration of the invisibility granted by a ring
of invisibility?
-No.
If you are playing a monstrous character with four
arms, can you wear a magic ring on each hand, or are you
still limited to two rings?
-No.
Does the shield of force created by the ring of force
shield (Dungeon Master's Guide, 232) require a free hand to
use, or can I use it when wielding two weapons or a two-
handed weapon?
-No.
The description of the ring of sustenance says the user
gets all the benefits of 8 hours of sleep in 2 hours. How does
this affect a bard, sorcerer, or wizard who wants to regain
spells? Specifically, how does this interact with the casting
limit rule in the Player's Handbook?
-No.
Does a wizard (or other spellcaster who prepares spells)
with a metamagic rod (Dungeon Master's Guide, 236)
activate it when preparing spells (thus preparing three
spells with a metamagic effect without paying the extra
spell level cost) or when casting spells (allowing her to apply
the metamagic effect to any three spells she likes)?
-No.
If you aren't of the right level to read a scroll, you have to
make a caster level check to actually use the scroll, right? If
this fails, you have to make a DC 5 Wisdom check to avoid
a mishap. What happens to the scroll if you fail both
checks? Does the failure erase the scroll? What happens if
you fail the caster level check, but make the Wisdom check?
Is the writing on the scroll still there?
-No.
Can you take 10 or take 20 when attempting to activate
a scroll?
-No.
When you use a staff, you use your own relevant ability
score and feats to determine the save DCs for the spells cast
from the staff, and you can use your own caster level for
those spells too, if it's higher than the staff's caster level.
Does this mean you can apply metamagic feats you know to
spells you cast from a staff?
-No.
Can my cleric of Pelor activate a wand of holy smite if he
doesn't have the Good domain? After all, it's on his deity's
list of domain spells, so that's the same as being on my
character's spell list, right?
-Yes and no; Holy Smite is not just a domain spell now, but the question applies to other domains.
Boccob's blessed book allows a wizard to fill its 1,000 pages
with spells without paying the 25 gp per page material cost.
The Player's Handbook (page 179), however, says materials
for writing the spell (special quills, inks, and other supplies)
cost 100 gp per page. Which number is correct? Does it cost
25 gp or 100 gp per page to write a spell into a spellbook?
Does Boccob's blessed book merely subtract 25 gp from the
100 gp per page cost? Also, can a wizard write a spell from
any source she could otherwise copy? For example, suppose
a wizard finds an arcane scroll with a spell that's on the
wizard class list. Can the wizard copy that spell into a
Boccob's blessed book? Could the wizard do the same thing
with a wizard spell from another wizard's spellbook? Or is
Boccob's blessed book only intended as a cheap way to back
up spells from one's own spellbook? How long does it take
to copy a spell into the book? Do you have to make any skill
checks to copy the spell?
-No.
The circlet of persuasion (Dungeon Master's Guide, 252)
grants a +3 competence bonus on Charisma-based checks.
Does this bonus apply on turn/rebuke undead checks?
-Yes; channel undead works differently now.
The description for the glove of storing in the Dungeon
Master's Guide ends with two sentences that have given me
some trouble. The first says spell durations on items stored
in the glove `continue to expire.' What does that mean?
Suppose I'm a 3rd-level wizard and I cast a magic weapon
spell on a sword, then store the sword in the glove. Two
weeks later, I retrieve the weapon from the glove. Is the
weapon still under the effect of the spell, or has the spell
long since expired? The final sentence is even more
puzzling. It says that when an effect is suppressed or
dispelled, the stored item reappears instantly. What does
that mean? The stored item reappears when what effect is
suppressed or dispelled? What happens if I've got my
hands full when the stored item reappears?
-No.
Do ability enhancing items (such as the headband of
intellect, cloak of charisma, and periapt of wisdom) grant
bonus spells to the appropriate spellcasters? The spells
these items are based on would seem to prohibit it, but the
only things specifically addressed in the item descriptions
are skill points.
-Yes; ability enhancing items work differently now.
Does the ivory goat of travail (Dungeon Master's Guide,
256) have all of the special attacks and qualities of the
nightmare (including planar travel abilities) in addition to
its normal statistics?
-No.
Does a monk's belt (Dungeon Master's Guide, 248) grant
a non-monk wearer his Wisdom bonus to AC?
-Yes; the monk's robe works differently now.
Is a pearl of power a use activated item (as stated on
page 213 of the Dungeon Master's Guide) or a command
word item (as stated in the item's description on page 263)?
Does it require a standard action to use and then another
action to cast the recalled spell, or is activating the pearl
part of casting the recalled spell?
-No.
Can a pearl of power be used to recall a spell of a lower
level than it's designed for? After all, I could have prepared
a lower-level spell in that spell slot.
-No.
Is there a limit to the number of pearls of power that a
character can carry or use?
-No.
Can you use a portable hole (Dungeon Master's Guide,
264) to go through a wall or floor that's less than 10 feet
thick?
-No.
I'm unclear about the exact cost of adding enhancements to
a cold iron weapon. Page 284 in the Dungeon Master's
Guide says any magical enhancements to a cold iron item
cost an additional 2,000 gp. I am unclear as to whether this
is a one-time cost or if it applies to each enhancement. For
example, would a +1 cold iron frost longsword cost the same
as a +2 cold iron longsword (10,330 gp) since both are `+2'
weapons, or would it cost 12,330 gp (2,000 extra for the +1
enhancement, and 2,000 extra for the frost enhancement)?
Also, is the extra cost (whatever it might be) added to the
magic item's base (so that it takes longer to make a cold
iron item), or just to the total price?
-No.
Can magic items be further enhanced or improved after
initial creation? The players in my campaign are wondering
if they can take a +1 longsword (whether they made or
found it) and make it a +1 flaming longsword. If they can,
how would we calculate the costs?
-No.
Say a wizard wanted to increase the armor bonus on
her robe of the archmagi, or improve her ring of wizardry III
to a ring of wizardry IV. How would I figure out the cost for
increasing such abilities?
-No.
Are there reductions on magic item prices when the
item is restricted to certain classes?
-No.
According to the rules, creating a magic item takes one
day per 1,000 gp in its base cost, with a minimum of one
day. The random scroll generation charts in the Dungeon
Master's Guide state that a scroll could have up to six spells
on it. Does this mean that when I create a scroll I can place
six spells on it? Does it count as one scroll or six for
purposes of item creation (in other words, should it take
one day or six)?
-No.
Can sudden metamagic feats (from Complete Arcane) be
used to scribe scrolls or craft wands that include the
metamagic effect? If so, how would you calculate the cost
(since sudden metamagic feats don't alter the level of the
spell)?
-No (the same question applies to the Universal wizard's metamagic ability).
Is the caster level of the character with
the item creation feat being used to create the item (the
`creator') a limit on the power of the item? For example,
can a 3rd-level wizard with the Craft Wondrous Item feat
create items containing any spell (assuming access to the
spells by other means), or is he limited to 2nd-level spells?
-No.
Can you enhance a pair of gloves as a weapon (such as
+1 frost gloves, for example)? What would they cost?
-No.
Several armor and weapon special abilities have fixed
prices instead of a bonus equivalency. Do these abilities
count toward the maximum +10 bonus in enhancements?
-No.
Does a shield bonus granted by a force effect protect
against incorporeal touch attacks the way an armor bonus
granted by a force effect will?
-No.
Exactly when can a character make a Reflex saving
throw? The saving throw section on the Player's Handbook
says Reflex saves depend on a character's ability to dodge
out of the way. Does that mean you can't make Reflex saves
if you can't move?
-No.
Will a reach weapon (or natural reach) allow you to
make an attack of opportunity against a foe using the
Spring Attack or Ride-By Attack feats against you? Don't
you always get an attack of opportunity against a foe that
moves in to make a melee attack against you when you have
greater reach than that foe? What about a 5-foot step? If
you have greater reach than your foe, won't you get an
attack of opportunity against a foe that uses a 5-foot step to
get close enough to attack you?
-No.
If a player who is disabled performs an action that
brings him or her above 0 hit points, does he get a move
action as part of the same round? Or does the disabled
condition apply for 1 round before he's restored to normal
actions?
-No.
If an enemy makes an attack against me that would
provoke an attack of opportunity (such as a disarm or
grapple attempt), do I get the attack of opportunity if I
can't reach him?
-No.
Just when do so-called full-round actions take place?
Does a sorcerer's heightened spell (or any other spell with a
metamagic feat applied) go off on the sorcerer's turn, or not
until just before the sorcerer's action on the following turn?
What about other full-round actions? The coup de grace
has generated a lot of problems in our campaign. When is
this action finished? If it's not over until just before the
attacker's next action, can the target's friends save her,
perhaps by getting in the way or dragging her out of reach?
-No.
Is a coup de grace attack an evil act? (i.e., can a paladin
make such an attack without falling from grace?)
-No.
If you have more than one attack, can you attack one
foe, take a 5-foot step, and make another attack against a
different foe (assuming of course, that you didn't otherwise
move during your turn)?
-No.
When you normally get to make more than one attack a
round, and you are wielding two weapons, do you get to add
your full base attack bonus on one attack or both? Would a
6th-level fighter count the +6 base attack bonus for the first
attack and the +1 for the second? Would you get +6 on both
the first two attacks and a +1 on the third and fourth?
-No.
I have a 14th-level fighter with a 16 Strength and 19
Dexterity, who fights with two rapiers. He also has Greater
Two-Weapon Fighting, Greater Weapon Focus (rapier),
Greater Weapon Specialization (rapier), Weapon Finesse,
and all the necessary prerequisite feats. His base attack
bonus is +14/+9/+4, and with Weapon Finesse and Greater
Weapon Focus, his attack bonuses jump to +20/+15/+10.
[...]
Are those two attacks at a +15 and +10? Are the
penalties reduced by 2 because a rapier is a light weapon,
making them +17 and +12? I'm not sure if the negatives are
final in the feat descriptions or if light weapons still need to
be taken into account when calculating these attacks. I
suspect that my two remaining primary attacks suffer a -2
penalty, for a total of +13 and +8.
-No.
Is it possible to eliminate all penalties when fighting
with two weapons?
-No.
My character has 18 Strength and wields a two-bladed
sword. When I make only a single attack with it, how much
of my Strength bonus can I add to the damage? Does it
matter which end I swing with?
-No.
My DM thinks that if you have four attacks in a round,
and you're using the full attack action, you have to
designate all your targets at the beginning of the round, and
that you can't switch your targets once you start rolling
your attacks. I think you choose the target for any attack
after you have seen the effect of your last attack. Please
help us.
-No.
How long does it take to draw a projectile weapon? The
Player's Handbook says that drawing a weapon is a move
action. Is this limited to weapons that are `drawn' from a
sheath or scabbard, or to any weapon on the creature's
person that is not in a sealed container?
-No.
Does drawing a wand from a wand sheath provoke
attacks of opportunity or can I draw it as if it were a
weapon? If I have Quick Draw, can I draw a wand as a free
action?
-No.
In a previous column, the Sage ruled that switching
weapons from one hand to the other should take a move
action. My group and I thought that seemed pretty long,
since it's only a free action to drop something. Why can't
you just drop it into your other hand?
-No.
What kind of action is it to drop gear, such as a
backpack or a sack? For instance, I have players that load
up their PCs with so much gear that they become
encumbered. During battle they argue that it's a free action
to drop their gear to lose the encumbrance penalties. I feel
that they are trying to get a fast one over me. What do you
think?
-No.
I was planning on playing a dwarf ranger with a
crossbow, but ran into a quandary. The description of a
light crossbow says it normally takes a standard action to
reload. Does this mean you can fire a light crossbow only
once every other round? How does this affect Rapid Shot
and multiple attacks earned for higher levels?
-No.
Are there range modifiers for ranged touch attacks, and
if so, what are they? Perhaps the same as the range
modifierss for making Spot checks?
-No.
Can you take a free action and a standard action as part
of a readied action? For example, suppose I ready an action
to attack the first monster to come into melee range. A
monster comes into range, and I take an attack--can I also
shout, cast a quickened spell, or use some other free action?
-No.
Is it possible for an attack of opportunity to provoke an
attack of opportunity? For example, a fighter attempts to
trip a cleric. The cleric chooses to make a sunder attack
against the fighter's weapon as his attack of opportunity.
Does the sunder attack then provoke an attack of
opportunity from the fighter?
-No.
Can you make a trip attack (or other special attack) as
an attack of opportunity?
-No.
If you make a trip attack as an attack of opportunity,
does your target get a chance to make a trip attack in
return if you fail? What about a disarm attack?
-No.
Does uncanny dodge make you immune to feinting in
combat?
-No.
How long does it take for an untrained person to apply
poison to a blade, while having a 5% chance to poison
themselves? Additionally, how long does it take someone
trained with poison, like an assassin?
-No.
Total cover prevents any attack against you. You can
use a tower shield to get total cover if you give up all your
attacks. What does `give up all your attacks' mean? Can
you move while getting total cover from the shield? Can
you cast a spell? Also, do you get total cover from all
directions or from just one side of your square? Will the
total cover from a tower shield negate spell effects? Will it
negate attacks of opportunity from movement or from
other actions such as spellcasting? Will it prevent charge
attacks against you? What about bull rush attacks? Can it
prevent grapple attacks or snatch attacks? Will it stop fear
effects, gaze attacks, or clouds of poison gas? Will it defeat
traps?
-No.
If I ready a spear for a charge does that mean I have to
make an attack against the first enemy to charge me?
-No.
The Player's Handbook says that to determine cover I
must draw a line between my square and my target's
square. What if my target or I take up more than one
square?
-No.
Given that being prone means you are lying on the
ground (Player's Handbook, page 311), who can be prone?
Can oozes be prone? What about creatures with no limbs
like snakes? What about incorporeal creatures?
-No.
Being tripped makes you prone. Who can be tripped?
Beholders? Gelatinous cubes? What effect does tripping
have on these creatures? Can a prone character be tripped
again? What about flying and swimming creatures? Many
creatures have neither legs nor any relationship to the
ground or gravity. How does tripping affect them?
-No.
When a character gets up from prone, when does the
attack of opportunity take place? When he is still prone?
When he is standing? Can the attacker choose when to
attack? In one case, the attacker can get a +4 bonus to hit.
In the other, he can make another trip attack.
-No.
Can prone characters move? The rules on crawling
would obviously apply here, but this question also includes
things like limbless creatures and oozes.
-No.
Can my character make a jumping charge attack, either
with a long jump or a high jump?
-No.
Can I overrun multiple opponents as part of the same
action? It seems like a hefty fighter should be able to blast
past several opponents if he is willing to take all of the
associated attacks of opportunity and other drawbacks.
-No.
What happens if you attempt a coup de grace with a
weapon that deals nonlethal damage, such as a sap or a
weapon with the merciful property? Is the coup de grace
still automatically a critical hit? Is the target required to
make a Fortitude save? If so, what's the DC, and what
happens if the target fails? What happens if you use a
normally lethal weapon to deal nonlethal damage as a coup
de grace?
-No.
If a creature has 0 reach, it must enter an enemy's
square to attack that enemy, correct? If the creature enters
the enemy's square, does it now threaten the enemy? Is it
possible for the creature to flank the enemy? If so, where
would an ally need to be positioned to flank the enemy?
-No.
Which square is a rider in when on horseback? What if
two people are on the horse? What about a larger mount?
-No.
When grappling, the order of events is as follows:
starting the grapple (the `grab'), then grappling, then
pinning, right? How many of these can you do in a round?
Can you, in one attack, go all the way to pinned or is it
based on the number of attacks you have?
-Yes; grappling works differently now.
Can you always use Escape Artist instead of a Strength
check when you're grappling, or is this only for escaping a
grapple?
-No.
If a creature with reach, such as an assassin vine,
grapples you, it then pulls you into its space. Does this move
happen all at once or is there a limit to how far you are
pulled in a round?
-No.
Can you score a critical hit with a grapple check made
to damage your opponent?
-No.
What are the rules for mounted charges? Do characters
on mounts need only a 10-foot straight path when
charging? Or do they need more room?
-No.
When you make a mounted charge, must you stop once
you are in melee range of your target? Or do you continue
past the opponent?
-No.
How many times can a mounted character charge in a
combat situation? Can a mounted character charge an
opponent that is engaged in melee with another party
member?
-No.
Is sunder a special standard action or is it a melee
attack variant? It has its own entry on the actions table, but
the text describing it refers to it as a melee attack. Is sunder
a melee attack only in the sense of hitting something with a
melee weapon, or is sunder a true melee attack?
-No.
In a combat, Bob the fighter is unconscious from
wounds, and Grog the orc moves into Bob's square. A
friendly cleric heals Bob so that Bob regains consciousness.
So the orc and prone Bob are now occupying the same
square. Now what happens? The rules say that Bob and
Grog can't be in the same square, right? So, what happens?
Is Grog somehow prevented from entering Bob's square?
Does Grog have to leave when Bob wakes up?
-No.
Earlier, you talked about Bob the fighter, who was
unconscious and later woke up, prone, to find Grog the orc
standing in his space. You said Bob has to stay prone so
long as he remained in Grog's space, and that Bob would
provoke an attack of opportunity upon leaving that space.
Suppose Bob made a grapple attack on Grog? He can
grapple Grog, can't he? Bob would be at a negative for
being prone but would not provoke an attack of
opportunity, would he? Assuming Bob establishes a hold on
Grog, how long does the prone penalty last?
-No.
What type of area does turning or rebuking undead
affect? The Player's Handbook says that a character must
have line of effect but need not have line of sight to the
undead he is trying to affect, but it doesn't specify the shape
of the area.
-No.
Suppose a fighter and an archer go at the same
initiative. The archer is not in an adjacent square but only
one square over. The fighter is not using a reach weapon.
Assuming the archer plans to use a full attack action (and
doesn't use a 5-foot step), and since they have the same
initiative, could the fighter move his 5-foot step (toward the
archer) as the archer is firing and get an attack of
opportunity?
-No.
For a good cleric, what kind of action is it to spontaneously
convert a prepared spell into a cure spell?
-No.
How many times in a day can a priest have his or her
spells replenished? I have a player who cites the Player's
Handbook as saying that the priest need meditate for only 1
hour to regain his spells. Please shed some light on this if
you can.
-No.
Many animated objects have hardness scores. What
affect, if any, will an animated object's hardness have on
spells used against the animated object? For example, an
animated wooden table would have hardness 5, right? How
would that hardness affect spells such as fireball, lightning
bolt, Melf's acid arrow, ray of frost, and magic missile?
-No.
Several spells, such as scorching ray and meteor swarm,
require the user to make multiple ranged touch attacks.
Does the caster have to use the full attack action to use all
the ranged touch attacks these spells allow? If so, how does
this work? Does the caster have to hold the charge (like a
touch spell) and then use the full attack action later? Also
what attack bonus does the caster use? Can the caster use
his full attack bonus for each ranged touch attack, or does
the caster's attack bonus decrease by 5 for each attack?
What happens if the caster uses the Quicken Spell feat and
casts the spell as a free action? What attack bonus does he
use then? How many ranged touch attacks can he make?
Do the caster's other actions during the rest of the round
affect his attack bonus when using the spell?
-No.
The rules for targeted spells say you have to be able to
see your target. Does this mean that you can use a mirror to
look around a corner and fire such a spell at a target you
see in a mirror? For example, can you use a mirror to shoot
a magic missile around a corner at your target?
-No.
Can you perform a coup de grace with a ray spell?
-No.
Alter self (Player's Handbook, page 197), the base spell in
the polymorph chain, says that the new form must be within
one size category of your normal size. Is the same true of
other spells in the chain?
-Yes; polymorph spells work differently now.
Can an antimagic field be detected by detect magic?
-No.
In a recent game we began wondering if the arcane sight
spell lets you see illusions, glyphs of warding, and other
kinds of magical traps. We agreed that the spell would
reveal the auras from glyphs, symbols, and most other
magical traps, but not see an aura around the illusion of a
door, floor, or creature.
-No.
Does an awakened tree gain skills and feats?
-No.
When do you make your save against a blade barrier
spell? Suppose you have already moved in the round and
someone casts a blade barrier spell on you. You are
supposed to move out of the area in the most direct path to
avoid damage from the spell. Since you've already moved,
do you even get a save against the spell? If you make your
save and cannot move yet, do you take damage from the
spell anyway? Or do you get to move again? Or do you wait
until it's your turn and then make the save?
-No.
Exactly how many bolts of lightning can you call with a
call lightning spell? Can you save up the bolts you're
entitled to call every minute, or do you lose them if you
don't call them when they're due? Or does the spell last
until you've called all the bolts the spell can produce?
-No.
Is it possible for detect magic to locate an invisible
creature?
-No.
Can you use detect magic to detect supernatural effects?
For example, can it detect a wildshaped druid?
-No.
What happens when multiple creatures dominate the
same target?
-No.
If a spellcaster is subjected to the enervation spell and
gets two negative levels, does the character also lose the
ability to cast his highest level of spells? The descriptive text
for negative levels says that a spellcaster loses one spell or
spell slot (the highest) for each negative level. This would
imply that the spellcaster could still cast his highest level
spells so long as he hasn't been enervated for more negative
levels than he has spells of his highest level.
-No.
If a creature or player under the effect of enlarge person
(or similar abilities) is disarmed, what happens to the
weapon when it falls to the ground? Does it return to
normal size? If so, will it grow again when picked up? If it
remains enlarged, will the effect be contingent on the
owner's effect (both in duration and if the spell is cancelled
or dispelled)?
-No.
The entangle spell allows for DMs to alter the effect of
the spell based on the nature of the entangling plants.
Exactly what sorts of effects can the DM create? What are
the limits of these changes? What sorts of plants or terrains
would cause these kinds of effects?
-No.
Will a dispel magic spell dispel an Evard's black
tentacles spell? The spell description says the tentacles are
immune to all types of damage, but is a dispel magic spell
`damage?' If dispel magic works against the tentacles, does
it dispel just one tentacle or all of them? Will a disintegrate
spell destroy a tentacle the way it can destroy the various
Bigby's hand spells?
-No.
Can a character use dispel magic against a monster's
spell-like or supernatural abilities? For example, a party
encounters a basilisk, and the wizard casts dispel magic on
it to suppress its gaze attack. Does the spell suppress the
gaze attack for 1d4 rounds as it would a magic item?
-No.
Exactly how do the tentacles from an Evard's black
tentacles spell attack creatures? For example, does a
tentacle have a miss chance when attacking an invisible
opponent? Also, how do you figure out where the individual
tentacles appear? Can more than one tentacle appear in the
same 5-foot square?
-No.
Is a character who remains within the area of effect of
an Evard's black tentacles spell subject to being grappled
again after avoiding the tentacles initially, or only upon
entering the area?
-No.
How do spells like Evard's black tentacles and ice storm
affect a creature with damage reduction overcome by magic
and bludgeoning? Do the tentacles and hailstones deal
magical bludgeoning damage?
-No.
How does Evard's black tentacles work on the Ethereal
Plane? How about the Astral Plane?
-No.
Can you detect explosive runes with detect magic before
they actually explode?
-No.
Does the feeblemind spell affect only a character's base
Intelligence score, or does the spell make the subject's
Intelligence score 1 regardless of magical bonuses? If the
spell affects only base Intelligence, will any magic that
boosts Intelligence (such as a potion of fox's cunning) break
the spell? Do you have to get your Intelligence to 3 or
higher to break the spell?
-No.
The feeblemind spell keeps you from casting spells,
presumably because it makes your Intelligence and
Charisma scores 1. What if it is your Wisdom score that
governs your spells? Can you still cast spells then? Can you
use spell-like abilities? Supernatural abilities?
Extraordinary abilities?
-No.
Can a corporeal undead be affected by a flesh to stone
spell? What about a wizard's homunculus?
-No.
Is a Balance check required to stand up while prone in
the area of a grease spell? What about to perform other
move actions?
-No.
If my character moves from a square within the area of
a grease spell to an adjacent square outside the spell's area,
does he have to make a Balance check?
-No.
Is a character in the area of a grease spell considered
flat-footed?
-Yes; Grease works differently now.
If a creature standing in the area of a grease spell takes
damage, does it have to succeed on a DC 10 Balance check
or fall down?
-No.
Could a person use a full-round action to move 5 feet
through difficult terrain as a way to get out of the area of a
grease spell without making a Balance check?
-Yes; Grease works differently now.
When I affix a dispel magic to my hallow spell, what
type of dispel effect is it -- a targeted dispel, area dispel, or
counterspell? Can I choose when I create the hallow?
-No.
When a spell effect is fixed to a hallow spell, how do
unusual durations (such as those of protection from energy)
or instantaneous durations (such as those of dispel magic)
work?
-No.
Is there any way to get rid of an unhallow? It is
instantaneous, which implies that it lasts forever and can't
be dispelled.
-No.
The harm spell deals 10 points of damage per caster
level (to a maximum of 150 points at 15th level) and cannot
take a target's hit points to less than 1. If the target
creature makes a successful saving throw, the damage is
reduced by half, but the spell still cannot reduce the target's
hit points to less than 1. What happens when the spell deals
50 points of damage or more to the target (as it might to
any creature that has 51 hit points or more)? Does the
death from massive damage rule apply?
-No.
Would casting detect magic be considered an attack for
the purpose of ending an invisibility spell?
-No.
Would an invisible character counterspelling an
enemy's spell count as making an attack and thus end the
invisibility? What about a targeted dispel magic?
-No.
Does casting flaming sphere in a non-offensive
manner--e.g., to start a campfire--count as an attack for
purposes of ending an invisibility spell?
-No.
Does casting sanctuary end an invisibility spell because it
requires a foe to resist its effect with a saving throw? What
about wall of fire?
-No.
A question came up where an invisible sorcerer under
greater invisibility cast a cone of cold on the party. On my
turn I tried to cast hold person on him, and we were unsure
of what would happen--whether or not I could target him
because the cone originated from his square, or if just the
square he was standing in was too vague for the hold person
to work?
-No.
Let's say you've been fighting a giant created by the
major image spell for a couple of rounds, and it has gotten a
few good hits on you. Finally, you make your will save and
you find out that the giant you were battling was an
illusion. Do you regain your hit points once you find out it
was an illusion or do you still have the damage you took?
-No.
Are the multiple figments from a mirror image spell
legal targets for cleaving? That is, if you have the Cleave
feat and you hit an image and destroy it, can you then
attack another target within reach (such as another figment
from the spell or perhaps the spell user)? What about
Whirlwind Attack? Can you use this feat to attack all the
images around the spell user? What about spells that allow
multiple targets, such as magic missile? Can you aim magic
missiles at different images?
-Yes; Mirror Image works differently now.
Is there a way to decide which squares the figments
from a mirror image spell occupy? Or do the images
distribute themselves randomly? If it's the latter, how does
the DM decide where they go?
-Yes; Mirror Image works differently now.
The mirror image spell description says the images have
an Armor Class of 10 + size modifier + Dexterity modifier.
Can you improve this with spells the spellcaster casts on
herself, such as shield or mage armor? If so, why doesn't the
spell description say the images have the caster's Armor
Class? What happens if the caster has cover from her
surroundings? Will cover improve the images' ACs? What
about concealment? Will fog or foliage produce a miss
chance for a foe that aims an attack at an image? What
about magical concealment, such as a blur or displacement
spell?
-Yes; Mirror Image works differently now.
What happens if a mirror image user is incorporeal? Are
the user's images also incorporeal? Do attacks aimed at the
images have the incorporeal miss chance? If the incorporeal
user moves through a wall, can the images move through
the wall, too? What happens if the user goes to another
plane? Do the images go along? What if the mirror image
user employs a blink spell?
-Yes; Mirror Image works differently now.
What happens when an attacker accidentally uses a
touch spell against a figment from a mirror image spell?
You can hold the charge with a touch spell, right? So if you
touch an image (which really isn't there), is the touch spell
discharged? Does the touch spell user get a chance to
disbelieve the image and avoid discharging the spell?
-No.
Am I right in assuming that when the mislead spell
description refers to improved invisibility it really means
greater invisibility?
-No.
Mordenkainen's disjunction does not say that it actually
physically destroys an item. Can a wish restore the item's
original magic abilities?
-No.
Would Mordenkainen's disjunction affect an intelligent
magic item?
-No.
The Sage can already hear the next question: What's the
difference between a golem (creature; immune to
Mordenkainen's disjunction) and an intelligent magic item
(creature; not immune to Mordenkainen's disjunction)?
-No.
Can a Mordenkainen's disjunction destroy magic items
stored in a bag of holding? What happens to the items
within if it destroys the bag of holding?
-No.
Is it possible to cast the permanency spell from a scroll?
If so, who pays the XP cost for the spell effect made
permanent: the scroll creator or the individual who casts
the spell from the scroll? Who must meet the minimum
level requirement for making a particular spell permanent?
For example, see invisibility has a minimum level of 10th.
Does the scroll creator or the individual who casts the spell
from the scroll have to meet this minimum? Does the
minimum level refer to arcane spellcaster's caster level or
character level?
-No.
Do the cleaning and dirtying effects of prestidigitation
remain in effect after the spell's duration ends? In other
words, if I use prestidigitation to clean dirt off my clothes,
do my clothes remain clean when the spell ends, or do they
magically become dirty again?
-No.
Can you become advanced versions of creatures with
polymorph* (Player's Handbook, page 263), or just the most
basic as presented in the Monster Manual?
-No.
Can you use polymorph* to turn into a creature with a
template?
-No.
What happens to the equipment worn and carried by a
character polymorphed* into another creature capable of
wearing and carrying the same gear? What if the new
creature's size is different?
-Yes; polymorph spells work differently.
When my human uses polymorph* to take the form of
another creature, he loses any extraordinary special attacks
and qualities. Does this include his bonus feat and bonus
skill points? If so, how do I figure out which feat and skill
points are derived from his racial traits?
-Yes; polymorph spells work differently.
When you cast polymorph* twice in succession on the
same target, does it keep any of the abilities gained from the
first spell's form?
-No.
What kind of spells work on characters transformed
into creatures of different types than their own by
polymorph*? Can you cast hold person on a humanoid who
is transformed into a dire bear or would hold monster be
required?
-Yes; polymorph spells work differently.
If, while under the effect of a spell that depends on type
(such as hold person), my character is transformed into a
different creature type by polymorph*, does the spell's
effect remain?
-Yes; polymorph spells work differently.
What properties of polymorph are inherited for the spell
polymorph any object (Player's Handbook, page 263)? The
guidelines suggest that it overrides the normal rules for
creature type (an object isn't any type of creature) and Hit
Die limits (turning a pebble into a human or a shrew into a
manticore, for example), but the spell doesn't explicitly
describe the changes.
-No.
If I use polymorph* to turn a target into a 1-HD
humanoid (such as an elf or an orc), what class (and level) is
it and how are its feats and skill points arranged?
-Yes; polymorph spells work differently.
Polymorph* grants the extraordinary special attacks of
the creature that you become. What happens when you
swallow whole an opponent who does not then escape your
belly before the spell expires?
-Yes; polymorph spells work differently.
Are racial traits considered extraordinary abilities for
the purpose of alter self, polymorph, and similar effects?
That is, do I lose my racial traits or keep them when I
change my form?
-Yes; polymorph spells work differently.
Does armor with the wild special ability (Dungeon
Master's Guide, page 219) retain its functionality when used
with a shapechanging ability other than wild shape (such as
shapechange, alternate form, druid's a thousand faces class
feature, and so on)?
-No.
Are undead and/or deathless considered dead for the
purposes of resurrection spells?
-No.
When you grow larger with righteous might, do you also
get the -2 penalty to Dexterity for growing from Medium to
Large? The spell description does not indicate that, but
other descriptions for size increase do.
-No.
I know the spell description for scrying says the spell
creates a magical sensor located near the subject. I'm
wondering if the spell can scry on locations or items as well
as creatures? If it cannot scry on a location or item, can it
at least look around the creature's location and see what
the location looks like? I mean, to me, it sounds like you
cast the spell and all you see is the creature. That's not
terribly useful for someone trying to find a kidnapping
victim. Is there any way to look at an area remotely?
-No.
When my sorcerer shapechanges into the form of a
creature with special attacks, what Hit Dice do I use to
calculate the DC of those abilities--the creature's normal
HD, my caster level, or something else?
-Yes; polymorph spells work differently.
If you cast shapechange (Player's Handbook, page 277)
to take the form of a choker (Monster Manual, page 34), you
gain its quickness supernatural quality. Could you cast a
swift action spell in a round when you take an extra
standard action? If so, wouldn't that allow you to cast three
spells in a single round (one with each of your two standard
actions, and one swift-action spell)?
-Yes; polymorph spells work differently.
Can a spectral hand spell deliver a touch spell from a
staff or wand? What about from a scroll?
-No.
What kind of action is it to attack with a spectral hand
spell?
-No.
Does a spiritual weapon get to make attacks of
opportunity?
-No.
Could you clarify how the stoneskin spell works? One of
my players is insisting that the damage reduction
10/adamantine from the spell is applied before reducing the
damage of 10 hit points per level that the spell will absorb
and that the recipient takes no damage until the 10 hit
points per level of caster are exhausted. I say the damage
reduction is the absorbed damage, with the remainder of
the damage applying to the recipient of the spell.
-No.
Does the speak with dead spell work on destroyed
undead? For example, can my cleric kill a zombie and then
use speak with dead on it to learn who created it? The spell
description implies the one-time act of becoming undead
ruins any chance the spell will have of working against a
creature ever again, even after it is `dead' again.
-No.
Can a wizard use a summon monster spell to get a
familiar from the list of creatures for that spell? Would she
need to apply the Persistent Spell feat to the summon
monster spell, upping the duration to 24 hours and allowing
time to bond the potential familiar to her? And does a
summoned familiar receive the benefits of the Augment
Summoning feat?
-No.
Can you choose not to bring along an item you carry
when you cast teleport? If you're manacled, can you teleport
out of the manacles?
-No.
Does an object with momentum maintain that
momentum if teleported?
-No.
Can I teleport into or out of an extradimensional space,
such as that created by Mordenkainen's magnificent
mansion or a portable hole?
-No.
Can you ride your own Tenser's floating disk?
-No.
If you threaten a critical hit while under the effect of a
true strike spell, does the +20 insight bonus also apply to the
critical hit confirmation roll?
-No.
If a spell that targets a creature (such as cause fear) is
tied to the area of an unhallow spell, does it target creatures
inside the area every round, or only when they enter the
area?
-No.
Do you have to pay the 5,000 XP cost for a wish spell
every time you cast it, or just when you duplicate spells
with an XP cost? What about limited wish? Suppose you use
the `undo misfortune' function of the wish spell, or any of
the other specific functions listed under the spell. Is there
an XP cost then?
-No (replace XP with GP in the question).
Does damage reduction help against powers that deal
slashing, piercing, or bludgeoning damage, such as crystal
shard (Expanded Psionics Handbook, page 89)?
-No.
With the rules erratum that prohibits overruns as part
of a charge, the Ride-By Attack feat is now nearly useless.
[..]
Am I wrong about any of this?
-No.
What happens when a monster that carries a disease
attacks another monster of the same kind (or somehow
bites or scratches itself)? What happens if the monster
attacks a monster of a different kind that carries the same
disease? For example dire rats and wererats both carry
filth fever. What happens when one dire rat bites another
or bites a wererat?
-No.
What happens when creatures use their natural
weapons as secondary attacks along with a manufactured
weapon? For example, lizardfolk have two claws that also
serve as hands. What happens when they wield a one-
handed weapon in one hand and nothing in the other? Do
they lose both claw attacks in exchange for their attacks
with the weapon?
-No.
How many attacks does a creature with multiple
natural weapons get while it's grappling? How many
grapple checks can it make in a round?
-No.
What happens when a monster has a high base attack
bonus, and it uses a manufactured weapon along with a
secondary natural weaponry? For instance, suppose a 5thlevel lizardfolk fighter wields a battleaxe. What would this
creature's attack routine be?
-No.
When a creature has natural weaponry, do all its
natural weapons become secondary attacks when it uses a
manufactured weapon? If so, what happens to the damage
rating for a primary natural weapon that gets demoted to
secondary status?
-No.
What happens when a creature's secondary natural
weapon becomes a primary natural weapon? For example,
what is the attack and damage bonus if a lizardfolk uses its
bite for an attack action or for an attack of opportunity?
-No.
Can a creature make a slam or claw attack when both
his hands are used for something else, such as holding a
two-handed weapon?
-No.
When a monster uses a special attack option, such as
trip or sunder, must it make the attack with its primary
natural weapon? Are there any limits on which natural
weapons can be used in a trip or sunder attack? When a
monster has multiple natural weapons, can it use each of
those weapons to make trip or sunder attacks?
-No.
What happens when a creature with multiple natural
weapons gets to make an attack of opportunity? Does it
have to use its primary natural weapon? What happens if
the creature has a pair of primary weapons, such as a
bear's two claws.
-No.
How does poisoning (or any other ability draining
effect) work, exactly? Can a character get ability damage
through poison several times from one monster in the same
encounter? Can there be more than one secondary saving
throw for poison?
-No.
The text on page 289 in the Dungeon Master's Guide
says a supernatural ability cannot be dispelled. Table 8-1
on the next page, however, says it can. Which one is right?
If supernatural abilities cannot be dispelled, can they be
removed or countered in other ways? What would happen,
for example, if a medusa turns my character to stone? Can
anything restore my character?
-No.
What happens if you fight a carrion crawler or ghoul
and get hit with several different paralyzing attacks at
once? Do you have to save against each one? If so, is the
duration of the paralysis extended for each failed save or do
the effects run concurrently? What happens if you later
receive a spell such as remove paralysis? Will it take more
than one spell to remove all the paralysis effects?
-No.
Dragons are immune to sleep and paralysis effects. Does
this include `unconsciousness' effects, such as from drow
poison or a color spray spell?
-No (replace "dragon" with "elf" or other immune creature).
What are the rules for leaping onto the back of a
dragon? What about leaping onto the back of a flying
dragon (such as from off a carpet of flying)?
-No.
Chapter 10 in the Player's Handbook says a spellcaster
must have one hand free to cast a spell with a somatic
component, and the caster must have any material
components in hand already if he doesn't have a free hand.
So, how does a creature like a naga cast spells at all? Nagas
don't have hands!
-No.
How tall is a Medium creature? How about Large or
Huge? I appreciate the example creatures given in the
Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide, but when
advancing monsters, or even when trying to give accurate
descriptions during a game and answering my players'
questions, comparative size doesn't help too much. (For
example, if it is as big as a purple worm, how big is a purple
worm?) If an actual listing could be given, such as anything
4 to 7 feet tall is Medium, 7 to 15 feet is Large, 15 to 30 feet
is Huge, and so on, it would be of immense use.
-No.
One of my players tried to use Mordenkainen's
disjunction on a golem. The spell failed to get through the
antimagic field provided by the golem's creator, so I didn't
have to make a ruling this time. My question is, would it
have worked? Is a golem more of a creature, having been
listed in the Monster Manual, or a magic item, as it's
created just like one? On that subject, a golem is immune to
magical effects, would this include Mordenkainen's
disjunction? That is, is a golem a magical effect for purposes
of resolving a Mordenkainen's disjunction spell?
-No.
The Dungeon Master's Guide says a character has a 5%
chance to expose himself to a poison whenever a character
applies it to a weapon or otherwise readies it for use. While
the first part is pretty clear, I'm a bit undecided what
`otherwise readies it for use' refers to. Does the `it' stand
for the poison or does it mean the weapon (so whenever the
character readies the poisoned weapon for use) itself?
-No.
Let's say a character encounters a trap and sets it off
without being aware of the trap ahead of time. Now let's
say you are the DM and you roll for the trap to see if it
makes the hit but it fails. If a trap is triggered it cannot
miss (unless it was broken or didn't work); it has to be
dodged. What are you supposed to tell the player if you are
the DM? You cannot just say, `You jump out of the way,'
because you can't control the PCs actions. How would you
solve this dilemma? What should you tell the player?
-No.
The table of wind effects in the Dungeon Master's Guide
has a column that shows a DC. I don't understand this.
What is the DC for?
-Yes; wind effects work differently now.
Does an enhancement bonus to an ability score raise the
actual score (for example, a 16 Dexterity raised to a 20
Dexterity in the case of a cat's grace spell) or does it raise
that ability's bonus (for example, a +3 modifier [from a 16
Dexterity] +4 cat's grace = +7 Dexterity modifier)?
-No.
Assuming I know where it is, can I target an ethereal
creature from the Material Plane with spells? My DM says
I don't have line of effect for my spell because the creature
is on another plane, but the Dungeon Master's Guide gives
magic missile as an example of a spell that can affect
ethereal targets.
-No.
If force effects can hurt an ethereal creature from the
Material Plane, does the reverse hold true? Can an ethereal
creature attack creatures on the Material Plane with force
effects? If they can, can they target them through walls and
other physical barriers that exist on the Material Plane?
-No.
Can ghost touch weapons affect ethereal creatures?
-No.
What happens when a wall is built on the Ethereal
Plane? Can someone using true seeing see through it and
target ethereal creatures behind it? If you can't see through
it, what if there's a hole in the wall? Could you target them
then?
-No.
Does an ethereal object block force spells cast against
targets on the Material Plane? If force spells affect
incorporeal creatures, and stuff on the Ethereal Plane is
incorporeal on the Material Plane, doesn't an ethereal wall
get in the way? If so, does it get in the way of force effects
such as mage armor, thus stopping a PC protected by such
an effect from moving through?
-No.
Can an ethereal creature or a ghost that isn't
manifesting (and thus has a Strength score) grapple
someone wearing bracers of armor or who has the mage
armor spell cast on them? What about an incorporeal
creature, such as a spectre? What if it's the other way
around? Can a person that has a mage armor effect on him
bull rush an ethereal ghost or an incorporeal spectre?
-No.
How can I keep ethereal characters from wrecking my
adventure? They can go anywhere they want in the
dungeon and can't be affected by most monsters.
-No.
How does the Plane of Shadow mimic the Material
Plane without the people on it doing all the things that
people on the Material Plane do (like building structures
and tearing them down)? Do buildings change themselves?
What force decides when things change and what changes?
-No.
Can you clarify how Challenge Ratings for traps work?
Is the CR of a trap intended to be equivalent to the CR of a
monster? If so, does the party (or the party's rogue) gain
experience for overcoming a trap of a given CR? Are traps
limited to a maximum CR of 10 or is that just the toughest
level for which sample traps are listed in the Dungeon
Master's Guide?
-No.
How much XP is an EL 5 encounter worth? The
Dungeon Master's Guide doesn't have information on giving
out XP by Encounter Level.
-Yes; encounter XP works differently now.
If I give a monster a powerful magic item, should I
increase its CR?
-No.
How far does a character fall in a single round? If my
griffon-riding character falls off his mount 300 feet up, how
long do other characters have to catch him?
-No.
If, during my move, my character falls down a shaft (or
cliff, or whatever), can he continue to move with the same
move action when he hits the bottom (assuming he
survives)? What if he uses the catfall power (Expanded
Psionics Handbook, page 82)? What about if he has a
feather fall effect?
-No.
What exactly does `once per day' mean? Does it mean
`once per 24-hour period' or is it recharged after the
character has rested for 8 hours, like spells?
-No.
If a monster has resistance and vulnerability to the
same kind of damage (such as fire), which effect is applied
first? And when does the saving throw come in?
-No.
Do temporary hit points from two applications of the
same effect stack? What about from different effects? If I
have temporary hit points from multiple sources, how
should I apply damage?
-No.
Does darkvision allow a character to read and write in
the dark? Can he see his reflection in a mirror?
-No.
If my character permanently changes type, does he
change his base attack bonus or saving throws based on the
new type?
-No.
If a character levels up after taking Intelligence damage
does the number of skill points he receives for the new level
depend on his normal Intelligence score or his damaged
score? What if he takes ability drain instead of damage?
What happens to his existing skill ranks?
-Yes and no.
When a character dies and comes back to life a level
lower, are there any guidelines as to which level he must
lose? Does it have to be the last level he gained? When he
gains a level again later, can he choose a different class than
he did originally? What about a 1st-level character (who
instead loses a point of Constitution)? Can he begin with a
new class completely?
-Yes; coming back from the dead works differently.
Do characters receive experience for killing a
summoned monster? What about undead created with
animate dead or an outsider called with planar ally?
-No.
With a clear line of sight, how far can an average
character see?
-No.
Yeah, maybe I should've put those posts in spoiler blocks...
But you hit the nail on the head -- if the Paizo folks can fix at least some of the "low-hanging fruit" (like the wording about a druid "carrying a prohibited shield" or "there's no such thing as an off-hand attack" for a monk or explaining what "mental control" is with regards to Protection from Evil), then they'll be way ahead of 3.5 in terms of clarity.
It would also be good to examine the 3.0 FAQ. While most were addressed (or made irrelevant), something is poking my brain about some long standing issues from 3.0 that carried over into 3.5.
It would also be good to examine the 3.0 FAQ. While most were addressed (or made irrelevant), something is poking my brain about some long standing issues from 3.0 that carried over into 3.5.
It's on my to-do list. There's at least one big issue in there (what does "mental control" mean in the description of Protection from Evil?).
Good job Hogarth, clarifying these issues would help Pathfinder RPG take a big step up from 3.5
Director of Games
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Thanks for doing this work. These are certainly some of the issues we need to tackle. Its interesting, because some of these are no longer issues at all due to some of the changes made after the Beta (I am looking at you Monk).
This will prove quite valuable. Thanks again
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing