Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Dazmiuth 05-31-06, 06:41 PM	I have looked through the FAQ and a lot of posts on the forums, and I am still left with a few questions that maybe some of you could help me with. I apologize in advance if some of these questions have been answered before or if I missed them in the FAQ, this place could really use a search function! 1. This is not a Eberron specific question, but is something I am not quite sure about. To use a wand, a character must have the spell on his spell list. Does this mean he has to be high enough level to cast it as well. For instance, can a 3rd level wizard use a wand of fireball? 2. One of my players is going to be a Valenar Elven Cleric (Keepers of the Past). What kind of reaction do Valenar clerics receive from Arenal Elves, and how do the Valenar view the deathless and the Undying Court? Also, when the Valenar are bringing glory to themselves in battle, and honoring their ancestors, do they actually believe that they can bring their ancestors spirits back? Sorry, the Valenar confuse me a bit. 3. If an artificer creates a magic item, such as a scroll or wand. Does he/she have to make a use magic device check each time he uses it? 4. I am also a little shaky on the UMD skill. If someone wouldn't mind going through the process of how a 3rd level artificer would use a wand of lightning I would really appreciate it. That's all I can think of right now, thanks in advance for anyone who helps. Daz
Dazmiuth 05-31-06, 06:52 PM	5. Weapon Augmentation.... If a weapon already has a property like keen or frost, and you give it another property, such as acidic burst. Does it keep the keen/frost while the acidic burst is in effect? Thanks again.
mhacdebhandia 05-31-06, 08:28 PM	2. One of my players is going to be a Valenar Elven Cleric (Keepers of the Past). What kind of reaction do Valenar clerics receive from Arenal Elves, and how do the Valenar view the deathless and the Undying Court? Also, when the Valenar are bringing glory to themselves in battle, and honoring their ancestors, do they actually believe that they can bring their ancestors spirits back? Sorry, the Valenar confuse me a bit. Since the Aereni and Tairnadal (Valenar) elves spring from the same root culture, they're not truly at odds. Both cultures revere their accomplished ancestors, though they honour them in different ways. Aereni preserve their honoured dead as deathless, ensuring that future generations will benefit from their wise counsel and guidance and that these great souls will not be lost to dissolution in Dolurrh. They even preserve lesser, but still honoured, elves not as deathless but as spirit idols (per the Player's Guide to Eberron), which are souls tied to their inanimate bodies. Spirit idols can be consulted with speak to dead, so their knowledge is not lost. Tairnadal elves, both on Aerenal and in their nation of Valenar on Khorvaire, believe that the spirits of the great elven heroes, leaders, and even artisans of Xen'drik live on when their descendants accomplish deeds worthy of their memory. Valenar elves wear their veils as a statement that it is not merely the living mortal elf you face but her heroic ancestor incarnated. Aereni elves probably accept Tairnadal beliefs but regret the loss of great wisdom and knowledge when the soul fades away in Dolurrh. Conversely, per Keith's latest contributions to the Ask Keith Baker thread, the Tairnadal believe that Aereni deathless inexorably lose their individual spirits as they merge into the singular gestalt consciousness of the Undying Court, and rue the loss of great heroes and sages to this collective power. It basically comes down to a disagreement as to the best way to honour your ancestors. I'm sure relations between the Undying Court and the Keepers of the Past vary between cordiality and bitter dispute, so the answer is "It depends". I'm also sure that this will be discussed in Faiths of Eberron, which I'm dying to get my hands on.
Dazmiuth 05-31-06, 08:49 PM	Thanks for the help, I have read so much material over the last few weeks that I am a bit overwhelmed. You pretty much gave me the summary I was looking for. Thanks again! Daz
mhacdebhandia 05-31-06, 09:03 PM	Thanks for the help, I have read so much material over the last few weeks that I am a bit overwhelmed. You pretty much gave me the summary I was looking for. Thanks again! No problem. At least it lets me use the training my Honours degree in Studies in Religion gave me! :P
Edymnion 06-01-06, 01:01 AM	1. This is not a Eberron specific question, but is something I am not quite sure about. To use a wand, a character must have the spell on his spell list. Does this mean he has to be high enough level to cast it as well. For instance, can a 3rd level wizard use a wand of fireball?Nope, just has to have the spell on his list. A first level sorcerer can cast from a Wand of Fireballs, no problem. 2. One of my players is going to be a Valenar Elven Cleric (Keepers of the Past). What kind of reaction do Valenar clerics receive from Arenal Elves, and how do the Valenar view the deathless and the Undying Court? Also, when the Valenar are bringing glory to themselves in battle, and honoring their ancestors, do they actually believe that they can bring their ancestors spirits back? Sorry, the Valenar confuse me a bit. Basically, the Areneal elves are more passive than the Valenar. A. Elves believe that you honor your ancestors by keeping them around as Deathless. The biggest goal for any A. Elf is to become a Deathless yourself, and to do that you have to prove yourself worthy. Not really by any great deeds of your own, but by becoming a master of the same arts your ancestors practiced. The Valenar believe that you honor your ancestors by carrying on their memory in active battle. You honor your ancestors by honoring yourself in their name. The Areneal would likely see the Valenar as being brash, hotheaded, and reckless, while the Valenear would see the Areneal as being stodgy, stuck in their ways, and unyielding to reason. 3. If an artificer creates a magic item, such as a scroll or wand. Does he/she have to make a use magic device check each time he uses it?Yes, because they still do not have the spell on their spell list, since they don't have a spell list. Even things they make they have to roll checks on. But you do get bonuses for being able to make the item and repeatedly using the same item, so it gets easier over time. 4. I am also a little shaky on the UMD skill. If someone wouldn't mind going through the process of how a 3rd level artificer would use a wand of lightning I would really appreciate it.All the artificer has to do is fake having a spell list. Thats a DC 20 check. Any artificer can activate any wand by simply making a UMD skill check. Roll the dice, and add your UMD modifier to the roll. If the result is 20 or higher, you activate the wand.5. Weapon Augmentation.... If a weapon already has a property like keen or frost, and you give it another property, such as acidic burst. Does it keep the keen/frost while the acidic burst is in effect?Yes, you add a new effect, you don't trade one out. If the sword is already a +1 Keen weapon, and you add Flaming, it becomes a +1 Keen Flaming weapon for the duration of the enchantment.
Korhal_IV 06-01-06, 04:03 AM	Nope, just has to have the spell on his list. A first level sorcerer can cast from a Wand of Fireballs, no problem. Actually, he needs to make a caster level check, IIRC, with a DC equal to the caster level of the item he's activating - DC 5 in this example, or 3 if it was made by a low-level artificer. Still pretty much "no problem", but there is always a margin for error. :)
Loki5654 06-01-06, 06:59 AM	Actually, he needs to make a caster level check, IIRC, with a DC equal to the caster level of the item he's activating - DC 5 in this example, or 3 if it was made by a low-level artificer. Still pretty much "no problem", but there is always a margin for error. :) Spell Trigger: Spell trigger activation is similar to spell completion, but it’s even simpler. No gestures or spell finishing is needed, just a special knowledge of spellcasting that an appropriate character would know, and a single word that must be spoken. Anyone with a spell on his or her spell list knows how to use a spell trigger item that stores that spell. (This is the case even for a character who can’t actually cast spells, such as a 3rd-level paladin.) The user must still determine what spell is stored in the item before she can activate it. Activating a spell trigger item is a standard action and does not provoke attacks of opportunity Nope, all a sorcerer or wizard needs is for the spell in the wand to be on their spell list, no caster level check required. But an Artificer has no spell list (like Edy said) so they need to make a UMD check DC20 to "use a wand". Use a Wand: Normally, to use a wand, you must have the wand’s spell on your class spell list. This use of the skill allows you to use a wand as if you had a particular spell on your class spell list. This use of the skill also applies to other spell trigger magic items, such as staffs.
Edymnion 06-01-06, 08:21 PM	Yup, caster level checks are only required for when you are trying to fake a caster level (usually for scrolls). Wands only require the spell list, which is a flat out DC 20 "Replicate Class Feature".
manneedshaircut 06-01-06, 09:31 PM	Remember when activating a wand that if you have activated the same wand (not just the same type of wand), you get a +2 bonus on the check. This effect does not apply to scrolls because scrolls are consumed upon use of the item.
Edymnion 06-01-06, 10:58 PM	Remember when activating a wand that if you have activated the same wand (not just the same type of wand), you get a +2 bonus on the check. This effect does not apply to scrolls because scrolls are consumed upon use of the item.But you do get another bonus for any item that you have the creation feat for. And you can get bonuses to UMD for activating scrolls with enough ranks in decipher script. There's lots of synergies for the Artificer to exploit if they just know how to find them. Here's a hint, all the ones we've found so far are listed in the Artificer Guide thread ;)