Post/Author/DateTime	Post
sir_argenon 08-07-05, 12:07 PM	say for instance i have a composite longbow +1 with Shocking, Flaming, and Frost enchantments. during my adventures, i encounter a flesh golem, that is actually healed by the Shocking enhancement of my arrows...which is not a good thing. is it possible to have multiple command words for one enchantment? maybe one that could allow me to only activate the fire and frost and not the shock...or maybe only the frost, and not the other two. so i would need the commands for... (flaming) (shocking) (frost) (frost, shock) (frost, flame) (shock, cold) (shock, flame) (shock, flame, frost) so i would need a total of 8 commands.. is this possible? how does anyone else handle multiple elemental enchantments???
Derren S. 08-07-05, 12:36 PM	A command word activated enchantment has only one command word so you can't make different command words for different combinations of enchantments. You can either make all enchantments activate att he same word, each enchantment have their own command word or group some enchantments together to activate on the same word (So flaming and frost on command 1, shock and sonic at command 2). That are all the options you have and you have to decide which you want to use when you enchant the weapon.
kalstrand 08-07-05, 01:23 PM	Give each ability its own command word and "turn off" the shock when fighting a flesh golem.
Derren S. 08-07-05, 01:24 PM	Give each ability its own command word and "turn off" the shock when fighting a flesh golem. Possible, but don't forget that when you use this setup you have to activate each energy type seperatly, spending a standard action each time.
Dantano 08-07-05, 01:39 PM	so wha tabout having one that just turns them all on and each has their own turn off
tarkin 08-07-05, 03:32 PM	Derren is house ruling. Officially the Sage has ruled that each power can have a single command "on" word and a single command "off" word. The creator is allowed to use the same command on word for two or more powers and is also allowed to use the same command off word for two or more powers. The problem is if you have 3 powers each with their own activation command then it takes 3 rounds to activate all your stuff. I typically do it as follows: Power Up word: Single word to activate all powers. Power down wordS: Each power has it's own seperate deactivation word. This allows you to get all your abilities up right away and then turn off those you don't want one at a time.
sir_argenon 08-07-05, 05:11 PM	Power Up word: Single word to activate all powers. Power down wordS: Each power has it's own seperate deactivation word. This allows you to get all your abilities up right away and then turn off those you don't want one at a time. AHHH great idea... thats definitely nmore time efficient then the way i was invisioning it! thanks everyone. once again you guys came to the rescue with great info. these boards are the best.
Thaebius 08-07-05, 05:38 PM	Question!! Ok, I was off in my understanding of it, glad to hear. However, now I need to be sure I know this correctly- With a bow, using elemental powers, you can have more than one. I had always been reading the "this power remains active until you speak another command word" sentence as being, you are forced to choose which one you want active at any given time. Now, since that can be gotten around, even were it like that, by activating all simultaneously and deactivating individually as tarkin so sagely suggested... Am I also wrong in thinking that you can just turn the powers on at the beginning of the day, and leave them on all the day through? Thus sparing you any worry about even that standard action to get them up and running? Or is that for some reason a no-go?
xver 08-07-05, 10:30 PM	One great thing about seperate "on" vs "off" commands is GM initiated magic item humor. So the PCs somehow figure out the command to turn off the BBEG's flaming sword. They stash in a bag of holding and the next time the tank needs to do fire damage, someone digs it out. But while off is "adue", on is "flambe" and the monsters are having a jolly old time :P They also can be configured various ways for utility. With three energy type magics, you can have as few as one word or as many as six. If the item is commisioned or you make it yourself, it'd be your choice. If bought or found, it's up to the DM. I get the impression most weapons have one word, but the rules are rather mum on the details. When I stat up items I ususally specify this stuff, but most item descriptions are more generic and leave this up to the GM. For mutiple energy attacks, one on, muti off is the state of the art and so may be common. Ask your DM. Especially if you find or buy the item in question. Most probably don't care much and will let you choose. Also, I think Burst weapons activate their burst damage on a crit irregardless of wether the extra dice are on. Is this true? Does this turn on the extra dice? For instance, on a crit with a Flaming Burst weapon, does the Flaming turn on? If so, even a turned off Tri Elemental Burst (tm) weapon could be a hassle against some monsters. Imagine, if something absorbs one and resists the others, every crit heals it. He he he.
tarkin 08-08-05, 11:12 AM	Burst weapons: 1) Do not need to be activated to get their burst 2) Do NOT activate just because their burst went on. 3) Activate on a crit even if the creature is immune to crits, which means they take take the extra elemental damage even if they do not take extra weapon damage.