If you have something that you think should be added, or if you see a mistake, feel free to post it and we'll get the kinks worked out of this thread.
That said, you can refer people here instead of answering the same questions over and over again...
-friendly neighbourhood chonjurman
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Links to other FAQs
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Q: Is this FAQ "official"?
A: Yes and no. WOTC does not live and die by the answers in here, but I have tried to make them as accurate a representation of the rules, and their intent, as I can. Sage advice, game designer clarification, boards debates, official FAQs, erratas and common sense/reason were all conglomerated together in my head to make this document. In the end you are the one who has to make the decision, and this document will hopefully help you to make an informed one.
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SPELLS
Q: Where can I find a complete online list of all the spells?
A: Here is a complete list of all of the spells that WOTC has printed, along with their class, level, school, subgroup, domain(where appropriate) and source book:
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/spells.asp
Q: What can I do with the extra partial action from Haste? Do I get it immediately or on my action next round?
A: You get it immediately as a spell's effect starts as soon as you finish casting it. Some people house-rule otherwise, but the official ruling is that you get it right away. You can do anything in that partial action that is listed on pg. 128 of the PHB (including, but not limited to, casting another spell). The Sage has ruled that you can use your extra partial action in the round to finish off a full-round casting time spell (like a summon monster spell) and have it take effect that round.
Q: How does Shield work? Does it stack with Mage Armor?
A: Yes it stacks, as it provides a cover bonus, but not actual cover
![[Bored]](graemlins/dozey.gif)
. So it stacks, but does not provide the reflex save bonus and AoO-free zone (errata). It is considered to cover the battlefield like so (where you are Y and the cover bonus applies to anything starting on the opposite side of the dashed lines):xxxxxxxx
--------
xxxYxxxx
xxxxxxxx
Q: Aren't spells like True Strike, Harm, Shield, etc. overpowered and in need of nerfing?
A:
This is a matter of personal preference. In general, if you follow and read the rules, and *enforce* them without adding house rules into the mix, you should be OK in the default setting. As soon as you start messing with one spell, you start messing with the whole consistency of the world. If you want to discuss the issue, there are many threads on this board that will oblige your desire (just do a search).Q: When I Disintegrate a person, does their equipment get disintegrated as well?
A: No. The ray is considered to have struck the person, and their equipment is unaffected.
Unless the descriptive text for the spell specifies otherwise, all items carried and worn are assumed to survive a magical attack (PHB, pg. 150)
Note: this is the general rule for any spell. You equipment is considered part of you for determining the spell target (i.e. your platemail doesn't get in the way of the disintegration ray), but it is unaffected by the spell itself.
Exception: if you roll a natural "1" on your saving throw, your items must save according to the chart on pg. 150 of the PHB. Otherwise they are unaffected.
Q: Can I cast a Fireball and have it take effect after the Time Stop is in effect?
A: The jury's out on this one, but it seems that any spell that has a ray or other physical extension in its descriptor would "freeze", matrix-style, in mid air, and then take effect when the Time Stop ends. Remember that Time Stop does not actually stop time, but rather it speeds that caster up tremendously. So the Fireball is released, but it immediately goes back into the regular time flow, detonating when you come back to the regular time flow. (side note: the current Sage Ruling is that Time Stop does not have a duration, and as such cannot be Extended or made Persistant... but it can be Empowered
![[Evil Smirk]](graemlins/Up_to.gif)
)Q: How does Mage Armor work?
A: Basically it gives you armor with a +4 armor bonus, a 0 armor tjeck penalty, no maximum dexterity modifier, and no arcane spell failure.
It does not have any effect on touch attacks, *except* those of incorporeal creatures, because it is made of force.
It does and/or does not stack with a buckler or shield. This argument hinges on whether shields provide shield bonuses or armor bonuses, and there are conflicting passages in the core books, and the FAQs/erratas conflict with the printed info. Furthermore, the Rogue NPC in the DMG has bracers of armor on, and the calculated AC clearly indicates that it stacks with the buckler he is carrying. Futhermore, in the "Lord of the Iron Fortress." module, the Azer clerics are wearing bracers of armor that stack with their shields.
So you decide.
Q: Can I dispel my own spells?
A: As indicated under the Dispel Magic entry, you *automatically* succeed when trying to dispel your own spells. Furthermore, if a spell has a (D) in the duration line, you make take a standard action to end the spell (see pg. 151 of the PHB for more details)
Q: How do Mind Blank and Discern Location interact?
A: Well, MB states that you can't be divined, and Discern Location says that you can divine anything. The key is that MB even foils spells like Wish (which is more powerful than DL), and defensive spells are usually given priority - so Mind Blank foils Discern Location as well.
Q: Are undead affected by illusions (especially Invisibility)?
A: From the general FAQ in my sig:
Unless it has the descriptor [Mind-Affecting], it will work (i.e. most illusions *will* affect undead). If you don't believe that Invisiblity is *NOT* a mind-affecting spell, > CLICK HERE < for a good explanation.
Q: Do I get a saving throw against Invisibility if I interact with the target?
A: No. You can only disbelieve illusions that specifically say: Will disbelieve (if interacted with) (i.e. with Silent Image). Invisibility does not fall into this category.
Q: Can I summon a monster 10' above someone and then have it drop on them?
A: No. pg. 157 of the PHB says that you must chonjure a creature on a surface capable of supporting it.
Q: Gate seems 1000X better than Summon Monster IX. Is this right, or am I reading the spell wrong?
A: You are correct in most instances. The major difference is that Gate is a calling spell whereas SM IX is a summoning spell. The difference is derscribed on pg. 157 of the PHB, and amounts to called creatures being actually destroyed when they die, whereas summoned creatures just "go home" and can't be summoned for another 24 hours. This makes a big difference to the called/summoned creature, and the power that a Solar works for is not going to be happy if you manage to get its second-hand-man slain for a trivial issue.
Another thing to note are the 3 different uses of Gate which are all seperate:
1) interdimensional travel (it's like Teleport Without Error across planes)
2) normal service: this lasts for 1 round/level and requires no additional cost on your part. It must be a relatively simple task that can be completed within the required time.
3) more involved services: this is purposefully vague, and is up to the DM discretion as to what an appropriate payment is for the service required (although a guideline is given). Permanently relinquishing magic items and such falls under this category, so you can't Gate in a Solar and take its sword away without giving appropriate payment.
Also, you cannot Gate in unique beings or beings of demigod or greater status unless they wish to come, and you can never control them. Unique means that only one of that species/race exists: i.e. the Tarrasque
But you can Gate in specific beings (like Drizzt) whether they want to come or not. (from the SRD:
By naming a particular being or type of being as the character cast the spell, the character may cause the gate to open in the immediate vicinity of the desired creature and pull the subject through, willing or unwilling.)
Controlling them is also allowed, but is subject to DM discretion due to its many potential abuses.
Q: How does Polymorph Any Object work?
A: This spell has been the subject of many debates, but here is something to remember: unless it *explicitely* states otherwise, it acts *exactly* like Polymorph Other. It is generally agreed that there is no HD limit, no size limit and you can change people into outsiders, etc. though, due to the fact that it was initially constructed with the original version of PO in mind, which did not have those limitations.
Q: Awesome! I can make a whole heap of cash by using PAO to change a rock into a solid block of adamantite!
A: Re-read the spell, cowboy.
This spell cannot create material of great intrinsic value, such as copper, silver, gems, silk, gold, and platinum..
Q: So then how does Polymorph Other work?
A: From the general FAQ link in my sig:
Well, in the current errata:
- you can't turn into undead, elementals, outsiders or constructs unless you are already one
- you can't turn into something that has more HD than you have levels
- you can't turn into something with more than 15 HD under any circumstance (even if you are, say, 18th level)
- you can't turn into something that is more than 1 size category larger than you
What those are is up to you and your DM (at the moment ...
)."Well, I'll certainly apologize for the original polymorph, since I didn't catch it before it went out."
-Ed Stark, creative director for Dungeons & Dragons.
:D
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MAGIC ITEMS
Q: What "stuff" do I need to make a magic item?
A: The total gp cost that is listed in the book to create an item is the cost to obtain "raw ingredients", which are a collection of power components, materials, etc. that is to be determined by your DM. No specific components are listed as it is up to each DM to determine how hard they would like to make item creation. But remember that PCs will *know* how hard it is to make stuff before taking the feat - so at least tell them ahead of time what, in general, will be required. But it is by no means sufficient to just sit in a vacuum with a bunch of pieces of gold and stuff them into a magic item.
For example, you may require the freshly cured hide of a Displacer Beast to make a Cloak of Displacement (along with other materials costing half the total market price - whether collecting the hide yourself reduces the price is up to your DM). This can also provide questing material and plot hooks as well.
Q: Can I have a flaming, frost, shocking, shrieking weapon?
A: Yes, as different elemental enchantments will stack. According to WOTC customer service, they may all be activated with the same command word as well. This is not overpowered, as a +1 enhancement bonus, mathematically, works out to about the same damage per round, and there are other advantages as well to having the +1 enhancement bonus (harder to sunder, +1 to hit, damage is multiplied, not reduced by elemental immunities, etc.).
Q: How much damage does a Flame-Tongue do?
A: The specifics of the flame-tongue are on pg. 188 of the DMG. (note: the price has been errataed to 18,315 gp) It is a +1 flaming burst longsword (d8, 19-20/X2)
On a regular hit, it does d8 + 1 (enhancement) + d6 (flaming) + (other modifiers (STR, etc.)) + (sneak attack (if applicable))
On a succesful critical hit, it does 2d8 + 2*1 (enhancement) + d6 (flaming not doubled) + 2*(other modifiers) + (sneak attack (not doubled)) + 1d10 (flaming burst)
The *only* extra damage dice that get multiplied by the critical modifier are the burst dice.
Q: How do I calculate the price for a permanent True Strike, Haste or Shield magic item?
A: This one is a little difficult, but the major moral of the story is that calculating magic item costs via
spell level*caster level*2,000gp
is a *BAD* way to do it for spells that provide numerical bonuses. Always use the most relevant/highest price indicator. Furthermore, spells like cure Light Wounds should *not* use the above pricing formula - their actual worth is much greater.
A good guideline is that if you could see yourself consistently using a command-word activated magic item more than about 5X/day, you should use some other calculation method.
Q: What's with the Haste enchantment for armor from Defenders of the Faith? Isn't a +3 enhancement modifier a little low for Haste that is always on?
A: Yes, it is. The +4 AC bonus alone pushes the value to above a +4 modifier. When asked about it at GenCon, James Wyatt (the author of DOTF) said that armor of Haste was meant to act like the Boots of Speed in terms of duration and activation per day. Other sources have suggested a +7 enhancement modifier to have it always on (which puts it into epic regimes... where it belongs IMO)
Q: So if my 15th level monk is wearing Boots of Springing and Striding, what is his movement speed?
A: There has been an official "clarification" that all movements speeds of 60' and above (120' and above for flying) are (Su) in nature and thusly do not stack with the Boots, or Expeditious Retreat. This means that dolphins are (Su) beings, which we all knew (they are going to take over the planet some day... didn't you know?). So to answer the question, your Monk has a base speed of 70 with no boots, and a speed of 100 with boots. (official D&D FAQ, pgs. 14-15). If you want to know more about movement craziness, click here: > Movement Madness <
Q: If I take a Bag Of Holding into a Rope Trick, does the bag break and dump me into the Astral Plane?
A: No. It has been clarified that spells that produce their own extradimensional spaces do not interfere with other extradimensional spaces like Bags of Holding. (D&D FAQ, pg. 28)
Q: What's the deal with those crazy items that give +30 to skill checks?!!
A: At the moment, there seem to be 4 ways to get skill bonuses from magic items: enhancement, competence, insight and luck.
Insight and luck are very expensive, and there seems to be a precedent in the book for competence items requiring
ranks of crafter = ranks bestowed / 2 (i.e. ring of swimming, climbing, stabalisation (PsiHB), Third Eye of Concentration, etc.)
or
ranks of crafter = ranks bestowed for knowledge skills (crystal masks from the PsiHB)
The only item in the books that grants over a +15 bonus is the Ring of Jumping, and probably because it is based on the spell, Jump. The Epic Level Handbook mentions, however, that +30 is the maximum skill enhancement bonus that can be bestowed by non-epic magic. Unnamed bonuses are kind of the third man out, and you should be wary about allowing customised items that grant them.
Q: Can a caster rememorise spells or a psion regain Power Points after only two hours of sleep, if they are wearing a Ring of Sustenance?
A: Yes. Their mind is cleared and they are refreshed, so they can. There are certain limitations that apply, however:
- you cannot rememorise/refresh spell slots/regain power points that you have cast/manifested out of in the past 8 hours
- you cannot prepare your spells/regain power points more than once per day (24 hour period)
- clerics and other divine spellcasters must still pray at the appropriate time of day, and are not restricted by rest anyways
Q: Do I count PrC levels when determining the pre-reqs for crafting an item?
A: Yes and no. Pre-reqs are an unsolved issue (an analysis is presented in the DMG FAQ linked at the top of this post). Your PrC caster levels stack with normal class caster levels, however, so they will add together when determining the pre-requisites, for example, for taking the Forge Ring feat.
Q: How much does a +2 STR, +2 DEX, +2 con item cost?
A: 2^2*1,000gp + 2^2*1,000gp * 2 (second ability) + 2^2*1,000gp * 2 (third ability) = 20,000gp.
If it takes up a non-restricted slot, there are two ways to do it:
1) a single item - double the price of the entire item 2*20,000gp = 40,00gp (the not-so-smart way - you are in essence paying 4X for an ability instead of 2X)
2) 3 seperate items - you need to double the price of every ability, for a price of 8,000*3 = 24,000gp.
Q: What are the caster level on magic items?
A: A whole lot of nonsense. Here is a link where I explain why: >link<
Q: Why don't some of the magic item prices make sense?
A: Here is a discussion on the subject: >link<
Q: What is the rule for determining the save DC, caster level, etc. for spells cast from a magic item?
A: Unless stated otherwise, always assume that the item was made at the lowest possible caster level needed to cast the spell, and that the spell uses the lowest ability score necessary to cast the spell.
i.e. Wand of Fireballs, 5th
caster level = 5, ability score needed to cast = 13 (+1), spell level = 3
so the save DC is 10+3+1=14, and the caster level for SR is 5, damage is 5d6.
Wand of Fireballs, 10th
caster level = 10, ability score needed to cast = 13 (+1), spell level = 3
so the save DC is 10+3+1=14, and the caster level for SR is 10, damage is 10d6.
(note: the shortcut to determine save DCs is 10 + (1.5 * spell level) )
Q: Does arcane spell failure (ASF) apply when casting spells from a scroll?
A: Apparently no. The Sage has made another ruling that doesn't seem in line with the wording of the DMG and PHB, but apparently scrolls do not suffer from ASF. It is important to note that Arcane Spell Failure only applies to arcane spells - i.e. Wizard, Sorcerer and Bard spells. Clerics, Druids, Paladins and Rangers do not have to worry about ASF when casting spells.
Q: Can my Bard use the wand of Cure Light Wounds if someone has told him the spell trigger?
A: You are confusing two issues here. Firstly, wands are considered spell trigger items, and the details of spell trigger items are listed on pg. 175 of the DMG. Basically, it means that you only have to speak one word to complete the spell, so there is no ASF or AoO associated with its use, as opposed to actually casting a spell which does have ASF and does provoke an AoO when cast.
However, the spell must be on your spell list. A spell is considered to be on your spell list if your class is mentioned in the Level descriptor line of the spell. i.e. For Cure Light Wounds, it is:
Level: Brd 1, Clr 1, Drd 1, Healing 1, Pal 1, Rgr 2
So any of the listed classes can use the wand of CLW.
The second issue is that you need to know the word that triggers the wand, and this activation word will either be written on the wand (30% chance, pg. 206 DMG) or can be learned when you Identify the wand.
Q: How much does it cost to scribe a spell into a Boccob's Blessed Book?
A: It is free, and it can hold up to 45 spells of any level, each of which occupies only 1 page in the book.
Q: What is the general equation for determining the price of a Meta-magic rod (from Tome and Blood)?
A: Here goes.
Let X = the metamagic level penalty of the spell (i.e. 1 for Extending, 4 for Quickening, etc. - do *not* use Improved Metamagic to determine this)
Y = Maximum spell level that can be metamagicked with the rod (3 for the minor rods from the book, etc.)
Z = charges per day (3 for all the ones in T&B, but this is more general)
Cost = (2*X-1) * Y^2 * (Z/5) * 1,000gp
And metamagic feats that are a +0 modifier (Energy Substitution, Eschew Materials, etc.) cost half the total price of a +1 modifier metamagic rod.
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Miscellaneous Questions
Q: What are the different elemental damage types? What do they mean? Are deaf characters affected by sonic damage?
A: The different elemental damage types are acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic. They only matter for damaging objects (PHB page 135) or in case a creature has an elemental resistance or subtype (such as cold) that makes it more vulnerable to a given type. See Descriptors on page 152 of the PHB for a more thorough discussion. And, yes deaf characters still take sonic damage, just like creatures that cannot feel heat (such as skeletons) still take fire damage.
Q: Can I cast more than one spell a round?
A: Yes, and here are the possible ways:
1) Hasted action
2) Quickened spell (limit of *one* per round in non-epic levels)
3) Time Stop
4) Contingency/Chain Contigency
Q: What bonuses stack?
A: Bonuses of *different* types stack (see pg. 176 of the DMG), excepting Armor+Shield enhancement bonuses (DMG, pg. 179), bow+arrow enhancement bonuses (DMG, pg. 183), dodge, synergy, some circumstance and unnamed bonuses that do stack with other bonuses of the same name.
Q: What is the difference between incorporeal and ethereal?
A: There is some nomenclature confusion in the books, but here is a link by Sean K. Reynolds that explains things rather nicely:
http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/misc/incorporealandethereal.html
Q: How do I get a blessed weapon?
A: If a good cleric crafts a weapon for you, it is considered blessed, and there is a 1st-level Paladin spell called Bless Weapon. Furthermore, a good Druid or Ranger casting Magic Fang, or a good cleric casting Greater Magic Weapon, etc. gives a weapon that is considered blessed for the duration of the spell.
Q: Can a sorcerer use the Quicken Spell feat?
A: Unless he takes the Arcane Preparation feat from FRCS and prepares the spell *ahead* of time like a wizard, no. It is of no use because the casting time is either reduced to a free action and then increased to a full round, or he spends a full-round casting it to make it a free action depending on your interpretation of how casting times work. Either way, it is of no use to him. If you want to argue about this official answer, go argue on one of the many threads that already exist. Furthermore, WOTC has clarified that the intent of the feat is that sorcerers and bards cannot benefit from it.
[ December 01, 2002, 09:03 PM: Message edited by: chonjurer ]