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#1 harzerkatze Apr 16, 2004 6:47:29

Hi guys, girls + wandering monsters, since boschdevil does not have the time to keep the MotW FAQ tread updated, he asked me to take it over from him, seeing that I am quite familiar with the book due to my relation to the shifter PrC from the book. So, this is supposed to be the new MotW FAQ thead. Right now, the content is mostly the same as in the old one, but if you have changes or comments, put them here, not to the old one. Here we go: (Revised 2004-4-16) General Acknowledgements/Thanks: Thanks to the other FAQ maintainers and WizO_Paradox for making the basic framework for this FAQ. Also thanks to the posters on the MotW Board for providing Questions and Answers for the FAQ. >>Board FAQ & Archives Board<< FAQ Q. What is the purpose of this FAQ? A. To answer questions pertaining to Masters of the Wild, the Barbarian/Druid/Ranger supplement for Dungeons & Dragons. I will only answer questions about Masters of the Wild here, not general Barbarian, Druid, or Ranger questions, such as How many HD of animals can a Druid adventure with?. But I will provide links to the proper FAQs on these boards where those questions are answered (once I figure it out ). Q. Are there FAQs more appropriate to my other questions? A. Once I figure out how to link with the new boards, I will post it here. : Q. How do I submit new Q&A or corrections to this FAQ? A. You can post them to this thread. I will incorporate them in the first post (this one) once in a while, assuming the Q/As are postable. Opinions will not be posted in this FAQ - only answers with backing in official rules pertains. Look at the Revision Date at the top to see when this FAQ was last updated. Masters of the Wild Q&A Q. Is it dumb for certain races to become either a Ranger, Barbarian, or Druid? (ie. Dwarven Druid, Halfling Barbarian, etc.) A. No. Though the Drawven druid is rare, with their darkvision and the druidic ability to wild shape to compensate for the drawf's normal movement rate, a druid may just be advantageous. (MotW, pg 8) Q. Are the druids of D&D the same as the historical druids of Celtic tribes in western Europe? A. No. Historically, druids were priests within the Celtic tribes. The D&D druids do not follow the same beliefs, obey the same restriction, and do the same rituals as the Celtic priests. (MotW, pg 8) Q. Is there a rule in Masters of the Wild for method that Forsaker must use to destroy magic item? A. No, it only states that the Forsaker partakes in "destroying any magic items he finds." (MotW, pg. 57) Q. Is there any rules update in Masters of the Wild that allows the druid to use the bow and arrow without losing magical powers for 24 hours? After all, a bow and arrow are just wood and sinew. A. No, there is no rules update in Masters of the Wild that allows a druid to use a bow and arrow without losing magical powers for 24 hours. Q. Are there tricks additional animal tricks that are available in Masters of the Wild other than the ones listed in the Players Handbook (pg 68) and Dungeons Master Guide (pg 46)? A. Yes, additional animal tricks are offered on page 18 and 19 of Masters of the Wild. They include Armor, Assist Attack, Assist Defend, Assist Track, Calm, Hold, Home, Hunt, Subdue, Stalk, and Steal. Q. During Wild Shape, is any of the druid's equipment functional? A. The druid's equipment melds into his/her new form and becomes non-functional. (MotW, pg 11) However, certain magic items still have an effect (armor with wild enchantment), others can prevent melding (wildling clasp) Q. Can a druid Wild Shape into a Legendary animal? A. Per Masters of the Wild, starting at 5th level, a druid can start to gain the spell-like ability to turn herself into a Small or Medium-size animal (but not a dire animal or legendary animal). At higher levels, the druid may able to only take on the following differing sizes (Large at 8th, Tiny at 11th, Dire at 12th, Huge at 15th, and Elementals at 16th). (MotW, pg 11) Thus, starting at 5th level, the only way one could ever Wild Shape into a larger animal than the druid is (a) their own size prior to Wild Shaping is larger than the Small and Medium size and (b) they had the feat Proportionate Wild Shape. Normally, Wild Shape is limited by the parameters of the ability, regardless of your original size. (MofW, pg 24) Q. It states in MotW in the rules update for Wild Shape that you can use all (Ex) extraordinay abilities of the creature Wild Shaped. However, it says any body parts disconnected from the one Wild Shaped revert to their natural form. Would poison thus revert to spit upon leaving the body? Would a druid or shifter be able to use poison attacks as, say, a Viper, or a Xill, or a Wyvern, or a Giant Wasp? A. Per D&D FAQ for Masters of the Wild, Yes you would be able to use poison attack if the assumed form had that extraordinary ability. (D&D FAQ, pg 71) Q. But I remember reading in Defenders of the Faith that nothing in those books supersede or replaces core rules from the Players Handbook. Are you sure that Masters of the Wild has content that supercedes or replaces core rules? A. Yes, per page 4 of Masters of the Wild, nothing replaces or supercedes core rules EXCEPT WHERE NOTED. (Song and Silence has the same condition as Masters of the Wild.) Q. Can you extend or make persistent a creeping cold spell if you had the appropriate feats? Would the damage keep going up? A. The spell creeping cold (2nd level spell) duration is limitied to three rounds, with no level bonus for duration. (MotW, pg 86) One can use greater creeping cold (7th level spell), which allows up to 4 round and can progress to 6 rounds, depending on caster level. (MotW, pg 89) Furthermore, the feat Persistent Spell can only be used on spells that have a personal or fixed range. (TaB, pg 41) Even if one was to rule that the spell was fixed for a certain level of the character (ie. creeping cold has a fixed range of 35 feet for a second level character), the Persistent Spell feat can only be used for spells that "affect the caster person (personal range) or have some effect that radiates from the caster person". (D&D FAQ, pg 20) Creeping cold does not have a radial range (it can only affect one person), and thus Persistent Spell can not be used on creeping cold. As for using the Extend Spell feat, there is no clear definition brought forward to the FAQ author on whether this spell may be extended. Some people say that fixed damage spells can not be extended. Some along the same vein of thought think that the spells duration should be considered instantaneous and thus can not be affected. Under these conditions, the best effect for extending the duration of the spell would be the creature would have the effects of the spell, but not suffer damage. Others say that a second level spell (such as creeping cold) extended would become a third level spell requiring a third level slot, and the maximum damage for divine 3rd level spells should be 10 dice. (Table 3-23: DMG pg 96) Hence, the damage could be (per round) d6, 2d6, 3d6, 2d6, d6, and d6. Finally, others say the spell should be extended as normal and that the damage should be either (a) d6,d6,2d6,2d6,3d6,3d6, (b) d6,2d6,3d6,d6,2d6,3d6, (c) d6,2d6,3d6,3d6,3d6,3d6, or (d) d6,2d6,3d6,4d6,5d6,6d6. During UnCon, I asked this question to Skip Williams. He said that he did not know the spell off-hand, but he would believe option (c) noted above since it would work like a Heat Metal spell. Keep in mind that option (d) makes the spell more powerful than the 7th level spell Greater Creeping Cold, and thus do not be surprised if your DM doesn't allow you to use this option. Q. For the Blood Hound PrC, how many times per day can they use the ability Shatter and Fracture? A. As long as the conditions for the ability are met, there is no mention of daily limited usage of the ability. (MotW, pg 51) Q. Is there any way that a Druid can cast spells in Wild Shape? A. Yes, if the druid has the feat Natural Spell. (MotW, pg 24) Q. Does Deepwood Sniper keen arrow ability stack with any other keen effect? A. No, it doesn't. (MotW, pg 53) Q. What does Deepwood Sniper keen edge ability do? I notice it for 6th level on the chart but there is no description of it. A. This is a typo. It was supposed to be removed in the final draft once keen arrows were introduced, but never was. (MotW, pg 52) Q. For the Tempest prestige class, the table 5-17 on page 72 of MotW shows Off-Hand Parry +6 given at a certain level, but the descriptive text on the same page lists a different level for that ability. Which is correct? A. There has been no official errata or sage response to this question. However, the general concensus on the MotW board is that it should be at 6th level (as noted in the descriptive text) and not 7th level (as noted on the chart). Reasoning for this is that (a) it follows the progression every two level trend that is shown for prior advancement on the chart and (b) it is hard to catch and thus easier to make a mistake on a table than it is in the descriptive text. Q. For the King/Queen of the Wild prestige class, if you level in two terrains that have the same elemental resistance listed (like the obvious pairing of Hill and Mountain: both Cold), does one still just have Cold Resistance of five, even though they have 2 levels in each? Similiarly, lets say that a King of the Wild character that has three levels in hill terrain and three levels is mountain terrain. Thus, the character would have the class feature of Attack Native Creature for both hill and mountains terrains. When he faces a Hill Giant, that has a Climate/Terrain of hills and mountains, does the character get +2 to hit (one for each terrain) or only get +1? A. As noted on page 65 of MotW, they note for endure elements "at 2nd level, the character ignore the first 5 points of damage from that element." Thus, for the examples above, the character would have a cold resistance of five since both features would be resisting the same first five points of damage. Futhermore, they note that endure amount increases by an additional +5 at 5th, 8th, and 10th level. They don't note that these bonuses are not stackable. Thus, a 5th level KofH/5th level KofM would have total bonus of +15. As for Attack Native Creatures, though the creature may note differing places for it's possible origin, the creature would still only have one origin. Thus, there would only be a bonus of +1 to hit for the second example. Q. For the King/Queen of the Wild prestige class, for the class feature Attack Native Creature, how does the "any land" exemption for creatures work? A. If the words "any land" are noted anywhere in the Terrain/Climate section of a monsters statistics in the Monster Manual, then the creature does not trigger any bonuses gained from Attack Native Creature. (MotW, pg 66) Thus, if the monsters terrain/climate description is "any land and underground", then the creature is exempt from the Attack Native Creature bonus. Q. What are they referring to on the Masters of the Wild board when they talk about "The Trick?" A. "The Trick" refers to the following scenario: As a part of the Shifter prestige class, starting at 1st level, the Shifter has the class feature Greater Wild Shape. As noted on page 69 of Masters of the Wild, "the shifter gains the ability to assume the form of creatures with types other than animal, though she cannot choose a form that normally has more Hit Dice than she herself does." However, further down the page, it says, "If the shifter already has the wild shape ability from another class ... She may also mix and match the benefits of the two abilities as desired to gain the maximum advantage for any daily use." The druid's wild shape ability has a size limitation, but does not have Hit Dice limitation. Thus, "The Trick" is have a Druid/Shifter character and to use the Greater Wild Shape class feature with no hit dice restrictions of the Druid's Wild Shape ability (still a mixture of those two class features). Even of those who have discussed "The Trick" on the Masters of the Wild board, very few have noted that they would allow "The Trick" to be used in a campaign which they are running. Q. OK, now I've taken up the shifter prestige class. What are some cool things I can Greater Wild Shape into? A. I have put together a listing that sorts through whether a character wants an adventuring form, a combat form, or a special abilities form. Furthermore, he sorted each of the catagories to level of shifter as well. You can see his listing on a post in this page, third post. Q. How do I cast a Lightning Bolt as a divine spell to qualify for the Hexer PrC? A. One must get the ability to cast Lightning Bolt through becoming an Adept (or Geomancer). Q. How does the power critical feat work for a Deepwood Sniper? A. Same as it does for anyone else. The Deepwood Sniper can use it when he uses a melee weapon that he has both power critcal and improved critical with. Power Critical does not function with ranged attacks of any kind, including the Deepwood Snipers bow/crossbow. This has been confirmed in subsequent printings of the feat in the Deities and Demigods supplement... Q. How does the spell Miasma work? A. The spell Miasma fills the subject's mouth and throat with unbreathable gas, preventing them from doing little more than coughing and spitting. The subject can hold their breath for 2 rounds per point of constitution. The spell last 5 rounds per level of druid. Thus, the spell effects (especially if used with the extend spell feat) will be longer than twice the subjects constitution. At that point, the subject must make a Constitution check (DC 10 +1 per previous success) each round thereafter while the spell is in effect. Failure on any such check (or voluntary resumption of breathing) causes the subject to fall unconscious (0 hp). On the next round, the subject drops to -1 hit points and is dying; on the third round, he or she suffocates. Many believe that the spell is overpowered due to the continuous requirement to make an increasing constitution saves or else lose all hit points, the slot level of the spell is only 4th, and the spell is poorly written. Possible fixs include (a) not using the spell in your campaign, (b) allowing a fortitude save to negate effects of spell (a poster in one of the MotW threads noted that one of the MotW authors said that this was the intent of the spell), (c) allowing the effects to be just coughing and spitting (no suffocation) and in essense be a prolonged silence spell, or (d) raise the spell slot level to 7th or 8th level. Others have posted that the spell is not overpowered with respect to other spells since (a) characters in the party should have scolls of dispel magic with silent spell effects to counter this and (b) the effects of the suffocation will happen long after the combat side of the battle is complete. At any rate, the discussion the DM and players on how to handle the spell effects of Miasma and whether you will allow it in your campaign is strongly suggested by this FAQ maintainer. This FAQ maintainer plans on leaving the spell out of their campaign. (As close as I will get to a comment on this matter) Q. The Forsaker must destroy magic items to use his damage reduction ability. If he doesn't do this does he also lose his natural weapon ability or does he retain his natural weapon ability as if his damage reduction was active? A. From reviewing the MotW and the FAQ, there isn't a clear answer to this question. Some may read this as a literalist, and say that the Natural Weapon ability is directly correlates to the Damage Reduction ability. Thus, since the damage reduction ability is lost, though the Natural Weapon ability is still intact, it still mirrors the current damage reduction ability, which is zero. Others may say that Magic Destruction requirement should only affect Damage Reduction, and thus the Natural Weapons ability would be the same as if the Damage Reduction was active. My group would probably err toward the latter than the former. However, it would be a good idea to check wih your DM until a clear interpretation is gained through the Sage FAQ in the future. Q. How many HD of animals can a Druid adventure with? A. A druid can adventure with animals whose summed HD do not exceed his druid levels. Q. How many attacks can a character make when he has the form of a creature with natural weapons but uses his own BAB(such as with Wild Shape)? A. In 3.0, wildshape allowed you to make all the creatures attacks, regardless of your BAB. If ploymorphed, however, you made attacks based on BAB, and additional limbs did not offer additional two-weapon attacks. QUESTIONS ANSWERED ELSEWHERE Q. I like playing Shifters, but have some general questions concerning the prestige class. Where is a good place to go on these boards to find answers to Shifter questions? A. I started THE SHIFTER FAQs . This FAQs answers many of questions that come to mind concerning the Shifter class. VOCABULARY MotW: Abbreviation form of Masters of the Wild. Forsaker: New prestige class in Masters of the Wild that forsakes any magical. (MotW, pg 57) Legendary: Animals with incredible strength, speed, and power, yet same size as their normal counterparts. (MotW, pg 41) Blood Hound: New prestige class is Masters of the Wild that "tracks down wrongdoers and bring them to whatever justice awaits them." (MotW, pg 49) Defenders of the Faith: An accessory offered by Wizards of the Coast as a guide book for clerics and paladins. Songs and Silence: An accessory offered by Wizards of the Coast as a guide book for bards and rogues. Natural Spell: A new feat in Masters of the Wild that allows one to cast spells while in Wild Shape. (MotW, pg 24) Proportionate Wild Shape: A new feat in Masters of the Wild that allows one to wild shape to the same size as their own. (ie. A Cloud Giant could wild shape into a huge animal) (MotW, pg 24) TaB: Abbreviation for Tomb and Blood, an accessory offered by Wizards of the Coast that is a guide book for wizards and sorcerors. Persistent Spell: A new feat in Tomb and Blood that allows for extending duration of certain spells. Deepwood Sniper: A new prestige class in Masters of the Wild that is a master of ranged archery. Extend Spell: A feat in Players Handbook that allow spells that are not subject to concentration, instantaneous, or permanent duration last twice as long as normal. Tempest: A new prestige class in Masters of the Wild that has excellent two-weapon fighting skills. King/Queen of the Wild: A new prestige class in Masters of the Wild that has special abilities based on certain terrains. Attack Native Creature: A class feature of the king/queen of the wild prestige class that bonuses to hit certain terrain/climate creatures. Shifter: A prestige class offered in Masters of the Wild that is a master of changing forms. Greater Wild Shape: A class feature of the shifter prestige class that allows the shifter to assume forms of creatures other than animals. Hexer: A prestige class offered in Masters of the Wild that offers a variety of hexes (or curses) as class features. For more D&D and boards related terms, see trollbill's D&D Boards Dictionary.