This is a repost from the old boards. Until the linked threads have been moved, the links provided will be to the old boards.
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 S&S Board for providing Questions and Answers for the FAQ.
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FAQ
Q. What is the purpose of this FAQ?
A. To answer questions pertaining to Song & Silence, the Rogue/Bard supplement for Dungeons & Dragons. I will only answer questions about Song & Silence here, not general Rogue or Bard questions, such as How many sneak attacks can a rogue attempt in a single round?. But I will provide links to the proper FAQs on these boards where those questions are answered (in this case the Player's Handbook FAQ).
Q. Are there FAQs more appropriate to my other questions?
A. You can find a complete and updated list of the Board FAQs 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.
It is appreciated if you, when your post has been dealt with (that is incorporated into the FAQ, answered in some other way), edit the post to be empty. The WizOs will later remove these empty posts to keep the FAQ more readable.
SONG & SILENCE Q&A
Q. When the Dungeon Delver activates his Blindsight ability, it is a standard action, does this mean he is limited to a number of times he can use this? or does it mean that at the end of the duration he just has to expend a standard action?
A. As S&S does not state a number of times per day the ability can be used, it must mean that you can simply use the standard action when time runs out, and it will work for an extra 10 minutes.
This would seem to make it equivalent to an "always on" ability, but that is not quite the case. If attacked in your sleep you will need time to "turn it on", as well as when you are not in a place where it would be natural to have it "turned on".
Q. In the description of Ambush, in the Outlaw of the Crimson Road PrC, it says that you add the extra damage during the surprise round. Can you use the Ambush in the first regular round if you win the initiative? And does Uncanny Dodge protect against an Ambush attack?
A. The description for Ambush clearly states that it works during a surprise round, and it doesn't say it works at any other times - so, no, it can't be used in the first regular round.
On the other hand, the only conditions needed for Ambush to work is that it is a surprise round, and the opponent hasn't yet acted. This is not something Uncanny Dodge can protect against - meaning, yes, you an use Ambush against an opponent with Uncanny Dodge. But Uncanny Dodge will protect against your regular sneak attack damage, if any, of course.
Q. Does Sneak Attack damage apply to garrote attacks?
A. No, not in itself - but normal sneak attack rules apply. That means you must either flank your opponent, or cause her to lose her Dexterity Bonus to AC. You cannot flank her, as you are in the same space as her. You do not make her lose her Dexterity Bonus to AC against you from grappling, as you are yourself involved in the grapple. But if you were currently under the effects of an Improved Invisibility spell, for example, it might work.
Q. If I have the Flick of the Wrist feat, do I get an extra attack every time I draw a weapon?
A. No, you do not get an extra attack. However, the first attack you make with a newly drawn weapon will cause your opponent to lose his Dexterity Bonus to AC versus that attack (actually, to become flat-footed versus that attack, according to S&S). A few conditions apply: 1) The weapon must be light. 2) The attack must happen in the same round you draw the weapon. 3) You can only do it once per combat. 4) Your opponent is protected from losing Dexterity Bonus to AC if he has the Uncanny Dodge ability.
As for point 3) "once per combat" - what defines a combat? To me this would be when the DM requires a roll for Initiative - that is, when a new combat begins.
Point 4) is a matter of debate. If your opponent actually, as stated in S&S, become flat-footed in regard to your attack, then Uncanny Dodge should protect him. However a number of people, including myself, do not feel comfortable with the "catch your opponent flat-footed (for the purpose of this attack only)"-wording, and feel the designers must have meant "your opponent loses any Dexterity Bonus to AC (for the purpose of this attack only)". If this is correct, then Uncanny Dodge offers no protection. A Sage response seems to support this interpretation (it can be found [here]).
Q. How many Flick of the Wrist-attacks can I make per combat?
A. Only one. See above.
Q. Do I get an extra attack from Expert Tactician if I use Flick of the Wrist?
A. As you cause your opponent to lose Dexterity Bonus to AC, yes. However, the Dexterity Bonus loss applies only to the first attack.
Q. Can the Arterial Strike and Hamstring feats be combined?
A. It would seem so - there's no rule against it anyway. It would of course reduce your Sneak Attack damage by 3d6.
Q. If I have the Jack of all Trades feat, can I speak any language? Speak Language is a trained-only skill, and JoaT allows me to use any skill untrained.
A. No. Speak Language gives you no benefit unless you actually invest ranks in it.
Q. If I use Quicker than the Eye successfully it grants me an extra partial action. If I use this to make a Sneak Attack do I get an extra attack from Expert Tactician? And can I do this, even if I already used Expert Tactician against the same foe in my regular round?
A. No, Quicker than the Eye does not grant you a partial action. It makes your opponent not see what you are doing for the rest of your Standard Action, of which you already used a Move-Equivalent Action to make the QttE attempt - thus you have a Partial Action left. You can make an attack in this Partial Action (with your opponent denied Dexterity Bonus to AC), and then get an extra attack from Expert Tactician. This extra attack will not be denied Dexterity Bonus to AC, however.
Note, the official D&D FAQ (page 82 of the 09/06/02 version) states that it is possible to make a QttE attempt, get your free Expert Tactician attack, make a new QttE attempt (in your Partial Action, this time with a bonus to the spot check), and if succesful make a new attack from Expert Tactician.
Q. Using Quicker than the Eye, I can Bluff as a MEA. This leaves my character with a partial action. If this partial action is "Start Full Round Action" and my full round action is a Full Attack, what happens? Does my opponent lose his Dexterity Bonus to AC vs the first attack next round, vs all attacks next round or not at all, since my action this round was technically not an attack action?
A. In my opinion, even if you could do this, this way of attacking would give no special effect. Your Full Attack would take place the round after using Quicker than the Eye, when the effect has "worn off".
However, you can't start a Full Attack as a Start Full Round Action - this only allows you to start a miscellaneous Full Round Action, as found in PHB table 8-4. See PHB p 127-128.
The only benefit I can see from "Starting a Full Round Action" as part of QttE, is if the action would normally provoke an AoO - you would then not provoke an AoO during your first round of the full round action, but normally on the completion of the Full Round action.
Q. If my character is a Shadowdancer with Hide in Plain Sight, can I use Quicker than the Eye to distract them and then Hide in Plain Sight as my partial action? Since my character is hidden, on his next round he can make a full attack and the opponent should be denied his dex bonus to AC, thus making all attacks sneak attacks (assuming the character does not have the Uncanny Dodge ability). Is this correct?
A. If you can move to and from your hiding place in 5', yes (though it is very possible that your DM will want to impose restrictions, see below). But you don't really need to be a Shadowdancer to do this, you can use the Hide skill normally, provided you have enough ranks to reach a hiding place. Also the DM should apply a penalty to the Bluff attempt when used on consecutive rounds, and a heavy penalty to Hide if the hiding place is the same.
Note, if you have Hide in Plain Sight, there isn't really any need to use QttE, as Hide in Plain Sight does just that - you don't need to make a Bluff as a diversion. Also, you don't need a Partial action to Hide, you can do it as part of a Move (this is according to the official FAQ).
Note also, a DM may not allow all your attacks, if you do a Full Attack from hiding, to be denied Dexterity Bonus to AC. It is a grey area, as is the Invisibility spell. When you make your first attack, you become visible. Does this mean only your first attack is denied Dexterity Bonus to AC? It's really a DM call, unless the opponent is flat-footed at the time. But Skip Williams (The Sage) supports the idea that all your attacks are sneak attacks - see [this link] (unfortunately, the link is no longer valid. It was a link to a collection of peronal replies to questions by Skip Williams/the Sage, which was deleted from the boards by accident
. The gist of the reply was, that when you attack somebody from hiding or while (not Improved) Invisible, you can make a Full Round Attack, and the opponent is denied Dexterity Bonus to AC against all the attacks).Q. Can I use the Pyro feat to do extra damage with my spellcasting - fireball, for instance?
A. No, only spells which explicitly set creatures or buildings on fire will grant you this bonus. See also the official D&D FAQ (page 82 in the 09/06/02 version).
Q. They list a lot of poisons in S&S, but they do not state their effect. Did they simply forget? What's up?
A. The effects are not listed because the poisons are from the Dungeon Master's Guide. The new rules in Song & Silence deals with how you create/make these poisons.
Q. Where can I find an adventure for Bards?
A. Actually, the Web-Enhancement for Song & Silence is just such an adventure module. [Here] is a link to it.
QUESTIONS ANSWERED ELSEWHERE
Q. How many sneak attacks can a rogue attempt in a single round?
A. See the Player's Handbook FAQ.
Q. Can a Rogue sneak attack with a ranged weapon?
A. See the Skills and Feats, Combat and Weapons FAQ.
Q. What if a character has uncanny dodge? Do I need two rogues four levels or higher to flank them?
A. See the Skills and Feats, Combat and Weapons FAQ.
Q. Can I Sneak Attack with a magic missile spell?
A. See the Skills and Feats, Combat and Weapons FAQ.
Q. Can my Rogue make a Sneak Attack with multiple shuriken?
A. See the Skills and Feats, Combat and Weapons FAQ.
Q. Can I Sneak Attack twice with a double Melf's acid arrow (using the Twin Spell feat)?
A. See the Skills and Feats, Combat and Weapons FAQ.
Q. When can a rogue use the evasion ability?
A. See the Classes FAQ.
Q. If I want to be able to use a harp and a lute, do I have to take separate Perform skills for each? What about dancing and singing for the Bladesinger prestige class?
A. See the Skills and Feats, Combat and Weapons FAQ.
Q. Do bardic abilities work on character level or class level?
A. See the Classes FAQ.
Q. What about the bard's Bardic Music?
A. See the Classes FAQ.
VOCABULARY
Arterial Strike: A feat from S&S - allows you to reduce your sneak attack damage, instead giving continous bleeding damage. S&S page 38.
Dungeon Delver: A prestige class in Song & Silence, specializing in workin in the traditional Dungeon.
Garrote: New weapon in S&S, used to strangle a victim. Song & Silence also has special rules for the use of Garrotes. There are three kinds of garrotes: cord, wire & locking.
Expert Tactician: A feat from S&S - allows you to make an extra attack when your opponent is denied her Dexterity Bonus to AC. S&S page 38.
Flick of the Wrist: A feat from S&S - When you draw a light weapon you can make an attack with that weapon; your opponent is considered flat-footed versus that attack. (Personal comment: it probably should be "your opponent loses any Dexterity Bonus to AC versus that attack".) S&S page 39.
Hamstring: A feat from S&S - allows you to reduce your sneak attack damage, instead reducing the land speed of your opponent. If your opponent has more legs than 2, it takes more hits to reduce the speed. S&S page 39.
Hide in Plain Sight: The Shadowdancer's supernatural ability to Hide in the open, as long as shadows are nearby.
Jack of all Trades: A feat from S&S. It allows you to use any skill untrained (even if it is an exclusive skill, or one that cannot normally be used untrained). It does not allow you to put ranks in the skill, unless you would normally be allowed to do so.S&S page 40.
Official D&D FAQ: This is the FAQ maintained and published by Wizards of the Coast. You can find the latest version [here].
Pyro: A feat from S&S. It allows you to add 1 to every die you cause in damage from setting something or somebody on fire. It is also harder to put out such a fire. S&S page 40.
Quicker than the Eye: A feat from S&S. It allows you make a Bluff check opposed by Spot as a Move Equivalent Action. If successful your next opponent does not see what you do for your next partial action. If you make an attack your opponent is denied Dexterity Bonus to AC. S&S page 40.
Shadowdancer: A prestige class from the Dungeon Masters Guide.
Sneak Attack: An attack made by a rogue, dealing extra damage. The attacked creature must not be immune to criticals, and must not have concealment. The rogue must flank the creature, or it must be in a state where it loses it's Dexterity Bonus to AC (or would have, if it had any). See Player's Handbook page 47-48.
S&S: Short for Song & Silence
Song & Silence: A supplement to D&D from Wizards of the Coast, including Prestige Classes, feats, spells and items with a rogue and bard focus.
For more D&D and boards related terms, see trollbill's D&D Boards Dictionary.