Character life in the balance - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Character life in the balance

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
PoisonAlchemist
Apr 03, 2011 0:27:07 So it's BBEG time, and I am a frail little caster. I picked up a Third Eye Damnpening (MIC 141) because my reflex saves are terrible. I get hit with a Maximized Empowered Searing Ray which will kill me, if not for my Third Eye.

What happens? Does my third eye not do anything? Does it negate the maximize and set the damage to minimum? Do they cancel each other out and you just roll normally?
#2
LordOfWeasels
Apr 03, 2011 9:49:33
So it's BBEG time, and I am a frail little caster. I picked up a Third Eye Damnpening (MIC 141) because my reflex saves are terrible. I get hit with a Maximized Empowered Searing Ray which will kill me, if not for my Third Eye.

What happens? Does my third eye not do anything? Does it negate the maximize and set the damage to minimum? Do they cancel each other out and you just roll normally?

Rules questions for D20 will get a much better answer, faster, from a much more knowledgable audience, if you ask them in the Rules Questions For D20 forums.

This is a mostly non-rules forum about game group dynamics and out-of-character concerns, and even then most of the players here play D&D and either have not played D20 or haven't played it in years.
#3
PoisonAlchemist
Apr 03, 2011 9:55:34 Okay, can someone move this or should I make a new thread?
#4
Mad_Jack
Apr 03, 2011 21:18:42
Just post another thread in the Previous Editions section of the forum...

To answer your question, though, which spell are you referring to? I'm finding Scorching Ray and Searing Light, but no Searing Ray spell...

In any event, I'm not sure about the timing of the immediate action required to activate the item, and whether or not you can activate it in response to a spell you've been hit with to negate that damage...
From my reading of it, it sounds like you have to activate it in advance in order to be able to use it's ability, since it says "the next spell that targets you" and the ability lasts until the end of your next turn or something like that...
If you do have it activated, the spell would have it's damage reduced to the minimum amount. Figure out the minimum damage for the Empowered spell, and that's how much damage you'll take.
(The Maximize is irrelevant to the issue at hand, since the third eye's effect is the last thing to affect the spell's damage.)

You should definitely ask about this in the Previous Editions forums, though, since it's been a long time since I played 3.5 and I could well be wrong...

#5
Mysteria
Apr 04, 2011 4:18:16 Since when is this forum 4E only? 3.5 is perfectly valid here too.

Immediate actions can be used at any time, even if it's not your turn, so I would say you can activate it after being hit (preferably before rolling damage).

Other than that, what spell are you getting hit with exactly? Neither Scorching Ray nor Searing Light have a Reflex save.

As for how they interact, I'd say it cancels the maximise and sets the (still empowered) spell to minimum damage, but then I like to be nice to my players.

Really, I think you should ask your DM how he sees it.

He can just as well say that once the spell is maximised, there's no more variables in play for that part and only the empowered part would be affected by your third eye. I can see arguments for both sides.

(Actually, I can even conceive arguing that even the empowered part should not be reduced, although that would be stretching it imho.)
#6
LordOfWeasels
Apr 04, 2011 7:49:30
Since when is this forum 4E only? 3.5 is perfectly valid here too.

It's not D&D only. It is, however, NOT A RULES QUESTION FORUM, and most of the players here are not coming from D20. And so, since this isn't the best forum to ask in, I sent a link to a place that will likely produce better results, faster.

(The same thing happens for D&D rules questions, too, and CharOp, and Character Development, etc - they're just more likely to get a good answer as well and/or first, since there's greater crossover. The "What's A Player To Do?" forum mostly focuses on playing group dynamics, not rules questions, regardless of system.)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 PoisonAlchemist Apr 03, 2011 0:27:07	So it's BBEG time, and I am a frail little caster. I picked up a Third Eye Damnpening (MIC 141) because my reflex saves are terrible. I get hit with a Maximized Empowered Searing Ray which will kill me, if not for my Third Eye. What happens? Does my third eye not do anything? Does it negate the maximize and set the damage to minimum? Do they cancel each other out and you just roll normally?
#2 LordOfWeasels Apr 03, 2011 9:49:33	So it's BBEG time, and I am a frail little caster. I picked up a Third Eye Damnpening (MIC 141) because my reflex saves are terrible. I get hit with a Maximized Empowered Searing Ray which will kill me, if not for my Third Eye. What happens? Does my third eye not do anything? Does it negate the maximize and set the damage to minimum? Do they cancel each other out and you just roll normally? Rules questions for D20 will get a much better answer, faster, from a much more knowledgable audience, if you ask them in the Rules Questions For D20 forums. This is a mostly non-rules forum about game group dynamics and out-of-character concerns, and even then most of the players here play D&D and either have not played D20 or haven't played it in years.
#3 PoisonAlchemist Apr 03, 2011 9:55:34	Okay, can someone move this or should I make a new thread?
#4 Mad_Jack Apr 03, 2011 21:18:42	Just post another thread in the Previous Editions section of the forum... To answer your question, though, which spell are you referring to? I'm finding Scorching Ray and Searing Light, but no Searing Ray spell... In any event, I'm not sure about the timing of the immediate action required to activate the item, and whether or not you can activate it in response to a spell you've been hit with to negate that damage... From my reading of it, it sounds like you have to activate it in advance in order to be able to use it's ability, since it says "the next spell that targets you" and the ability lasts until the end of your next turn or something like that... If you do have it activated, the spell would have it's damage reduced to the minimum amount. Figure out the minimum damage for the Empowered spell, and that's how much damage you'll take. (The Maximize is irrelevant to the issue at hand, since the third eye's effect is the last thing to affect the spell's damage.) You should definitely ask about this in the Previous Editions forums, though, since it's been a long time since I played 3.5 and I could well be wrong...
#5 Mysteria Apr 04, 2011 4:18:16	Since when is this forum 4E only? 3.5 is perfectly valid here too. Immediate actions can be used at any time, even if it's not your turn, so I would say you can activate it after being hit (preferably before rolling damage). Other than that, what spell are you getting hit with exactly? Neither Scorching Ray nor Searing Light have a Reflex save. As for how they interact, I'd say it cancels the maximise and sets the (still empowered) spell to minimum damage, but then I like to be nice to my players. Really, I think you should ask your DM how he sees it. He can just as well say that once the spell is maximised, there's no more variables in play for that part and only the empowered part would be affected by your third eye. I can see arguments for both sides. (Actually, I can even conceive arguing that even the empowered part should not be reduced, although that would be stretching it imho.)
#6 LordOfWeasels Apr 04, 2011 7:49:30	Since when is this forum 4E only? 3.5 is perfectly valid here too. It's not D&D only. It is, however, NOT A RULES QUESTION FORUM, and most of the players here are not coming from D20. And so, since this isn't the best forum to ask in, I sent a link to a place that will likely produce better results, faster. (The same thing happens for D&D rules questions, too, and CharOp, and Character Development, etc - they're just more likely to get a good answer as well and/or first, since there's greater crossover. The "What's A Player To Do?" forum mostly focuses on playing group dynamics, not rules questions, regardless of system.)