Firing into Melee
You can forgo the -4 to hit when firing into melee, but all the characters within 5 feet of your target could be hit if you miss your target.
If the shot misses your target, roll to determine which nearby character might be hit.
Then roll another to hit but do not add any Dex bonus (you are not trying to hit your friend). If this is a hit, your friend takes damage.
The Precise shot means no -4 penalty and no hit friend change (aside from the usual fumble table results).
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Natural 1s and Natural 20s
A roll of 1 is not an automatic miss and a roll of 20 is not an automatic hit.
Rather, a roll of 1 is a roll of -10. A +6 to hit means the character just rolled a -4.
A roll of 20 is treated as a 30. A character with a +6 gets a 36 on their to hit roll.
This does not change the Critical Hit Rules. Natural 20s and natural 1s still get rerolls to determine whether they are critical hits or misses.
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Moving through occupied squares
You can move through friendly squares but if the friend is attacking that round, either the friend takes -2 to hit for each hit on his next turn OR you stand a chance of getting hit if he misses his opponent on his next turn.
Chance to hit friend if no -2 is taken: If the original to hit roll is not enough to hit the opponent (a miss), but is enough to hit the friend, the friend is hit instead.
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Moving and Loading a Crossbow
You can load a light crossbow WHILE you move, if the move does not require the use of hands (scrambling over a fence, climbing a steep hill, etc.). It takes both hands to load the crossbow, whether moving or not.
You cannot move while you load a Heavy Crossbow. There is
too much leverage involved.
Unless the direct death of a Player Character is involved, looking up a rule during the game will have a one minute maximum look-up time. Once discovered, there will be a 2 minute max debate time if the rule is unlclear.
If the rule cannot be found within one minute and/or if the rule cannot be agreed on within another 2 minutes, I will make a ruling which will be considered to be in effect for that ONE INSTANCE only. We can discuss a permanent ruling or discover the rule we could not find after the session os over and before the next session begins. Sometimes the option will be open to discuss the rule or ruling after the regular game but before the discusees have gone home.
This is both to speed up game play and to keep the game interesting for those who don't really care about the rules.
We are now using all of our spells out of the 3.5 Player's Handbook. If you need spell descriptions from 3.5, please let me know and we will work something out.
The 3.5 edition version of this spell works better for me. This also applies to the other stat enhancing spells such as Cat's Grace.
The 3rd edition shield spell and 3.5e shield spell differ quite a bit. The spell is listed below for those that do not have the 3.5 Players Handbook and need to reference it.
Shield (from 3.5e) from Player's Handbook 3.5
Shield creates an invisible, tower shield-sized mobile disk of force that hovers in front of you. It negates magic missile attacksdirected at you. The disk also provides a +4 shield bonus to AC. This bonus applies against incorporeal touch attacks, since itis a force effect. The shield has no armor check penalty or arcane spell failure chance. Unlike with a normal towershield, you can’t use the shield spell for cover.
If a character wishes to draw a weapon (a move-equivalent action) while moving at the same time, this is acceptable. If a character has Quick Draw, they can perform another action while moving (ready a potion, for example) and then draw the weapon as a free action.
We have officially adopted the 3.5 version of this rule as follows:
From Players Handbook v3.5 (p68):
Feinting in Combat: You can also use Bluff to mislead an opponent in melee combat (so that it can’t dodge your next attack effectively). To feint, make a Bluff check opposed by your target’s Sense Motive check, but in this case, the target may add its base attack bonus to the roll along with any other applicable modifiers. If your Bluff check result exceeds this special Sense Motive check result, your target is denied its Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) for the next melee attack you make against it. This attack must be made on or before your next turn. Feinting in this way against a nonhumanoid is difficult because it’s harder to read a strange creature’s body language; you take a –4 penalty on your Bluff check. Against a creature of animal Intelligence (1 or 2) it’s even harder; you take a –8 penalty. Against a nonintelligent creature, it’s impossible.
Feinting in combat does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Retry Restrictions: Generally, a failed Bluff check makes the target too suspicious for a bluffer to try another one in the same circumstances. For feinting in combat, you may retry freely.
A glittering corona of sunlight surrounds your body at a few inches distance - until you release it as a focussed blast of divine energy. The nimbus of light glows like a lantern, shedding bright light in a 15-foot radius (and dim light for an additional 15 feet) from you. The side-effect of this spell is that it acts as a Faerie Fire spell upon the caster, nullifying concealment or blur.
As a move action, you can coalesce the energy from the nimbus of light around your outstretched arm, and then as a standard action fling it toward a foe within 30 feet. As a ranged touch attack, the nimbus of light deals 1d8 points of damage, +1 point per round that's elapsed since you cast the spell (max 1d8+caster level damage). Attacking with the nimbus of light ends the spell, whether the energy hits its target or not.
Clarification: There was a question Mark had about using a mirror with this spell. If you looked askew at a mirror and could see a foe in the mirror, you could aim it at said foe just like normal. If you had a mirror in the corner of a 90 degree angle and wanted to blindly fling the spell down the next hallway, you could feasibly target the mirror, but that would simply damage the mirror. If you were to cast at the mirrored surface itself, there is a good chance it would reflect some or all of the damage in some other direction. How's that for vague? We'll deal with this when it happens or when you decide you want to test it.
This spell creates a brilliant flash of golden light, enfused with the power of Pholtus. Undead within the area of affect take 4d8 +* (*the cleric's Charisma bonus) points of damage (no save). All other creatures within or facing the burst must make a Reflex Save vs. the DC of the spell or be blinded for 1d8 rounds and take 1d8 points of Light damage. Those making the save are not blinded but take half the damage. Non-undead creatures without eyes, and those not sensitive to visible light, are not affected at all. A blinding light of Pholtus negates darkness spells within its area provided the spell has a greater Difficulty Class than the darkness spell(s). The material component for this spell is Pholtus' two silvery moons holy symbol and a bead of any clear crystalline substance.
Special: If you take the total defense action, you can stand up from prone as a move-equivalent action without provoking attacks of opportunity.
After the first opponent, each subsequent opponent adds +2 cumulative to their check. If you are tumbling through the opponent's space, the opponent adds +5 to their check. If you fail the check, your movement provokes an attack of opportunity from that opponent normally.
TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP It was decided by email by the lot of us back in September of 1999 that if a player doesn't/can't show up for a game, he should not be penalized for experience. Role-playing experience would of course not be given, but all encounter experience will apply to the characters who participated, whether run by the player of that character, another player, or the DM. TOP As per errata for the 3e Player's Handbook: Thus, it does not negate AoOs. TOP The K'Needian elf innate ability obscurring mist does not cancel magical darkness. TOP When a character is reincarnated, the spell causes the spirit to fly to the nearest dead human, demi-human or humanoid body and enter it, reanimating it. If there are several suitable bodies nearby, the spell forces the spirit into the one in the best shape. TOP Although both of these spells are "force" type spells, the mage armor is an "Armor" type of spell and shield is a Deflection type of spell. TOP TOP The numbers in the PH are just too silly. Unless I get big flack from you guys on this, I'm going with 1 full minute to search an area for obvious traps or secret doors (instead of 6 seconds). You can do a spot quickly (6 seconds or 1 round) but the DC will be much higher. TOP Instead of rolling your hit points when you reach a new level, you can choose to take the average of the hit die you would roll for that class. You must make the descision before you roll, however. The average for each Hit Die is summarized below: When adding a new class there must be a logical story/reason for the change. New abilites aren't simply aquired by magic or force of will. A character must train for the new class. Some thought should be put into the new class the character is striving before they reach the next level so some training can be sought. A natural "1" has the potential to be a critical miss. Roll to hit again, and if you miss your original target's AC, the DM must consult the Tablesmith "Fumble Effects" Table. If you roll a natural "1" a second time, roll a third time against your opponents AC to see if you miss again. If you do, the DM must consult his special Tablesmith "Critical Miss" chart, which generally has more deadly results. Rolling a third "1" in a row is very, very bad, and the Tablesmith "Deadly Misses" chart is used instead. Just so there is no confusion, here are the rules as they stand forCritical Hits: 1.When a creature rolls a critical threat (varies by weapon) and then a subsequent roll that would have hit, then the roll is a critical hit and the damage of the weapon is doubled (tripled for some weapons). This is per the officail rules. 2.When a creature rolls a natural 20 (only) followed by a second natural 20, this become a potential deadly critical. The next roll must be enough to hit the target creature, and if so, the hit is a Deadly Critical. The DM will consult the Tablesmith Deadly Critical Chart, in possession of the DM and not available for review. Note that the usual Critical Hit damage is applied as well as the result on the chart. 3.When a creature rolls a natural 20 (only) followed by a second natural 20, and then a third natural 20, this is an automatic kill. In Arcturus' Greyhawk there are halfling bards, unlike what the PH says under the description for bards. They are not even that rare (among the halflings). When a character calls a familiar, he chooses the one he wants to call (as per the PH). This can be any normal animal the character wants, not simply those in the PH.
Official errata: Sor & Wiz levels stack for determining a familiar's abilities.
Touch Spells in Combat
Healing Those Wounded in Combat using the Healing Skill
K'Needian Elf Battle Language
Readying an Action
Players Not Showing Up For Games
Added Oct. 02/05:This will, of course, mean that the PC can be killed in combat.
Added Oct. 18/05:This House Rule will not apply to the Mods Quad Game, as players are not expected to show up for every game. Mods Quad is meant to be episodic, with each gaming night being a short story in a larger novel. Therefore the characters whose players are there will be the ones involved, and therefore the ones who gain the xp. On the rare occasions when an episode is not completed and must be completed at a later date, then any of the PCs still in the adventure will earn experience and risk death as stated above.
The Shield Spell
Mist Cloud Spell
Reincarnation
Mage Armor and Shield
A Mage Armor spell will therefore stack with a Shield spell, just as a suit of leather armor would stack with a wooden shield.
A Mage Armor spell will NOT stack with a suit of chainmail, just as a suit of leather armor would not stack with a suit of chainmail.
Also note that lack of stacking does not mean that a spell does not function. Even if a character is using a wooden shield and casts a non-stacking shield spell, the spell is still in effect and the +7 Deflection bonus to AC applies. The wooden shield is basically useless for protection from missile attacks for the duration pf the spell (i.e. if the missile attack was good enough to get past the magic shield, it fooled your ass too).
Errata Explained
This should read DC 10 + points of damage taken + spell level, confirmed on p.65 and p.151
This has been changed to Duration: See text and if it is made before the end of the next round
Thieves and Traps
1 Turn to check thoroughly (ie Take 10)
Taking 20 is just that - 20 minutes.
Fixed Hit PointsClass Hit Die Hit Points Sorcerers and Wizards d4 2 Bards and Rogues d6 3 Clerics, Monks and Druids d8 4 Paladins, Fighters and Rangers d10 5 Barbarian d12 6
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Adding another class or gaining new feats/abilites/skills
The same goes for characters of a class who are about to gain a new ability or a new skill. These abilities must be trained for as well, so the character must search out a trainer, or they do not gain the new abilities.
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Critical Misses
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Critical Hits
There is is no save.
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Halfling Bards
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Find Familiar
However, if the player plans to try for an animal not listed, he should talk to the DM first to discuss what sort of abilities the new animal familiar should have. These abilities should be similar to the familiars listed.
Also, if the character wishes to call a "special" familiar, he can try. The cost in materials is the same (100gp) but there is no guarantee that a special familiar will be near, nor is there any control over the type of familiar that will be summoned. Alignments and terrain are factors, as is intelligence. Any wizard the players have ever heard of or talked to who had a special familiar were all very intelligent and had to try quite a few times.
A character can only try for a special familiar once per game month.