QnA

Here I tried to gather all the rules arguments we had in the last year, I'll try to keep this updated. Another nice place to look is Wizards D&D 3.5 FAQ


we've been using 'ready an action' a bit wrong I think d20srd - ready

When you ready an action you can ready a free-action, move action or standard action (you need to say which), so for example you can take a move action and then ready your standard action (1 attack for example) for a specific condition. Your readied action can be activated anytime before your next turn and the time at which you take it becomes your new initiative


My official rules for D20 checks of all types (since it hasn't been clear), from now on these rules are the way we play, no shortcuts:

Attack rolls: 1 is always a miss, 20 is always a hit and a possible critical.

Skill rolls: 1 and 20 have no special meaning, nor is 20 considered a 30...

Saves: same as skill rolls

General: You can add action dice to attack and skill rolls (and ability rolls)


Leaving spell slots open - from the SRD:

When preparing spells for the day, a wizard can leave some of these spell slots open. Later during that day, she can repeat the preparation process as often as she likes, time and circumstances permitting. During these extra sessions of preparation, the wizard can fill these unused spell slots. She cannot, however, abandon a previously prepared spell to replace it with another one or fill a slot that is empty because she has cast a spell in the meantime. That sort of preparation requires a mind fresh from rest. Like the first session of the day, this preparation takes at least 15 minutes, and it takes longer if the wizard prepares more than one-quarter of her spells.

This specifically talks of wizards, but later for divine casters it says
The time required to prepare spells is the same as it is for a wizard (1 hour), as is the requirement for a relatively peaceful environment. A divine spellcaster does not have to prepare all his spells at once. However, the character’s mind is considered fresh only during his or her first daily spell preparation, so a divine spellcaster cannot fill a slot that is empty because he or she has cast a spell or abandoned a previously prepared spell.

So I believe it is the same for them.

lior I tend to agree, so you can leave spell slots open and fill them later on if you have time. Of course you can't fill up your spells this way (i.e. get back spells you already cast).


Wall Of Force - cannot be dispelled by Dispel Magic. Duh.


Charge - requires only 10' of straight movement, not 20'

Darkvision - "the presence of light does not spoil darkvision"


Several rules clarifications about last night:

1. Rage - Uri the following quote from the SRD is all there is regarding HP "The increase in Constitution increases the barbarian’s hit points by 2 points per level, but these hit points go away at the end of the rage when his Constitution score drops". You do not continue to fight when reaching 0 hp like you did last night (your attack of opportunity). To be able to operate at 0 hp and below you need to take a feat like Xavier has.

2. Casting somatic spells - Ohad, each spell has components such as verbal, material and somatic. Somatic componenets:
Somatic (S): A somatic component is a measured and precise movement of the hand. You must have at least one hand free to provide a somatic component.
What does this mean? it means that if you fight with a 2 handed weapon or a weapon and a shield you can't cast spells unless you drop the weapon or put it away or something.

3. Drawing or sheathing a weapon - is a move action, you can do it as a free action together with a move action (which does not include a 5' step).

4. Reach of weapons when enlarged - " Large or larger creatures using reach weapons can strike up to double their natural reach but can’t strike at their natural reach or less." i.e as large you can attack up to 20' away. But...

"Glaives, guisarmes, lances, longspears, ranseurs, spiked chains, and whips are reach weapons. A reach weapon is a melee weapon that allows its wielder to strike at targets that aren’t adjacent to him or her. Most reach double the wielder’s natural reach, meaning that a typical Small or Medium wielder of such a weapon can attack a creature 10 feet away, but not a creature in an adjacent square. A typical Large character wielding a reach weapon of the appropriate size can attack a creature 15 or 20 feet away, but not adjacent creatures or creatures up to 10 feet away."

5. Attacks of opportunity when casting a spell - "Threatened Squares - You threaten all squares into which you can make a melee attack", please see point 2. If you are using a one handed weapon and casting a spell that round which takes 1 standard action than I will allow an AOO, otherwise no.

6. Sunder - I made a mistake, when you try to Sunder someone, you provoke an AOO only from him. Same for most special attacks.

7. I think I made a mistake. I cast 'charm monster' on you guys and had you all throw a saving throw, but the target of 'charm monster' is only one living creature. oopsie
Another point is that if the caster or his allies attack the target of the
spell during or before the spell, he receives a +5 to his saving throw...
oopsie again. oh well, you make worse mistakes with spells ;-)


Please read this page about the ride skill - http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/ride.htm

Here is a small but important section about mounted combat - http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/specialAttacks.htm#mountedCombat

A few notes:

• mounting/dismounting is a free action if you succeed on a DC 20 ride check, o/w its a move action
• regular horses (not warhorses) are frightened by combat, i.e. it flees the combat as fast as possible. So you need to waste a move action and do a DC 20 ride check just to control such a horse, so you can do a standard action afterward

First of all regarding the Prone condition:

Prone
The character is on the ground. An attacker who is prone has a -4 penalty on melee attack rolls and cannot use a ranged weapon (except for a crossbow). A defender who is prone gains a +4 bonus to Armor lass against ranged attacks, but takes a -4 penalty to AC against melee attacks.

Standing up is a move-equivalent action that provokes an attack of opportunity.

So I was almost right... you only get -4 to ac, don't lose dex bonuses completely (sorry Xavier)
_

Now regarding the flanking, indeed you only get flanking if you and you're body are EXACTLY opposite each other...

Flanking
When making a melee attack, you get a +2 flanking bonus if your opponent is threatened by a character or creature friendly to you on the opponent's opposite border or opposite corner.

When in doubt about whether two friendly characters flank an opponent in the middle, trace an imaginary line between the two friendly characters' centers. If the line passes through opposite borders of the opponent's space (including corners of those borders), then the opponent is flanked.
_

Regarding the silence spell apparently we made a mistake there too. The Silence spell area of effect is an Emanation which: Burst, Emanation, or Spread

Most spells that affect an area function as a burst, an emanation, or a spread. In each case, you select the spell's point of origin and measure its effect from that point.

A burst spell affects whatever it catches in its area, even including creatures that you can't see. It can't affect creatures with total cover
from its point of origin (in other words, its effects don't extend around corners). The default shape for a burst effect is a sphere, but some burst spells are specifically described as cone-shaped. A burst's area defines how far from the point of origin the spell's effect extends.

An emanation spell functions like a burst spell, except that the effect continues to radiate from the point of origin for the duration of the spell. Most emanations are cones or spheres.

So as you see it should not have worked beyond the door, but once you opened the door it should have spread inside (although not to areas totally covered from the spell's center)

On the issue of falling down, getting up and more:
Prone
The character is on the ground. An attacker who is prone has a –4 penalty on melee attack rolls and cannot use a ranged weapon (except for a crossbow). A defender who is prone gains a +4 bonus to Armor Class against ranged attacks, but takes a –4 penalty to AC against melee attacks.

Standing up is a move-equivalent action that provokes an attack of opportunity

In malhavoc's book of iron might there are new uses for skills in combat. For example the following (which applies to what happened last night):

Bluff: Feign Death
You attempt to play dead, absorbing an opponent's attack and tumbling to the ground. With luck, your opponent moves on to a different target.
Mechanics: You ready an action to make a Bluff check the next time you take damage. Make a Bluff check opposed by any interested observer's Sense Motive check. As a rule of thumb, only opponents directly engaged against you should make this check. You automatically fall prone and drop any items you hold. Your DM keeps the result of the Sense Motive check secret, and you lose your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class until your next action. You are not considered helpless, as you can try to dodge a coup de grace or similar attack at the last moment. If you attack an opponent who thinks you are dead, she loses her Dexterity bonus to Armor Class against you until the end of your action. Once your action ends, your foes obviously know that you are alive.

Cleave
Uri, notice that " You cannot take a 5-foot step before making this extra(cleave) attack. The extra attack is with the same weapon and at the same bonus as the attack that dropped the previous creature " so if you killed someone with your 2nd weaker attack, the cleave is at the same low bonus, and you can't move before doing it!

Meta-Magic Feats
Ohad, here's the explanation on meta-magic feats , I personally think most of them kind of suck In Complete Arcane there are new sudden metamegic feats which allow you to enhance 1 spell per day in some way, here's a summary:

these (I think) are a bit more useful

Spell components - I suggest all spellcasters write the V/S/M components in a favorite spell list of theirs... just in case

I think we already covered this once but...

Damage Reduction: A creature with this special quality ignores damage from most weapons and natural attacks. Wounds heal immediately, or the weapon bounces off harmlessly (in either case, the opponent knows the attack was ineffective). The creature takes normal damage from energy attacks (even
nonmagical ones), spells, spell-like abilities, and
supernatural abilities. A certain kind of weapon can sometimes damage the creature normally, as noted below.

Regarding monster's special abilities and do they provoke an AOO...
See the table here d20srd, Spell-like abilities(sp) provoke AOO, Extroadinary(ex) and super-natural(su) do not.

Moving through occupied squares in combat
As far as I can tell the only way to pass through a square occupied with an enemy is to use Tumbling. Then you can move at halfspeed, and for each enemy you pass you make a tumble check DC 25 (increases +2 for each additional person). You also have to check tumble for enemies who threaten you even if you don't enter their squares (DC 15 +2/person)