Author Topic: Fun Finds v5.0  (Read 314354 times)

Offline JaronK

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Re: Fun Finds v5.0
« Reply #20 on: October 04, 2013, 02:47:52 PM »
Humans used to hunt by running down their prey until it collapsed.

Yes, even deer. We hunted deer by having ridiculous CON scores, and Endurance and Run as racial bonus feats.

Note that while endurance hunting is a thing, there's really no evidence that it was quite so widespread as the people who came up with this theory believe.

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Offline Gazzien

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Re: Fun Finds v5.0
« Reply #21 on: October 04, 2013, 02:53:09 PM »
Humans used to hunt by running down their prey until it collapsed.

Yes, even deer. We hunted deer by having ridiculous CON scores, and Endurance and Run as racial bonus feats.

Note that while endurance hunting is a thing, there's really no evidence that it was quite so widespread as the people who came up with this theory believe.

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Even if only one person did it, it's crazy! Deer are fast.

Offline SorO_Lost

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Re: Fun Finds v5.0
« Reply #22 on: October 04, 2013, 03:03:35 PM »
Actually humans can out run almost any animal on the planet.

Think of the turtle vs the hair really. Sure a deer runs fast, but only for a mile before it wants to collapse on the ground. Sure cheetahs run amazingly fast, but they have even less stamina. Over time, humans beat everything. Through in practical context there are still few animals that out pace us even when we start talking about distance in miles. Which is why we tie them to sleds and carriages...

Offline Jackinthegreen

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Re: Fun Finds v5.0
« Reply #23 on: October 04, 2013, 03:10:51 PM »
Found an interesting exotic weapon from Dragonlance - Holy Orders of Ansalon called the Emmide.  Just going to quote and spoiler it all other than the base statistics.

Base stats: Exactly like a quartersatff, only it costs 1 gold/steel instead of being free.

(click to show/hide)

Basically it functions as a quarterstaff if you don't have the exotic proficiency with it, but if you are fully proficient it becomes a double reach weapon that can also hit adjacent foes.  Being proficient in it also allows using it for trip attacks.  Besides all of that, it's also a special monk weapon.

Offline linklord231

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Re: Fun Finds v5.0
« Reply #24 on: October 04, 2013, 04:22:32 PM »
So, like a Spiked Chain but trading 2d4 damage and +2 disarm for double weapon and special monk weapon?
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Offline Jackinthegreen

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Re: Fun Finds v5.0
« Reply #25 on: October 04, 2013, 05:23:22 PM »
2d4 down to 1d6 is only a difference of 1.5 average, if it's only used for one hit.  Using it as a double weapon complicates things more than I want to analyze right now.  Losing the +2 disarm isn't a huge issue.  Treating it as a special monk weapon would be nicer if monks themselves were better, but on the right build it's awesome.

Offline bobtheapple

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Re: Fun Finds v5.0
« Reply #26 on: October 04, 2013, 11:06:27 PM »
Well, to add some fuel to the Ability Focus(Spells) debate (which seems to be as old as the first Monster Manual itself), Ability Focus was updated in MM4 and MM5 to include any special ability that allows a saving throw, not just special attacks.  Regardless of your stance on what type of special ability spells are, I feel its pretty safe to say that the general consensus is that the natural spellcasting abilities of creatures ARE special abilities.  As such, there is no longer any need to reference antiquated monster stat blocks.

The question now comes down to whether you need to specify a particular spell (such as Ability Focus(Finger of Death)) or whether Ability Focus(Spells) gives a +2 save DC to all spells of that creature.  Towards that end, I would like to put forward a few examples:

Mindshredder Zenthal from MM3 has Ability Focus (NOT spell-like ability focus) taken for each of its spell like abilities individually.  Witchknifes (MM3) also have Ability Focus, taken only for one of its SLAs but not the others, as does the Vitreous Drinker from MM4.  Those were the only examples I could find from the books I have at hand of monsters taking ability focus with regards to "lumped" abilities.  What I was really hoping to find was something like a beholder with Ability Focus(Gaze) or some other notable counter-example, so if anyone could come up with a creature like that it would be appreciated. 

Anyway, I think it should be fairly clear that at least as far as SLAs go, one must take Ability Focus for each individual "spell", which is in keeping with the Spell-Like Ability Focus feat.  From there we can use some logical extensions.  Obviously warlocks would have to take ability focus for each "spell" individually; to do otherwise would go against all known examples of AF(SLA), the spirit of feat balancing, and the RAW of SLAF.  Phaerrim and Sharns, who transform their spellcasting ability into SLAs, would also have to take the feat for each spell individually.  Likewise, a wizard who shapeshifts into a phaerrim would have to take the feat individually for each spell.  Following the pattern, it would make sense that such a wizard would have to take the feat individually for each spell when not a phaerrim as well, and by extension, all spellcasters have to take ability focus for each spell individually.  (And yes, this is a hasty generalization, but I can't find any examples except from SLAs.)

To get back on the main topic, I guess I'll dust off an old Fun Find: Widen Supernatural Ability from Tome of Magic is missing a critical line that appears in Enlarge Supernatural Ability: "A continuous use ability (such as a gaze attack) can only be enlarged for 1 round."  This means that any ability widened with Widen Supernatural Ability stays widened for as long as it is active.  There are a whole slew of uses for this, though my particular favorite is for aura-like abilities.  YMMV on how you interpret 'Using' the ability that you are widening, and whether WSuA can be applied to innate supernatural effects (for a random example, an Atropal's negative energy aura, which can never be turned off, thus might be interpreted as never 'usable').

Offline zook1shoe

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Re: Fun Finds v5.0
« Reply #27 on: October 05, 2013, 01:04:19 AM »
@widen... Nice!
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Offline altpersona

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Re: Fun Finds v5.0
« Reply #28 on: October 05, 2013, 01:10:19 AM »
toward the direction of taking AF once per spell, i would like to restate the silliness of the at will or always on item of Alter Self and the free floating feat that humans get. AF should now cover all your warlock and individual spell needs, assuming you need +2 dc.
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Offline Chemus

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Re: Fun Finds v5.0
« Reply #29 on: October 05, 2013, 01:14:44 AM »
toward the direction of taking AF once per spell, i would like to restate the silliness of the at will or always on item of Alter Self and the free floating feat that humans get. AF should now cover all your warlock and individual spell needs, assuming you need +2 dc.

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Don't think that's a 'Bonus feat'. Could be wrong, but don't think so.
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Offline Kethrian

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Offline phaedrusxy

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Offline SorO_Lost

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Re: Fun Finds v5.0
« Reply #34 on: October 05, 2013, 01:43:33 PM »
Well, to add some fuel to the Ability Focus(Spells) debate (which seems to be as old as the first Monster Manual itself), Ability Focus was updated in MM4 and MM5 to include any special ability that allows a saving throw, not just special attacks.
Special Attack is an offensive list of Special Abilities. So anything that is a Special Attack, is also a Special Ability. And if something is incorrectly listed as a Special Attack...

« Last Edit: October 05, 2013, 01:45:47 PM by SorO_Lost »

Offline Argent Fatalis

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Re: Fun Finds v5.0
« Reply #35 on: October 05, 2013, 05:56:51 PM »
Some interesting feats from a 3.0 book, Bastards and Bloodlines most are pretty tame, but some get outright silly.

Lockjaw pg 91
- Get trip as a wolf with your natural bite attack.
- Strangely this is also a Fighter Bonus Feat.
- Isn't a Bloodline feat oddly enough.

Hardy Stock pg 91
- Get 2 + HD bonus hit points each time you take it.
- Fighter Bonus Feat and General Feat.
- Just to make Toughness that much more useless.

Old Blood pg 92
- Chose a race rather other than your own. You count as both.
- General Feat, 1st level only.
- Can be any two races effectively at once, with one feat - oh, and it specifically says it qualifies you for "prestige classes..." and that you "...count as a member of that race." I'm sure this has some uses somewhere, namely for qualifying for prestige classes you'd regularly be ineligible for as well as certain racial feats or bonuses.

Rake pg 93
- When you make a successful grapple check, you can make all your claw attacks at full bonus.
- General Feat, and strangely enough again a Fighter Bonus Feat.
- Would probably be a neat combination with a Feral creature and or Black Blood Cultist build.

So all those were pretty tame, useful here and there, but I think this one certainly could have its uses somewhere along the line...

Lost Tradition pg 91
- "Choose one spellcasting class."
- "You may change which ability score governs spellcasting with that class."
- General Feat, 1st level only.
- Example shows us a cleric taking Charisma instead of Wisdom to base her spells off of and contains this statement, "... and any other calculation regarding cleric spells." and that's after it outright says pretty much everything spell related for the cleric is now based off of Charisma instead of Wisdom.
- This isn't even a Bloodline feat - literally anyone could use this.
- Wait... Wait what? So... I had to check to see if this had any other limitations or stipulations (except that you can't do this again, not that you even could really in the first place), but no, you can base your spellcasting for one casting class off of any ability score. That means you can have absurdities such as Strength based spellcasting, where you outright muscle spells into existence just because you can - but hey, that's not the strangest thing in D&D to date.
« Last Edit: October 06, 2013, 08:07:26 AM by Argent Fatalis »


Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: Fun Finds v5.0
« Reply #37 on: October 05, 2013, 09:58:03 PM »
Old Blood pg 92
- Chose a rather other than your own. You count as both.
- General Feat, 1st level only.
- Can be any two races effectively at once, with one feat - oh, and it specifically says it qualifies you for "prestige classes..." and that you "...count as a member of that race." I'm sure this has some uses somewhere, namely for qualifying for prestige classes you'd regularly be ineligible for as well as certain racial feats or bonuses.
Beholder Mage (or Illithid Savant) here I come! Yeehaw! :P
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Offline SorO_Lost

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Re: Fun Finds v5.0
« Reply #38 on: October 05, 2013, 10:34:30 PM »
Beholder Mage (or Illithid Savant) here I come! Yeehaw! :P
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Offline linklord231

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Re: Fun Finds v5.0
« Reply #39 on: October 06, 2013, 01:44:53 AM »
Screw the Dragonwrought Kobold debate, now anybody can be a True Dragon!

Also, from that same book:
Large:
You are now size Large.  You take a -1 to hit and AC, but you get 10' reach, +10' speed, and double carrying capacity.

Requires a Bloodline from a normally Large or larger race, can be taken after first level.  Does the book ever define what a "bloodline" is, or can you just say "My character is descended from dragons" and call it a day?
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