How does the undetectability affect the Link, or other forms of communication?
Dumathoin is both canny, and uncanny. He knows that any link or communication can be tapped by a Power, for example to intercept Halt’s communication and thereby figure out where he must be, so the only way to keep Halt truly disappeared from all sight is by silence. Even if Halt were able only to listen directly but not speak, a tangent from the originator to Halt would still exist on the psi landscape, and therefore would be traceable back to him – even Robinsong could do this, following a mental or magical connection from anywhere along it to one end to the other (Halt heard from Robinsong briefly back in Sigil; he’s the Divination specialist for MetroMagic).
However, if Halt has some further Spell or other Effect that allows him to tap into a Link himself, he could use this to listen to the Link, but not send on it. Likewise he is not prevented from casting Spells that might enable him to communicate cleverly. Of course, if he paints a bullseye on his own location, he may suffer the consequences, and he knows that a Power needs very little to work with, to find him.
To anticipate a question from Darayat: Darayat can affect Halt with an area effect, but not with a targeted effect because he has no idea where Halt is.
To anticipate a question from Ptolemaeus, Gleron, and Star: Of course, Halt is not perceivable with Timesight either. See the IC post soon.
So then where am I, as far as HP/Nonlethal damage?
Halt comes awake following the exposure to Healing radiating from Ror and Star as Halt passes beneath the floor into the flitting, flickering beams of emerald, purple, and golden light, and comes back into LOS/LOE. So the net effect of Dumathoin’s help including His conveniently adjusted sub-orbital trajectory for Halt (to get Halt some Healing and – also important – a soft landing), Halt has recovered to the point of full HP.
you wouldn't think that kind of thing would complicate finding out exactly how many hitpoints I have
In fact this particular issue was the one SirP and I went back and forth with the most and discussed the longest, and not because of the rest of the questions. We both suggested various conditions and solutions and outcomes and then kept saying to each other, “Oh, wait, what about this consideration…” So we never came up with something we really liked, including the one I just posted above.
The problem with this alternative I just posted is: We don’t want to encourage our players to think of us as DMs who will ultimately solve all their problems – because then where’s the risk? – and especially not with a “Deus ex Machina” solution which this one pretty much literally is. So why use it then? ...Because ultimately, the Story had to rule. This was Dumathoin’s Time to take a close look at Halt, and so He did. He’s sending Halt back in, freshly struck on the Anvil as a sharpened tool, and so, no less than the other characters, a freshly minted Halt is going to have a fresh set of HP. Again.
None of the other alternatives (and some of them were not just about some number of HP) really did the job that the Story needed.
So, don’t anyone take this particular outcome as a sign of “Deus Ex Machina” DMing. It happens to be, yes, but due to Story and not to style. ‘Nuff said.
If I have two spells on an arrow, in what order do they take effect? (For example, spell that effects Fortitude Saves + Disintegrate?)
Neither method to place a Spell on an arrow specifices an ability to apply sequencing. Therefore there is no sequencing inherent to either method; they take effect simultaneously, which could be good or bad or irrrelevant, depending on what Halt wants to accomplish.
In the particular example you cited, the Spell that hurts FORT Saves would not change the FORT Save for the Disintegrate; as a matter of timing it’s not in place when the Disintegrate hits. This is in part a consequence of the lack of continuous Action, a weirdness of 3.5. Spells have to be done, to be in place and have any Effect. Note that a 1-2Ed caster might get different results depending on the particulars of a situation; as usual, the Magic you cast is whatever you learned, in this case 3.5.
However! A specific Spell’s description may state otherwise, and there’s always Metamagic (the broad sense, not just Feats) and Contingency. With a little extra effort Halt can probably work out something to do what he needs, or if he gets stuck he can always talk to Ptolemaeus about the nature of Time (if he wants to risk a headache
).
Can I RuneChalk an Arrow of Bone?
What happens if I cast Arrow of Bone on a RuneChalked arrow?
The short answer: Whether before or after, the Rune is on the arrow.
Either way, whether the Arrow of Bone is cast before or after the Rune Chalk is used, the arrow has a physical substance that is in existence prior to being fired, so it is possible to apply Rune Chalk to it. The Rune Chalk’s bypass of Spell Resistance applies only to the Spell it carries, as we’ve noted before; it does not apply to the Arrow of Bone itself, and the discharge of the Arrow of Bone and the Rune Chalk is simultaneous. To anticipate a question, if the Rune Chalk lowered the target’s Save, that would not affect the FORT Save vs the Arrow of Bone, as a matter of timing. However, Halt is good enough to hit with two arrows, one after the other, so ultimately he can still accomplish what he wants.
How do each of my magic-archery abilities interact with Splitting Arrows? How about the Arrowsplit spell?
Rune Chalk writes a Spell onto an arrow. Arrowsplit and Splitting Arrows both divide that arrow in flight into multiple identical arrows which descend onto the same target (the arrow isn’t truly a MIRV since all warheads must go to the same target); however Arrowsplit/Splitting Arrows RAW don’t say they divide (or multiply) additional Effects that are placed on the arrow. The Rune Chalk travels along with the divided arrow, and its Spell strikes the target as long as any one of the multiplicity of arrows is a hit. A quantum packet
(What happens if you use Arrowsplit to shoot at all probability instances of Schrodinger’s Cat simultaneously? Does the paradox become answerable?)
The downside: No, the Rune Chalk doesn’t multiply into many identical Spells for free.
The upside: Nor is it divided into many sub-parts, some of which might be lost. And therefore no part of it is lost on a percentage basis for misses. So the increased likelihood of rolling at least one hit is still a benefit of Arrowsplit/Splitting Arrows, applying equally to the Spell from Rune Chalk on the original arrow, in the same way that it does to the original arrow.
Speaking of which, do multiple Softenings stack? We never established what, if any, type the penalty took. Untyped means it stacks unless noted, but it could also be argued as coming from the same source.
The issue is pretty much as you framed it: Does an untyped bonus/penalty stack with itself from a second casting of the same spell? Correct, it doesn’t, because that would be considered “from the same source” which is consistent with how we’ve treated this type of thing before – for example, certain of the overlapping Circles with Rituals.