Fun Finds v7.0 - Now with +15% more reposts!

[Amechra]

You never know what's going to stick when you start throwing words out, sometimes the extra words help plaint a clearer picture in the mind of the reader and sometimes they have the opposite effect. But one thing is known for sure, no one likes the grammer nazi and I suspect the editor nazi isn't too far off from that position.

Editors are the princes and princesses of men - being able to write and creating a saleable final product that doesn't leave a bad taste in the reader's mouth are different skillsets, sadly enough. There are a ton of shitty movies/books/comics/whatevs that were created by people who had really good reputations - so good, in fact, that they were able to get away with not having an editor touch their work.

Pretty much half the rules exploits in RPGs come about because some editor did a shitty job.

If people yell at the "editor nazi", then they're just being dumb. Because all an editor does is read your shit before other people have a chance to read your shit, so they can yell at you if you do something stupid. They do it so other people don't have to do it later, when they'll honestly be pretty pissed that the promised product doesn't meet their lofty expectations (then again, we have no lofty expectations for you, Sor0, so maybe you don't need an editor?)

*Removes soapbox quietly, exits stage left.*

[awaken_D_M_golem]

When a character with a level adjustment advances in experience, the level adjustment he started with becomes more and more of a burden. Eventually, the benefits of the creature type may come to be eclipsed by those of his class features, and the player may regret his choice of race. Under this variant system, the character can pay an XP cost at certain intervals to decrease the burden of his level adjustment.

Otherwise that'd be a pretty entertaining thought.

So you're saying that it's impossible to buy off a Level Adjustment that you didn't start the game with?  Interesting.  I'd honestly never considered that, since it's such a straightforward extrapolation.

hmm yeah Interesting.

So we wouldn't know whether this text
was an attempt at including "normal" LAs
and Acquired LAs together.

The language can be read as separating the 2.
If so ... Acquired's can't go get LA buy-off ,
= s.o.l. , except for PHB2 Rebuilding.

[PlzBreakMyCampaign]

Well done amechra. But yeah we've all seen the trick. It's sort of an obvious "don't allow the benefit to stack more than once" per LA tier. I throw it in the "monk's aren't proficient with their unarmed strikes" bucket. No one plays that way.

without flushing the powerstone

No. You're not the first one to be mislead about this. I've traced through this with rules quotes before and no one ever says thank you when I do.

Back on topic ... I don't have any fun finds. Just a nagging suspicion that I'm missing the last decent 3rd level buff for my chameleon. I can only find 5 of them. 

[Amechra]

Well done amechra.

 

[SolEiji]

Heeeyyyyy that pic ain't D&D now is it ?!

That's obviously an Valenar Elf Eternal Blade with an abberant dragonmark shaped like a triangle.

As for my fun find...Dungeon 145 has a table for things you can find while picking pockets. Combine with luck manipulation of some sort to get some really weird and useful:

- The Private Journal of a well-known countess. It's explicitly incriminating too.
- A doll with a note sticking out. It details the imprisonment of a small child, and has a map on the back.
- A star chart that doesn't match normal cosmology, with DECIPHERABLE COORDINATES.
- Some gloves made from polar bear fur that have spring loaded claws.
- A white dragon scale with the TRUENAME OF A MINOR DEMON on it.
- A lady's hankerchief soaked in fresh, warm blood.
- A relic of a merfolk god.

Interesting.  I may create such a chart on the D&D wiki (and steal a few of those, because why not) because this is a really cool idea.

[linklord231]

without flushing the powerstone

No. You're not the first one to be mislead about this. I've traced through this with rules quotes before and no one ever says thank you when I do.

You might have to walk me through the logic on that one.  I know you said you've done it before, but I can't find the post.

To me, it sure looks like "using a power stone" and "manifesting an unknown power from another's power's known" are two totally different things.  They require totally different actions, use totally different Manifester Levels, and failure results in two totally different penalties.

[Satori]

I don't see this in the compiliation, and maybe it would better belong in Bunko's, but the Shadow Cloak is an absolutely amazing item for the price. Ever wanted Abrupt Jaunt on a non-Conjurer? Now you can have it!

Is that from an official 3.5 source?





I've been looking through the DSP d20 SRd, and found this in the entry for Enlightened Monk:

Ki Psionics: The enlightened monk’s internal mastery brings forth her psionic potential in the form of Ki. Through intense training and meditation, she opens up more and more of her psionic self. The enlightened monk gains bonus power points from her Wisdom score as if her manifester level was equal to her enlightened monk level. These power points can be spent to fuel some Ki styles, as well as allowing her to attain psionic focus, among other uses. Any class which increases any specific monk class features, such as AC bonus, unarmed damage, speed, or flurry of blows, stacks with her enlightened monk levels for the purpose of Ki psionics.

Enlightened monk1/Psionic class manifesting based on wisdom 19

Feats: Monastic training, Tashalatora (Psionic class manifesting based on wisdom)

By my read, You get powerpoints as an Enlightened monk of level 20, that is, the PP you get from WIS for ML 20.  That's in addition to the PP you get as a Psywar 19, including bonus PP from WIS for ML 19.

This can get even weirder with Lucid Cenobyte from Hyperconcious, which adds half your level in one psionic class to your effective monk level for a bunch of things.  So with Tashalatora, you get level x1.5 towards monk abilities on one psionic class.

With Monk1/psy-war18/Lucid Cenobyte, you have Monk fists as a level 29 monk, and get bonus PP for ML 29.

[phaedrusxy]

I don't see this in the compiliation, and maybe it would better belong in Bunko's, but the Shadow Cloak is an absolutely amazing item for the price. Ever wanted Abrupt Jaunt on a non-Conjurer? Now you can have it!

Is that from an official 3.5 source?

Yes, Drow of the Underdark.

[Garryl]

Blade Brothers (PHB2) is a 2nd-level spell with a hidden use. It's supposed to link two people and essentially give them two saves against some nasty effect (both subjects roll the save, and the victim succeeds if either one does). The downside is that if both fail, both are affected. However, if you combine it with an effect that you want to fail your save against (healing, buffing, etc.), and it instead becomes a way to duplicate single-target spell.

[Keldar]

Its single use though for a 2nd level spell, and the wording seems like they would have to actually roll.  Potentially useful anyway with ways of lowering a save.

Sneaky.

[phaedrusxy]

Blade Brothers (PHB2) is a 2nd-level spell with a hidden use. It's supposed to link two people and essentially give them two saves against some nasty effect (both subjects roll the save, and the victim succeeds if either one does). The downside is that if both fail, both are affected. However, if you combine it with an effect that you want to fail your save against (healing, buffing, etc.), and it instead becomes a way to duplicate single-target spell.

Reach + Chain this before using Wishes to boost your party's stats? 

[PlzBreakMyCampaign]

Blade Brothers (PHB2) is a 2nd-level spell with a hidden use. It's supposed to link two people and essentially give them two saves against some nasty effect (both subjects roll the save, and the victim succeeds if either one does). The downside is that if both fail, both are affected. However, if you combine it with an effect that you want to fail your save against (healing, buffing, etc.), and it instead becomes a way to duplicate single-target spell.

Since you both have to roll to gain the effect, this means you have to cast spells neither of you can't resist (ie you both have to have low saves, or you have REALLY high DCs)

[Nanshork]

Blade Brothers (PHB2) is a 2nd-level spell with a hidden use. It's supposed to link two people and essentially give them two saves against some nasty effect (both subjects roll the save, and the victim succeeds if either one does). The downside is that if both fail, both are affected. However, if you combine it with an effect that you want to fail your save against (healing, buffing, etc.), and it instead becomes a way to duplicate single-target spell.

Since you both have to roll to gain the effect, this means you have to cast spells neither of you can't resist (ie you both have to have low saves, or you have REALLY high DCs)

Can't you voluntarily fail a saving throw?

[Nytemare3701]

Blade Brothers (PHB2) is a 2nd-level spell with a hidden use. It's supposed to link two people and essentially give them two saves against some nasty effect (both subjects roll the save, and the victim succeeds if either one does). The downside is that if both fail, both are affected. However, if you combine it with an effect that you want to fail your save against (healing, buffing, etc.), and it instead becomes a way to duplicate single-target spell.

Since you both have to roll to gain the effect, this means you have to cast spells neither of you can't resist (ie you both have to have low saves, or you have REALLY high DCs)

Can't you voluntarily fail a saving throw?

Here we go again!

[Amechra]

Blade Brothers (PHB2) is a 2nd-level spell with a hidden use. It's supposed to link two people and essentially give them two saves against some nasty effect (both subjects roll the save, and the victim succeeds if either one does). The downside is that if both fail, both are affected. However, if you combine it with an effect that you want to fail your save against (healing, buffing, etc.), and it instead becomes a way to duplicate single-target spell.

Since you both have to roll to gain the effect, this means you have to cast spells neither of you can't resist (ie you both have to have low saves, or you have REALLY high DCs)

Can't you voluntarily fail a saving throw?

You can voluntarily forgo a saving throw. Similar, but different.

[awaken_D_M_golem]

...
As for my fun find...Dungeon 145 has a table for things you can find while picking pockets. Combine with luck manipulation of some sort to get some really weird and useful:

- The Private Journal of a well-known countess. It's explicitly incriminating too.
- A doll with a note sticking out. It details the imprisonment of a small child, and has a map on the back.
- A star chart that doesn't match normal cosmology, with DECIPHERABLE COORDINATES.
- Some gloves made from polar bear fur that have spring loaded claws.
- A white dragon scale with the TRUENAME OF A MINOR DEMON on it.
- A lady's hankerchief soaked in fresh, warm blood.
- A relic of a merfolk god.

Interesting.  I may create such a chart on the D&D wiki (and steal a few of those, because why not) because this is a really cool idea.

Niiice, and a bit dangerous too.

[PlzBreakMyCampaign]

You might have to walk me through the logic on that one.  I know you said you've done it before, but I can't find the post.

To me, it sure looks like "using a power stone" and "manifesting an unknown power from another's power's known" are two totally different things.  They require totally different actions, use totally different Manifester Levels, and failure results in two totally different penalties.

From the erudite handbook discussion:

You say "So if you have a bunch of power stones with psionic powers in them, you can take a round of physical contact, make your psicraft check, then manifest it next round. You can do this all day long, as long as you are willing to take one round to "understand" the power before you use it" but you forgot to add the some important words to the end of that last sentence: "from the stone, flushing it." Otherwise any old wilder could just run around with 1 powerstone of each power and "manifest them normally," ignoring the entire intent of spells known (which Erudite doesn't have to worry about much anyways). This also clears up your later confusion. See CP105 if you need proof.

Same caster supremacy from '04-'06 http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mm/20040130a

"Glovis sighed, pocketed the sighthelper IV and cast arcane eye, invisibility, true seeing, stoneskin, and fly. Glovis was always prepared."

"He flew up as fast as he could. The creature stopped chasing him as soon as he left the ground."

"he cast force cage on the creature. Then he teleported home to make his report."

'very difficult' equal CR challenge? What challenge. You're a caster! The above example would have included a cloudkill, but casters don't need to worry about little things like winning encounters.

[deadkitten]

Inspiration: The factotum is a dabbler, a professional explorer who plunders a wide variety of fields to find the tools he needs to survive. He reads through tomes of arcane magic to gain a basic understanding of spells. He offers prayers to a variety of deities to gain their blessings. He observes warrior stances and exercises to understand the art of fighting. But while a factotum learns many paths, he masters none of them. Rather than train in a given field, he masters all the basics and manages to pull out something useful when the situation is desperate enough.

To represent this seemingly random body of knowledge, a factotum gains inspiration points that he can spend to activate his abilities. At the beginning of each encounter, he gains a number of inspiration points determined by his level (see Table 1–1).

So there seems to be no mention of a Maximum pool of inspiration...

That's interesting, but i'm probably silly for trying to interpret it this way.

[linklord231]

Don't even go down that rabbit hole.  The Factotum is a mess, and requires liberal application of house rules to even function because the printed version is so poorly edited. 

[deadkitten]

Don't even go down that rabbit hole.  The Factotum is a mess, and requires liberal application of house rules to even function because the printed version is so poorly edited.

I can go with that.

But I'm curious, what all is wrong with the class that makes it a mess?