Fun finds thread V3.0

[Cyclone Joker]

I disagree, but I've said all I intend to, so I'm dropping it.

Again, incorrect. It gives a condition to activate the ability, when you make a Psychic Strike. It never states that it affects the target of the Psychic Strike. Try again.

/sigh.

Here is the point: Go read Psychic Strike.
The target is your own mind blade. < You see that punctuation mark, that's a freaking period.
You coat the blade with extra energy, then, when you hit someone, that energy discharges. Psychic Strike normally just deals extra damage.
Knife to the Soul allows you to change how you charge it so that you can deal a different type of damage. It affects the Psychic Strike ability, which has no target, it is a "charging mah lazorz" ability, and KttS changes what you are charging it to do.

While that is obviously the intent, that's not what the effect says. It says, when he executes a psychic strike(Condition), he  he can choose to substitute Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma damage (his choice) for extra dice of damage. For each die of extra damage he gives up, he deals 1 point of damage to the ability score he chooses(Effect). A soulknife can combine extra dice of damage and ability damage in any combination.

Note that the target is unspecified. Now, it obviously means that he can do stat damage to the target of the Psychic Strike. That's just simply not what it says. It does not say that the target of the psychic strike is the target, so, by the rules as written, it does not have a target. It simply does not work.

[McPoyo]

Look, this isn't difficult, and your own arguments keep ignoring the point. It's a damage replacer. When you use psychic strike, the damage is changed. The target is whoever was effected by the psychic strike, because it happens when you use psychic strike (requiring a target), and then changes the damage dealt by that strike.

[Pencil]

Well it does substitute the dmg but still why do you think the new dmg is to your target and not to yourself?With the given wording you may as well dmg yourself with the attack.
Both interpretations are possible imo.One reading the word"substitute" in a way that it implies that the dmg is upon your target and one that reads "substitute " in a way that doe not imply the same target.A little bit confusing but still.
I don`t think just because you replace x with y it in no way means all things that are true for x(you deal dmg to the target of your attack) also apply to y.If you get what I am trying to say.

[McPoyo]

Overly complicated interpretation is overly complicated. The simplest reading makes the target entirely irrelevant, because it's not directed at a target, it's directed at the psychic strike ability. It modifies psychic strike, it doesn't do something else when you activate psychic strike.

[sirpercival]

It's also entirely irrelevant since no one takes 13 levels of soulknife.  Not even carnivore, he caps at 12.

[Pencil]

It doesn`t matter whether the ability is directed at the strike.It says that when you use the ability you can substitute dmg of the strike.Which again boils down to a semantic question of the word "substitute".
A point could be made that the ability is there to dmg the wielder of the weapon.Just because a normal attack would do dmg to the target of the attack a substituted attack would not necessarily need to deal dmg to the target.It is a stupid interpretation but it is possible.

I just wanted to say that it is not that easily dismissed as you guys are trying to and that a valid argument can be made against your interpretation.Many rules discussions about wording and such are semantic nature thats why most are fruitless.No front intended.And in end effect it doesnt really matter but one can at least accept that there could be made a point against the wording and that chtlulhu might at least have a point here.Whether you agree with it is something else.

It's also entirely irrelevant since no one takes 13 levels of soulknife.  Not even carnivore, he caps at 12.

Depending on this interpretation everything known about the soulknife can change and he will be a valid T3.Every melee will want a 13 level dip.

[McPoyo]

Taking the more convoluted and less obvious interpretation is not a "valid point" any more than it is good optimization. In fact, it's more or less the very definition of munchkin behavior.

[Pencil]

Taking the more convoluted and less obvious interpretation is not a "valid point" any more than it is good optimization. In fact, it's more or less the very definition of munchkin behavior.

Taking the less obvious interpretation has nothing to do with whether it is right or wrong.Neither is whether it is convoluted or not.
By the way.This was not an attempt to bring this into any game,even just theoretically, so this has nothing to do with optimizing at all.And thinking about how it could be interpreted has nothing to do with munchkinizing at all.It is more munchkinizing to automatically assume one is right because one is closer to the RAI.
But lets just stop here.

[Cyclone Joker]

Okay, funnest find of all time, I think. I call it Pun-Pun in a can. Single worst designed thing I've seen since Illithid Savant.

[McPoyo]

Okay, funnest find of all time, I think. I call it Pun-Pun in a can. Single worst designed thing I've seen since Illithid Savant.

That...is beautiful. And begging for some Alter Self Elan abuse.

[Scottzar]

From what I read of KttS, it functions, but based off of any bonus dice, which opens up psionic shot/sneak attack abuse for immense amounts for free ability damage.

[Amechra]

Okay, funnest find of all time, I think. I call it Pun-Pun in a can. Single worst designed thing I've seen since Illithid Savant.

That...is beautiful. And begging for some Alter Self Elan abuse.

Here is the thread I started on Mindstealer Drones back on BG.

Might be good to harvest.

[SorO_Lost]

Pun-Pun, Mindstealer Drone, Illithid Savant, Greater Doppleganger, and so on. They are just one big batch of creatures that say the StP Erudite isn't good enough.

[Mithril Leaf]

I find it somewhat amusing that the City Brawler Barbarian ACF is tailor made for entry into fist of the forest.

[Jackinthegreen]

From Lost Empires of Faerun:

Spell Reprieve
Item Reprieve
Arcane Transfiguration

Spell Reprieve allows a specialist wizard to learn a spell from a prohibited school.  Item reprieve allows him to use spell completion and trigger items from the school of the spell chosen with Spell Reprieve.  Arcane Transfiguration allows learning and casting from a prohibited school as if it weren't prohibited.

In short, they felt a three feat chain tax would help with specializing.  I think it's rather amusing to be honest.

[rot42]

Swift Ready: second level spell in The Forge of War that lets you enact a Sailor Moon transformation sequence summon your combat equipment from nearby. A wand of this fills much the same niche as a Ring of Arming or the Called armor enchantment, but is much less horribly overpriced.

[TiaC]

Skillful moment: DR350 p.78
1st level bard, sorc/wiz spell.
Lets you take 20 on a chosen skill the next round. However the important part is that it lets you do this as a single standard action. Am I right that this allows you to do things like disguise yourself in one round?

[SorO_Lost]

Skillful moment: DR350 p.78
1st level bard, sorc/wiz spell.
Lets you take 20 on a chosen skill the next round. However the important part is that it lets you do this as a single standard action. Am I right that this allows you to do things like disguise yourself in one round?

idk. Dragon is full of badly written material by authors who have never played D&D. 'Taking 20' as a single standard action is probably as broke as it sounds.

[phaedrusxy]

Swift Ready: second level spell in The Forge of War that lets you enact a Sailor Moon transformation sequence summon your combat equipment from nearby. A wand of this fills much the same niche as a Ring of Arming or the Called armor enchantment, but is much less horribly overpriced.

A Ring of Arming only costs 5000 gp. A wand of a 2nd level spell costs 4000, and has 50 charges. So I'm not so sure the ring is "horribly overpriced" compared to this.

[zook1shoe]

Skillful moment: DR350 p.78
1st level bard, sorc/wiz spell.
Lets you take 20 on a chosen skill the next round. However the important part is that it lets you do this as a single standard action. Am I right that this allows you to do things like disguise yourself in one round?

idk. Dragon is full of badly written material by authors who have never played D&D. 'Taking 20' as a single standard action is probably as broke as it sounds.

Or take 20 crafting an item as a standard action to make a full plate?