Ask a Simple Question 21: Dunkadooballs!

[The_Mad_Linguist]

Q 242 Would you trade a feat for 20 skill points? Limit 1 such feat.

all at once, or one/level?

Depends upon the build.  People take Nymph's Kiss, after all.

[Epimetheus]

Nymph's Kiss has some other nice things attached to it though.

How about assuming the skill points are paid for at level 7 and that the game may not last past long after level 10?

[the_shadowmind]

Q243 For the Spell-thief's steal SLA ability, does the spell-thief using the ability counts as a use per day for the SLA's that are that a limit per day, or does the Spell-thief using the SLA not count as an use from the source of the SLA.

Example: If a Spell-thief of an appropriate level takes a Prepare Contract Other Plane from a Factotum, then uses the prepared SLA, would the Factotum be able to use the prepared SLA after the Spell-thief has used it?

[The_Mad_Linguist]

Q243 For the Spell-thief's steal SLA ability, does the spell-thief using the ability counts as a use per day for the SLA's that are that a limit per day, or does the Spell-thief using the SLA not count as an use from the source of the SLA.

Example: If a Spell-thief of an appropriate level takes a Prepare Contract Other Plane from a Factotum, then uses the prepared SLA, would the Factotum be able to use the prepared SLA after the Spell-thief has used it?

Nope, which is what makes an otherwise-pretty-crappy class awesome.  Also try it with dragonmark feats.

A spellthief in a party with an invocation user and a factotum is a man to watch out for.

[the_shadowmind]

Q243 For the Spell-thief's steal SLA ability, does the spell-thief using the ability counts as a use per day for the SLA's that are that a limit per day, or does the Spell-thief using the SLA not count as an use from the source of the SLA.

Example: If a Spell-thief of an appropriate level takes a Prepare Contract Other Plane from a Factotum, then uses the prepared SLA, would the Factotum be able to use the prepared SLA after the Spell-thief has used it?

Nope, which is what makes an otherwise-pretty-crappy class awesome.  Also try it with dragonmark feats.

A spellthief in a party with an invocation user and a factotum is a man to watch out for.

I probably worded it poorly, but nope as in the Spell-thief doesn't affect the uses per day of the origin source, and a Factotum and a spell-thief working together can ask the gods 1001 questions?

[The_Mad_Linguist]

Yep.  At fifteenth level you can probably just track down an elemental weird anyway.

[Archmage Joda]

Q244 What are the various ways to deal with/circumvent XP costs on spells in general (i.e. Gate, Implore, etc.)?

[bearsarebrown]

Q244 What are the various ways to deal with/circumvent XP costs on spells in general (i.e. Gate, Implore, etc.)?

Turn it into a Spell Like or Supernatural ability. Bind something that can cast it for you.

[Barbarossa]

Q244 What are the various ways to deal with/circumvent XP costs on spells in general (i.e. Gate, Implore, etc.)?

Use a Thought Bottle to 'save' your XP at a certain point, use your spells and such, and then 'load' your XP.

Q245 Can somebody tell me one method by which you can auto-succeed on a Reflex save, or at least come staggeringly close to doing so every time?

[The_Mad_Linguist]

Q245 Can somebody tell me one method by which you can auto-succeed on a Reflex save, or at least come staggeringly close to doing so every time?

Use a manuever to turn it into a concentration check, and pump concentration?

[Archmage Joda]

Q246 Thought bottle charges 500 xp to store xp to access later. Do you access the XP stored once, and then have to pay 500 xp again (amounting to 500 xp per use of thought bottle), or just store once, and reset xp any time you wish (asking purely by raw, not by rai or more balanced or whatever)?

[kevin_video]

Q 247 Is it true that you can summon Balors without needing the Gate spell, the Candle of Invocation, or the bracelet of friends? If so, how?

[The_Mad_Linguist]

Q 247 Is it true that you can summon Balors without needing the Gate spell, the Candle of Invocation, or the bracelet of friends? If so, how?

Well, you could start by being a balor...

[Archmage Joda]

A 247 If by "summon", you mean specifically "Conjuration (Summoning)" spells, the only thing I can think of is the Fiendish Summoning specialist feat in planar handbook, which adds an evil monster to each Summon Monster spell, but requires lots of DM cooperation. If calling spells are included, then there's malconvoker 8 (which adds 2 hd to the limits of planar binding spells) using greater planar binding, Infernal bargainer feat in Races of Faerun (requires outsider, also increases planar binding hd limits by 2), and if Dragon Magazine is open, Dragon 336 has the Implore spell which acts as Planar Binding, but up to 22/24 HD (it is inconsistent which it is, but definitely can get balors).

[kevin_video]

Q 247 Is it true that you can summon Balors without needing the Gate spell, the Candle of Invocation, or the bracelet of friends? If so, how?

Well, you could start by being a balor...

Yeah. If only. I'd have a better chance being Orcus.

Q 248 Death Devotion. Says "You can bestow only one negative level per target for every four character levels you possess." Is this all at once (eg you do five negative levels at 20th per hit) or is spread out over the course of all the attack (eg doing five attacks and doing 1 negative level five times)?

[X-Codes]

Q 247 Is it true that you can summon Balors without needing the Gate spell, the Candle of Invocation, or the bracelet of friends? If so, how?

Well, you could start by being a balor...

Yeah. If only. I'd have a better chance being Orcus.

Q 248 Death Devotion. Says "You can bestow only one negative level per target for every four character levels you possess." Is this all at once (eg you do five negative levels at 20th per hit) or is spread out over the course of all the attack (eg doing five attacks and doing 1 negative level five times)?

One negative level per attack, just as the line before this one says.  This sentence creates a soft limit on the number of negative levels you can bestow upon a given creature.

[BrokeAndDrive]

Q248 Has a formula ever been made for WBL, including arbitrarily high levels (triple-digit+)? Nevermind.

Q248 Would it be possible to use, say, an Incantatrix's Metamagic Effect on an IotSV's Warding? The ability is (Su), but the veils themselves are equivalent to spells of a certain level. If this works, I can imagine some naughty-bad things to be done with this, like an invisible spell indigo veil wall.

[kevin_video]

Q 250 Other than Dragon 360, Fiendish Codex 1, and Book of Vile Darkness 3.0), are there any other 3.5 stats for Graz'zt? It seems he's taken a few jumps in his CR, and I was hoping for something in the middle.

[X-Codes]

Q 250 Other than Dragon 360, Fiendish Codex 1, and Book of Vile Darkness 3.0), are there any other 3.5 stats for Graz'zt? It seems he's taken a few jumps in his CR, and I was hoping for something in the middle.

Graz'zt is an archfiend.  He's an inappropriate encounter for a 4-man party of level 20 adventurers.  Just HOW inappropriate really doesn't matter at all.

[Shiki]

Q228: How can you get the Planar Ally line on a Wizard's list? I know of Arcane Disciple (Summoner), but the wisdom requirement is annoying.

Another way would be Rainbow Servant from compete divine....

Ty.

Still, bump for 'Q228: How can you get the Planar Ally line on a Wizard's list?' Except for the ways mentioned above...

Q248 Would it be possible to use, say, an Incantatrix's Metamagic Effect on an IotSV's Warding? The ability is (Su), but the veils themselves are equivalent to spells of a certain level. If this works, I can imagine some naughty-bad things to be done with this, like an invisible spell indigo veil wall.

IIRC, it never were explicitly stated that Supernatural Abilities are 'spell effect(s)' but the part 'Supernatural abilities are magical and go away in an antimagic field but are not subject to spell resistance, counterspells, or to being dispelled by dispel magic' says they 'are magical'. To me that implies they're spell effects, but YMMV. But yeah, you could do unimaginable things with Metamagic Effect. Like... Persist.