Ask a simple question, get a simple answer, part IV, never gonna give you up...

[PlzBreakMyCampaign]

also remember Pazazu doesn't have to come and give you a wish. Its only if your DM says that he is willing (as an NPC)

Q150: Can the Bloodtouched Rite (PGtE 24) be taken more than once? I heard it mentioned this way, but I don't see any text allowing it. Even so, does the hp bonus stack or the other bonuses stack?

[sir_argenon]

Q151 339 sucks now, and the alt features thread is gone.. so i'll ask here.. is there an alt feature that allows a barb to get the Track feat, other than the UA wolf totem?

[Slaughterhouserock]

Q151 339 sucks now, and the alt features thread is gone.. so i'll ask here.. is there an alt feature that allows a barb to get the Track feat, other than the UA wolf totem?

A151The thread can be found here now, but it looks like wolf totem's the only option.

[PhaedrusXY]

Q152: What should I use for my level 5 cleric's armor? He has a strength of 7, so just wearing a chain shirt is enough to get him to medium encumbrance. He is a cloistered cleric/shadowcraft mage, but isn't quite high enough to emulate Mage Armor via Shadow Illusion yet. He also has the ACF Divine Magician, so I can access one spell per level from the wizard/sorcerer schools of Abjuration, Divination, and Necromancy, but I have pretty much already picked the first three. His domains are Illusion and Trickery, if it matters.

I was planning on just sucking up the encumbrance until next level, but if anyone has a better option, I'd love to hear it. He is true neutral, so no Luminous Armor or other exalted spells (although I wouldn't be opposed to casting a Vile version, if one exists...).

[Vinom]

Q152: What should I use for my level 5 cleric's armor? He has a strength of 7, so just wearing a chain shirt is enough to get him to medium encumbrance. He is a cloistered cleric/shadowcraft mage, but isn't quite high enough to emulate Mage Armor via Shadow Illusion yet. He also has the ACF Divine Magician, so I can access one spell per level from the wizard/sorcerer schools of Abjuration, Divination, and Necromancy, but I have pretty much already picked the first three. His domains are Illusion and Trickery, if it matters.

I was planning on just sucking up the encumbrance until next level, but if anyone has a better option, I'd love to hear it. He is true neutral, so no Luminous Armor or other exalted spells (although I wouldn't be opposed to casting a Vile version, if one exists...).

I assume he's medium in size... I'd stick advice scale, and a pack mule...

[pithica]

Q152: What should I use for my level 5 cleric's armor? He has a strength of 7, so just wearing a chain shirt is enough to get him to medium encumbrance. He is a cloistered cleric/shadowcraft mage, but isn't quite high enough to emulate Mage Armor via Shadow Illusion yet. He also has the ACF Divine Magician, so I can access one spell per level from the wizard/sorcerer schools of Abjuration, Divination, and Necromancy, but I have pretty much already picked the first three. His domains are Illusion and Trickery, if it matters.

I was planning on just sucking up the encumbrance until next level, but if anyone has a better option, I'd love to hear it. He is true neutral, so no Luminous Armor or other exalted spells (although I wouldn't be opposed to casting a Vile version, if one exists...).

Mithril Chain Shirt is only 12.5lb, which, if he isn't wearing ANYTHING else, should be well under his light limit of 23lbs.
There's also Sharkskin from stormwrack that's only 15lbs, and the various Leafeweave options from RotW, as well as the Feather Cloak from Sandstrorm.

If you do go with armor, once it's enchanted you can get the 'Easy Travel' enhancement for only 2kgp which let's you carry a medium load as a light load, or the Belt of the Wide Earth, which doubles your carrying capacity for 8kgp, but you're unlikely to be able to afford all that at 5th.

I'd probably go with Sharkskin and a Pack mule until I could afford 'Easy Travel' or the Belt (or raise my strength, or whatever). Sharkskin has one of the best Armor to Dex ratio's and no ACP for masterwork, and it's cheap at only 85gp for the base. Plus it comes with free built in armor spikes and a circumstance bonus to some Escape artist checks.

[pithica]

Q153:
This is probably a dumb ToB question, but I'm fairly new to how this works, so...

Say I'm playing a (in no important order)
Warblade 9/Cobra Monk 1/Unarmed Swordsage 3/Crusader 2/Master of the Nine 5

I know my IL for Warblade Maneuvers is 17, Swordsage is 14, and Crusader is 13, and I know I have the following maneuvers known/readied for each:
WB:8/4
SS:8/5
Cru:5/5(2)
MN:8/5

I am certain that I cannot, for example, ready one of my Crusader maneuvers in a SS slot, or vice-versa, but what I'm not sure about is the MN maneuvers readied/known. Are those 8 maneuvers known limited to those 5 maneuvers readied slots? And, conversely, are those 5 maneuvers readied slots reserved for those particular 8 maneuvers known?

I have a feeling that they are, but I haven't quite grasped how the PrC's interact with the base classes yet. The way I'm reading it, it seems that I can use those known maneuvers/readied maneuvers with any (or at least my highest level) martial adept classes, but I don't think that can be right. I know I listed a build here, but it's really build independent and that was just an example of one I'm playing around with at the moment, the same question would apply to a mix of the base adept classes with any of the PrC's from the ToB.

A subquestion that just came up as I typed it...what's my IL for the MN maneuvers? I suspect it's 17 (same as Warblade), but now that I think about it, do the IL's for PrC's stack with all Martial Adept levels evenly, making it 19?

I love this book, but some of it reads like stereo instructions in Korean.

EDIT: Perhaps I need to learn to read again. It looks like, from page 96ish, that I add the MK/MR to only one of my Base classes, so I'd have to pick which class (probably Warblade, in this case) to apply them to. Is this correct? I still can't find the IL answer, though, but I suspect it's the same as my Warblade IL, if that's the class I pick (I.E. 17, in this case).

[PhaedrusXY]

I'd probably go with Sharkskin and a Pack mule until I could afford 'Easy Travel' or the Belt (or raise my strength, or whatever). Sharkskin has one of the best Armor to Dex ratio's and no ACP for masterwork, and it's cheap at only 85gp for the base. Plus it comes with free built in armor spikes and a circumstance bonus to some Escape artist checks.

Thanks. Yeah, that looks like a good one. I'll exchange his MW chain shirt for that, I think. Looking around in crystalkeep, I also saw something called Chitine Web (Und) which has the same stats as the sharkskin (minus the armor spikes and escape artist bonus), but only weighs 10 lbs and actually costs 10 gold less. The drawback is it deteriorates in 3 months if not maintained by "a member of the chitine race"... but in 3 months time in game, I doubt my character would give a crap.

[Negative Zero]

Q154:
Does the tenth level of Planar Shepherd (Faiths of Eberron) make you an Outsider (native) or a pure Outsider? It says that you become "an outsider native to your chosen plane," but native outsiders are supposed to be outsiders from the Material Plane, so it could go either way.

[PhaedrusXY]

Q154:
Does the tenth level of Planar Shepherd (Faiths of Eberron) make you an Outsider (native) or a pure Outsider? It says that you become "an outsider native to your chosen plane," but native outsiders are supposed to be outsiders from the Material Plane, so it could go either way.

That definitely sounds like a non-native outsider.

[wotmaniac]

Q154:
Does the tenth level of Planar Shepherd (Faiths of Eberron) make you an Outsider (native) or a pure Outsider? It says that you become "an outsider native to your chosen plane," but native outsiders are supposed to be outsiders from the Material Plane, so it could go either way.

"native" and "extraplanar" are references to your current cosmological location in reference to your "home" plane.  The "extraplanar" or "native" subtype(s) listed in the creatue's entry in the MM assumes that the creature is encountered on the Material Plane.  If a creature is encountered on it's home plane, it loses the "extraplanar" subtype, and gains the "native" subtype.  For all Outsiders listed as having the "native" subtype: if they ever leave the Material Plane, they would lose the "native" subtype and gain the "extraplanar" subtype.

Think on it this way:  what would happen to the creature if banishment were cast on it?  If it would be transported to another plane, then it currently is exibiting the "extraplanar" subtype; if nothing happens, then it currently is exibiting the "native" subtype.  And the converse is true for both cases.

As for the Planar Shepherd issue -- while on his "chosen" plane, he would be "Outsider (native)"; while on any other plane (to include the Material), he would be "Outsider (extraplanar)".  

[Suzerain]

Q154:
Does the tenth level of Planar Shepherd (Faiths of Eberron) make you an Outsider (native) or a pure Outsider? It says that you become "an outsider native to your chosen plane," but native outsiders are supposed to be outsiders from the Material Plane, so it could go either way.

"native" and "extraplanar" are references to your current cosmological location in reference to your "home" plane.  The "extraplanar" or "native" subtype(s) listed in the creatue's entry in the MM assumes that the creature is encountered on the Material Plane.  If a creature is encountered on it's home plane, it loses the "extraplanar" subtype, and gains the "native" subtype.  For all Outsiders listed as having the "native" subtype: if they ever leave the Material Plane, they would lose the "native" subtype and gain the "extraplanar" subtype.

Think on it this way:  what would happen to the creature if banishment were cast on it?  If it would be transported to another plane, then it currently is exibiting the "extraplanar" subtype; if nothing happens, then it currently is exibiting the "native" subtype.  And the converse is true for both cases.

As for the Planar Shepherd issue -- while on his "chosen" plane, he would be "Outsider (native)"; while on any other plane (to include the Material), he would be "Outsider (extraplanar)".

You are wrong. The native subtype is pretty solidly defined: (native) subtype @ wizards glossary. This quote is taken directly from MM3.

[Negative Zero]

Q154:
Does the tenth level of Planar Shepherd (Faiths of Eberron) make you an Outsider (native) or a pure Outsider? It says that you become "an outsider native to your chosen plane," but native outsiders are supposed to be outsiders from the Material Plane, so it could go either way.

"native" and "extraplanar" are references to your current cosmological location in reference to your "home" plane.  The "extraplanar" or "native" subtype(s) listed in the creatue's entry in the MM assumes that the creature is encountered on the Material Plane.  If a creature is encountered on it's home plane, it loses the "extraplanar" subtype, and gains the "native" subtype.  For all Outsiders listed as having the "native" subtype: if they ever leave the Material Plane, they would lose the "native" subtype and gain the "extraplanar" subtype.

Think on it this way:  what would happen to the creature if banishment were cast on it?  If it would be transported to another plane, then it currently is exibiting the "extraplanar" subtype; if nothing happens, then it currently is exibiting the "native" subtype.  And the converse is true for both cases.

As for the Planar Shepherd issue -- while on his "chosen" plane, he would be "Outsider (native)"; while on any other plane (to include the Material), he would be "Outsider (extraplanar)".

You are wrong. The native subtype is pretty solidly defined: (native) subtype @ wizards glossary. This quote is taken directly from MM3.

I like your interpretation, wotmaniac, but that makes too much sense for WotC.

[PhaedrusXY]

You are wrong. The native subtype is pretty solidly defined: (native) subtype @ wizards glossary. This quote is taken directly from MM3.

Despite whether some books might conflict on the RAW, wotcmaniac's description seems exactly like RAI.

[bearsarebrown]

Q155 A vampire with monk levels. He has a primary bite and secondary claws.

To my understanding, he makes iterative unarmed strikes, then "offhand" bite and claws, at a -5 with only 1/2 str.

On another forum I'm being told that he can instead make a primary Bite (1.5str), secondary claws, then monk iterative strikes, because of the clause that unarmed strikes never count as offhand.

Whats the deal? I hate combining natural attacks and manufactured attacks...

[PhaedrusXY]

Q155 A vampire with monk levels. He has a primary bite and secondary claws.

To my understanding, he makes iterative unarmed strikes, then "offhand" bite and claws, at a -5 with only 1/2 str.

This is correct.

On another forum I'm being told that he can instead make a primary Bite (1.5str), secondary claws, then monk iterative strikes, because of the clause that unarmed strikes never count as offhand.

Whats the deal? I hate combining natural attacks and manufactured attacks...

This is wrong. The rules would be more clear if they'd just never put that stupid underlined phrase in there, because as of the current official interpretation of the rules, it means nothing...

[bearsarebrown]

[Negative Zero]

I'd say that that does apply, because the rules for attacking with natural weapons are not spells or effects.

[wotmaniac]

Q154:
Does the tenth level of Planar Shepherd (Faiths of Eberron) make you an Outsider (native) or a pure Outsider? It says that you become "an outsider native to your chosen plane," but native outsiders are supposed to be outsiders from the Material Plane, so it could go either way.

"native" and "extraplanar" are references to your current cosmological location in reference to your "home" plane.  The "extraplanar" or "native" subtype(s) listed in the creatue's entry in the MM assumes that the creature is encountered on the Material Plane.  If a creature is encountered on it's home plane, it loses the "extraplanar" subtype, and gains the "native" subtype.  For all Outsiders listed as having the "native" subtype: if they ever leave the Material Plane, they would lose the "native" subtype and gain the "extraplanar" subtype.

Think on it this way:  what would happen to the creature if banishment were cast on it?  If it would be transported to another plane, then it currently is exibiting the "extraplanar" subtype; if nothing happens, then it currently is exibiting the "native" subtype.  And the converse is true for both cases.

As for the Planar Shepherd issue -- while on his "chosen" plane, he would be "Outsider (native)"; while on any other plane (to include the Material), he would be "Outsider (extraplanar)".

You are wrong. The native subtype is pretty solidly defined: (native) subtype @ wizards glossary. This quote is taken directly from MM3.

perhaps you missed this part:

Creatures with this subtype are native to the Material Plane (hence the subtype's name).

and more importantly, this

A subtype applied to any creature when it is on a plane other than its native plane. A creature that travels the planes can gain or lose this subtype as it goes from plane to plane. This book assumes that encounters with creatures take place on the Material Plane, and every creature whose native plane is not the Material Plane has the extraplanar subtype (but would not have when on its home plane). Every extraplanar creature in this book has a home plane mentioned in its description. These home planes are taken from the Great Wheel cosmology of the D&D game (see Chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master's Guide). If your campaign uses a different cosmology, you will need to assign different home planes to extraplanar creatures.

Creatures not labeled as extraplanar are natives of the Material Plane, and they gain the extraplanar subtype if they leave the Material Plane. No creature has the extraplanar subtype when it is on a transitive plane; the transitive planes in the D&D cosmology are the Astral Plane, the Ethereal Plane, and the Plane of Shadow.

  

[Suzerain]

Outsiders never lose the native subtype, though. The extraplanar thing was correct. (native) has special implications; they need to eat and sleep. The glossary entry also sets them apart from "true" outsiders. It is really only applied to outsiders native to the material plane. If any outsiders gained the (native) subtype in their respective home planes (apart form the material plane), I believe the planar handbook would've mentioned it.

So while outsiders may be "native" to certain planes, and gain the extraplanar subtype when on a plane different from their home plane, they do not gain the native subtype unless they are native to the material plane. I'm not saying this is how it should be, but that's how it is.

edit:

Q156
Which ways are there to carry a true dragonmark and still be a living construct? All I can think of is Renegade Mastermaker... Or Illithid Savant to snatch its capstone ability + a dragonmark feat.