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Last night's D&D: Fun. Though I was quite drunk. Lizardmen almost murdered my doggy, which means I've used my Rage for the day. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
myki ruled in his new role as ORBITAL DEATH CANNON. Then he set off disarmed loads of traps (in the army camp that he'd just detonated) using some sort of flaming sphere, which just rolled over them casually, and they were all EL9-10 traps, which meant the whole pary gained about 7000XP. Huzzah!
Hmm ... looking through the SRD for the bit about activating a frost sword taking a Move action. Here's the part that seems relevant:
Activation: Usually a character benefits from a magic weapon in the same way a character benefits from a mundane weapon—by attacking with it. If a weapon has a special ability that the user needs to activate then the user usually needs to utter a command word (a standard action).
Cock. I was rather hoping there had been some confusion between "activating a magic item" (ie, a scroll or wand) and "turning on your lightsaber". I can't see that shouting a word is equivalent to an attack, after all you're allowed to talk to other people as a free action. Maybe "uttering a command word" is a more involved process that involves posing while the coruscating energies sweep across you. THUNDERCATS - HO! BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL! etc.
Interested by this bit under Icy Burst: "Even if the frost ability is not active, the weapon still deals its extra cold damage on a successful critical hit." Think we missed that... so, mixed blessings then. Now, must get that Keen in there too and we're sorted.
myki ruled in his new role as ORBITAL DEATH CANNON. Then he Hmm ... looking through the SRD for the bit about activating a frost sword taking a Move action. Here's the part that seems relevant:
Activation: Usually a character benefits from a magic weapon in the same way a character benefits from a mundane weapon—by attacking with it. If a weapon has a special ability that the user needs to activate then the user usually needs to utter a command word (a standard action).
Cock. I was rather hoping there had been some confusion between "activating a magic item" (ie, a scroll or wand) and "turning on your lightsaber". I can't see that shouting a word is equivalent to an attack, after all you're allowed to talk to other people as a free action. Maybe "uttering a command word" is a more involved process that involves posing while the coruscating energies sweep across you. THUNDERCATS - HO! BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL! etc.
Interested by this bit under Icy Burst: "Even if the frost ability is not active, the weapon still deals its extra cold damage on a successful critical hit." Think we missed that... so, mixed blessings then. Now, must get that Keen in there too and we're sorted.
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I always envision the activation as a dramatic "power of Grayskull" style thing that takes a bit of posing and effort, but there you go.
Icy Burst weapons are ace, simply because of the aforementioned "extra damage on critical" stuff, especially when put on scythes (x4 critical is 3d10 extra energy damage, plus 8d4 weapon damage plus at least another +4 for the enhancement bonus, plus six times strength modifier at the very least). Works on picks as well.
The keen edge spell works just as well as the keen ability, if you can get access to it somehow from a friendly arcane spellcaster. Mind you the Improved Critical feat is worth a look as well, if only so it stops you becoming utterly reliant on a single uber-weapon. If you're not evil, then "holy" is quite a useful ability to have in a weapon (+2 to hit, +2d6 extra damage against evil), much more so than bane is.
Mind you, I ran with a guy with a keen icy burst bastard sword once and it was shocking how the damage mounted up.
I dunno if you're aware, but the extra energy from a burst weapon affects creatures immune to critical hits as well - you roll to confirm, but only for purposes of activating the bonus damage (even against constructs, plants and undead).
Sad
It doesn't give you a +2 to hit like a bane weapon, though it does count as good for the purpose of DR.
Re: Sad
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As far as the extra damage not harming you - I too am dubious, particularly when it comes to putting the sword away in its sheath (even though it's still notionally yours, does the sword know that? You're not actively wielding it or even holding the handle...).
I am pleased to know that about the Icy Burst damage, since we will likely be going up against the Dracolich again soon ... though I'm not keen to take it on in single combat. Hmm - what are the rules for a Halfling climbing up a dragon's tail and sitting on its back? Can they attack you there? I suspect so, since they have such very long and flexible necks, but it's perhaps worth thinking about.
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Traits: An undead creature possesses the following traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature’s entry).
—No Constitution score.
—Darkvision out to 60 feet.
—Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
—Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects.
—Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain. Immune to damage to its physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution), as well as to fatigue and exhaustion effects.
—Cannot heal damage on its own if it has no Intelligence score, although it can be healed. Negative energy (such as an inflict spell) can heal undead creatures. The fast healing special quality works regardless of the creature’s Intelligence score.
—Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless).
—Uses its Charisma modifier for Concentration checks.
—Not at risk of death from massive damage, but when reduced to 0 hit points or less, it is immediately destroyed.
—Not affected by raise dead and reincarnate spells or abilities. Resurrection and true resurrection can affect undead creatures. These spells turn undead creatures back into the living creatures they were before becoming undead.
—Proficient with its natural weapons, all simple weapons, and any weapons mentioned in its entry.
—Proficient with whatever type of armor (light, medium, or heavy) it is described as wearing, as well as all lighter types. Undead not indicated as wearing armor are not proficient with armor. Undead are proficient with shields if they are proficient with any form of armor.
—Undead do not breathe, eat, or sleep.
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As you've described it, it doesn't really seem much of a challenge. And, given the method used, the level of the traps seems quite irrelevant to the difficulty of setting them off.
*shrug* I've probably missed something important; brain is still cheeselike.
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For instance, fooling the Stone Giant into letting you pass into the evil wizard's lair nets you just as much xp as murdering him in cold blood.
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What if you talk your way past the Stone Giant then sneak back, stand in front of him again and when he says "And what are you wandering band of minstrals* doing here again?" you murderise him in cold blood? Double XP? Triple?
One billion XP?!
*That being your cunning ruse the first time.
:-)
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I do not think this rule holds for returning monsters (eg Dracoliches) though, or if it does Nook is being nice and ignoring it...
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sniff.
Now it's just the generic swap-by-passage term.
sniff.
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Still, as Nook often says, it's D&D - it's not supposed to make sense.
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A couple of weeks later, you find (almost typed "come across", remembered whose LJ this was, didn't) a very similar trap and use the same method you used previously to disarm it.
Does the GM say "not innovative, therefore it wasn't a challenge, especially as there was no risk to life or limb" or do they still give you the XP, or perhaps a reduced amount?
It's the Star Trek problem; once you have the solution to a problem what stops you applying it to every problem?
(As an aside, which I'll expand upon if people want, there's a similar issue with contested Vis sources in Ars Magica ...)
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I take it by the "Star Trek Problem" you mean the "Star Trek Writers' Problem". ;)
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I guess my (more serious point) is the point of "challenge" - the first time you come across a problem, it is a challenge; you don't know what will work and what risk you're going to put your character through.
The next time, if all you have to do is say "right, fireball from 60 feet on the red gem" it's not a challenge.
(OTOH, it is if at the next time you encounter it, you don't have any fireballs, or you can't see the red gem or whatever. But thats now a challenge again, because you ahve to come up with another solution.)
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To clarify - as far as the rules are concerned, if you spot the trap and then avoid it in any way, either jumping over, not picking up the exploding head, or lobbing rocks at it from a distance, you get the XP. If you blunder into it and set it off unintentionally, you get jack all whether you survive or not. (Though it's obviously less of a concern if you don't.)
That said, Nook didn't give us any spot checks on the traps last night. Or, maybe he did, and we all failed (we had a couple of checks, and were told things like "You see an army encampment up ahead, and some heads on poles").
As a side note, I haven't actually directly read the section of the rules that deals with traps, though, so most of this is second hand or derived.
[1] The two do not appear to be on separate sliding scales, but rather are directly related - more damaging traps are always harder to spot. *shrugs*
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Oh, bah. I don't know.
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Trade?
Make ya a deal: through some magical mystic vortex we each carry in our pockets, you can reach through and borrow The Sword of Three Fallen Stars from me: +3 Keen, Unbreakable Longsword that is especially good against undead (though I haven't figured out the stats with that aspect of it), if I can borrow your frosty thingy when we go into the volcano later because I have a feeling being able to deal cold damage would come in handy...
Just no groping Selene, she'll take your hand off. Feel free to grope Nils though. He can occassionally be found attached to my leg for some reason or another.
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Teeny tiny
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Re: Trade?