DivInc Rulings

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These rulings are intended to be clarifications of the intent core rules, or interpretations where the rules are self-contradictory. They are not intended to be changes to the core rules, which are found instead under House Rules.

Items for which there's not yet a clear answer are on the discussion tab associated with this page.

Contents

Corrections

These are corrections to items to which I gave incorrect rulings during play:

Natural 1

A roll of 1 on an Attack is indeed an automatic miss. It is not a fumble with any other consequences (that's one of the sample house rules).

Failed Climbing

Failing a Climb check failed by 5 or more causes a Fall from the start location. A Fall causes the victim to be prone only if he takes damage. He takes damage only if he falls more than 10ft, and doesn't manage to reduce damage via Acrobatics. Thus a failure to climb onto a rock during combat doesn't cause any consequences worse than lost movement.

Potions

Administering a potion to an unconscious person is a Standard Action. Mentioned indirectly in the Keep on the Shadowfell FAQ, which Players probably shouldn't actually read.

Standing in an Occupied Square

You can stand if your square is occupied. In that case (only) you get a free shift as part of the Stand Up action. If all the squares around you are also occupied (or presumably if you're in difficult terrain where you can't shift) you can't Stand Up.

Readied Actions and Reactions

A Readied Action (PHB.291), is an Immediate Reaction (PHB.268), with all the normal rules for that term. There are three important points I've adjudicated wrongly in the past:

  • A Readied Action counts as your one Immediate action for a turn. Your use of an immediate action re-sets at the end of your turn.
  • An Immediate Reaction (including a Readied Action) can as a special case Interrupt movement. The Readied Action resolves after the target has moved at least 1 square, and as few squares as would meet the trigger condition. This explicitly includes interrupting movement which is part of an attack action.
  • Readying an Action does not have any of the effects on the End of your turn which are caused by a Delay. Your turn ends as normal when you Ready, and the Action triggers outside of your turn later, re-setting your initiative as a result. This means it is specifically possible to Ready an action to "move if I escape from this immobilizing trap" then make a Save at the end of your turn, triggering your own action to occur immeidately after your turn ends.

Climb and Spider Climb

Creatures with a Climb speed can move on vertical surfaces normally, but cannot Shift or Charge there. Creatures with Spider Climb can do the same while upside-down on horizontal surfaces.

Errata / FAQs

These rulings will not duplicate anything included in the Official Updates to the game rules, or the Official FAQ , except in cases which have specifically come up in play.

Note that new Updates have been added as of 8/11/08 (Version 3).

There is also a useful consolodation of answers from WotC Customer Service here. Some of its contents are duplicated here, since customer service sometimes contradicts itself.

Cleric Attack 1 Guardian of Faith

  • All creatures can move through the space occupied by the Guardian (as they could a friendly character).
  • The Guardian attacks only enemies, not allies.

Wizard Attack 1 Flaming Sphere

The Errata have clarified that a Flaming Sphere Occupies a square (meaning you can't move through it), but doesn't Fill a square (meaning you can move past its corner). It still attacks only foes adjacent to it.

Movement While Prone

Player’s Handbook, page 277
Add “You can’t move from your space, although you can teleport, crawl, or be forced to move by a pull, a push, or a slide.”

Some secondary interpretations of this:

  • Other movement modes not mentioned as exceptions (e.g. Shift, Fly, Swim, Climb) can't be used while Prone.
  • The Shift which is part of the Stand Up is explicitly exempt from the restriction above.
  • You can take Actions which include a Move or Shift (e.g. Deft Strike), but don't get the Move or Shift part.
  • If an Action requires its Move/Shift component (e.g. Charge) you can't take the Action.

Expansions

In general, no rules outside the core rulebooks (PHB, DMG, MM) will be included in the game unless I explicitly approve them. Players are welcome to point out new options from Dragon Magazine, new supplements, etc. for me to consider whenever I have time. Once I've approved them, they'll be listed here. Once I have access to a new supplement and have had time to persuse it, I'll probably accept it all in general rather than piecemeal

Accepted Expansions

  • Adventurer's Vault: All rules in this supplement are available for use, though they might be subject to change if they appear to be broken when seen in play.
  • Martial Power: All rules in this supplement are available for use, though they might be subject to change if they appear to be broken when seen in play.
  • Dragon 364 Feat: Against All Odds
    • Prerequisite: Wis 13
    • Benefit: If, at the start of your turn, three of more enemies are adjacent to you, you gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls until the end of your turn.
  • Forgotten Realms Players' Guide Feat: Stubborn Survivor [Human]
    • Prerequisite: Human
    • Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to saving throws whenever you have no action points remaining.

Character Creation and Advancement

Multi-Classing and Re-Training

Multi-Class feats can be re-trained just like any other Feat. You can swap for a different Multi-Class, or for another Feat to become single-classed again. Power-Swap feats are generic, and allow for new choices at every level, so you can switch them to a new class if you change your Multi-Class feat. If you become single classed, your Power-Swap feats become useless like any Feat which has lost its pre-requisites.

Paragon Multi-Classing (by which your Multi-Class effectively becomes your Paragon Path) is less flexible. Paragon Paths are not something you can re-train, and the choices involved in Paragon Multi-Classing are made at specific levels and don't change thereafter. It's thus not possible to Paragon Multi-Class in one class, and then swap to a different one later.

General Rules

Result equals Reaction

When effect B occurs as a result of effect A, and the timing of effect B is not specified as Interrupt or Reaction, treat it as a Reaction. This uses all of the rules for Immediate Reaction (PHB.268) except that it does not count against the limit of one Immediate action per turn. For example:

  • The damage done by a Paladin's Divine Challenge is a Reaction, meaning a monster gets to complete the attack which triggered it before taking damage.
  • An Eldritch Warlock teleports after the end of the action which felled her cursed foe, meaning she could safely teleport into the area of the spell which just caused the effect.

Skill Use

Skills use is adjudicated slightly differently based on the situation:

  • Combat: If an initiative clock is ticking, skill rules occur in fully-specific detail. They require specific types of actions, cause specific conditions on success or failure, etc. The rules in the book are pretty nicely detailed here.
  • Skill Challenge: In a Skill Challenge, each skill roll represents a "dramatic action" described by the player, not a single Action in the combat sense. The in-comabt rules are still used as guidelines for bonuses/penalties, time taken, consequences, etc. where appropriate. Which skills are applicable depend on the specific challenge and the rules for improvising use of other skills. Success or failure have an effect on overall success in the challenge, and may have other effects at DM option.
  • Non-Encounter: Outside of an encounter, a skill roll represents a "dramatic action" described by the player, not a single Action in the combat sense. The in-combat rules are still used as guidelines for bonuses/penalties, time taken, consequences, etc. where appropriate. The results of success/failure are broader in scale than a single combat Action, and determined by the DM. Outside an Encounter, you may take 10, unless you're being rushed, threatened, or distracted.
  • Crossing the Boundary: If a Skill use before an Encounter has an ongoing effect relevant in the encounter (e.g. being hidden), then any relevant roll result made before combat stands. If no roll was made by a particular character previously, one is made at the start of combat.

Power Use

Like Skills (see above), Power use is adjudicated slightly differently based on the situation:

  • Combat: If an initiative clock is ticking, Power rules occur in fully-specific detail. They require specific types of actions, cause specific conditions on success or failure, etc. The rules in the book are pretty nicely detailed here.
  • Skill Challenge: Powers may be used in a Skill Challenge if relevant. If they effect a Skill roll, their effects are as expected. They may also be used for "dramatic effect" when describing the use of a Skill. If a power is used to attack someone, it causes a Combat Encounter to interrupt the Skill Challenge.
  • Non-Encounter: Powers may be used outside of encounters, as appropriate, to affect Skill rolls or for dramatic effect. The effect of doing so is as adjudicated by the DM.
  • Crossing the Boundary: If a power is used to attack someone outside of a Combat Encounter, it causes a Combat Encounter to begin. The Power use takes place in the Combat Encounter, maybe in a Surprise Round. Powers with Encounter duration used before the start of an Encounter remain in effect, so long as no more than 5 minutes have passed.

Superior Weapons without proficiency

Just like any other weapon, you can use a Superior weapon without proficiency, but don't get the bonus. The phrase "require special training to use" on pg.215 refers to the fact that even those proficient with all military weapons still need a Feat to use those weapons proficiently.

Weapon damage rolls

A "weapon damage roll" is a roll which has at least one [W] in it. Otherwise, it's just like any other damage roll. Per PGH57, ongoing fixed damage or fixed damage done by powers like Reaping Strike is not a damage roll amd thus not subject to bonuses from sources like Weapon Focus.

Multiplying damage bonuses

Bonuses to weapon damage are applied once to a full damage roll, not applied to the [W] factor and multiplied with it. I.e. a power which does 2[W] + StrMod damage gets +1 total from Weapon Focus (at 1st Level). Similarly, a High Crit weapon grants an extra 1[W] damage at 1st Level, but doesn't grant any additional Weapon Focus bonus.

Note that the weapon damage bonus of a magic weapon works this way too. With a Longbow +1, a power which does [2W] damage does 2d10+1, not 2d10+2.

Maximizing damage

Maximum damage on a crit maximizes all dice, including extra dice from Quarry, Backstab, etc. The only dice which do not maximize are those which are granted by the crit itself (e.g. extra damage dice on a crit with a magic weapon).

Halving damage

When a power does half damage, calculate your full damage as normal, including all bonuses and bonus dice, then halve the final result.

Back to Back Encounters

If the PCs complete multiple encoutners without a short rest, the following "per encounter" effects still occur immediately:

  • Milestones are reached, and thus action points and magic item uses are granted.
  • The ability to use an action point "once per encounter" resets.

No other per-encounter effects (encounter powers, second wind, etc) are regained until a short rest. Note that effects with a duration of an encounter continue as well, unless the total time of multiple encoutners exceeds their 5 minute duration.

Legitimate Targets

The discussion of legitimate targets (on DMG.40) mentions specifically targets of powers which have an effect on hit, or on a kill. However, I take it to logically extend to any other power which applies to a target reasonably expected to be an enemy. So, for instance, a Paladin cannot meaningfully issue a Divine Challenge to the snail in his pocket, since it's not a meaningful threat.

Disappearing Marks

All Marks disappear if the Marked creature dies. They do not disappear if the Marked creature is rendered Unconscious or Dying. They also do not disappear based on the state of the creature who placed the Mark.

For example, a monster may take damage for failing to attack to an Unconscious Paladin, but the Paladin will not be penalized for failing to Engage a foe who's already dead.

Drawing Weapons

A Minor Action to draw a weapon allows drawing exactly one. Quick Draw allows you to draw as many as you will use in your action. Any weapon you attack with is "used". Also, an off-hand weapon which gives a meaningful bonus to the attack (e.g. via the Two Weapon Fighting Feat) is also "used".

Potions

Using a potion yourself is a Minor action. Feeding it to someone else (willing or helpless) is a Standard action. Both of these include drawing the potion.

Sense Modes

Clarifications of what exactly various types of unusual senses mean, and how they interact with Stealth.

  • Blindsight: Blindsight is a fully-functional mode of perception. Targets within range are perceived fully despite Blindness, Concealment (including Invisibility), and lighting conditions. Cover from solid obstacles applies normally, and can be used for Stealth.
  • Tremorsense: Tremorsense gives location only, not full perception. The location of targets within range and touching a shared surface is known, without any rolls, and without any effect from Blindness, Concealment (including Invisibility), Cover (including solid walls), or lighting conditions. Stealth is possible as normal, and gives all of the normal benefits, except that Tremorsense can be used to automatically know which square to target.
  • Truesight: Cancels Invisibility. No effect on any other conditions.

Racial Featuress

Bonuses to Allies

Racial bonuses granted to allies (e.g. Elven Perception, Half-Elven Diplomacy) are granted regardless of the state of the character granting them. I.e. a sleeping Elf still makes his friends better on watch.

Class Features and Powers

Class Feature Powers

Powers granted by Class Features such as Channel Divinity still qualify as "Cleric Powers" (or equivalent for other classes) for purposes of references such as those in "Healers Lore" (which applies only to Cleric Powers). This explicitly includes the additional Powers granted by Channel Divinity Feats (but not any Feat-granted power not tied to a Class Feature).

Cleric: Healer's Lore and Regeneration

If a Cleric uses a power with the Healing keyword to grant Regeneration, then Healer's Lore applies. However it only applies once. At the Cleric's Wisdom bonus to the first batch of HP from regeneration.

(I consider this ruling highly questionable, and it may change later. None of the other rulings I can think of are less so, however. See the discussion page.)

Fighter: Combat Challenge

The Fighter can use this power to mark multiple opponents at once, if he can attack multiple opponents at once, or before the first mark wears off.

The second paragraph (attacks against marked targets who shift or attack) applies to any opponent the Fighter marks, not just those marked as a result of an attack as per the first paragraph.

Fighter Attack 1: Cleave

The second enemy who takes damage (who must be a different enemy, per the errata) is not a target, is not attacked, and is neither hit nor missed, for the purpose of any effects (such as Combat Challenge) triggered by such keywords.

Paladin: Divine Challenge (Damage Frequency)

A Divine Challenge can do damage at most once per Round, re-setting at the start of the Paladin's turn. The Paladin does not need to "renew" the Mark for this to occur.

Paladin: Divine Challenge (Engagement)

See House Rules page. There doesn't seem to be a single consistent interpretation all players can agree on, so I'm picking one by DM fiat, rather than claiming to run the rules as written.

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