DM Rulings and FAQ

0. How do Rules Complaints Work?

1. Character Creation

2. Material Components

3. Campaign Setting

4. Races

5. Classes

6.  Exp awards

7.  Whose responsibility is it?  It is the Player's.

8.  Morality

9.  Paying Attention

10. Why no more Arena or Side sessions?

11.  What's this about changing characters?

12.  Why does it matter what other players think?

13.  What is the Buddy System?

14.  What is the typical session format?

15.  What are your thoughts on the Oriental Adventures classes and races?

16.  What are the stipulations regarding playing a guest NPC?

17.  What details should be included in my character sheet?

18.  How do the Shugenja bonuses and restrictions work?

19.  No called shots?  Why not?

20.  What about special ammo?

21.  Are Concentration checks DC Damage + 10, or do they include power level?

22.  I died.  Is my next char at -1 level, or same level?

23.  Is damage doubled/halved before or after applying DR?

24.  Can I buy off ECL?

All content on this site, Flay, is Copyright 2005 Moritheil.  DnD 3.5, which most of the material is based on, is Copyright Wizards of the Coast.

0.  How Do Rules Complaints Work?

We take rules complaints very seriously.  The integrity of an artificial reality is a fragile thing, and any challenge to it must be met with rigorous checking.  At the same time, not every ruling constitutes a game-threatening decision.  Players should be aware of a few basic facts when calling a ruling into question:

    1.  Every rules question is a big deal.  Do not ask the DM for things easily searched; do not ask the DM for inconsequential and trivial rulings, and above all, do not ask the DM for a ruling and then insist you did not want anything done about it.  The DM is obliged to see the ruling and its outcome through if asked, so treat this process very carefully.  A similar rule of thumb applies to all interpersonal complaints and disputes.

    2.  You cannot initiate, and then shelve, a rules dispute.  The DM must be capable of acting in absolute certainty that every ruling is 100% correct.  Granting players the ability to question rules, and then shelve their questioning for later without yielding, produces an ambiguous situation not conducive to good DMming.  Therefore, if a rules dispute is started, it will be finished.  You can help avoid sticky situations by only challenging rules between sessions, by doing the research yourself, and by asking other players for their interpretations before petitioning the DM to correct something.

    3.  You are responsible for and must abide by the outcome of a rules investigation, regardless of whether or not you like it.  This is closely related to (2).  It should go without saying that it is not just to allow players to challenge rules for rulings in their favor, but allow them to back out when a ruling turns out poorly for them.

1.  Character Creation

For each ability score, roll 4d6.  Take the sum of three of the dice.  Swap scores between abilities as needed to create the character you want.  Obviously, pick a race and class.  Do not forget to factor in ability modifiers for your race.  Also, note any bonuses on your character sheet.

At first level, characters have their maximum possible hit point gain.

First Level Starting GP: barbarian/bard - 4d4, cleric/rogue - 5d4, druid 2d4, fighter/paladin/ranger - 6d4, sorc/wizard - 3d4. all x10. monk 5d4 x 1

Character Wealth by Level

2.  Material Components

[22:29] Gakar: do you use material components?
[22:30] moritheil: Do I use them? Yes.
[22:30] Gakar: to what extent?
[22:30] moritheil: If you have been captured and stripped of your items, guess what? No components!
[22:30] Gakar: well, what i mean is do we need to bother with keeping track of them, or is it assumed that (except in certain situations) we have them?
[22:31] moritheil: If you're all crossing a stream and your belt with the pouch is swept away, no components!
[22:31] moritheil: I'll assume you have an abundance of what you need in your pouch.
[22:31] moritheil: The pouch, however, is something you need to keep safe.
[22:31] Gakar: k
[22:31] Gakar: oh, dont worry, i took eschew materials
[22:31] Gakar: so only the really spiffy spells will be a problem
[22:31] moritheil: I dislike accounting for petty things like "but I thought I had another two grasshopper legs remaining!"
[22:31] moritheil: "Nope, you only have one."
[22:32] Gakar: yeah, keeping track of your sulfur and guano is a pain
[22:32] Gakar: because, lets face it, thats all you need once you hit level 5 as a mage
[22:32] Gakar: as Fizban taught us: fireball will fix any problem

3.  Setting

The characters will start out on a nondescript prime world.  I originally envisioned this world to be influenced by the default DnD powers (i.e., Greyhawk setting), but I have seen that some players are more familiar with the DragonLance setting than anything else.  Our current options are: mixed influence, influence by Oerth powers only, and influence by Krynnish powers only.  I lean towards a mix, but that could be upsetting to some.

EDIT: This matter is settled; the campaign will start on a prime world called Mori.  Mori is a world of quiet, peaceful farmers, boisterous merchants, and headstrong adventurers.  Vast tracts of land are dominated by evil; equally vast tracts of land are under the sway of good.  Slavery, racism (in character only!), torture, the animation of undead, and other, darker things can and do occur with oppressive regularity in evil lands.

[00:25] Player 9: Would you like a back-story with that, or are you going to be creating that yourself?
[00:26] moritheil: Make all the backstory you want. General details are in the FAQ on the site.
 

[00:57] moritheil: I want to point something out here.
[00:57] moritheil: The reason we are starting with so much of a blank canvas - so much of the world nondescript - is so that you as players have the chance to realize your full creative potential.
[00:57] moritheil: I had a pantheon written, but I scrapped it.
[00:58] moritheil: It's more fun to have the players create the sort of world their characters would have come from - and more authentic.

[00:59] moritheil: The Greyhawk powers are not native to this world as they [some of them] are to Oerth, incidentally.
[00:59] moritheil: Whether or not your characters have any views on the matter is up to you.

[20:04] moritheil: It's true you won't have any actual names to tie to any factions that, say, burned down your house in the past, but that's about it . . .
[20:05] moritheil: Whether your character is motivated by lust, greed, or honor, for example, is something you can decide irrespective of the details of society.
[20:08] Player6: Is slavery that is something common?
[20:10] moritheil: in at least one part of the world, yes
[20:13] Player6: Hrm.
[20:13] Player6: Can I just make up names as I go? = p
[20:14] moritheil: go for it
[20:14] moritheil: uh, as long as those names are not . . . detrimental to gameplay.
[20:15] moritheil: Please don't have a ravishing beauty named Tireiron, or any such.

[00:50] Asherhar: Who are the bad guys and why?
[00:53] moritheil: re: Who the antagonists are, they will probably be quite varied.
[00:53] moritheil: re: Why, obviously it will depend on what sort of characters you turn out to be.

[00:54] Asherhar: Why the hell should we group together to be the protagonists?
[00:54] Terenar: I think this is something we should be discussing right now, actually.
[00:54] Player 9: Ha, that's for us to discover =)
[00:54] Aerlene: because the bad guys will kick our asses if we don't?
[00:54] moritheil: Ah, that is a fundamental question.
[00:54] moritheil: And it is one that you will have to answer.
[00:54] moritheil: I expect that the answers will vary widely.
[00:54] moritheil: A paladin will probably be in it for honor, or the chance to smite evil.
[00:54] Terenar: I'm with Aerlene, at least for now.
[00:55] moritheil: Someone else could be in it for the fun and profit.
[00:55] Asherhar: Also, if we are to be considered over powered, why does it take 8 of us to beat 1 villian?
[00:55] Terenar: (The reasoning, not the characters!)
[00:55] Terenar: Because good is dumb.
[00:55] moritheil: A third person, for the desire to acquire power.

4.  Races (aka, What's all this nonsense about Eighthlings?  I thought this was a serious campaign!)

Obviously, starting at first level means that many of the races, including nearly all of the monstrous races, are not available for players.  I have endeavored to create a few more races for my setting, for those seeking a little more diversity in their choices.  The Eighthling is my first step towards creating plausible byproducts of the mixing of races.

5.  Classes (aka, What do you mean by Artificer?)

Artificer is an Eberron base class.  It is not High Artificer, the Wizard prestige class.

[19:35] moritheil: I know it's an Eberron class; I just don't have any Eberron stuff
[19:35] Terenar: Ah.
[19:36] moritheil: so I was wondering if you had a link to the basic class description or something.
[19:36] Terenar: Hmm.
[19:36] moritheil: BAB progression, etc.
[19:36] Terenar: BAB 3/4, hit die d6, spell progression a little like a bard....
[19:36] Terenar: Hmm.
[19:37] moritheil: I'm getting peppered with "artificer? wtf mate?"
[19:37] Terenar: Sorry, I thought it was a cool idea...
[19:37] Terenar: Their schtick is that they don't cast spells so much as make magic items.
[19:38] Terenar: They can make temporary magic items - i.e. they can't cast a spell ON someone, but they can make their cloak magical for a little while.
[19:38] moritheil: Yeah, I understand the basics.
[19:38] moritheil: I have a table of their infusions.
[19:38] Terenar: Okay, that's good...
[19:38] moritheil: I just don't know about the class itself.
[19:38] Terenar: Okay.
[19:39] Terenar: Does your list include infusions by level?
[19:39] Terenar: Their good save is Will.
[19:40] Terenar: Scribe Scroll free at 1st, Brew Potion at 2nd, Craft Wondrous Item 3rd, Craft Magic Arms & Armor 5th, Craft Wand 7th, Craft Rod 9th, Craft Staff 12th, Forge Ring 14th.
[19:41] Terenar: Bonus feats off a restricted list every 4 levels.
[19:41] Terenar: Can hold items and make a check against DC 15 using artificer level + Int to see if items have a magic aura (as detect magic, but no other info).
[19:42] Terenar: Can search for and disable traps as a rogue.
[19:43] Terenar: Must use UMD checks to "emulate" having a spell used in making a magic item (DC 20+level).
[19:44] moritheil: Is this a scaled-down version of High Artificer? I'm curious now.
[19:45] Terenar: Effective caster level of artificer level +2 for making scrolls - in other words, Terenar could try to make a scroll of a 2nd-level spell, but needs to beat DC 22 and spend money and XP as normal. (Not terribly reliable - I just finished rolling stats, and he's only got +9 to his check.)
[19:45] Terenar: I don't know the High Artificer class...
[19:46] moritheil: It's a prestige class for wizards in 3.5 or 3.0 that allows them to basically do everything you're describing.
[19:46] Terenar: It might be that class turned into a 20-level class.
[19:46] Terenar: Unfortunately, I don't know the progenitor class.
[19:46] moritheil: I think that's precisely what it is.

[19:53] moritheil: How do you determine spell availability?
[19:54] Terenar: Infusions per day or spells for items?
[19:54] Terenar: They're treated as totally separate.
[19:55] moritheil: Keep talking. :)
[19:56] Terenar: Infusions per day don't look like they follow any PHB table.
[19:56] Terenar: Correction - I think they do follow a table.
[19:56] moritheil: I welcome that news.
[19:57] Terenar: They follow the bard table, except that any 0 in the bard table is a blank in the artificer table.
[19:57] Terenar: Just move it over one line (read 0th as 1st, 1st as 2nd, etc.)

6.  Exp Awards

If I award you exp, be sure to note it down on your character sheet (the typed version that you send me should include when you got a bonus, and an indication of why.)  No reminder and you forfeit your bonus.

7.  Player Responsibility

[00:52] Player9: Are we to periodically send you updated character sheets, or are you going to update them yourself when we take an action?
[00:52] moritheil: that's in the FAQ, roll dice for it.
[00:53] moritheil: The responsibility will rest with the players for updating and sending their character sheets to me.

8.  "Good" and "Evil" in DnD

[01:17] Terenar: Personally, I think the rule making non-sentient undead "evil" is logically incoherent. If it can't think, how can it have morals?
[01:17] Terenar: I think it was put in so paladins could smite them.
[01:17] moritheil: evil in DnD is not about morals
[01:17] moritheil: Evil in, say, IN*, can be about morals
[01:17] moritheil: Evil in DnD is mostly "does it draw power from the abyss or the negative plane? Smite it."
[01:18] moritheil: In fact, good and evil have almost become misnomers in DnD.
[01:18] moritheil: I imagine they'll eventually phase it out and go with names like Red Team and Blue Team.
[01:18] Terenar: And they decided the illogic of mindless beings being evil was less than the illogic of paladins not being able to smite them.
[01:18] Terenar: I think you're right.
[01:18] moritheil: It's not about logic, it's about "we need two teams that oppose each other."
[01:19] Terenar: Fairly serious D&D fans get into infinite arguments over whether it's good to murder evil monsters.
[01:19] Terenar: Camp #1 applies real-world logic and thinks killing baby red dragons is evil.
[01:19] Terenar: Camp #2 likes being able to kill things without endless moral arguments and thinks it's okay to kill erinyes.
[01:20] moritheil: well, 5,000 years of religion in the real world have failed to produce an answer that everybody likes and can agree with.
[01:20] moritheil: I don't see why they think they can do it in a few nights over a kitchen table.

* In Nomine

9.  Paying Attention

[02:31] Resdin: i need to know what exactly i need to pay attention for when i need to roll for damage, initiative, etc.
[02:34] moritheil: well, pay attention when you're attacking and when you're getting worked over - I mean attacked.
[02:34] Resdin: snicker
[02:34] moritheil: also
[02:34] moritheil: we have no figurines here
[02:34] Resdin: figurines?
[02:34] moritheil: so you should probably pay attention through the entire combat
[02:34] moritheil: yeah, we have no map or field layout or anything
[02:34] Resdin: ah
[02:34] Resdin: yea i plan to
[02:34] moritheil: so you'll want to know if the rogue moved to flank
[02:35] moritheil: before, say, casting a colorspray that hits him too
[02:35] moritheil: unless you really don't like him
[02:35] Resdin: lol

10.  Why are there no more arena or side sessions?  Will we ever see them return?

There are two reasons for this.  First off, I do not have the time to keep running arena sessions - I would rather put any time I might have into better planning out the real sessions.  Second, it has come to my attention that there is quite a bit of posturing and jockeying for position as a result of the arena.  This only serves to reduce group effectiveness and cohesion, which will in turn get everyone slaughtered.  Therefore it is for the good of the group and the campaign that I am announcing an end to arena matches.

I had fun running the side sessions of the past, but for the foreseeable future, I do not have that kind of time.  If I have time, I want to advance the group.  If I get lots of free time in the future, sure, you can expect more side sessions.

11.  Why are you letting people change characters?  How does that work?

In general, I do not allow this thing.  An exquisitely well-written story that tears at the heart, moves the audience to passionate tears (or other appropriate emotional outbursts), and fits seamlessly within the campaign is grounds for allowing a character change.  All details and repercussions, including the future of the current character, the history of the old one, and any modifications to the game world that the story incurs, must be taken care of and thought out by the player.  The story must be of appropriate length and near-professional quality.  I can and will deny changes for any reason, because a player fundamentally does NOT have the right to change characters.  Each character change, with the exception of a slain hero playing on as a cohort, is an exception to the rule.

Note that dying and playing on as a different character does indeed count as a character change.  Excessive changes create a lot of work for the DM and other players, and is not fair to them.

Even a single character change incurs profound repercussions throughout the campaign in terms of group dynamics and balance, as well as plotlines.  This results in hours of work for the DM, and hours of wasted time for players acclimatizing to the new character.  I discourage character changes for this reason.

[14:32] moritheil: we aren't going to have a group, at this rate
[14:32] moritheil: everyone changing characters royally screws up continuity.
[14:32] moritheil: If you can talk to people and work out a coherent way to make this work, you can have your change.
[14:32] Player2: what? who else is changing?
[14:32] moritheil: As was our deal earlier.
[14:32] moritheil: Dude, who isn't changing?
[14:33] moritheil: Everyone heard about you and Player3
[14:33] Player2: oh great
[14:33] moritheil: and now I'm flooded with change requests.
[14:33] Player2: I'm sorry man
[14:33] moritheil: well, I'm sorry too, but I can't exactly say "they have more right to request a change than you because of x reason."
[14:33] moritheil: So, if you can figure out a way to make this work, I'll let you change.
[14:33] moritheil: That's the same deal as before. I'm just letting you know.
[14:34] Player2: well I was about to write up my story...but to be honest, it makes it easier for continuity with so many people changing...we can just be a completely seperate group
[14:34] Player2: but I agree this sucks in general
[14:34] moritheil: no, it doesn't
[14:35] moritheil: because you all have to do over the first four sessions
[14:35] moritheil: where the group figured out how to fight together
[14:35] moritheil: and how the characters interacted, and everything
[14:35] moritheil: I mean, if it's that, you may as well get a new DM and call it a new campaign
[14:35] moritheil: because there will be no resemblance to the old group.

[14:37] Player2: so then don't allow it...I'll have to deal with it
[14:37] Player2: I have my own story prepared to be honest...or at least in my head because I haven't written it down yet
[14:37] Player2: I can't speak for the others
[14:38] moritheil: Well, everyone told me they had something prepared, and then when I told them it had to be seamless, they withdrew their statement.
[14:38] Player2: I have nothing prepared with anyone
[14:38] moritheil: They don't have anything beyond "he's this guy who was born in this tribe," etc etc.
[14:39] moritheil: Whereas I want "It was a hot midsummer's night, and Selune's orb hung in a cloudless sky. The air was still, broken only by the screams of a newborn infant..."
[14:39] moritheil: and so on.
[14:40] Player2: I know nothing about the world we are in man so I can't help you much with that
[14:40] moritheil: Make it up.
[14:40] moritheil: That's the point of my assignment.
[14:40] moritheil: Because, if you don't, it becomes my job to make it up
[14:40] moritheil: and I don't really feel like throwing 10 hours into world design
[14:41] moritheil: because everyone wants new chars.

[14:41] moritheil: If I have that time, I'd rather throw it into actual campaign design.
[14:42] Player2: might as well not bother I guess

[14:54] moritheil: essentially, this thing is snowballing out of my control
[14:54] moritheil: and it's ass hard to find some way to tell people "he can change, you can't, and it's fair."
[14:54] moritheil: They aren't going to buy it.

 [14:54] moritheil: So, here's my deal with everyone who wants to change. You have to, collectively, satisfy everyone else in the party, as well as the needs of continuity
[14:56] moritheil: however you deal with it, I'm down, but I have a very strong sense of continuity. And I really dislike the idea of allowing any significant portion of the group to change, because then, hey, we might as well switch DMs and call it some other campaign.

 [14:56] moritheil: So those are basically my terms for people changing. Small changes, no problem, lots of changes, big problem.

12.    Try to make this fun for everyone - that is the one kind of metagaming I encourage.

[00:05] Player: he acted his character
[00:05] moritheil: oh, I don't doubt that.
[00:05] moritheil: But, you remember that sick guy I told you about?
[00:05] Player: yup
[00:05] moritheil: The messed up one?
[00:05] moritheil: That guy was in character cause he was playing a demon
[00:05] Player: i think so
[00:05] moritheil: but I don't want him in my games.
[00:05] Player: ahhh
[00:05] moritheil: Why not? Because he makes people uncomfortable as hell
[00:05] moritheil: and the game is supposed to be fun.
[00:06] moritheil: I don't care about people being mean or domineering in character, but we're smart enough to be in character and not piss each other off.
[00:06] Player: tell me about it :(

13.  How does the Buddy System help me?

In the absence of the Buddy System, characters are treated like NPCs.  That means that the DM runs them as convenient.  Obviously they will be run as close to character as possible, but equally obviously, a player has no grounds for complaint if something happens with his or her character because he or she isn't there.

Enter the Buddy System.  Each player should try hard to find one other player capable of playing his or her character, should he or she be absent.  How does it benefit you?

- More spotlight time: another player is more likely to think of cool things your character can do, keeping the spotlight on your character (and keeping your character useful) even while you're away.
- More exp: a character run by the DM for you usually does not gain any exp.  A character run via the Buddy System will be allowed to gain exp.
- Better encounters: by freeing up DM resources, the Buddy System allows the DM to better simulate the world, resulting in a richer experience for players.

If you do not have a Buddy, the DM will assign your character randomly to be played by another player.  You have all been warned.

14.  What is the typical session like?

Start: 1/2 hour of discussion and RP.

Middle: 3-4 hours of dungeon crawling, fighting, intrigue, or whatever the main event is.

End: 1-2 hours of RP.

We are working on changing this to include treasure splitting and identification at the end of each session, where applicable, but the characters are still not high enough level that identification can be easily done.

15.  Can I play a Rokugani?

Ah yes, Rokugan.  The DM is familiar with shugenjas, samurai, and the twisted history of Rokugan, but only as the original L5R product - the mechanics of Rokugani classes in D20 leave something to be desired, although the flavor is more or less intact.  (This is less so for Maho; d20 blood magic has a pitiful cost in comparison to the original rendering of it.  Rest assured, Fu Leng will take your names if you try to abuse this.) 

By all means, feel free to play OA classes.

16.  What's the deal with guest NPCing?

I welcome guest NPCs from time to time, as a way to enliven play and provide a change of pace.  Some things need to be taken into account in order to ensure smooth interaction of NPCs with PCs, however.  While I grant NPCs broad ranging powers and discretion, I do expect them to understand that Flay, like any DnD campaign, is geared towards the enjoyment of players, and the fairest shake possible for players.  NPCs are by definition not players.  Lethality occurs easily enough in this setting that the "luxury" of making sure that nobody has reason to feel like they got screwed over is easily afforded.  Refer to #12; make this fun for every player.

When you guest NPC, please do not do any of the following:

    1.  Complain when something you attempted didn't work.  I get enough of that from players.

    2.  Question rulings.  I really do get enough of that from players.  An NPC questioning rulings just makes it look like the NPC player, NOT the NPC character, is the one out to antagonize and oppose the group.

    3.  Complain about gameplay conditions, such as length of battles and the tactical situation.  I set things up as appropriate for the consistency of the campaign world.  Other factors such as battle length are intrinsic to the campaign itself, and cannot be helped.  Unless you can somehow prove that the setup is not consistent and does not make sense, please do not call these things into question.

17.  What do you want to see on my char sheet?

Character sheets should include the following character information: full name, aliases NPCs might know you by, description, BAB, attack statistics, stat block, saves, skills, feats, equipment, and other items.  People generally send in stat/save/skill blocks with and without adjustments from commonly cast spells/ablities (i.e. enlarge, bull's strength, rage), and it's helpful to include a listing of what your bonuses actually are in your stat block.  That makes it easy to determine the effects of buffs and ailments.

18.  Would the shugenja's Element Focus also apply to spells gained from other classes that are on the shugenja element list?

[21:09] Arr'gch: Would the shugenja's Element Focus (+1 to DCs for spells of chosen element) also apply to spells gained from other classes that are on the shugenja element list?
[21:09] moritheil: I have to see the exact wording.
[21:11] Arr'gch: "Shugenjas automatically gain the benefits of the Spell Focus feat (+1 to spell DCs) for spells from their favored element, regardless of its school."
[21:11] moritheil: If that's the complete wording, they do indeed get it for all spells regardless of source.
[21:11] moritheil: Well, all spells of their element.
[21:11] moritheil: However.
[21:11] Arr'gch: ?
[21:12] moritheil: They should also be barred from casting all spells of the opposed element, likewise regardless of source.
[21:12] Arr'gch: Mmm....
[21:13] Arr'gch: "At the cost of specializing in one element, a shugenja is prohibited from learning spells associated with a different element [earth]"
[21:19] Arr'gch: So any definite ruling on the bonus vs. restriction?
[21:20] moritheil: all universal, I think.
[21:20] moritheil: That's how I'll play it. You want an FAQ statement?
[21:21] Arr'gch: Ah
[21:21] Arr'gch: Sure

19.  Called Shots

[13:09] Camthalion: you dont allow them anymore correct?
[13:09] Camthalion: called shots that is
[13:10] Camthalion: Just its been sumtin which has been in the back of my mind for a while :-\
[13:10] moritheil: They don't really exist in 3.5
[13:10] moritheil: I mean, there's no actual result for called shots.
[13:11] moritheil: It's kind of arbitrary. Either they do nothing, which makes them pointless, or they disable the enemy, which can be really overpowering.
[13:11] moritheil: I mean, suppose you make a called shot to the arm of an enemy with 100 hps
[13:11] moritheil: that might only do 5 points of damage, but suddenly he can't wield a sword? I'm not really sure how that works.
[13:12] Camthalion: hmm, so the average "fires aiming at the forehead" would be ruled out as well :-\
[13:12] moritheil: well, it sort of bypasses the hit point system, wouldn't you agree?
[13:12] Camthalion: well ya
[13:12] moritheil: If I can do 5 points of damage to someone's head
[13:12] moritheil: and they die
[13:13] moritheil: why would I bother dealing them 100 hit points of damage?
[13:13] Camthalion: thats the point though, a 1 hit kill at a major penalty
[13:13] Camthalion: but they still get saves
[13:13] Camthalion: hmm actually, its np anymore
[13:13] Camthalion: i was only wondering if you were still using it :)
[13:14] Camthalion: cuz i felt like giving a grashak a nice present to the face :)
[13:14] Camthalion: :( but shooting him up is the same result
[13:14] Camthalion: :)
[13:15] moritheil: I mean, also, if you think about it
[13:15] moritheil: it kind of ruins the importance of the assassin death attack
[13:15] Camthalion: :-\ your right actually about that
[13:15] moritheil: why spend three rounds studying someone when instead you can attempt three called shots to the head or throat?
[13:15] Camthalion: I get you
[13:16] Camthalion: but does that still rule out just writing shooting for the forehead?, or Cuts for the leg?
[13:16] Camthalion: just for the hell of it
[13:16] Camthalion: like aiming for somewhere in that area at least
[13:17] moritheil: Oh, feel free to write it.
[13:17] moritheil: I'm just not going to play it up with real consequences.
[13:17] Camthalion: o, ok np
[13:17] moritheil: I mean, if you aim at the head of a goblin and deal 8 damage, and he dies, then yeah, I'll write that you shot him in the head.
[13:17] Camthalion: :) tht wut i mean :)
[13:17] moritheil: If you aim at the head of a 10th level character, I might write that you hit him in the shoulder instead or something if it doesn't kill him.
[13:18] Camthalion: :) ok, np
[13:18] Camthalion: Just i felt really limited to writing out my attacks since I thought if it sounded like a called attack you'd get angry or something
[13:19] moritheil: Ah, yeah, good thing you asked.

20.  Special Ammo Cost

[17:00] Arr'gch: Hey, is the cost for adamantine ammo per individual ammo or per grouping of it?
[17:01] Arr'gch: http://d20srd.org/srd/specialMaterials.htm#adamantine
[17:01] Arr'gch: It doesn't say...
[17:03] moritheil: I've never had someone ask for adamantine ammo before; let me look.
[17:04] moritheil: Aha
[17:04] Arr'gch: Mmm?
[17:04] moritheil: what do you normally buy when buying ammo?
[17:04] moritheil: Normally ammo is sold in lots
[17:04] moritheil: i.e. 10 sling stones, or something.
[17:04] Arr'gch: Yeah.
[17:04] moritheil: I would rule that it's "per lot."

21.  Concentration is DC 10+damage+spell or power level

[21:16] moritheil: Personally, I lean towards the interpretation that the psi-magic rewrite from 2.0 to 3.x implies that the psi checks should mirror the magic checks.
[21:16] moritheil: I'll have to FAQ it.
[21:16] moritheil: Run with whatever for now :)
[21:16] Aerlene: I checked the srd
[21:17] moritheil: If you're referring to the Psionic Concentration entry, so did I.
[21:17] moritheil: But I believe more strongly in the overarching principle of the mechanics mirroring each other.
[21:17] Aerlene: well
[21:17] Aerlene: the generic entry for concentration
[21:17] moritheil: Otherwise, it's just another way in which psionics is overpowered . . .
[21:17] Aerlene: at d20.org
[21:17] Aerlene: says
[21:17] Aerlene: 10 + damage dealt Damaged during the action.2
[21:18] moritheil: I see it, and it goes on to talk about manifesting.
[21:18] moritheil: It also says
[21:18] moritheil: "If you are trying to manifest, concentrate on, or direct a power when the distraction occurs, add the level of the power to the indicated DC."
[21:18] Aerlene: oh

22.  Begin a new character at -1 from your previous level.

Obviously, Raise Dead brings you back -1 level.  If you can die and come back as a new character without losing that level, that provides a powerful incentive to keep switching characters.  I think we would all rather see the same characters as much as possible.

The DM reserves the right to grant exemptions to this ruling, for exceptional heroism or the like.

23.  Apply multipliers to damage before accounting for DR.

[20:42] moritheil: I think I said this before, but I'm going to rule that all doubling/halving of damage occurs before DR.
[20:42] Arr'gch: Alrighty.
[20:42] moritheil: That makes your racial invulnerabilities and vulnerabilities more pronounced
[20:43] moritheil: rather than the other way around.
[20:43] Arr'gch: Mm.
[20:43] Arr'gch: Well, a quick test of it:
[20:43] Arr'gch: Let's say, 30 slashing damage (as an example) with DR 5/-.
[20:43] Arr'gch: Before: 55 damage.
[20:44] Arr'gch: After: 50 damage.
[20:44] Arr'gch: And, say, 30 bludgeoning damage, with DR 5/-.
[20:44] Arr'gch: Before: 10 damage.
[20:44] Arr'gch: After: 12 damage.
[20:45] moritheil: Satisfied that it behaves as advertised? :)
[20:45] Arr'gch: Yup.

24.  ECL Cannot Be Bought Off.

[00:02] moritheil: This is because I am, I will admit, biased against the idea of eliminating the LA for LA races, although I can see why DMs might wish to allow a reduction.
[00:11] moritheil: The UA ECL buyoff seems like a half-baked mechanism, at best, but I don't really want to write a new one as I believe firmly in LA as a tradeoff.
[00:11] moritheil: I'm sorry if I didn't make this clear to you when you were selecting races.