SAGE ADVICE

How does the BIRTHRIGHT® blood ability Detect Life (from the Blood Enemies sourcebook) work in relation to effects such as nondetection, invisibility, misdirection, or mind blank?

Effects that block the divinations (such as nondetection spells) block the ability. Misdirection causes the Detect Life user to be unsure of the protected creature’s exact location (assuming the user has enough power to determine locations). The power detects invisible creatures but does not render them visible; if the user is not strong enough to determine a creature’s location, Detect Life simply indicates a living creature somewhere in the area of effect.

Can a character wearing a ring of vampiric regeneration gain hit points from a creature shapechanged into a spectre?

Yes. The character could drain hit points from a real spectre, too. A ring of vampiric regeneration bestows hit points on the wearer anytime the wearer strikes and damages an opponent. Spectres are immune to non-magical weapons. If the ring wearer has no magical weapon, he cannot harm the spectre and cannot gain any hit points from striking it.

I have been reading through the Illithiad, and I am finding the information within to be quite fascinating, and useful. However, the monster entry on page 87 says the Intelligence of an illithiad vampire is genius (17-18), while the accompanying text says the creatures are of animal intelligence. Which is correct? I’m also somewhat confused about how sunlight affects illithiad vampires. The text says they are harmed by sunlight just like other vampire. However, the special defenses section of the monster entry says "unharmed by sunlight."

Illithiad vampires have animal Intelligence; the reference to genius intelligence is an error.
Sunlight harms illithiad vampires; they suffer 1d6+1 hp damage each round they are exposed to sunlight.

A character in our party has the spellfire ability. The rest of the party tends to keep this character topped off with spell energy and protected from direct assaults to be ready to tear up monsters. Recently, our DM has been allowing creatures with the psionic ability of Energy Containment to absorb and dissipate the spellfire energy. We are of the opinion that spellfire does not fall under the categories of "energy" as defined under the ability description. Is this possible?

Sure it’s possible (especially when your DM says so). While you could argue that a spellfire blast is not fire, heat, cold, electricity, or sound (all energy forms mentioned in the Energy Containment power description), a reasonable DM could decide to extend the power’s effects to spellfire blasts. Spellfire is energy of some kind (perhaps of a unique kind). The DM also could decide that a spellfire blast is the equivalent of some more common form of energy (the DM should also choose a type or types).

I’ve been DMing for a while now and just recently picked up the High-Level Campaigns book. I also use the Tome of Magic and the Chronomancer accessory and was wondering about true dweomer spells for the schools of chronomancy and wild magic. Is there a wild surge table for true dweomers?

In both cases, simply use the spell types from Table 28. A wild mage or chronomancer gets the specialist bonus (from table 34) when creating spells that reflect her specialty.
True dweomers don’t cause wild surges.
Chronomancy true dweomers require a second application of the duration table (Table 32) to reflect displacement in time. Anything that shifts time more than a year uses the "permanent" line (100 points).

Can a psionicist with Split Personality and Astral Projection be effectively in two places at the same time? If his astral body is on the other side of a wall of force or other barrier (assuming it wasn’t big enough to block the power), could the psionicist in his physical body teleport inside, or use telepathic powers inside, through the astral body?

No. If a character using Split Personality goes astral, both halves of the personality go astral together. Note that wall of force doesn’t prevent teleportation.

If a character has shield and weapon style specialization, he receives an extra attack each round that can be used for a shield punch. Would such a character be considered proficient with the shield and automatically gain that proficiency’s AC benefits without spending any slots?

No. If the character wants the extra AC bonus for the shield proficiency, he has to buy shield proficiency.

Exactly when can characters claim the benefits from a deck of many things? Here’s a situation that arose in my campaign: A character walks into a null magic room that copies everything that enters (something like a mirror of opposition). The character fights his double for awhile and is eventually forced to step out of the room to heal up. Once healed, the character returns to the room to take up the fight again. The battle eventually comes down to one roll: whoever hits the other guy first wins. The character dies, and the playing session ends. Now, one month later, the character’s player argues that the character shouldn’t be dead because the character had previously drawn the Fates card from a deck of many things. Will this card work in a place where magic is nullified? How long can someone wait before using the card?

Most cards from a deck of many things take effect immediately upon drawing and simply work instantly, no matter what the circumstances. For example, cards such as the Jester, the Moon, or the Idiot inexorably work their changes on the character drawing them. In some cases the character might be prevented from using a benefit a card has brought. For example, in a locale where all magic is suppressed, the Moon card still bestows wishes on the drawer, but the character might have to wait to use those wishes until she leaves the area. In some cases, the character gets to decide about an instant effect. For example, the Jester either grants 10,000 xp immediately or allows two extra draws. The character drawing the card must choose the effect the moment she draws the card, and the choice takes immediate effect regardless of local conditions. I would recommend that a character drawing the Fates card keep the card until she uses it. The card might be powerful enough to work even where other magic doesn’t or it may not–that’s up to the DM. In any case, to avoid a fate, the player must say when the character uses the card and must say so promptly. The card allows the drawer to avoid a fate, not reverse a fate. So the card must be used more or less as the fate happens. The DM should not subject the player to any sort of countdown, but trying to use the card a day or a month after the fact doesn’t do any good.

If memory serves, halflings can be luckbringers (specialty priests of Tymora). That’s nice, but the Faiths & Avatars book fails to mention the level limits of these demihuman specialty priests. Since halflings can make it to 13th level as mystics, but only something like 8th or 9th level as clerics, the answer isn’t intuitively obvious. Unfortunately, this oversight exists all the way through both Faith & Avatars, as well as Powers & Pantheons. Every time a demihuman is eligible for a specialty priesthood, no level limit is mentioned.

All demihuman specialty priests in the FORGOTTEN REALMS® setting gain experience normally until they reach a level equal to their race’s normal advancement limit for a cleric, plus four levels. Thereafter, the character can keep advancing but requires triple the normal experience requirement.

I have an ambitious Signer in my PLANESCAPE® campaign who also just happens to be a luckbringer of Tymora. Once he made Factol rank, he ingeniously used his access to the feat spell (from Faiths & Avatars) to succeed automatically at his imagining checks. Needless to say, it wasn’t long before he ascended to Factor rank and now can potentially wield the effects of any wizard or priest spell simply by casting feat first and putting his imagination to work. He never risks imagining himself right out of existence and can use his imagining abilities as often as he can cast this fourth-level spell, instead of the once or twice a week that other Factols and Factors dare attempt. Can a feat spell affect a saving throw that has an ability score adjustment? What about attempts at disbelieving illusions?

A feat spell helps characters accomplish only tasks that have some physical element (jumping, running, climbing) and that can be accomplished in one minute or less. It does not affect mental tasks (imagining checks, arithmetic, recalling facts), long-term tasks (armor making, ship building), saving throws, or attempts at disbelief.

Dweomerkeepers (specialty priests of Mystra) are capable of casting their spells inside wild and dead magic areas, courtesy of their patron deity. Could they also cast spells inside the area of effect of a beholder’s antimagic ray?

Antimagic shell and similar effects (such as a beholder’s antimagic ray) shuts down dweomerkeepers’ spells. Wild and dead magic areas are aberrations in the Weave, which is the purview of the goddess Mystra. The goddess does not concern herself with antimagic effects created with spells or through creature special abilities.

Is it true that channeler spellcasters (from the PLAYER’S OPTION: Spells & Magic book) who have access to the necromancy priest sphere can use the dispel fatigue spell to wipe away the effects of their exhaustion? And that, in so doing, they become a veritable bottomless well full of magic spells, casting and re-casting high level spells time and again with no memory loss of their spells physical weariness for channeling all that spell power?

No. It’s true that the dispel fatigue description says the spell works on fatigue caused by channeling, but—according to Spells & Magic author Rich Baker—that’s an error.

According to the Planes of Law box set and The Factol’s Manifesto, the Great Modron March takes place every 17 years. According to The Great Modron March, an anthology of adventures, the March takes place every 17 years squared, or about 289 years. Which is accurate?

The Great March normally occurs every 17 times 17 (289) years.

The owner of a book of infinite spells can cast the spell to which the book is opened, once per day. Can a character choose to open the book to more than one page in a day? That is, can a character flip through the first 10 pages of the book in one day, and be able to cast all the spells on those pages? If so, can the character then close the book and repeat the procedure the next day? The book disappears when the last page is turned. But what if the owner closes it before reaching the last page and starts again? I assume it is impossible to "cheat" the usefulness of this book by putting tabs on the pages. Is it possible for two characters to create a book of infinite spells together, placing their most potent spells in it?

The owner can turn as many pages as he likes but can cast only one spells a day from the book; the spell always must be from the page to which the book is opened at the time of casting. Spells on pages that already have been turned are lost. Once turned, the pages either go blank or disappear from the book, as the DM desires.
If the book is closed, then opened again, I suggest that the book either opens to the page where it was previously opened, or to the next page (which means that closing the book "turns" the page).
The pages in a book of infinite spells are never labeled (and cannot be labeled), the only way to find out what’s on a page is to turn to it—thereby rending all previous pages useless.
No character (or group of characters) can make a magical book, libram, manual, tome, or artifact.

What does the gas breath weapon of a green or gold dragon count as? Is it poisonous or something else? Does the immunity to gas include poison gas and corrosive gases? My understanding of poisons is that they need to get to the bloodstream to be able to wreak their havoc, regardless of their method of entry. How far off am I?

Unless specifically stated otherwise in the creature description, a gas cloud from a dragon (any dragon) counts as a breath weapon attack, not poison. Creatures subjected to the breath must attempt breath weapon saving throws and usually suffer damage even if they succeed. Immunity to gas confers immunity to gaseous breath weapons and other types of gas (corrosive, petrifying, etc.). Immunity to poison gas usually is just an inaccurate way of saying immunity to gas, but sometimes it just means immunity to inhaled poisons. You’ll have to read the text carefully to determine which it is. If it isn’t obvious, "Sage Advice" is here to help.

What do the various types of armor mentioned in the Arms & Equipment Guide actually cost?

Spiked Leather: 30 gp
Drow Chain: 37,500 gp
Coin Scale: 120 gp + coins used (1,000 coins)
Dwarven Chain: 750 gp
Gnomish Workman’s Leather: 50 gp
Elven Plate: 25,000 gp (protects like field plate—AC 2)
Sea Elf Scale: 6,000 gp

The description for the fifth-level priest spell rainbow says the spell can produce seven arrows but lists only six colors. Is this a printing error? I suspect so, especially given that a blue arrow would seem more fitting against aquatic creatures than a green arrow.

Yes, it’s a printing error in the full-color Player’s Handbooks. Here are correct effects for the arrows:
Red: Fire dwellers/users and fire elementals.
Orange: Creatures or constructs of clay, sand, earth, stone, or similar materials, and earth elementals.
Yellow: Vegetable opponents, including fungus creatures, shambling mounds, treants, and the like.
Green: Aquatic creatures and water elementals.
Blue: Aerial creatures, electricity-using creatures, and air elementals.
Indigo: Acid or poison-using creatures.
Violet: Metallic or regenerating creatures.

What is the maximum speed that can be attained by an object moved by a telekinesis spell? Does the speed depend on the mass of the object? or do all objects move at constant speeds?

An object moved with the fifth-level wizard spell telekinesis moves 20 feet a round, or at the speed of a missile (several hundred miles an hour), depending on how the caster chooses to use the spell. The object’s mass has no effect on the speed, but there’s a limit on how much mass the caster can move. (See the spell description.)

I have a paladin who owns an enchanted suit of armor passed down to him from his late father. After a harrowing set of adventures and a close call with a rust monster, he decided it would be best leave the armor in his keep to avoid damaging a valuable heirloom. Does the heirloom armor fulfill his limit of owning only one suit of magical armor (even through though he never intends to use it again), or can he gain a new suit of enchanted armor without penalty?

Any suit of armor the paladin owns counts toward the limit, even unused heirlooms. The character would have to give the armor to a relative, donate it to a museum, or otherwise divest himself of it before be could own another suit of magical armor.

Is the damage from an owlbear’s hug regular, lethal damage or temporary damage? That is, does the hug damage have to be healed, or does most of it automatically return the way damage from a wrestling attack does?

Hug or constriction damage from any monster is regular, lethal damage unless the monster description specifically says otherwise.

Here’s a question that has plagued me for years. In every version of the AD&D 2nd edition game I can find, the rules say a heirophant druid gains four powers at 16th level; however only three are listed. What is the fourth power?

The Unearthed Arcana tome, which introduced heirophant druids, listed the four abilities as: immunity to natural poison, extra longevity, vigorous health, and the ability to alter appearance. The current AD&D books list the same four abilities, but merge "vigorous health" and "longevity" into the same section, since vigorous health has no real game effect. The text introducing the power description still mentions four powers, but that’s an error since there are really only three.