Q. Will magic resistance stop gaze attacks? Can magic resistance stop
protection from evil spells? How would magic resistance affect a
paladin 's protection from evil ability?
A. Magic resistance applies only to spells and spell-like powers that
directly affect the magic-resistant creature. Consequential effects,
such as collapsing masonry resulting from an earthquake spell, ignore
magic resistance. Magic resistance applies to any effect created
through the memorization and casting of a spell, and to spell-like
effects from wands, staves, rods, rings, and miscellaneous magical
items. It does not apply to breath weapons, gaze attacks, energy
draining, psionic abilities, and similar special attack forms; nor
does it apply to effects that are intrinsic to an item, such as the
magical "pluses" on an enchanted weapon or piece of armour. There are
many cases where effects fall into a grey area, and the DM must rule
on these as they come up. When in doubt, treat any effect that behaves
like a spell (i.e., that operates when the user does something special
to create it-concentrates, expends a charge from an item, etc.) as a
spell. Magic resistance can work against protection from evil spells;
see the section on "in place" spells in the DMG, page 67, and in the
PHB, page 102. However, many DMs rule that protection from evil is a
special case, especially in campaigns where protection from evil is
the only readily available defence against magic-resistant creatures.
This is perfectly acceptable, since the power of protection from evil
can be considered a consequential effect of a spell. A paladin's
protection from evil power probably should be considered a special
ability not subject to magic resistance, but it could be treated as a
permanent magical effect (also see the DMG, page 67, and the PHB, page
102).
Q. If the last charge in a staff of the magi is used, are those powers
that don't require charges still operative?
A. No, the staff becomes completely non-functional. If you interpret
the rules governing magical staves (see the DMG, page 153) strictly,
once a staff is drained of charges it becomes permanently non-magical.
However, some DMs allow even totally drained staves of the magi to
regain charges by absorbing spells.
Q. The rules on scrolls in the DMG (page 145) say that a read magic
spell must be used to discover a scroll's contents. According to this
rule, even a map is unintelligible until a comprehend languages spell
is used to decipher it. Since priests have neither read magic nor
comprehend languages in their spell lists, how do priests discover
what's on a scroll?
A. You seem to have found a genuine "hole" in the rules. The DM can
handle it in several ways: 1) Assume that the read magic and
comprehend languages spells can be bestowed upon the item itself. The
caster touches the writing, and any single creature who can read (in
the case of maps) or cast the type of spell written on the scroll can
decipher the writing. Alternately, the caster can copy the map or
simply explain the spell to another caster, who can then read the
writing himself. 2) Assume that a tongues spell can be used by priests
to decipher scrolls, one scroll per spell. 3) Introduce clerical
versions of read magic and comprehend languages spells into your
campaign. I recommend that you make them both first-level spells in
the All sphere. 4) Assume that all priests have a limited ability to
decipher priestly scrolls on their own. A priest who does nothing else
during a day might have a chance to petition his deity for help in
deciphering one or more scrolls, provided he can read and write.
Q. Where can I get information on herbs for the herbalism proficiency?
Just what can a character do with this proficiency? How strong are the
poisons and medicines the herbalist makes?
A. Check out the article "Wounds and Weeds" in Dragon #82 for a quick
description of several herbs with fantasy game applications. The
reference section of your local library should also help. Herbalism
mainly is used to identify plants and fungi. A successful proficiency
check might reveal a plant's most common names and whether or not it
is edible, poisonous, or medicinal. A successful proficiency check
might also allow the herbalist to know where a certain plant grows and
to find it if any are growing nearby. The DM must decide how powerful
an herbal concoction is. In normal circumstances, I suggest that the
herbalist be limited to mild poisons and weak healing balms. Mild
poisons include types A, G, K, and O (see the DMG, page 73). Herbal
healing balms might include poultices that heal 1 hit point of damage
when applied to wounds, salves that allow a resting character to gain
one extra hit point each day, and the like; characters with the
healing proficiency might be able to use these products with greater
effect, say to heal 1-4 hit points of damage or gain an extra 1-4 hit
points per day of rest. Of course, if the herbalist has access to
extraordinary plants (such as those found in rain forests), he would
be able to produce more potent concoctions.
Q. There is a player character in my campaign who has spent several
years of game time and thousands of gold pieces learning everything
there is to know about poisons. What skills would he have? How many
proficiency slots would he have to use? (I don't think the character
should have to give up all his non-weapon proficiency slots after all
that effort.) How would you simulate this skill in a game where the
original AD&D game rules are used?
A. The DM should have been thinking about this while the PC was busy
doing all his research. Since the game does not contain a
poison-manufacturing proficiency per se (herbalism gives an incidental
understanding of plant poisons, but many poisons are derived from
animals or minerals), you'd have to create a new proficiency. Such a
proficiency might require two proficiency slots and be based on
Intelligence −2. Depending on the campaign, this proficiency would
fall under one or more of the following categories: wizard, priest,
rogue. The character would have to expend at least two slots to get
the skill; the time and effort the character is devoting to learning
all about poisons is not going to be available for learning languages
or other skills. However, you might allow the character to purchase
extra slots for improving the proficiency once it has been bought, but
only if the character has no other slots available and the proficiency
score is not raised above 16. The proficiency might allow the
character to do one or more of the following, at the DM's option:
concoct any poison on the DMG's poison table (see previous question);
create entirely new poisons; prepare poison antidotes; recognize the
"poison potential" in any plant, animal, or mineral encountered;
recognize a poison by its effect on a victim. The DM must control such
a proficiency very carefully to maintain play balance. Manufacturing
poisons should be a long and difficult process (check the section on
potion manufacture in the DMG, page 87). Making poison under field
conditions should require a substantial penalty, and failure under any
circumstances should result in at least a chance for the poison maker
to poison himself ("Ouch! I've just nicked myself with the knife I
used to skin that tree frog"). Many poisons, particularly the very
potent ones, should have a "shelf life" and would thus lose potency
over time. They also might be destroyed when exposed to heat, cold,
light, or electricity. Note that poisons are very dangerous to store
("Fine, your thief is carrying that batch of puffer-fish venom in a
leather bladder on his belt. But did he remember to wash his hands
before eating?"). The current proficiency system works fine with the
original AD&D game rules. You can use this new proficiency, and any
other one, with no modifications at all.
Q. What abilities does the caster of a polymorph self spell gain when
he assumes a new form? I understand that the spell-caster gets the new
form's movement but not its attacks. What about extraordinary movement
such as tunnelling or phasing? What about types of movement that might
double as attacks? For instance, can a wizard polymorphed into a giant
frog leap onto an opponent?
A. Basically, the polymorph self spell grants the caster the adopted
form's shape and ordinary locomotion. The spell does not grant the
adopted form's special attacks, senses, or magical abilities. The
caster is not granted enough strength to perform extraordinary
manoeuvres, and the DM must decide where to draw the line when
deciding what abilities the caster does get. In your example, a caster
who assumed the form of a giant frog would be able to swim and hop
about, but would not have a frog's all-around vision or full use of
the creature's remarkable tongue. It is reasonable to deny the caster
the ability to make spectacular leaps, as the spell description
specifically limits the caster to "normal" movement. However, a frog's
form is well suited to jumping, and the occasional long hop isn't out
of the ordinary for a frog. The caster could jump, but he probably
wouldn't have the strength or coordination to make very long jumps (a
reduction of one-half or one-third would be about right, 60-90' for a
person polymorphed into a 50 lb giant frog) or to make several leaps
in succession. The caster certainly can belly flop onto opponents;
resolve such attacks using the wrestling table (see the DMG, page 59).
Similarly, a caster who changed into an umber hulk would have a very
limited ability to burrow through solid rock. A caster who took the
form of a phase spider would get the ability to crawl along webs, but
not the ability to shift phase or to spin webs of his own.
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