Headband of Intellect - Extra Spells for wizards

[just__al]

Headband of Intellect mimics fox cunning and doesn't give you any bonus spells. Why? Logic dictates it. If you are wearing the headband and say got these bonus spells, then when you take it off they disappear again, right? Wrong!

For example, a wizard wearing the headband prepares 4 3rd level spells, cast them all, he now takes off the head and gives it to the second wizard in the group. Now the first wizard has -1 3rd level spells? Does that mean he prepare one less spell the next day? Of course not!

And I just opened up my 3.0 DMG (we are playing 3.0)

The 12 level sample Wizard has a headband of intellect +2 which brings his INT to 20. But he still only has bonus spells in keeping with an 18 INT. Pairing that with the fact that fox's cunning clearly states that it doesn't grant bonus spells, I can rule NO BONUS SPELLS.

 

[AGGEMAM]

And I just opened up my 3.0 DMG (we are playing 3.0)

Always a good idea.

 

[just__al]

Always a good idea.

Hey I had been looking...

I checked the description of the item in the DMG. I checked the FAQ on the WOTC site. I didn't think to check the description of Fox's cunning because the prereq's for the item don't include that spell (though I suspect that might have changed for 3.5)

I figured since I was still coming up dry, I'd hit up the rules gurus...

 

[AGGEMAM]

I didn't think to check the description of Fox's cunning because the prereq's for the item don't include that spell (though I suspect that might have changed for 3.5)

You are correct in assuming that it is indeed a prereq for the headband in 3E5.

 

[Pielorinho]

The way we've always played it:
1) Mental-stat-increasing item does increase bonus spells. This is an unambiguous rules-call: since the item increases your stat, and stat increases increase your bonus spells, the item increases your bonus spells. If the stat-enhancement wants to act differently from normal stat enhancements, it must say so. (For example, the stat-increasing spells DO act differently, so they DO say so). No listed exception under the item's description=no exception to the normal rules.

2) If you've prepared bonus spells due to the item's influence, and then you lose the item's power for awhile (e.g., a druid with an amulet of wisdom wildshapes into a creature that can't wear an amulet), for every bonus spell gained, you temporarily lose one spell of the appropriate level, randomly determined. Include spells already cast in this random determination.

3) If you regain the item's benefit later in the day, you regain acess to those bonus spells.

Points #2 and #3 are pretty ambiguous rules-calls, but they work for us. Point #1, however, is unambiguous: ruling that stat-enhancing items don't grant bonus spells is contradictory to the rules, and isn't a particularly fun houserule, IMO.

Daniel

 

[AGGEMAM]

ruling that stat-enhancing items don't grant bonus spells is contradictory to the rules,

I'm sorry but you're wrong about that. Check the DMG examples of characters, all the spell casting characters have ability enhancing item that should give bonus spells if you assumption was correct. However it is not as you can see if you do the math.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

The 12 level sample Wizard has a headband of intellect +2 which brings his INT to 20. But he still only has bonus spells in keeping with an 18 INT. Pairing that with the fact that fox's cunning clearly states that it doesn't grant bonus spells, I can rule NO BONUS SPELLS.

Interesting. You're right in the 3.0 DMG.

In the 3.5 DMG (page 126), the 12th level wizard with the +2 headband of intellect definitely gets a bonus 5th level spell (that he wouldn't otherwise have with his 18 Int).

If you like that sort of thing, here's the answer I got when I emailed the Sage with the same question:

<< Do ability enhancing items (ie, headband of intellect, cloak of charisma, or periapt of wisdom) grant bonus spells to the appropriate spellcaster? The spells these items are based on would seem to prohibit it, but the only thing specifically addressed in the item decriptions are skill points. >>

Yes, you get bonus spells if you have these items provided that you wear the items while resting to regain spells and all through your initial daily preparation (even characters who don't prepare spells need a little time and the beginning of the day to meditate and prime their daily spell allocation).

If you lose the item, you immediately lose the bonus spell slots the item granted you, starting with any uncast spells you have of the appropriate levels.

 

[AGGEMAM]

In the 3.5 DMG (page 126), the 12th level wizard with the +2 headband of intellect definitely gets a bonus 5th level spell (that he wouldn't otherwise have with his 18 Int).

Interesting rules change.

The fact that the headband now has fox cunning as a prereq then seems a little misplaced.

 

[Zad]

The Sage huh. Guess that answers that.

 

[Pielorinho]

I'm sorry but you're wrong about that. Check the DMG examples of characters, all the spell casting characters have ability enhancing item that should give bonus spells if you assumption was correct. However it is not as you can see if you do the math.

1) Stated rules trump examples. The rules as stated have agreed with me since 3.0, and if they got it wrong in an example, that's an error in the example.
2) The example agrees with me in 3.5.
3) Items often don't work in the same fashion as their spell prerequisites. For example, check out the original spell prerequisites for the Headband of Intellect . You CANNOT figure out how a magic item works by looking at its prereqs -- the two are only tangentially related. Rely ONLY on the rules in the item's description (and that description's interaction with other rules, natch) to figure out the answers to such questions.

The sage's answer on how to handle temporary loss of bonus spells is interesting. IMO, it unduly inconveniences druids above other casters, since druids would lose their bonus spells whenever they wildshape; if you're okay with that in your game, though, that's fine.

Daniel