How do we know that is a sphere of annihilation?

[Question]

Why?

 

[Len]

Why?

I can't believe you're actually wondering about it, with that description. What else do you need, a sign saying "Hey Suckers, Stick Unwanted Body Parts In Here!"

Anyway, if you think it's a portal only big enough for your hand, what happens? Your hand is transported to another plane, I suppose, instead of being annihilated. How is that different, from your arm's point of view?

 

[Arkhandus]

The umbral blot for 3E is in the Epic Level Handbook, and the SRD's epic rules section. Note the CR of 30-something. When you face an umbral blot, you're either going to be epic-level or your DM is just out to get you and wants to make absolutely certain he gets a Total Party Kill.

Edited away the rest because I hate anything devolving into arguments. :\

 

[Infiniti2000]

You beat it by playing 3.0 instead of stupid 3.5 rules...

Aren't you amusing! Any more words of wisdom? I inadvertantly stopped reading after seeing this little gem.

 

[Arkhandus]

Edited away because I hate anything devolving into arguments. :\

 

[Brother MacLaren]

Could you beat an Umbral Blot by Shapechanging into various dragon forms and using breath weapons? Those would circumvent SR, and even with energy resistance 30 some would still get through.

Because force effects are just cheap.

 

[werk]

3.5 just created more problems than it fixed. I can point to Complete Arcane, Complete Divine, and Expanded Psionics Handbook as being pretty serious offenders. About the only thing less broken about 3.5 is that there's so many munchkin additions and changes, that everybody can play a different kind of munchkin PC and the DM will still have munchkin NPC concepts left to spare for use as villains. Then of course it's all about winning initiative, to determine which side (PCs or NPCs) gets obliterated first in combat. 3.5 rewards powergaming more than 3.0 did, which leads to less-munchkin or less-experienced players feeling useless in the party. And frustrates DMs sometimes when PCs pull cheesy combos that the DMs didn't anticipate or know the potency of. Much less likely in my experience with 3.0 (but I'm certainly not saying 3.0 didn't have a few broken pieces in many of its books; it did; MotW especially never struck me as having any real, rational thought put into it).

And besides, plenty of 3.5 changes came about without any real need or purpose at all, just there to make it feel like more of a significant revision, needlessly confusing matters for many DMs and players who had used 3.0 before.

First off, this is your opinion, it is in no way fact, despite your presentation as such.

Second, this is all very (purposefully) vague. Could you provide some specific examples to illustrate your point? Edit: specifically with regard to "Complete Arcane, Complete Divine, and Expanded Psionics Handbook as being pretty serious offenders."

My experience is that 3.5e is more balanced than 3.0, which quickly became a run-away train in the campaigns I played before 3.5.

 

[Arkhandus]

Edited away because I hate anything devolving into arguments. :\

 

[werk]

I have neither the time nor the inclination to...

Exactly, but you do have time to spout vague defamations...at length.
I'll not be visiting the wizard's site as I have not had much fun doing so in the past.

I have a lot of arguments, but you'd just tell me that they are without merit and that I'm wrong, so I'll leave it at that.

Sorry mods <sits back down/shuts up> Sorry to the OP for the derail.

"He’s mad as heck, and he’s not gonna take it anymore!"

 

[Arkhandus]

Yeesh, I don't know where in the Nine Hells of Baator people get the impression that I'm some hot-headed punk. I hardly ever put up any kind of argument, and I don't toss around insults or just outright ignore/dismiss other folks' arguments. I don't mean to inflame, but I'm very resolute about the things I dislike; I NEVER just irrationally form an opinion of anything without significant observation or study to base my opinion on. I've got better things to do with my free time than argue or rant about my 3.5 loathing, but I will occasionally mention it. I'll edit out all my comments earlier in this thread because I don't like stupid threadjacks, and because I don't like people throwing around base accusations and assuming everyone else to just be ignorant fools. But sure as heck do a LOT of people go around responding as if that were the case any time someone else states an opinion.

*sighs and once again abandons the D&D Rules forum, as if there's ever any point in delurking there anyway*