New FAQ contradicts itself?

[kjenks]

There are at least two more internal contradictions:

Page 9: "The touch attack made to start a grapple is an attack roll (so the bonus would apply to this roll), but a grapple check is not an attack roll, and thus the bonus wouldn’t apply to the grapple check."

Page 27: "If the grab succeeds, Bob is still prone and still suffers the –4 penalty for being prone for the ensuing opposed grapple check."

Okay, so if a grapple check is not an attack roll, why would Bob get the -4 on page 27?

===

Page 28: "Hardness applies to acid and sonic attacks." ...and... "Hardness applies to force attacks."

Page 39: "Acid, sonic, and force attacks ignore hardness. Hardness applies to cold, electricity, and fire attacks."

 

[Mordane76]

FAQ making me... angry...

FAQ not like me when I'm angry... grrrkkk....


ARRRGHHH!!! MORDANE SMASH FAQ!!!


Aren't the above basically undoing all the good done by the "Rules of the Game" columns on Wizards? Maybe the guys doing those columns should be writing AND editing AND RE-editing the FAQ?

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

It is self-contradictory. The real kicker is that this is a correction of an entry from the last FAQ. The first sentence is new and has reversed the conclusion of the previous FAQ, but the examples are still the same. Someone cut/pasted, but didn't cut all the relevant material.

Ok, I don't need new glasses.

Most of the text is pretty explicit, so I assume they mean

"When you use shapechange (or related magic) to assume
another creature’s form, your Hit Dice are considered to be the
same as the creature's normal Hit Dice."

 

[RigaMortus]

Maybe I just have low reading comprehension skills or something, but the way I read it...

I understand it as saying that when you shapechange, you keep your normal HD (in terms of hit points) but for abilities of the creature you turn into, you apply the creature's HD.

 

[JimAde]

Maybe I just have low reading comprehension skills or something, but the way I read it...

I understand it as saying that when you shapechange, you keep your normal HD (in terms of hit points) but for abilities of the creature you turn into, you apply the creature's HD.

I agree that's probably what was intended. But that's not what the text says.

That's how I'll run it.

 

[Qaballa]

Not sure it is contradictory, I think it says use your own HD for your own spells / abilities and how other creatures affect you and use the creatures HD to determine how effective any abilities gained from the assumed form are.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

I agree that that's probably the best interpretation of what it says, but I don't think it's what Andy wrote.

You and Jimade should write the FAQ. You managed to state the principle clearly and consisely without contradicting yourselves.

Not sure it is contradictory, I think it says use your own HD for your own spells / abilities and how other creatures affect you and use the creatures HD to determine how effective any abilities gained from the assumed form are.

 

[Kerrick]

Here's a good one (p 10-11):

Can a character with Spring Attack who begins her turn hidden move up to a foe, attack him, then return to a position of hiding? Is she considered to be hiding (that is,
invisible to the foe) when she makes the attack? What if the character has the camouflage or hide in plain sight class features?
...
Even if the character has Spring Attack and moves away after the attack, she can’t make
a Hide check to hide after the attack. Put all three of these elements together—such as in the hands of a high-level sneaky ranger—and here’s what you get:

1. The character begins his turn hidden (as long as he’s in natural terrain, he doesn’t even need cover or concealment).

2. He moves up to a foe across natural terrain and makes an attack (making a Hide check with a –20 penalty to be considered hiding when he attacks).

3. He then moves back from the foe and makes a new Hide check to disappear from view (again, he doesn’t need cover or concealment while in natural terrain).

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but number 3 seems to contradict the first part of that answer. (And that's one of the new questions...)