D&D 4E Official Unofficial 4E Rules FAQ

[wedgeski]

I have just two (unhelpful) things to say; first, that

Dwarves have the racial ability to make a saving throw to avoid being rendered prone by an attack. If a dwarf is rendered unconscious by an attack, does she get to make the saving throw to avoid going prone?

is hilarious, and second, please sticky this thread!

 

[FadedC]

I would agree with Agamon that staffs and quarterstaffs are two different things. As a DM, I would allow a wizard to use their staff as a quarterstaff, but they would not need both hands on it to gain the benefits of the implement keyword. I think the person answering your question just went off of your "a staff is a 2h weapon" comment (which, as I said, may not be strictly accurate).

Actually the PHB specifically states that a wizard's staff implement also counts as a quarterstaff for weapon use.

 

[DonAdam]

[PHB page 91] Lay on Hands: Can a paladin use the power on himself?

[sblock]No he cannot use it on himself.[/sblock]

Surely this is not correct. The target is "one creature," not "one ally."

Anyway, here are my questions. They are less about ambiguities in the rules and more about me hoping that the spirit diverged from the letter of the rules:

Shape the Dream (Wizard of the Spiral Tower Utility 12) says that the attack which triggers it does occur, "as if the creature that attacked you chose to do nothing with its action." Two questions regarding this: is the attacker's (non-at will) power expended in this case? If the attack is an area effect, does it simply negate the whole effect?

[sblock]The creature's power is not expended, so it can use it at a later time. If its an area effect, the entire effect is negated.[/sblock]

The Corellon's Implement ability says to "choose an implement you specialize in." What about the case of a character with the Arcane Initiate Feat, who does not specialize in any implements? Can they still use a longsword as an implement (albeit without the mastery ability) and thus benefit from its enhancement bonus? Or do they simply not get the ability?

[sblock]The initiate would simply not get the ability. You must specialize for this to work.[/sblock]


Similarly, can a character with the Warrior of the Wild feat take any of the Ranger paragon paths? They all require a particular fighting style. Would the appropriate feat (Toughness for two-weapon style, Defensive Mobility for ranged) suffice to meet the requirement?

[sblock]You can not take a Ranger paragon path unless you are a ranger, even if you have Warrior of the Wild.[/sblock]

 

[Otterscrubber]

Awesome thread, please sticky. Has anyone asked about whether someone who cross classes into cleric can use healing word twice in one encounter despite the wording stating it is 1/day?

 

[Lurker37]

We've also had WoTC employees saying paladins CAN use Lay on Hand on themselves.

 

[Nikosandros]

We've also had WoTC employees saying paladins CAN use Lay on Hand on themselves.

Apart form the target line in the power description, everything else strongly points to the fact that the paladin can't heal himself.

It seems reasonable that is should read Target: One ally.

 

[Underage AOLer]

Actually the PHB specifically states that a wizard's staff implement also counts as a quarterstaff for weapon use.

Well, there I go again, trying to interpret the rules when I know I should just stick to cataloging them...

A few questions for you folks:
Obviously the first post is going to quickly get out of hand, any ideas on how to organize it and have it look unintimidating and pretty?

Would you prefer I stick with the questions and answers exactly as asked or rewritten as to the intent of the question (for more concise reading, etc.)?

Does anyone know who answers these questions in customer service? Is it some employee whose entire job is to know the rules and figure out answers? or are they answered by whoever knows the rules? What I mean is: how definitive can we say these answers are?

Keep up the good question asking, lots of great stuff here.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Would you prefer I stick with the questions and answers exactly as asked or rewritten as to the intent of the question (for more concise reading, etc.)?

I'd like to see them exactly as written, because there's no danger of "translation errors" that way.

Does anyone know who answers these questions in customer service? Is it some employee whose entire job is to know the rules and figure out answers? or are they answered by whoever knows the rules? What I mean is: how definitive can we say these answers are?

This is a very good question because I'm pretty sure that, were the actual designers involved, we'd see some different answers. I don't think we can say that they're terribly definitive given that LoH example which I believe has been specifically contradicted by known WotC employees (without them noting they were using a "house rule" or the like). I also dislike the lack of justification/citing, which makes it hard to figure out why they're saying something is one way or another (i.e. are they reading the rules carefully and figuring it out, do they have a list, do they send the questions off to some designer or a forum for the designers, or are they just making it up as they go along?).

Nikos - I'm pretty sure it says in the PHB quite specifically that anything that specifies "an Ally" includes you. So I'd love to know how they're justifying Paladins not being able to LoH themselves.

 

[Nikosandros]

Nikos - I'm pretty sure it says in the PHB quite specifically that anything that specifies "an Ally" includes you. So I'd love to know how they're justifying Paladins not being able to LoH themselves.

because the whole text (with the exception of the target line) is written in such a way that it very strongly implies that the power can't be used by the paladin on himself. Furthermore, the Healing Hands feat only mentions allies.

BTW, allies exclude the "casting" character. The issue is that Lay on Hands has "one creature" on the target line.

 

[Journeymanmage]

because the whole text (with the exception of the target line) is written in such a way that it very strongly implies that the power can't be used by the paladin on himself. Furthermore, the Healing Hands feat only mentions allies.

BTW, allies exclude the "casting" character. The issue is that Lay on Hands has "one creature" on the target line.

Do we have a page number that states "caster is not part of" allies/friends/group or such?


(If you can't be your own friend, then I guess you can't "be your own worst enemy")