Reincarnate and its interpretation

[Felnar]

If your claim is that it's impossible -- or even just poor writing -- to have independent clauses that don't directly relate to an earlier sentence in a paragraph -- such as an instruction to remove racial adjustments -- well, you're just plain wrong.

well, i'm about 20 posts late on this, but my point was 'if you're determined to read paragraphs as independent sentences, you should do that across the board and not just in this one spell description'.

 

[Nifft]

I'm with the majority here. Mental ability scores are unchanged.

Thus, reincarnation is grossly unfair to Half-Orcs. But they don't vote, so who cares?

Cheers -- N

 

[Jeff Wilder]

well, i'm about 20 posts late on this, but my point was 'if you're determined to read paragraphs as independent sentences, you should do that across the board and not just in this one spell description'.

That would be foolish, since they're not always written that way, either in the rules or in mainstream writing.

I'm with the majority here. Mental ability scores are unchanged.

Maybe. That's not what the spell says, but it's a fine house rule.

I do, but I believe I'm following the writer's intent because it's what he wrote.

I know you believe that. I find it kind of bemusing, since it's not what was written, and you're usually in favor of RAW, even when doing so creates absurdities. (Or, it sometimes seems, because doing so creates absurdities.) Yet in this case, you're just adding text that isn't there, all willy-nilly! It's crazy talk!

You've been reported.

Awww. Didn't you see the smiley?!

(So, what, like strawberry? Something in the mint family?)

 

[Nifft]

Maybe. That's not what the spell says, but it's a fine house rule.

Actually, that IS what the spell says. According to me.

You're crossing some lines by saying stuff like that.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Jeff Wilder]

Actually, that IS what the spell says. According to me.

Believe me, I know. That's the very crux of the matter: I'm reading reincarnate according to what the text says. Y'all are reading reincarnate according to your wishes as to the what the text says.

Which is fine, of course.

You're crossing some lines by saying stuff like that.

Thanks for letting me know. With any luck I'll still be able to sleep.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

I'm going to agree with everyone else.

Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores depend partly on the new body. First eliminate the subject’s racial adjustments (since it is no longer of his previous race) and then apply the adjustments found below to its remaining ability scores.

Reading those two sentences, the rest of the spell description and looking at the table which shows what the ability modifiers are for various races, it seems pretty clear that mental abilities are not changed. I don't see how you can read it any other way.

 

[Slaved]

Jeff is definately very correct. I do not know why there is anyone even arguing about it with him. They could have added a word to make it work the other way but instead they used a phrase that does not require the first half of the sentence to be dependent on the preceeding sentence.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

I don't see how you can read it any other way.

Which is all too often a very clear indication of being wrong.

Me, I can see how you can read it that way. I'm fine with it if you do. My argument is simply that it's not necessary to do so for the sentence, the paragraph, and the spell to work perfectly fine. Therefore, deciding to impute text from the first sentence to the second sentence is simply deciding to change the RAW.

 

[Elethiomel]

Me, I can see how you can read it that way. I'm fine with it if you do. My argument is simply that it's not necessary to do so for the sentence, the paragraph, and the spell to work perfectly fine. Therefore, deciding to impute text from the first sentence to the second sentence is simply deciding to change the RAW.

I disagree because reading the second sentence as dependent on the first is in keeping with the rules for the English language. It is therefore a valid way to read the paragraph without changing anything at all.

 

[Rel]

People, I can see that we're well into "agree to disagree" territory here. If you want to continue to disagree, that's fine but it will be conducted without the snarky insults and passive agression. So there's no ambiguity in the Rule here:

"Anybody who chooses to insult anybody else for the balance of this thread will be banned for a week. The physical stats (Str, Dex and Con) of that individual will remain unchanged. Whether there will be any change in mental stats (Int, Wis and Cha) is up to the banned individual."