Tricking the Willing...

[Lord Pendragon]

There is no handy reference like a PH for the fighter to reference before he goes to bed to try to learn all this stuff.

There is. It's called the tavern. Seriously, in a world where this stuff is real, I don't think it's implausible to say that the fighters of the world have generally figured out what the wizards are capable of.

 

[The Iron Mark]

There is, indeed, a distinction.

Nevertheless, we also find in the entry for Evasion: "As with a reflex save for any creature, a character must have room to move in order to use evasion."

If you're paralyzed, it doesn't matter how much room you have... it's not 'room to move'...

-Hyp.

Page 17 of the 3.5 FAQ says otherwise...: If you're helpless, your Dexterity score is effectively 0. You still can make Reflex saves, but your Dexterity modifier is -5. You're helpless whenever you are paralyzed, unconscious, or asleep.

 

[snarfoogle]

Edit to add:It takes, whAt?, a few hours to familiarize yourself with the PH and know what spells a wizard can cast. You think a fighter, whose life depends on knowing such things, wouldn't have taken a few hours to know what wizards and clerics are capable of?

That means the Fighter gets a Knowledge: Arcana check, and if he fails, he gets no/penalized saving throw.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Page 17 of the 3.5 FAQ says otherwise...

... for as much as that's worth

-Hyp.

 

[Kodam]

Hi!

I wouldn`t allow the Fighter a save. If he did get his save despite the wizards rouse, what was the point for the wizard to pull it in the first place? The wizard would have known beforehand that he won't get anything from it.

And how exactly does the Fighter know, that this particular "wizard" can`t cast Zone of Truth? A Fighter does know that he has to expect "all kinds of tricks" from a wizard, but he does not know what a wizard can`t do. As it was mentioned he could have levels in appropriate classes to cast the spell. But thats not even necessary: the wizard could blow some XP and cast it via Limited Wish. Its unlikely but possible.

Kodam

 

[Aubri_]

I think we're overthinking this. Someone who makes their save against a mind-effecting spell senses a "hostile force", so presumably one can discern the effect of a spell before it takes hold; for example, if it's a fireball, he would certainly have time to reflex--just as if the wizard were hostile and casting some unknown spell. In the case of a will-based spell, I think the mind would automatically revolt against compulsion. It wouldn't be any different from, say, a seductress casting a silent/still dominate spell.

 

[The Iron Mark]

... for as much as that's worth

-Hyp.

True . Just thought I should point it out... Not like we do it like that in our game *rollseyes*.