What can protect PCs from Blasphemy with incredibly high CL?

[Nifft]

Holy Sword? Unholy Aura?

Holy sword... hmm. By your reasoning, I think the +5 enhancement bonus to damage means it damages anyone somewhat, even if the Holy portion doesn't apply. So I don't think you can count that.

(Un)holy Aura is spot on though.

How about Holy Smite? That line of spells lists different damage & effects for neutral vs. opposed alignments.

Along similar lines, the Half-Orc's Orc Blood feature states "... and they can use magic items that are only usable by orcs". Does the fact that there aren't any magic items that are only usable by orcs in the core rules mean that half-orcs can't use magic items that are only usable by orcs?

Well, yes. If a thing does not exist, it cannot be used. Or am I misunderstanding your question?

Cheers, -- N

 

[Corsair]

That no longer works in 3.5. half fiend now has an int requirement to apply the template.

And yet DDM gives us a Half-Fiend T-Rex. Not sure if it printed in a book anywhere. But just because his example doesn't fit the RAW doesn't mean its not an issue. Slap it on a very old or ancient white dragon for instance. Or how about a 24 HD Elder elemental? That'll be CR 14. 10 level difference, party dies.

 

[Nifft]

And yet DDM gives us a Half-Fiend T-Rex.

Mine just say "fiendish".

Cheers, -- N

 

[Hypersmurf]

Well, yes. If a thing does not exist, it cannot be used. Or am I misunderstanding your question?

I mean the ability exists in the core, even though no items exist in the core to make use of it. But non-core items exist that are usable only by orcs.

Does the half-orc's Orc Blood feature allow him to use non-core magic items usable only by orcs? Or does the fact that there are no core magic items usable only by orcs mean that that aspect of the Orc Blood feature was meaningless when written, and therefore doesn't apply even once such items are introduced?

-Hyp.

 

[Nifft]

I mean the ability exists in the core, even though no items exist in the core to make use of it. But non-core items exist that are usable only by orcs.

Does the half-orc's Orc Blood feature allow him to use non-core magic items usable only by orcs? Or does the fact that there are no core magic items usable only by orcs mean that that aspect of the Orc Blood feature was meaningless when written, and therefore doesn't apply even once such items are introduced?

Let's not get side-tracked.

This question is more interesting:

How about Holy Smite? That line of spells lists different damage & effects for neutral vs. opposed alignments.

I'll add a new question, too: a [Good] summoned monster ordered to only attack [Evil] people.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Hypersmurf]

How about Holy Smite? That line of spells lists different damage & effects for neutral vs. opposed alignments.

And it's where we come to the interpretation issue.

Should someone with Aligned Planar Mastery be immune to a Corrupted Fireball, or Death Knell, or Contagion, simply because the spell has an [Evil] descriptor? Creatures who are actually evil aren't immune to those spells.

... hmm. You know, I think I'm actually basing my argument on the wrong clause. "spells and abilities that harm those of the opposite alignment don’t affect you" is what's giving the problem, but the next sentence isn't as ambiguous: You have the dominant alignment of the plane with regard to magic.

So if 'the plane' is evil, then with regard to magic, you're evil... and so Blasphemy doesn't consider you non-evil, and you're safe. Corrupted Fireball and Summoned Monsters, on the other hand, don't care what your alignment is with regard to magic.

My next question is how the mechanics of Aligned Planar Mastery work. Do you choose a plane at the time you gain the ability? Do you choose a plane at any time during your turn? Can you choose a plane during someone else's turn? Can you mimic multiple planes simultaneously?

If the Demon casts Blasphemy, and then my buddy the cleric casts Holy Smite, can I avoid the effects of both by mimicking an evil plane and then a good plane, even if my turn doesn't fall in between? What if I'm stunned or unconscious - can I still switch?

It almost feels as though the intention of Aligned Planar Mastery is similar to Weightless Planar Mastery - unlike most of them, Weightless specifies that the speed bonus only applies on the weightless planes. It feels like Aligned Planar Mastery is supposed to draw its definition from the plane you're currently occupying, which removes all the issues.

-Hyp.

 

[Nifft]

It almost feels as though the intention of Aligned Planar Mastery is similar to Weightless Planar Mastery - unlike most of them, Weightless specifies that the speed bonus only applies on the weightless planes. It feels like Aligned Planar Mastery is supposed to draw its definition from the plane you're currently occupying, which removes all the issues.

If any of my players were to want to take Horizon Walker at all, I'll probably do something along this line of thinking.

Here's my current house rule idea:

Aligned Planar Mastery: If you are on a plane with an alignment trait, you may choose to be considered of that alignment instead of your own when resolving spells and other effects which depend on alignment.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Bad Paper]

Basicaly the 3.5 upgrade turned Ashardalon's Blasphemy SLA from a wasted action into an instant TPK.

As the DM of a party that will knock on the Bastion's front door next week, I cannot help but giggle.

Note that Blasphemy's range is a mere 40', and Colossal creatures occupy much of that real estate. I think a one-round TPK is nigh impossible, and I like the get-too-close-and-it's-instant-death-for-you mechanic. And do not forget that peculiar Deus ex Machina that exists in the Bastion. I would say more, but the party's cleric is READING THIS POST.

At any rate, since I had Rourmed of Deep Horizon use Blasphemy against them to devastating effect, my party is especially wary of anyone they suspect might be able to produce that effect. I think the last time I managed to get a hezrou within striking distance was because everything was blanketed in obscuring mist.

And in response to Shin Okada's OP, the answer is for the party to make sure the blasphemer never gets an action.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

C'mon. Look at the context.

When did he give a specific CR, from which Kat' could derive that he was throwing something +7 CR over the party's level?

-- N

The OP mentioned the example of +10 HD over the party, a fiend (ie, tasty outsider HD), and access to Blasphemy as a spell-like. CR of 7 over the party sounds like a good rough estimate to me, perhaps even modest. Granted, i don't much know (or care) about the later, heavily, excrutiatingly broken Monster Manuals, but the should NOT be such a fiend that's anywhere near the party's appropriate CR. If there is...well, DM's have the wonderful power to ignore obviously poor additions to the game.

As for tricks, I'll add two.

1) Win intitiative and SLAM that fiend with Enervations, quickened Enervations, Split Ray-ed Enervations... Lower effective caster level enough, and that Blasphemy's useless. Note: This is a fairly effective strategy against most foes in general, unless it's like vermin where they get HD ~= 3x CR or so.

2) Debatable, but Bard's inspire greatness = +2 effective HD, at least IMHO. Could make the difference...

 

[Hypersmurf]

2) Debatable, but Bard's inspire greatness = +2 effective HD, at least IMHO. Could make the difference...

I don't think there's any debate on this one: "The bonus Hit Dice count as regular Hit Dice for determining the effect of spells that are Hit Dice dependant."

-Hyp.