Patryn of Elvenshae
First Post
Infiniti2000 said:No, I won't say it's flavor text, but I do say that the following sentences clarify it further as to what AC bonuses specifically do not apply.
I don't think it does.
The actual rules text to determine the effect of brilliant energy is:
SRD said:A brilliant energy weapon ignores nonliving matter.
It then provides an example of what that means in game terms:
Armor and shield bonuses to AC (including any enhancement bonuses to that armor) do not count against it because the weapon passes through armor.
This is actually just a continuation of the above rule. Brilliant Energy weapons don't ignore armor and shield bonuses to AC because that's what they do, they [generally] ignore those bonuses because they come from nonliving matter which BE weapons do ignore.
The second sentence is therefore illustrative and not restrictive.
Of course, applying this enhancement as Patryn suggests to thrown weapons or missile weapons causes such weapons to fall through the planet and rest comfortably in the earth's core (gravitational pull and whatnot). Actually, getting your weapon disarmed does that same thing.
No, it doesn't. That would be silly!

SRD said:A brilliant energy weapon has its significant portion transformed into light, although this does not modify the item’s weight.
The "significant portion" of a thrown dagger is the blade, not the handle. The significant portion of an arrow is the arrowhead, not the shaft and fletchings. So, if you were to drop it, the blade might fall into the earth (though, again, it might not if it ended up lying on the grass), but the handle wouldn't.
Which brings us to why this tactic really only works with whips and spiked chains: the significant portion of a whip is the whip's tail, not the handle, and the significant portion of a spiked chain is basically its whole length apart from the handles.
You can then use these weapons to strike through a wall because the significant portion of the weapon is big enough in relation to their reach to make it through a narrow wall. For other weapons, the nonsignificant portion is too big to get the striking surface through most walls - though you could certainly swing a brilliant energy longsword through a rice paper wall.