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5 years ago ::
Sep 12, 2008 - 2:55PM
#311
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Date Joined:
Jun 23, 2005
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Subject
Do all Kobolds have Darkvision?
Discussion Thread
Response (Support Agent) 09/12/2008 02:00 PM
Hello John,
There is no official answer on this. As for my own opinion, I don't think it's an error. Very few races get darkvision, and I feel that this was probably an intentional change.
Like I said though, that's my thought on the subject. You or your DM is welcome to rule whichever you'd like on this one.
Thanks, and Good Gaming!
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Customer (John S) 09/12/2008 01:46 PM
Hi Josh,
Thanks for your reply. I'd like to ask my question in a sligltly different way:
Is the vision entry for Kobold racial traits on pg 278 of the Monster Manual a misprint? If there is not an "official" answer to this question, please give me your opinion.
Again, Thanks,
John
Response (Support Agent) 09/12/2008 01:16 PM
Hi John,
There are in fact a lot of differences between the monster's listed in the back of the Monster Manual and the entries in the earlier part of the book. The Racial Traits section was included to help DM's have an idea of the sorts of things a monster PC might have, and to allow players to play those races if their DM's allowed.
Currently there's no information in the books about whether all kobolds have darkvision, or just the few varieties listed in the Monster Manual. If you would like your Kobold NPC's or PC's to have them, feel free to make it available.
Hope that helps a bit!
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Josh
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Customer (John S) 09/12/2008 11:59 AM
I wish to use the rules for racial traits (MM276-279) to create a kobold, for use as either a PC or NPC. I note that while all monster Kobolds listed in the MM have darkvision (MM167-169), the racial traits for Kobolds (MM278) do not include darkvision.
Kobolds are the only race with this discrepancy - all other race's vision type for the monster entry matches the vision for the racial traits. This includes Drow, who also have darkvision. This leads me to think that the racial traits are in err - that all kobolds have darkvision, but I'd like an official answer.
So - do kobolds have darkvision?
Thanks,
John
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Page Number: 167-169, 278
Book Name: Monster Manual
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5 years ago ::
Sep 12, 2008 - 4:11PM
#312
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Date Joined:
Jun 30, 2006
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FWIW, the designers have said that monsters don't necessarily have a set bunch of "racial traits". If they want to make a bugbear who doesn't have predatory eye, they can do that without feeling like they're violating the "bugbear racial class" or whatever. In fact, I think they have made a bugbear who doesn't have predatory eye but I could be wrong.
Anyway, my point is that there could very well be kobolds who don't have darkvision because there is no rule anywhere that says "all kobolds have darkvision." They leave that decision up to the DM.
Yes, it's the only one that doesn't match but that doesn't automatically mean it's an error.
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5 years ago ::
Sep 12, 2008 - 6:05PM
#313
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Date Joined:
Jun 23, 2005
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I agree that it is not necessarily an error - this is why I asked
That said, the racial traits tend to be the common denominator of the abilities of a monster type - if every monster of a type has an ability, the racial traits tend to include it. In the specific case of vision traits, the only race with two vision types (Dragonborn, with a feat to gain low light), the MM entry has all having "normal" vision. It seems strange to me that, if darkvision is a "feat" for Kobolds, they all have it - all 13+ of them.
So I think it is likely an oversight. Likely, but not necessarily.
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5 years ago ::
Sep 12, 2008 - 7:25PM
#314
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Date Joined:
Jun 30, 2006
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I agree that it is not necessarily an error - this is why I asked
That said, the racial traits tend to be the common denominator of the abilities of a monster type - if every monster of a type has an ability, the racial traits tend to include it. In the specific case of vision traits, the only race with two vision types (Dragonborn, with a feat to gain low light), the MM entry has all having "normal" vision. It seems strange to me that, if darkvision is a "feat" for Kobolds, they all have it - all 13+ of them.
So I think it is likely an oversight. Likely, but not necessarily.
Which is fine. I was simply pointing out that the designers have said that just because monsters of a particular race have a certain thing doesn't mean that they all have to ... I wish I could remember where they said that (I don't know if it's in the DMG or one of the preview books or in a Dragon article or what).
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5 years ago ::
Sep 14, 2008 - 8:54AM
#315
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Couple of questions on sustain.
Using Crown of Madness Warlock spell as an example.
1) Does the spell have to hit in order to be able to sustain the power? Does it matter that the spell still does damage on a miss?
2) You don't sustain a power till the round after you cast it (according to page 278). So in this case the warlock has to wait till his next turn to force the monster to attack. Does the monster this spell is cast on get a save vs the sustain power at the end of its very next turn, before warlock has had a chance to sustain it? Since he hasn't sustained it, is there anything to save against?
Using Hunger of Hardar Warlock Spell an an example
3) The zone in this spell goes away at the end of your next turn. The sustain lets you make an attack to creatures in the zone. So the attack power can only be used once in the round after you cast it, because the zone is gone after that? Or does the zone stay? And if it stays does it still block line of sight and/or do its base 2d10 damage?
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Page Number: 134
Book Name: PHB
Response (Support Agent) 08/27/2008 05:54 PM
Steve,
Hello.
1. Yes, the spell has to hit in order for you to sustain it.
2. Yes, the monster gets a chance to save against it on its next turn. So, you cast it, then the monster goes, he tries to save. If he does, the effect ends. If he doesn't, then your next turn you must sustain it.
3. If you sustain the spell, then you sustain the 'zone' too. If it stays, it does everything it did originally.
Evan T.
Customer Service Representative
Wizards of the Coast
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5 years ago ::
Sep 14, 2008 - 8:55AM
#316
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Shadow walk states that if you move at least 3 squares away from
where you started your turn, you gain concealment. Are we to interpret that it is the distance from the starting point to the destination that the 3 squares are measured, not taking into account the path taken? So if the warlock had to walk around a wall or other object (making the distance traveled more than 3) or could have taken a longer path than 3 to get to the final space, if the distance is less than 3 by direct measurement (even if it passes through an object), the warlock does not gain concealment?
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Page Number: 131
Book Name: PHB
Response (Support Agent) 07/20/2008 02:37 PM
Greetings Steve,
You must be 3 squares AWAY from the square in which you started your turn. If you end your turn only two squares away from where you started you will not gain concealment with Shadow Walk.
Charles
Customer Service Representative
Wizards of the Coast
1-800-324-6496 (US and Canada)
425-204-8069 (From all other countries)
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5 years ago ::
Sep 14, 2008 - 8:57AM
#317
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Sleep (wizard spell) puts targets to sleep. Undead say they do not need to sleep. Does the spell work on any target even if it does not need to sleep?
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Page Number: 160
Book Name: Players Handbook
Steve,
Yes, the Sleep power will work on all targets, even if they do not need to sleep.
Cody
Customer Service Representative
Wizards of the Coast
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5 years ago ::
Sep 15, 2008 - 6:33PM
#318
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- Forum Guide
- Survived Order 66
- Rules Lawyer from Hell
- Keeper of the F.A.Q.
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Why do there seem to be three seperate set of rules for cover, line of effect, and line of sight when only one "determining" rule could probably cover all three situations? Please look at the diagram I have attached for the next few questions. Attached Diagram
Show
In the second and third diagram (superior cover and cover), are the "questionably blocked paths" blocked by the corners or not? For determining line of sight and line of effect, these paths "touch" the obstruction, so as far as I can tell they DO block the paths. Is this the case? It seems ludicrous that if something cannot be seen because it is out of line of sight that it does not also have cover. Looking at the wording of the cover rules, the phrase "A line isn't blocked if it runs along the edge of an obstacle or an enemy's square", just seems untrue as is clearly shown in the diagram, Out of Sight. Also, if two people are having a melee fight with a wall corner in between them, do they have cover? Why or why not? What if they were using ranged attacks? Maybe the rules should have read, "A line IS blocked if it runs along the edge of an obstacle or an enemy's square", which tallies up a bit more sensibly with the LOS/LOE ruling about touching paths. Please forward this to your superiors. I believe it is something that not only needs more clarification, but should be made more consistent in the rules as well. (Try and add the cover rules from page 43 of the Dungeon Master's Guide to the equation and you have a consistency nightmare where corners are concerned!) ******************** Page Number: PH 273, 280, 281; DMG 43 Book Name: Player's Handbook
Juddson,
First let me apologize for not addressing all of the questions in your email, many of the questions that you have asked us are about why something is the way that it is. Wizards of the Coast customer service does not address these types of questions, we are here to help you understand how to play the game, not explain how the game was made or why.
In your first and second example the monster is in line of sight but he does have cover against the attack. In situations like these your Dungeon Master may choose to say the monster is our of sight or that it has superior cover but that will be up to the Dungeon Master of the game.
In the third and fourth example the creature does not have cover because none of the lines are blocked, of course like before your Dungeon Master has the final say.
Other than that have sent your feedback about the rules on to our development team. While we cannot guarantee a response to your feedback, we can promise that your comment will be heard.
Please let me know if you need anymore help!
We would appreciate your feedback on the service we are providing you. Please click here to fill out a short questionnaire.
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Chuck
Customer Service Representative
Wizards of the Coast
1-800-324-6496 (US and Canada)
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Monday-Friday 9am-6pm PST / 12pm-9pm EST
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5 years ago ::
Sep 17, 2008 - 5:53PM
#319
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Date Joined:
Jun 26, 2008
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Customer service didn't give me a very helpful answer to any of my questions. 
Last I heard from CS, Dirty Fighting (and the pit fighter's other class feature Extra Damage Action) adds its damage bonus to all weapon damage (powers with the weapon keyword), even if it's not a damage roll. Thus, Reaping Strike gets the bonus on a miss, and Cleave gets the bonus even on the damage done to the adjacent target.
So, why not Hammer Rhythm or Scimitar Dance? The only kink in the process is the last sentence in both feats' wording:
Hammer Rhythm, PHB page 203:
"If you miss with a melee attack with a hammer or a mace and you wouldn’t otherwise still deal damage on the miss, you deal damage to your original target equal to your Constitution modifier. This damage receives no modifiers or other benefits you normally gain to weapon damage."
Does the last sentence there include the bonuses like that of Pit Fighter, or is it just reminder text that you don't get to add your strength modifier, weapon focus, etc? I'm not sure what the intent of the sentence was, and a build idea I'm pursuing hinges on the concept. 
So, does a pit fighter deal Con mod + Wis mod damage on a miss with Hammer Rhythm?
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Page Number: 203, 205, 87
Book Name: PHB
Update to question:
Hey there. Some more related questions:
Question 2:
Imagine a warlord multiclassed and took Pit Fighter, and reached level 16. If he then used Commander’s Strike (page 145 PHB), would he add his wisdom modifier to the attacking ally's damage? The way the feat is worded seems like it could allow this, but I suspect it was not intended to get the dirty fighting bonus.
Question 3:
A rogue multiclasses and takes pit fighter, then reaches level 16. He then uses Riposte Strike (page 118) and adds his wisdom modifier to the damage as normal. However, the target attacks him during its next turn, so he gets his riposte attack in. Does he add his wisdom modifier to the damage done with the riposte attack?
Question 4:
A level 16 fighter with Pit Fighter uses Unyielding Avalanche (page 82). When an enemy starts its turn adjacent to him, the fighter deals 1W damage to it. Does he add his Dirty Fighting bonus to this damage?
Thank you!
This email is to inform you that we have received your incident and have escalated it for further review. A representative should be contacting you concerning your incident in 24-48 hours or less. We apologize for this delay and appreciate your patience while we work to resolve this.
There isn’t an official answer for the situation you describe. I’ve passed along comment on this ability to the game’s developers and they are reviewing it. Hopefully, we’ll see an update or FAQ entry covering it soon, but until then it’s up to the campaign’s Dungeon Master to decide. The DM is always the final arbiter on how they want their campaign to run.
Have fun!
Please let me know if you need anymore help!
We would appreciate your feedback on the service we are providing you. Please click here to fill out a short questionnaire.
To login to your account, or update your question please click here.
Chuck
Customer Service Representative
Wizards of the Coast
1-800-324-6496 (US and Canada)
425-204-8069 (From all other countries)
Monday-Friday 9am-6pm PST / 12pm-9pm EST
You would think they could answer even one of the 4 questions. I'm posting a followup to ask about the extra 3 I added an hour after initially posing the question, just in case they didn't notice those.
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5 years ago ::
Sep 18, 2008 - 10:30AM
#320
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Date Joined:
Jun 26, 2008
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...aaand the update was useless too. Apparently Dirty Fighting has reached their list of taboo subjects they won't even touch right now.  Or maybe Chuck is just a jerk. Sometimes who answers your question makes all the difference.  I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt since usually they're all pretty helpful (to me), and the devs might have actually told them to retreat from Dirty Fighting questions until some issues are worked out. It's too bad. I love Dirty Fighting.
Erm... Do you mean there's no official answer to the original question about hammer rhythm and scimitar dance, or to all 4 of my questions (the other 3 I posted as an update to the question since they were heavily related)?
The Dirty Fighter class feature is being looked at, it is not specific as how it should be used.
Please let me know if you need anymore help!
We would appreciate your feedback on the service we are providing you. Please click here to fill out a short questionnaire.
To login to your account, or update your question please click here.
Chuck
Customer Service Representative
Wizards of the Coast
1-800-324-6496 (US and Canada)
425-204-8069 (From all other countries)
Monday-Friday 9am-6pm PST / 12pm-9pm EST
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