divine shield feat in 3.5 question

jumpydady · Post by **jumpydady** » Sat Jan 09, 2010 7:10 pm

hi there here is a question: I have a multiclass monk cleric and i didnt want to lose the monks ac ability so i choosed an unarmored cleric, instead and one of the items i used was the ring of force shield, i think it doesnt hinder the monks ability with it on, so the problem is can i use the shield of faith ability in the ring of force shield and will it neutralize the monks abilities?why?

thanks for your time

ps: oh and is there a druid or cleric spell that grant us immunity to crit attacks and sneak attacks like greater fortification ability oh and one last question does the druid animal companion grows its size by hit dice advancement ? thx again XD

Siberys · Post by **Siberys** » Sun Jan 10, 2010 12:43 am

You lose the AC bonus because it creates a wall of force that acts as a heavy shield, and the description doesn't say anything about allowing a monk to use it.

It may be weightless, but it's still solid in a sense, and the whole reason monks can't use armor or shields is because they use their body, and the shield is not part of the body.

Now, a ring of protection will work, as will a pair of bracers of armor, because they are providing just the bonus, not a full fledge creation of a shield or armor.

oh and is there a druid or cleric spell that grant us immunity to crit attacks and sneak attacks like greater fortification ability

Iron body grants critical hit immunity but there's not really anything beyond that.

one last question does the druid animal companion grows its size by hit dice advancement ?

Yes, up to the maximum size listed in the monster entry.

jumpydady · Post by **jumpydady** » Sun Jan 10, 2010 5:28 am

ok thx

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Sun Jan 10, 2010 6:08 am

No, Druid Animal Companions don't grow by HD advancement. The table in the Druid entry just add HD (and other benefits), but those aren't monster advancement HD, just HD from being a Druid's Animal Companion. (See [url="http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20070206a"]here[/url].)

Shapechange (9th lvl) lets you turn into creatures that are immune to criticals.
When the four Heart of XYZ spells from Complete Mage are active, you're immune to extra damage from Criticals & Sneak Attack. (They last hour/lvl, so it's quite easy to do.)
Druid Wildshape, while not a spell, can turn you into an Elemental later on, which are immune to criticals.

If you're talking about the Divine Shield feat (in your title), yes, that one stacks with a Monk's AC. The ring however, does not.

BTW, I assume you know of the Sacred Fist PrC?

jumpydady · Post by **jumpydady** » Sun Jan 10, 2010 9:50 am

GawainBS wrote:No, Druid Animal Companions don't grow by HD advancement. The table in the Druid entry just add HD (and other benefits), but those aren't monster advancement HD, just HD from being a Druid's Animal Companion. (See [url="http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20070206a"]here[/url].)

Shapechange (9th lvl) lets you turn into creatures that are immune to criticals.
When the four Heart of XYZ spells from Complete Mage are active, you're immune to extra damage from Criticals & Sneak Attack. (They last hour/lvl, so it's quite easy to do.)
Druid Wildshape, while not a spell, can turn you into an Elemental later on, which are immune to criticals.

If you're talking about the Divine Shield feat (in your title), yes, that one stacks with a Monk's AC. The ring however, does not.

BTW, I assume you know of the Sacred Fist PrC?

yaya from complete divine and thx for the info

Siberys · Post by **Siberys** » Sun Jan 10, 2010 4:03 pm

@Gawain-

Bonus HD: Extra eight-sided (d8) Hit Dice, each of which gains a Constitution modifier, as normal. Remember that extra Hit Dice improve the animal companion's base attack and base save bonuses. An animal companion's base attack bonus is the same as that of a druid of a level equal to the animal's HD. An animal companion has good Fortitude and Reflex saves (treat it as a character whose level equals the animal's HD). An animal companion gains additional skill points and feats for bonus HD as normal for advancing a monster's Hit Dice (see the Monster Manual).

Nowhere does it say that it doesn't advance in size and it implies that all other rules for advancing an animals HD are the same as normal.

Plus, with the errata that Animal Companions are just animals and not magical beasts, this further emphasizes that the rules stay the same.

I will say that it's a semantics argument, and you might want to consult your DM about it, Jumpydady.

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Sun Jan 10, 2010 4:10 pm

Siberys wrote:@Gawain-

Nowhere does it say that it doesn't advance in size and it implies that all other rules for advancing an animals HD are the same as normal.

Plus, with the errata that Animal Companions are just animals and not magical beasts, this further emphasizes that the rules stay the same.

I will say that it's a semantics argument, and you might want to consult your DM about it, Jumpydady.

Did you miss [url="http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20070206a"]the link[/url] where Wizards of the Coast themselves say Druid Animal Companion HD specificly NOT allow growing? Besides, what would you do when an Animal gets more Druid HD than it can get according to the MM? Wolves cap at 6HD, for instance.

jumpydady · Post by **jumpydady** » Sun Jan 10, 2010 6:00 pm

hmm i see so it seems that it wont grow, a pity but still ok for me, thx for the info both of u guys

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Mon Jan 11, 2010 6:20 am

Just something to keep in mind: Druids are already extremely powerful, so there isn't really a need to make them even more powerful via their Animal Companion...

jumpydady · Post by **jumpydady** » Mon Jan 11, 2010 1:17 pm

u know wat I like? is the combine druid cleric gestal character

Siberys · Post by **Siberys** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 2:34 pm

GawainBS wrote:Did you miss [url="http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20070206a"]the link[/url] where Wizards of the Coast themselves say Druid Animal Companion HD specificly NOT allow growing? Besides, what would you do when an Animal gets more Druid HD than it can get according to the MM? Wolves cap at 6HD, for instance.

Fair enough, although it is an errata to the rules, it is not an official errata and is therefore still at DM's discretion.

Nowhere is it in the downloadable errata or the book itself.

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 2:37 pm

It's on the official site of the publisher of the game, written by one the game's main designers, in the column "Rules of the Game". It gives it quite some weight, I think.
In the end, everything is the DM's final say, of course...

Siberys · Post by **Siberys** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 2:41 pm

GawainBS wrote:It's on the official site of the publisher of the game, written by one the game's main designers, in the column "Rules of the Game". It gives it quite some weight, I think.
In the end, everything is the DM's final say, of course...

The only reason I say it's DM's discretion like that is because that's one of the reasons I've always believed the Druid to be so powerful is because of the animal companions that increase in size (among their other myriad of awesomness powers)

jumpydady · Post by **jumpydady** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 5:11 pm

no he is powerful alone even without his pet, with his pet he became one of the top most powerful classes