TEXT: Oriental Adventures FAQ 
  1 
  4/4/03 
  Oriental Adventures 
  Frequently Asked Questions 
  Last Updated 4/4/03 
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  Oriental Adventures FAQ 
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  Is there a limit on the number of times per round or per 
  day that the Falling Star Strike feat can be used? For 
  example, my monk uses a flurry of blows against a 
  humanoid opponent and makes three attacks. Could I 
  force three saves against blindness if all three of my 
  attacks were hits? Do I still cause normal damage on a hit 
  as well? (I notice that you deal no damage when you use 
  the Freezing the Lifeblood feat.) 
   You can use Falling Star Strike once a round, and each use 
  expends one of your day’s allotment of stunning attacks. 
  Unlike Freezing the Lifeblood, a hit with Falling Star Strike 
  deals damage. 
   
   If a character with the sneak attack ability and the 
  Iaijutsu Focus skill enters into a duel and wins the 
  Iaijutsu Focus check, does the damage from Iaijutsu 
  Focus stack with the sneak attack damage? 
   Yes, the bonus damage stacks. Note that in an iaijutsu 
  duel, the character who loses initiative in the strike phase is 
  flat-footed, even though that character took an action in the 
  stance phase (see page 82 in the Oriental Adventures book). 
  The flat-footed character is subject to sneak attack damage as 
  well as Iaijutsu Focus damage. 
   
   Does the Improved Grapple feat allow you the 
  opportunity for additional damage on an attack? In other 
  words, if I first strike with an unarmed attack for 1d8 
  points of damage and then get a grapple check as a free 
  action, can I then deal another 1d8 points of damage if I 
  win the grapple check? Can I start a pin? What about 
  multiple attacks? For example, if I make three melee 
  attacks, could I potentially strike with the first blow for 
  1d8, win a grapple for 1d8 damage, strike with the next 
  blow for 1d8, win another grapple for 1d8, and then 
  strike with the last blow for 1d8 and win the grapple for a 
  pin? If I won the last grapple check could I instead choose 
  to end the grapple? 
   The Improved Grapple feat does not allow you to cause 
  damage when you initially establish a grapple using the feat. 
  The benefit of the feat is that you don’t take an attack of 
  opportunity for initiating a grapple, and you can choose to 
  use the feat any time you hit for damage with an unarmed 
  strike. The Improved Grapple feat is not meant to allow you 
  to deal damage twice with one attack. 
   When using the Improved Grapple feat, you automatically 
  grab an opponent after hitting for damage, and then you 
  attempt to establish a hold with a grapple check. You do not 
  deal damage with this grapple check, but once you have 
  established a hold, any further grapple checks you make can 
  deal damage. 
   Pinning works the same way as damage. You must first 
  have a hold on your opponent before you can make a grapple 
  check to pin. 
   When you have multiple attacks and you establish a hold, 
  you can either continue grappling or continue striking. If you 
  choose the latter, any additional hold you might establish 
  through the Improved Grapple feat has no effect. If you 
  choose the former, you can progress through the normal 
  grappling sequence (hold to damage or hold to pin). Note that 
  once you pin your foe, there’s no point in making any further 
  grapple checks unless you want to deal damage through 
  grappling. 
   The example character could strike once, dealing 1d8 
  points of damage, and then establish a hold with the same 
  attack. The character’s next attack could be a normal strike, 
  or it could be a grapple check. If the latter, a success could 
  damage the opponent or establish a pin. The third and final 
  attack could be a normal strike, it could establish a pin (if a 
  pin had not been established earlier), or it could be another 
  grapple check that deals damage. If you win a grapple check, 
  you can end the grapple. 
   
   The Oriental Adventures book has a list of the shugenja 
  schools and the spells belonging to each school, starting 
  on page 91. I can find no such list for the Isawa school. 
  Can an Isawa shugenja choose another shugenja’s 
  school? Is there an Isawa school spell list somewhere else? 
   Shugenjas of the Isawa school can specialize in any of the 
  four elements, as mentioned on page 27 and page 222. 
  (Shugenjas of the Phoenix clan’s Agasha school specialize in 
  fire and use the school spell list on page 91.) An Isawa 
  shugenja can choose any spell of her favored element from 
  the shugenja spell list as her school spell at each level. She 
  cannot choose spells that appear on other school’s spell lists 
  but not on the shugenja spell list (such as fireball, soul bind, 
  or horse’s nose). 
   
   All the hengeyokai in the Oriental Adventures book 
  have animal forms that are size Small or smaller. Can a 
  hengeyokai assume a larger size? Can they assume 
  different animal forms? 
   No, a hengeyokai’s animal form and the animal form’s size 
  is fixed, as is its hybrid form. 
   
   A hengeyokai in hybrid form has hands (at least after a 
  fashion). What happens when a crane or sparrow 
  hengeyokai assumes a hybrid form? Can they still fly if 
  their wings become pairs of hands? Can they fly as if they 
  had the fly spell cast upon them? Do they add an extra 
  pair of limbs to use while still retaining the use of their 
  wings? What size can the hybrid form be? 
   A crane or sparrow hengeyokai in hybrid form has “hands” 
  at the ends of its wings. They can fly at speed 20 (average 
  maneuverability). When flying, the hengeyokai cannot hold a 
  buckler or shield in either hand and can hold only light 
  weapons or objects weighing 6 pounds or less. 
   All the hengeyokai listed in the Oriental Adventures book 
  have Medium-size hybrid forms. 
   
   If a hengeyokai character were to reach one of the 
  levels where an ability score can be increased and were to 
  add that increase to one of his physical ability scores, 
  would the ability score increase also affect his physical 
  score in his animal form? For example, a dog hengeyokai 
  character advances to 3rd level during a campaign and 
  gains an effective character level of 4. He decides to put 
  the ability score increase into his Constitution. In his 
  human form his Constitution score goes up by 1, while in 
  his hybrid form it goes up by 3 (one for the ability score 
  increase and two for the +2 Constitution bonus his 
  subrace receives). But when the character is in animal 
  form, does he have a Constitution score of 15 (the value 
  
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  listed on page 12 of the Oriental Adventures book) or does 
  the increase boost it up now to a 16 whenever he is in his 
  animal form? How do the ability score increases affect a 
  hengeyokai in all three forms? 
   First, the character has to have 4 class levels to get the 
  ability boost, not 3. The ECL affects the XP you need to earn 
  your next level, but it does not increase your actual character 
  level. (You do get a bonus feat for reaching level 3, though.) 
  The example hengeyokai can change form 4 times per day (1 
  + his character level of 3).  
   The physical ability scores for an animal form are fixed—
  you get the same ability scores no matter what yours are. 
  These scores are shown on Table 1–3 of Oriental Adventures. 
   On the other hand, apply hybrid form ability modifiers to 
  the character’s current ability scores, whatever they might 
  happen to be at the time the character assumes the form. 
   A hengeyokai in human form uses his normal ability 
  scores. 
   
   Is it possible for my nezumi character to swing his 
  sword and also make a bite attack if he uses the full 
  attack action? If so, what would the attack modifiers be? 
   A nezumi can make one natural unarmed attack once per 
  round. This attack can be a bite or a claw attack. An unarmed 
  nezumi can’t make two claw attacks and a bite attack with a 
  full-attack action nor a single claw attack and a bite attack. A 
  nezumi could, however, make a normal unarmed attack (as a 
  monk, for instance) and then make an additional bite or claw 
  attack with a full-attack action. 
   If your nezumi character is using a weapon but has one 
  free hand, he could use a single bite or claw attack as a 
  natural secondary attack. The character’s weapon attack 
  would be unaffected, and the bite or claw would take a –5 
  penalty (or –2 if the character had the Multiattack feat). Also, 
  the nezumi could wield a weapon two-handed or carry a 
  weapon and a shield and make a bite attack as a natural 
  secondary attack. The lizardfolk from the Monster Manual 
  fights in this manner.  
   
   The dastana and chahar-aina each have an armor 
  check penalty of 1. What armor check penalties do 
  masterwork versions of these items have? What armor 
  check penalty would mithral versions of these items have? 
   The armor check penalty for any item of masterwork armor 
  is lessened by 1. (See page 113 in the Player’s Handbook.) A 
  masterwork dastana or chahar-aina has an armor check 
  penalty of 0. 
   Mithral lessens armor check penalties by 3. (See page 243 
  in the DUNGEON MASTER’s Guide.) The minimum armor 
  check penalty is 0. The reduction for mithral and for 
  masterwork stacks.  
   
   Elven chainmail is very light. Can a player combine a 
  dastana and chahar-aina with elven chainmail? 
   No. You can use dastana or chahar-aina (or both) only over 
  padded, leather, or chain shirt armor. (See page 75 in the 
  Oriental Adventures book.) 
   
   If you use a dastana or chahar-aina that has an 
  enhancement bonus, does that bonus stack with or 
  replace any enhancement bonuses the foundation armor 
  might have? If you’re also using a magic shield, how does 
  using a dastana or chahar-aina affect that?  
  What 
  happens if the armor and the dastana or chahar-aina 
  both have additional special properties? 
   When you add a dastana or chahar-aina, you get either the 
  enhancement bonus of the added piece or the enhancement 
  bonus of the foundation armor (not a shield), whichever is 
  bigger; if you add both a dastana or chahar-aina, you use the 
  biggest enhancement bonus of the three. 
   A magic shield’s enhancement bonus still stacks with 
  whatever enhancement bonus you’re using for the armor 
  you’re wearing on your body. 
   No matter which enhancement bonus you use for the armor 
  you’re wearing on your body, you get the benefit of any 
  special armor qualities any of the items you’re using have, 
  except that similar qualities don’t stack. For example, you 
  wear a +3 chain shirt of light fortification, a +2 dastana of 
  spell resistance (13), a +1 chahar-aina of spell resistance 
  (17), and a +1 shield of heavy fortification. Your panoply of 
  armor has a total enhancement bonus of +4 (+3 from the 
  chain shirt and +1 from the shield), and you benefit from the 
  heavy fortification and spell resistance (17) qualities of the 
  shield and the chahar-aina. 
   
   Say a monk has two tonfas and has 2 unarmed attacks 
  per round. Would the second tonfa give a third attack if 
  the monk had the Ambidexterity and Two-Weapon 
  Fighting feats? Or would that extra tonfa be included in 
  the base unarmed attacks of 2 per round? 
   A tonfa is a martial arts weapon, so a monk using one can 
  attack at his unarmed rate. A second tonfa doesn’t add any 
  extra attacks, but the monk can use a flurry of blows if armed 
  with two martial arts weapons (see page 39 of the Player’s 
  Handbook) making the extra attack from the flurry with the 
  second weapon. 
   
   Suppose I’m a multiclass shugenja/wu jen. Does my 
  shugenja’s element focus bonus to spell saving throw DCs 
  stack with my wu jen’s elemental mastery bonus? 
   No. You keep your spell lists and daily spells separate 
  when you’re a multiclass spellcaster. Apply the shugenja’s 
  element focus bonus only to the spells the character casts as a 
  shugenja. Apply the wu jen’s elemental mastery bonus only 
  to the spells the character casts as a wu jen. 
   
   If I’m a multiclass shugenja/wu jen, do the limitations 
  for my shugenja class extend to my wu jen class? For 
  example, I’m a Unicorn shugenja who specializes in 
  water, so I cannot cast shugenja fire spells. Can I learn 
  melt as a wu jen? 
   As noted in the previous question, the character’s two 
  spellcasting classes are completely separate. The shugenja’s 
  elemental limits don’t extend to other spellcasting classes the 
  shugenja might have. 
   
   Can a wizard learn wu jen spells? I understand that a 
  wizard cannot simply choose wu jen spells to learn for 
  free at a new level, but if a wizard found a scroll of snake 
  darts written by a wu jen, could that wizard copy it into 
  her spellbook? Could she cast it from the scroll? The 
  scroll descriptions in the DUNGEON MASTER’s Guide 
  simply refer to arcane spells.  
   A wizard can learn any spell that’s on the sorcerer/wizard 
  
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  list. A wizard cannot learn any spell that is not on the 
  sorcerer/wizard list. Note that there are a few exceptions to 
  both of these statements hiding in the rules here and there; for 
  example, specialist wizards are barred from learning spells 
  from their opposition schools and some prestige classes give 
  wizards access to a few spells that aren’t on the 
  sorcerer/wizard list. In any case, snake darts is not a 
  sorcerer/wizard spell, so a wizard cannot learn it. 
   You cannot use a scroll unless the spell is the correct type 
  (arcane or divine) and the spell is on your class list. (See page 
  203 in the DUNGEON MASTER’s Guide, where a few more 
  limits to scroll use are explained.) Snake darts is not a 
  sorcerer/wizard spell, so a wizard cannot cast it from a scroll. 
   Note that sorcerer characters can use either the 
  sorcerer/wizard spell list from the Player’s Handbook or the 
  wu jen spell list from the Oriental Adventures book, not both. 
  A sorcerer who uses wu jen spells can read any wu jen spell 
  from a scroll (subject to the limits noted on page 203 of the 
  DUNGEON MASTER’s Guide), but cannot use scrolls from the 
  sorcerer/wizard list in the Player’s Handbook. 
   
   The description of the water to poison spell specifically 
  says the poison DC is tied to the caster’s Intelligence, even 
  though a maho-tsukai (who casts spells according to his 
  taint score) casts it. Should all stat-related DCs 
  throughout the Oriental Adventures book use the caster’s 
  relevant ability score? 
   In general, a spell’s saving throw DC depends on the 
  relevant ability for the caster’s class. However, if a spell 
  description specifically says what ability to use (for example 
  kiss of the toad specifies Intelligence), use that score instead. 
  On the other hand, a maho-tsukai always uses taint instead of 
  the relevant ability score, even when a spell description 
  specifies an ability. 
   
   I have started building a sorcerer/eunuch warlock, level 
  11/7. It seems that the extra spell level he gains as a 5th-
  level eunuch warlock is useless, because he should be able 
  to cast 6th-level spells, but as an 11th-level sorcerer he 
  doesn’t know any. What happens? Do I have to lose the 
  extra slot? 
   If you’re a sorcerer, bard, or a member of another class that 
  works with a personal repertoire of spells, you get one spell 
  known (if you need it) when you reach 5th or 10th level. Note 
  that you still can’t cast the spell unless you also put one of 
  your bonus spells there or unless you have an ability score 
  high enough to get a bonus spell of that level. 
   
   If a 10th-level weapon master is surrounded by, say, a 
  bunch of low-level thugs, is it possible to use the ki 
  whirlwind ability in conjunction with an iaijutsu attack if 
  they’re flat-footed? 
   If you can draw the weapon during the same round you 
  make the ki whirlwind attack, yes. 
   
   A katana is defined in the Oriental Adventures book as a 
  masterwork bastard sword. Would a Medium-size 
  character with Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bastard 
  sword) be able to wield a katana one-handed? Would a 
  Medium-size character with Exotic Weapon Proficiency 
  (katana) be able to wield a bastard sword one-handed? 
   Yes to both questions. Note that a katana is described as a 
  masterwork bastard sword in both the DUNGEON MASTER’s 
  Guide and the Oriental Adventures book. Exotic Weapon 
  Proficiency (katana) is just another name for Exotic Weapon 
  Proficiency (bastard sword), and vice versa.  
   
   The description of the shugenja says that shugenjas 
  don’t use spellbooks, but rather use ofuda scrolls as 
  divine focuses for their spells. Does this apply only to 
  spells that require material components or to all shugenja 
  spells regardless of listed components?  
   It applies to all shugenja spells. 
   
   Table 6–2 in the Oriental Adventures book seems a bit 
  messed up. There are feats listed under the martial arts 
  styles that don’t match the written text. For example, 
  Roundabout Kick is listed in Empty Hand style, but not 
  in the Empty Hand text on the same page. Ki Shout is 
  listed in its place. 
   Table 6–2 and the text that accompanies it are both correct. 
  Some players perceive inconsistencies. For example, 
  Roundabout Kick is part of the Empty Hand style, but it is 
  not a requirement for Empty Hand Mastery (you don’t have 
  to know all the feats in a style to master it). You do, however, 
  have to meet all the listed mastery requirements before you 
  actually master the style. 
   
   Can you use the Karmic Strike feat when fighting 
  defensively? Can you use Karmic Strike when using the 
  total defense option? 
   Yes. It’s not a very good option, but you can do it. 
   Note that you decide whether Karmic Strike is “on” or 
  “off” during your turn, and the –2 armor penalty and ability 
  to make attacks of opportunity against foes who hit you 
  remain until your next turn. Also note that any attacks of 
  opportunity you make via this feat count against your number 
  of attacks of opportunity you are allowed—you won’t get a 
  lot of attacks from the feat unless you also have Combat 
  Reflexes and a decent Dexterity score. 
   You could likewise choose to fight defensively when it’s 
  your turn, and the +2 dodge bonus to Armor Class and the –4 
  attack penalty apply until your next turn. Thus, the attack 
  penalty applies to any attacks of opportunity you might make 
  by virtue of Karmic Strike. 
   You also can use Karmic Strike when you’re using the 
  total defense option. Since total defense doesn’t carry an 
  attack penalty, any attacks of opportunity you might make as 
  a result of using Karmic Strike are unaffected. On the other 
  hand, the +4 dodge bonus to Armor Class might well limit 
  the number of foes who hit you and, thus, the number of 
  attacks of opportunity you’ll make. 
   
   The Oriental Adventures book describes a new way of 
  using the Sense Motive skill: You can estimate an 
  opponent’s level. Can anyone do that at any moment? 
  Does it take 1 round or more? 
   Attempting to assess an opponent’s level is a standard 
  action. Anyone can try, even characters with no ranks in 
  Sense Motive. 
   
   I have a friend who is playing a fighter/iaijutsu master, 
  and our group can’t agree what abilities he gets outside of 
  iaijutsu duels. The skill description seems to say you can 
  
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  only use it during iaijutsu duels, but the iaijutsu master 
  class description makes it seem like you gain many 
  abilities that can be used outside of the duels. Can you 
  explain which abilities can be used only in duels and 
  which can be used outside of duels? 
   In an iaijutsu duel, your Iaijutsu Focus check doubles as 
  your initiative roll, and you gain extra damage according to 
  your check as shown on page 59 of the Oriental Adventures 
  book. 
   Outside of an iaijutsu duel, you can make a check against a 
  flat-footed opponent and deal extra damage. You can also 
  make a check and deal extra damage to objects. (As noted 
  previously, neither your normal damage nor your extra 
  damage from Iaijutsu Focus is halved when you attack an 
  object, despite what it says on page 59 of the Oriental 
  Adventures book). 
   
   The material for the tattooed monk prestige class in 
  Oriental Adventures includes descriptions of several 
  tattoos the character can choose. Many of these 
  descriptions say something like: “Once per day per tattoo 
  he possesses, the tattooed monk . . .” What is “per tattoo 
  he possesses” supposed to mean? Do you count up all the 
  tattoos the monk has? Does the monk have to choose the 
  same tattoo more than once to get extra uses of that tattoo 
  each day? For example, let’s say a character has three 
  levels of tattooed monk, and therefore two tattoos. One is 
  the bamboo tattoo and one is the bat tattoo. Can the 
  tattooed monk gain an enhancement bonus to his 
  Constitution score (from the bamboo tattoo) once or twice 
  a day? Does this also hold true when the descriptions talk 
  about adding the number of tattoos? For example, how 
  big can the character’s enhancement bonus to his 
  Constitution be? 
   The phrases “once per day per tattoo he possesses” and 
  “add the number of tattoos” both refer to the number of 
  tattoos the character has gained as a tattooed monk. The 
  example character can boost his Constitution score by 2 
  points twice a day (because the character has two tattoos, 
  including the bamboo tattoo). The character also can boost 
  his Dexterity score by 2 points twice a day (courtesy of his 
  bat tattoo). 
   
  
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