When that undead drains two of your dexterity, about six different things change on your character sheet. If a cleric restores the ability damage, you must fix all six things, again requiring paperwork. Then if another undead of the same sort hits you for four dexterity damage, you must calculate everything all over again. It's clumsy, it takes too long, and too much of your character is reliant on ability scores to change them willy nilly.
The same goes for the +4 ability boost spells like Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace, et ceteras, especially when they have a duration of one round per level, meaning they can wear off in the middle of a fight or when you are affected by a dispel magic or anti-magic spell. Temporary modifiers aren't the only problem, either.
Having semipermanent ability score boosting items be such an integral part of third edition reduces the uniqueness of each character because the ability scores are the most unique part of a character.
How to fix it? Easy. Replace the ability damage attacks used by undead and poisonous monsters, fix ability boosting spells into more coherent buffs, and replace the ability-boosting magic items with more focused benefits.
Ability Damage Attacks
Most ability damage attacks are intended to allow monsters to slowly reduce players' non-hit point capabilities. Ability damage (and its bastard cousin, level drain) do this, but clumsily and with all the complications of other ability score modifications. To fix this, replace the abilities. My suggestions:
Undead Special Attacks
Undead are perhaps the richest category of monsters in d&d. Their special attacks are intended to scare players and permanently injure them, but level drain attacks are no fun and can derail an entire campaign by setting the players back months of real life time, not to mention affect five or six different things at once (just like ability score damage). Here are some suggested replacements for undead ability damage:
Energy Drain: The target's maximum hit points are permanently lowered by -1, and he suffers a negative level until the next day. Negative levels are a -1 inherent penalty to attack rolls and a -1 inherent penalty to spell DCs. Simple, fast, and permanently inconveniencing, but with none of the fuss.
Life Drain: You inflict an extra amount of damage (usually a convenient number like +5) that you then gain as temporary hit points.
Magic Drain: The target loses one of his spells. The spell is of the lowest level that he still has memorized (or one spell slot, for free casters). 0th level spells not affected by magic drain. The undead gains temporary hit points equal to 5 times the spell level of the drained spell.
Poison Attacks
The poison table in the DMG adds nothing to the game, and makes just as little sense as the poison tables used in first and second edition. With a few unbalanced exceptions, most players do not use poison as an option. I suggest that the rules for poisoning weapons be replaced, and offered guidelines below.
Note that these are all injury poisons, that the duration of all penalties is one day, that penalties of the same sort are not cumulative, that saves negate all damage and effects, and that secondary damage has been eliminated as a general characteristic.
Poison, Cost, Fortitude Save, Effect
Small Centipede Poison, 40 gp, DC 11, -1 alchemical penalty to AC
Greenblood Oil, 80 gp, DC 13, 5 damage
Black Adder Venom, 100 gp, DC 11, +10 damage
Medium Spider Venom, 120 gp, DC 14, -2 alchemical penalty to attack rolls
Large Scorpion Venom, 300 gp, DC 18, -3 alchemical penalty to attack rolls
Giant Wasp Venom, 300 gp, DC 18, -3 alchemical penalty to AC
Purple Worm Poison, 600 gp, DC 24, -2 alchemical penalty to attack rolls
Insanity Paste, 1000 gp, DC 20, -2 alchemical penalty to spell DCs
Deathblade, 1800 gp, DC 20, +15 damage
Wyvern Poison, 2400 gp, DC 17, +20 damage
The idea is that you can spend money on expendable combat bonuses that hinder the target for a day. The prices are fairly round numbers so that it is easy to keep track of how much money one is spending on poison or to do math relating to poisons with different delivery methods, and the price is directly related to how helpful they are.
It is easy to devise additional poisons based on this list. A good rule of thumb for devising cognate poisons with different delivery methods is as follows: contact poison should cost +50% more, ingested poison should cost only 25% as much, and inhaled poisons should cost +100%.
Neutralize poison removes any ongoing effects caused by poison but does not restore lost hit points, and I suggest you replace delay poison with the following spell:
"Delay Poison (1st): You may protect a friendly creature that you touch against the effects of poison until the end of the encounter. Any poison damage or penalties do not occur until the end of the encounter. This spell cannot help against poison penalties caused before this spell is cast. This spell may be cast as a move action."
Poisonous Monsters
Creatures that use poison as part of their natural attacks will cause additional damage or a negative effect that lasts for a day, if the target fails a saving throw. I have suggested alternate effects for several creatures' poisons. The DC against the poison effects remains the same as that listed in the monster's entry.
Monstrous Scorpions: -2 alchemical penalty to attack rolls.
Monstrous Spiders: -2 alchemical penalty to attack rolls.
Monstrous Centipedes: -2 alchemical penalty to AC.
Giant Wasp: -2 alchemical penalty to AC.
Wyvern: +20 damage.
I went through the list in the SRD and these were the monsters that I found with poison attacks. I apologize if I missed any.
Ability-Boosting Spells
I have already discussed fixing clerical buff spells at length, but have not yet provided any kind of replacements for arcane spellcasters that have had their buff spells taken away. Below are a few suggested spell replacements that will please arcane spellcasters who are no longer allowed to memorize ability boosting spells. Note that some of these spells ought to be memorizable by divine casters, as well.
"Protection From Evil (1st): A friendly creature touched enjoys a +2 deflection bonus to his AC and saving throws until the end of the encounter. For the duration, he also immune to possession, charm and compulsion effects, and cannot come into bodily contact with evil summoned creatures (making him immune to their natural attacks). This spell may be cast as a move action."
"Shield (1st): A friendly creature touched gains a +2 shield bonus to AC until the next day."
"Magic Weapon (1st): A weapon held by a friendly creature touched gains a +1 enhancement bonus to attack and damage until the next day. This spell may be cast as a move action."
"Bull's Strength (2nd): A friendly creature touched gains a +3 morale bonus to damage with melee weapons until the end of the encounter. This spell may be cast as a move action."
"Empower Spells (2nd): A friendly creature touched enjoys a +2 morale bonus to his spell DCs until the end of the encounter. This spell may be cast as a move action."
"Enlarge Person (3rd): A friendly medium humanoid touched becomes large sized and increases his natural reach to 10 feet until the end of the encounter. This reach bonus is the only statistical modification caused by this size change, and does not stack with any other reach-enhancing bonuses, though reach weapons may still further modify one's reach."
"Chill Shield (4th): A shield of cold harms creatures that attack you in melee, and protects you from fire attacks. Any creature striking you with natural attacks or non-reach melee weapons suffers 10 cold damage (no save), and you gain fire resistance 20."
"Fire Shield (4th): A shield of fire harms creatures that attack you in melee, and protects you from cold attacks. Any creature striking you with natural attacks or non-reach melee weapons suffers 10 fire damage (no save), and you gain cold resistance 20."
Note that I will discuss alternatives to using attacks of opportunity in a future column, but in an attempt to be somewhat modular about my remedies I have included the enlarge spell as given.
Ability-Boosting Magic Items
Items should be broken up into bonuses to specific characteristics, rather than blanket ability score bonuses. I have suggested items that fulfill this role below, with what I feel to be appropriate pricing.
Amulet of Faith: This item provides an enhancement bonus to the DC of your divine spells.
Price 4,000 gp (+1 DC), 8,000 gp (+2 DC), 16,000 gp (+3 DC), 24,000 gp (+4 bonus), 32,000 gp (+5 bonus).
Belt of Health: This item provides a bonus to maximum hp. If the belt is removed, your maximum and current hp immediately lower themselves by the imparted amount.
Price 4,000 gp (+10 hp), 8,000 gp (+20 hp), 16,000 gp (+40 hp).
Boots of Reflex: This item provides a resistance bonus to Reflex saving throws.
Price 2,000 gp (+1 bonus), 4,000 gp (+2 bonus), 8,000 gp (+3 bonus), 16,000 gp (+4 bonus), 24,000 gp (+5 bonus).
Circlet of Spells: This item allows you to memorize additional arcane spells each day (or make use of additional spell slots if you are a free caster). If you unequip this item, you lose two spells of the appropriate level.
Price, bonus spells
2,000 gp, two extra 1st level spells
4,000 gp, two extra 2nd level spells
8,000 gp, two extra 3rd level spells
16,000 gp, two extra 4th level spells
32,000 gp, two extra 5th level spells
Cloak of Allure: This item provides an enhancement bonus to Charisma-based skill checks.
Price 2,000 gp (+2 bonus), 4,000 gp (+4 bonus), 8,000 gp (+6 bonus), 16,000 gp (+8 bonus), 24,000 gp (+10 bonus).
Gauntlets of Archery: These gloves provide an enhancement bonus to damage dealt with ranged weapons.
Price 4,000 gp (+2 dmg), 8,000 gp (+3 dmg), 16,000 gp (+4 dmg), 24,000 gp (+5 dmg), 32,000 gp (+6 dmg).
Gauntlets of Power: These gloves provide provides an enhancement bonus to damage dealt in melee combat.
Price 4,000 gp (+2 dmg), 8,000 gp (+3 dmg), 16,000 gp (+4 dmg), 24,000 gp (+5 dmg), 32,000 gp (+6 dmg).
Gloves of the Magus: This item provides an enhancement bonus to the DC of your arcane spells.
Price 4,000 gp (+1 DC), 8,000 gp (+2 DC), 16,000 gp (+3 DC), 24,000 gp (+4 bonus), 32,000 gp (+5 bonus).
Greaves of Fortitude: These metal leg-plates provide a resistance bonus to Fortitude saving throws.
Price 2,000 gp (+1 bonus), 4,000 gp (+2 bonus), 8,000 gp (+3 bonus), 16,000 gp (+4 bonus), 24,000 gp (+5 bonus).
Helm of Power: This metal helmet imparts an enhancement bonus to melee attack rolls.
Price 4,000 gp (+1 attack), 8,000 gp (+2 attack), 16,000 gp (+3 attack), 24,000 gp (+4 bonus), 32,000 gp (+5 bonus).
Lens of Aiming: This glass lens imparts an enhancement bonus to ranged attack rolls.
Price 4,000 gp (+1 attack), 8,000 gp (+2 attack), 16,000 gp (+3 attack), 24,000 gp (+4 bonus), 32,000 gp (+5 bonus).
Mitre of Spells: This hat allows you to memorize additional divine spells each day (or make use of additional spell slots if you are a free caster). If you unequip this item, you lose two spells of the appropriate level.
Price, bonus spells
2,000 gp, two extra 1st level spells
4,000 gp, two extra 2nd level spells
8,000 gp, two extra 3rd level spells
16,000 gp, two extra 4th level spells
32,000 gp, two extra 5th level spells
Slippers of Willpower: These slippers provide a resistance bonus to Willpower saving throws.
Price 2,000 gp (+1 bonus), 4,000 gp (+2 bonus), 8,000 gp (+3 bonus), 16,000 gp (+4 bonus), 24,000 gp (+5 bonus).
Next: Doing Attacks of Opportunity Right
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