Yet more rules questions

[Rossi]

Yes, guys, maybe I'm being oblivious, but I got more rules questions. Care to help?
1 - About the NPC quality: Always Ready.
    Do the NPC with this quality can suffer sneak attacks on the surprise rounds? Are they flat-footed until attacked or it is on their initiative count?
2 - Class bonus to defense.
    Is this a named bonus? It is lost when the character is flat-footed?
3 - About the "enlighted skill" from the dwarves racial benefits.
    Can it be used for Spellcasting?
4 - About the "elemental" character trait.
    Elementals don't need to eat, do they need to drink? Either way, can they be affected by potions? Can they be healed by cure wounds spells? And ressurrection?
5 - When designing NPCs, they have a xp value and a threat level. Do you need to multiply their xp value by their threat level to reach his true xp value? (Example: The party defeats a xp 30 group of orcs at threat level 5, do the orcs provide the group only 30xp divided among them or they provide 30x5=150xp?)
6 - The "Veteran" NPC quality.
    How does it really works? Do it increases the threat level for ALL purposes? (XP value, hit points, treasure, action dice...)

Well, thanks!

[Deral]

Yes, guys, maybe I'm being oblivious, but I got more rules questions. Care to help?
1 - About the NPC quality: Always Ready.
    Do the NPC with this quality can suffer sneak attacks on the surprise rounds? Are they flat-footed until attacked or it is on their initiative count?

Yes, an NPC with Always Ready gains no special defense against Sneak Attacks except that in combats with surprise rounds, he's more likely to be flat-footed for a shorter time.

2 - Class bonus to defense.
    Is this a named bonus? It is lost when the character is flat-footed?

No and No, at least as written.

3 - About the "enlighted skill" from the dwarves racial benefits.
    Can it be used for Spellcasting?

The Dwarf racial benefit is just Crafting post-errata, though Unborn have the same choose-a-skill variant. It certainly doesn't say otherwise, I'd wait to hear more on what the intent was with this one.

4 - About the "elemental" character trait.
    Elementals don't need to eat, do they need to drink? Either way, can they be affected by potions? Can they be healed by cure wounds spells? And ressurrection?

This one I'm not as sure about, personally I would say yes to all three of these, but I've heard differently as far as Potions and Resurrection go, so you might want to wait on this one for a more official response. (You can read the Elemental description on pg 226 if you haven't found it)

5 - When designing NPCs, they have a xp value and a threat level. Do you need to multiply their xp value by their threat level to reach his true xp value? (Example: The party defeats a xp 30 group of orcs at threat level 5, do the orcs provide the group only 30xp divided among them or they provide 30x5=150xp?)

You multiply the XP value by the threat level, including any modifiers from Menace, that resulting number (in your example, 150) is given to -each- character, not divided up amongst them, so each party member would receive the full 150xp. (This is on the right side of Pg 342)

6 - The "Veteran" NPC quality.
    How does it really works? Do it increases the threat level for ALL purposes? (XP value, hit points, treasure, action dice...)

As I understand it, it only changes the NPC generation process, treasure rolls, action dice and the end-of-adventure XP reward (Threat Level x XP value) are not effected. Effective Caster Level and the return for all the roman numeral attributes (Attack, Initiative, Defense, etc) and other things that are determined by Threat Level when you're creating the NPC change.

[Crafty_Pat]

Looks like Deral covered a lot of this. On what's left...

3 - About the "enlighted skill" from the dwarves racial benefits.
    Can it be used for Spellcasting?

Technically, the enlightened skill ability could be applied to Spellcasting, yes. It won't do the character any good, however, unless he also has access to the Spellcasting skill through another source, as enlightened skill does not grant that access.

4 - About the "elemental" character trait.
    Elementals don't need to eat, do they need to drink? Either way, can they be affected by potions? Can they be healed by cure wounds spells? And ressurrection?

Types that don't need to eat probably don't need to drink either, though I'd leave that up to the GM and world.

Whether a character/creature can drink (or sniff, or be exposed to, as is the case with potions in your game) is also something I'd leave up to the GM and world, though I'd also be hesitant about cutting any PC off from a regular source of healing without some kind of equal bennie.

I would rule that elementals can be healed with spells, though again, it's wildly dependent on the setting.

Since elementals can't die - they're banished instead - they can't be Resurrected, no.

6 - The "Veteran" NPC quality.
    How does it really works? Do it increases the threat level for ALL purposes? (XP value, hit points, treasure, action dice...)

All but action dice, which are a static pool for the GM rather than by NPC and/or creature.

[Arakor]

3 - About the "enlighted skill" from the dwarves racial benefits.
    Can it be used for Spellcasting?

Technically, the enlightened skill ability could be applied to Spellcasting, yes. It won't do the character any good, however, unless he also has access to the Spellcasting skill through another source, as enlightened skill does not grant that access.

Now, I asked about this some time back because I had a young lady who wanted to play a potential archmage and thus wanted to take the Enlightened Skill for Spellcasting. I got told that it wasn't allowed because the Feat description said "any skill in the Skills chapter" and the Spellcasting skill is in the Magic chapter.

Has this changed?

[aegis]

You mean the Prodigal Skill feat? This one is limited to Chapter 2.

Enlightened Skill on the other hand is an Origin ability and doesn't restrict the skill choice amongst Chapter 2. Now, dwarves don't have Enlightened Skill (any) anymore, but Unborn do!

[Arakor]

You mean the Prodigal Skill feat? This one is limited to Chapter 2.

Enlightened Skill on the other hand is an Origin ability and doesn't restrict the skill choice amongst Chapter 2. Now, dwarves don't have Enlightened Skill (any) anymore, but Unborn do!

Aha ... right, I stand corrected ...

[Crafty_Alex]

3 - About the "enlighted skill" from the dwarves racial benefits.
    Can it be used for Spellcasting?

Technically, the enlightened skill ability could be applied to Spellcasting, yes. It won't do the character any good, however, unless he also has access to the Spellcasting skill through another source, as enlightened skill does not grant that access.

Now, I asked about this some time back because I had a young lady who wanted to play a potential archmage and thus wanted to take the Enlightened Skill for Spellcasting. I got told that it wasn't allowed because the Feat description said "any skill in the Skills chapter" and the Spellcasting skill is in the Magic chapter.

Has this changed?

It's worth noting - the Wizard specialty already has the Enlightened Spellcasting benefit.

[Doublebond]

Since elementals can't die - they're banished instead - they can't be Resurrected, no.

I've been wondering about this. There doesn't seem to be many mechanics associated with banishment. As far as I am aware, banishment only gets mentioned in the context of the death of npcs of a certain type.

What exactly does getting banished mean?

[Crafty_Alex]

Since elementals can't die - they're banished instead - they can't be Resurrected, no.

I've been wondering about this. There doesn't seem to be many mechanics associated with banishment. As far as I am aware, banishment only gets mentioned in the context of the death of npcs of a certain type.

What exactly does getting banished mean?

Per the context, it's like death, but not death. Since we don't have a cosmology (ie banished to another plane of existence), it is not strictly defined. I think you will probably see some spells in Spellbound which might banish creatures.

[Sletchman]

It's worth noting - the Wizard specialty already has the Enlightened Spellcasting benefit.

It does?  I just checked both the Errata and my book and it isn't listed as a benefit in either one of those.

[Antilles]

Alex probably just mixed Practiced Spellcasting and Enlightened Spellcasting...

[Crafty_Pat]

Since elementals can't die - they're banished instead - they can't be Resurrected, no.

I've been wondering about this. There doesn't seem to be many mechanics associated with banishment. As far as I am aware, banishment only gets mentioned in the context of the death of npcs of a certain type.

What exactly does getting banished mean?

Per the context, it's like death, but not death. Since we don't have a cosmology (ie banished to another plane of existence), it is not strictly defined. I think you will probably see some spells in Spellbound which might banish creatures.

I might even allow a caster to use an appropriate summoning spell to bring a banished character back - under certain specific narrative conditions, of course (like knowing the character's true name or using certain rare components or something). Of course, that's only temporary but there's always the Permanency spell and maybe I'll look at some form of elemental/other resurrection in Spellbound as well.

[Mister Andersen]

Hmm, shades of the seminal 90s UK vampire series Ultraviolet

[Sletchman]

Alex probably just mixed Practiced Spellcasting and Enlightened Spellcasting...

That's what I'm guessing - I just wanted to make sure it wasn't changed from one to the other in the second printing and somehow left out of the errata document.  Unfortunately I can't download my second printing till tomorrow [due to bandwidth restrictions].

[Crafty_Pat]

Alex probably just mixed Practiced Spellcasting and Enlightened Spellcasting...

That's what I'm guessing - I just wanted to make sure it wasn't changed from one to the other in the second printing and somehow left out of the errata document.  Unfortunately I can't download my second printing till tomorrow [due to bandwidth restrictions].

The Wizard Specialty does indeed have practiced spellcasting, not enlightened spellcasting.