I have a creature which can jump into the ethereal plane and back into the material at will. It has telepathy and can control things that are charmed by it. The standard wording of the ethereal ability is:
...enters the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, or vice versa. It is visible on the Material Plane while it is in the Border Ethereal, and vice versa, yet it can't affect or be affected by anything on the other plane.
Does using telepathy from the ethereal to control a creature it has charmed in the material, count as affecting? I mean, I know it probably is, but I really don't want to have to change the wording to allow it.
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"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
If the creature's telepathy doesn't say it works across planes, it's not going to work between the Ethereal plane and the plane it overlaps. Any game effect that works across planes says so explicitly.
I'll agree with InquisitiveCoder. To paraphrase JC, when a feature says "can't affect anything", it really means it. :p
So, yes. If you want your creature to be able to communicate (and control) telepathically from the Border Ethereal, you need to explicitly mention it.
I'd suggest you give options at defeating it beyond a very specific spell or three (Etherealness, Plane Shift, etc), though. Perhaps while it's doing so it's also susceptible to Force and/or Psychic damage?
I'll agree with InquisitiveCoder. To paraphrase JC, when a feature says "can't affect anything", it really means it. :p
So, yes. If you want your creature to be able to communicate (and control) telepathically from the Border Ethereal, you need to explicitly mention it.
I'd suggest you give options at defeating it beyond a very specific spell or three (Etherealness, Plane Shift, etc), though. Perhaps while it's doing so it's also susceptible to Force and/or Psychic damage?
Yeah, it just makes things very awkward, especially for the wording of it all. I think I'll have to rethink several of the abilities.
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"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
Sometimes doing something like what exists, but not exactly what exists, helps a lot. It may sound like you're reinventing the wheel (and you will be missing out on established interactions of mechanics), but sometimes you only need something specific.
For example: "until then, the Garfablar is intangible and immune to all damage except force and psychic". No mention of Ethereal. So, not invisible, can't be caught by ghosts or other Ethereal denizens, etcetc. :p You just allow it to control people with telepathy (and similarly you allow for clever approaches to deal with it). You can go as detailed or vague on things like "intangible" as you want, too - rules baggage aren't the most elegant way to handle a problem, but that elegance isn't always necessary.
This would solve everything, even if a little clunky.
Etherealness. The <insert monster name here> enters the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, or vice versa. It is visible on the Material Plane while it is in the Border Ethereal, and vice versa, yet it can only affect, or be affected by, <insert effect here> on the other plane.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
Wouldn't altering the telepathy so it works from other planes as long as the target is in sight (either due to scrying or ethereal vision) work as well?
I have a creature which can jump into the ethereal plane and back into the material at will. It has telepathy and can control things that are charmed by it. The standard wording of the ethereal ability is:
Does using telepathy from the ethereal to control a creature it has charmed in the material, count as affecting? I mean, I know it probably is, but I really don't want to have to change the wording to allow it.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
― Oscar Wilde.
If the creature's telepathy doesn't say it works across planes, it's not going to work between the Ethereal plane and the plane it overlaps. Any game effect that works across planes says so explicitly.
I'll agree with InquisitiveCoder. To paraphrase JC, when a feature says "can't affect anything", it really means it. :p
So, yes. If you want your creature to be able to communicate (and control) telepathically from the Border Ethereal, you need to explicitly mention it.
I'd suggest you give options at defeating it beyond a very specific spell or three (Etherealness, Plane Shift, etc), though. Perhaps while it's doing so it's also susceptible to Force and/or Psychic damage?
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
― Oscar Wilde.
Sometimes doing something like what exists, but not exactly what exists, helps a lot. It may sound like you're reinventing the wheel (and you will be missing out on established interactions of mechanics), but sometimes you only need something specific.
For example: "until then, the Garfablar is intangible and immune to all damage except force and psychic". No mention of Ethereal. So, not invisible, can't be caught by ghosts or other Ethereal denizens, etcetc. :p You just allow it to control people with telepathy (and similarly you allow for clever approaches to deal with it). You can go as detailed or vague on things like "intangible" as you want, too - rules baggage aren't the most elegant way to handle a problem, but that elegance isn't always necessary.
This would solve everything, even if a little clunky.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
― Oscar Wilde.
Wouldn't altering the telepathy so it works from other planes as long as the target is in sight (either due to scrying or ethereal vision) work as well?
Subclass: Dwarven Defender - Dragonborn Paragon
Feats: Artificer Apprentice
Monsters: Sheep - Spellbreaker Warforged Titan
Magic Items: Whipier - Ring of Secret Storage - Collar of the Guardian
Monster template: Skeletal Creature