TEXT: Urban Arcana
  Bullet Points
  Urban Arcana
  by Charles Ryan
  Welcome to the thirty-first installment of Bullet Points. I'm Charles Ryan, one of the designers of the d20 
  Modern Roleplaying Game. I'm here to answer your questions about the game, offer advice on tricky 
  issues, and give you a little peek into the minds of the designers. You'll be hearing from me every couple of 
  weeks.
  If you've checked out the earlier installments of Bullet Points, you know the format. Every two weeks I pick 
  an issue that's provoked a lot of questions or comments, begin with a general discussion of the topic, and 
  then answer specific questions related to it. If there are any unrelated but pressing questions in my 
  mailbox, I might tackle them at the end of the column, but only if there's room and they can't wait for an 
  appropriately themed column.
  Changing of the Guard
  First of all, I have an announcement to make: This column is my last installment of Bullet Points. I've been 
  writing the column for well over a year now, but my new duties as Category Manager for Roleplaying 
  Games here at Wizards of the Coast, Inc. preclude working on Bullet Points any more. Not only are there 
  lots of new constraints on my time and attention, but I'm also no longer directly associated with the design 
  and development of roleplaying games. I no longer work with the other d20 Modern designers every day, 
  and I no longer sit in an office surrounded by the lead designers of the d20 System. In short, I'm no longer 
  the best person to keep answering the challenging game rules questions you send in.
  Don't despair, though -- Bullet Points is in good hands! Starting with the next installment, WotC designer 
  James Wyatt will be writing the column. James was not one of the original d20 Modern designers, but I 
  can vouch for his credentials -- he's played in my ongoing d20 Modern campaign for more than two years 
  now, since the early days of the game's playtesting. Those of you who also play D&D may recognize his 
  name and be familiar with the many contributions he's made to that game and to the d20 System in 
  general. James is going to do a great job with Bullet Points!
  Urban Arcana Campaign Setting
  This installment covers questions related to the Urban Arcana Campaign Setting. I have no general points 
  to make on this subject, so we'll go straight to the questions.
  Questions and Answers
  Without further ado, then, let's get started.
  Does the Renown feat apply to the abilities associated with the expert in your field class 
  feature? Does the Low Profile feat penalize them?
  
  Urban Arcana
  The Renown and Low Profile feats change your hero's Reputation score as soon as he takes them. So yes, 
  the expert in your field class feature (and any other ability based on Reputation) is affected by these feats.
  Can a Techno Mage program skills he doesn't have into a mechanical homunculus?
  Yes. The homunculus's skill points can be spent on any of the skills noted in the creature's description. The 
  choices do not depend on what skills its maker possesses.
  Do the skills to which a hero gains access through the Arcane Skills feat count as class skills 
  only for a particular class she has, or are they considered permanent class skills?
  They are permanent class skills; that is, they are class skills for every class she currently has or gains 
  thereafter. The same principle applies to the Psionic Skills feat.
  Why isn't the Wild Talent feat an [Initial] feat? Considering other similar feats, it seems as 
  though it should be.
  Nothing in the feat description says that your hero has always had this ability. He may have developed it 
  over time, or it may have been dormant within him until he unlocked it by taking the feat.
  Under Special Combat Bonuses in the dwarf description, it says "Creatures of giants 
  (including giants, trolls, and ogres)." Is this passage a typo?
  Yes. It should read "creatures of the giant type (including trolls and ogres)."
  Is it accurate to assume that the skill points per level given for advanced classes apply only to 
  humans?
  Yes. Check Table 1-3 in the Urban Arcana Campaign Setting to find the skill points per level for 
  Shadowkind.
  Is there a reason that a creature with the template called "changeling" can't actually change 
  form? Upon reading the name of the template and perusing the passage about the 
  changeling's sidhe parentage, I assumed that such a creature would have some kind of change self 
  ability.
  Technically, the term "changeling" means "swapped at birth." It appears in faerie references and is based 
  on the myth that fey creatures would sometimes steal human babies and replace them with faerie babies. 
  Granted, such a substitution is not really what the template represents, but having it represent a 
  shapechanger would be no more faithful to the derivation of the term.
  The table in the Animal Companions sidebar on page 59 contains a reference to "share 
  spells," yet there is no text description of that particular ability.
  The relevant text is in fact missing. It should be as follows.
  
  Urban Arcana
  Share Spells (Ex): At the Wildlord's option, she may have any spell (but not any spell-like 
  ability) she casts upon herself also affect her animal companion. The animal companion 
  must be within 5 feet of her at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell or effect 
  has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the animal companion if it moves 
  farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the animal again, even if it returns to the Wildlord 
  before the duration expires. Additionally, the Wildlord may cast a spell with a target of "You" 
  on her animal companion (as a touch range spell) instead of on herself. A Wildlord and her 
  animal companion can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the 
  companion's type (animal).
  What happens to a character who drinks from the cup of curing four times in a row (or six 
  times total)? It says he disappears with the cup, but that doesn't say what happened to him, 
  especially since the cup reappears later on.
  Sorry that the text here is vague. The drinker does not actually go anywhere with the cup. By the time the 
  cup disappears, the drinker is already gone -- "consumed" by the bright flare of light produced. In short, the 
  drinker is irrevocably dead and gone.
  What is the correct ECL for a gnoll? The table on page 25 of the Urban Arcana Campaign 
  Setting gives it as +1, but the description of gnolls on page 29 says the ECL is +2.
  The level adjustment in the gnoll description is a typo. The creature's level adjustment is actually +1.
  I'm making a bugbear Tough hero for a game my group is starting soon. We are starting at 3rd 
  level, so my character will have one class level as a bugbear. But does she get a feat now for 
  being a 3rd-level character, or does she have to wait until she becomes a Tough hero 3?
  She has to wait. The feat she gets every three levels is specifically for class levels.
  Table 2-5: General Equipment shows a chemistry kit that weighs 15 pounds, has a purchase 
  DC of 13, and requires a license. This kit is not described in detail in the Urban Arcana 
  Campaign Setting, but page 116 of the d20 Modern Roleplaying Game shows a different chemical 
  kit. This one weighs only 6 pounds, has a purchase DC of 16, and does not require a license. Are 
  both kits the same piece of equipment, except that one has been modified for use with Urban 
  Arcana, or are they different? And if they are the same, or have a similar function (presumably both 
  are used with the Craft [chemical] skill), then why do they have such different statistics?
  Ignore the chemistry kit in the Urban Arcana Campaign Setting. The one in the core rulebook has the 
  correct statistics.
  I'm confused about the Archmage. If I had a Smart hero 3/Mage 10/Archmage 5, how many 
  spells could he cast? Does the total spellcasting feature mean his fireball now deals 15d6 
  points of damage?
  At 4th level, the Archmage's increased spells per day give him twice the number of spell slots that he has 
  from his other casting classes (before counting bonus spells). So a Smart hero 3/Mage 10/Archmage 5 
  would have the following spells of each level.
  
  Urban Arcana
  Spell Level 
  Number of Spells
  0
  8
  1st
  8
  2nd
  8
  3rd
  6
  4th
  6
  5th
  2
  The Archmage's total spellcasting class feature lets him count all of his caster levels for the purpose of 
  determining casting levels for arcane spells. So the Smart hero 3/Mage 10/Archmage 5 has a caster level 
  of 15th (for 10 levels in Mage and 5 in Archmage). This figure applies to any spell effect that depends on 
  caster level. Thus, his fireball would deal only 10d6 points of fire damage (because that's the maximum for 
  fireball damage), but its range would be 1,000 feet (400 + [40 x 15]).
  How do unarmed combat feats such as Brawl or Combat Martial Arts work for characters who 
  aren't normal human beings? For example, how would they work for characters who normally 
  deal different amounts of damage (because they are Large or Small) or types of damage (because 
  they have natural weapons)?
  Unarmed combat feats such as Brawl operate exactly as written, regardless of character size, natural 
  weapons, or any other factor. Thus, in some instances, a feat such as Brawl offers a greater (or lesser) 
  increase in capability for one character than another. Nevertheless, the feat does what the rules say it 
  does.
  That principle applies to creatures or characters of differing sizes as well as those with natural weapons or 
  other unusual features. So, for example, a character using the Brawl feat deals nonlethal damage, even if 
  he has natural weapons.
  In the Creating New Incantations section, the first paragraph under Duration and Range 
  mentions that a 6th-level incantation has a medium range of 220 feet. Why is this so?
  Medium spell range is 100 feet + 10 feet per caster level (see d20 Modern Rulebook, page 331). An 
  incantation's caster level is twice the spell level. Thus, a 6th-level incantation is caster level 12th. Applying 
  that caster level to medium range gives us 100 feet + 120 feet (10 x 12), or a total of 220 feet.
  Do you have a rules question about the d20 Modern Roleplaying Game? Send it to 
  bulletpoints@wizards.com. For the quickest possible answer, please put the topic of your question in the 
  subject line and keep the question as succinct as possible. If you have more than one question, feel free to 
  send two or more emails -- but for best results please include only one question per email unless your 
  questions are very closely related to one another. Please don't expect a direct answer by email. Check 
  back here every other week for the latest batch of answers!
  
  Urban Arcana
  About the Author
  Charles Ryan was one of the designers of the d20 ModernRoleplaying Game. He has 
  been designing and editing games for more than twelve years. His other credits include 
  such diverse titles as the The Wheel of Time Roleplaying Game, Deadlands, Millennium's 
  End, The Last Crusade, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Dune: Chronicles of the Imperium, 
  and Star Trek: Red Alert!, to name just a few. Charles served as Chairman of the 
  Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design, the professional organization of the 
  games industry, from 1996 through 2001. He lives in Kent, Washington with his lovely 
  wife Tammie, three cats, two rats, and a dog. He works for Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  ©1995-2005 Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Wizards is 
  headquartered in Renton, Washington, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/d20 Modern/Roleplay/Bullet Points/Urban Arcana 3.pdf