Blinking and Grappling [Archive] - Wizards Community

Blinking and Grappling [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
masterofmayhem
11-27-05, 02:56 AM What happens when you attempt to grapple someone under the effect of a Blink spell?

For reference,

Blink
Transmutation
Level: Brd 3, Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round/level (D)

You “blink” back and forth between the Material Plane and the Ethereal Plane. You look as though you’re winking in and out of reality very quickly and at random.

Blinking has several effects, as follows.

Physical attacks against you have a 50% miss chance, and the Blind-Fight feat doesn’t help opponents, since you’re ethereal and not merely invisible. If the attack is capable of striking ethereal creatures, the miss chance is only 20% (for concealment).

If the attacker can see invisible creatures, the miss chance is also only 20%. (For an attacker who can both see and strike ethereal creatures, there is no miss chance.) Likewise, your own attacks have a 20% miss chance, since you sometimes go ethereal just as you are about to strike.

Any individually targeted spell has a 50% chance to fail against you while you’re blinking unless your attacker can target invisible, ethereal creatures. Your own spells have a 20% chance to activate just as you go ethereal, in which case they typically do not affect the Material Plane.

While blinking, you take only half damage from area attacks (but full damage from those that extend onto the Ethereal Plane). You strike as an invisible creature (with a +2 bonus on attack rolls), denying your target any Dexterity bonus to AC.

You take only half damage from falling, since you fall only while you are material.

While blinking, you can step through (but not see through) solid objects. For each 5 feet of solid material you walk through, there is a 50% chance that you become material. If this occurs, you are shunted off to the nearest open space and take 1d6 points of damage per 5 feet so traveled. You can move at only three-quarters speed (because movement on the Ethereal Plane is at half speed, and you spend about half your time there and half your time material.)

Since you spend about half your time on the Ethereal Plane, you can see and even attack ethereal creatures. You interact with ethereal creatures roughly the same way you interact with material ones.

An ethereal creature is invisible, incorporeal, and capable of moving in any direction, even up or down. As an incorporeal creature, you can move through solid objects, including living creatures.

An ethereal creature can see and hear the Material Plane, but everything looks gray and insubstantial. Sight and hearing on the Material Plane are limited to 60 feet.

Force effects and abjurations affect you normally. Their effects extend onto the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, but not vice versa. An ethereal creature can’t attack material creatures, and spells you cast while ethereal affect only other ethereal things. Certain material creatures or objects have attacks or effects that work on the Ethereal Plane. Treat other ethereal creatures and objects as material.
green_yawgmoth
11-27-05, 03:04 AM I'd say that unless your opponent has ghost touch gloves, there'd be a 50% chance each round of you 'phasing out' and him losing his grasp on you.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/yawgmoth/kittyjig.jpg
Black Mantha
11-27-05, 04:51 AM Blink causes you to jump over more than half every 6 seconds. Maintaining a grapple either way should be impossible under blink.
allenchan
11-27-05, 04:55 AM Blink causes you to jump over more than half every 6 seconds. Maintaining a grapple either way should be impossible under blink.

You cant seriously think Blink should do what Freedom of Movement does, and more , at a lower spell level? :eek:
Gendar Manyspell
11-27-05, 12:15 PM I agree with green.
Purkake
11-27-05, 02:11 PM Ghost touch has nothing to do with ethereal creatures. It removes the 50% miss chance for incorporal opponents. Only force effects and abjurations extend to the ethereal. So no grappling for you, but blinking inside the other creature might do 1d6 damage IIRC.
Ginyu549
11-27-05, 02:24 PM Blink is hardly freedom of movement. You may be able to escape grapples, walk through doors, avoid traps etc... while under a blink spell, but it is hardly comperable to freedom of movement. For one thing there is one huge drawback to the spell and that is that your offence has a 20% chance of doing nothing, your movement is reduced to two thirds, and as far as escaping the grapple, I would assume that means you would be moving through a solid object (the grappler) which means there would be a 50% chance you would materialize while passing through the grappler and take 1d6 damage and be shunted. Blink lasts 1 rnd/lvl and free move lasts 10 min/lvl. Free move will protect you from magical paralysis, being held, slowed, or any other similar spell effect, and let you move without hinderance underwater. Blink does none of that. Blink is a powerful spell, and improved blink(ca) is much better, but is is far from duplicating freedom of movement. It is in effect perhaps a poor-mans freedom of movement, which wizards need by the way, since they can't cast FOM - it's not on their spell list (even though it totally makes sense that it would be, I mean, who else needs that spell as much as wizards?)
masterofmayhem
11-27-05, 05:35 PM OK, well, I'm not sure what my DM will say, since there is a dearth of any RAW rulings on that, so I'll have to talk with him about it.

Logically, it does appear to me that it would be . . . difficult . . . to grapple someone under the effect of a blink spell, but per the RAW, it seems like you could.

So I guess I'll ask him, and point him to this thread.

Thanks, all. :)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
masterofmayhem 11-27-05, 02:56 AM	What happens when you attempt to grapple someone under the effect of a Blink spell? For reference, Blink Transmutation Level: Brd 3, Sor/Wiz 3 Components: V, S Casting Time: 1 standard action Range: Personal Target: You Duration: 1 round/level (D) You “blink” back and forth between the Material Plane and the Ethereal Plane. You look as though you’re winking in and out of reality very quickly and at random. Blinking has several effects, as follows. Physical attacks against you have a 50% miss chance, and the Blind-Fight feat doesn’t help opponents, since you’re ethereal and not merely invisible. If the attack is capable of striking ethereal creatures, the miss chance is only 20% (for concealment). If the attacker can see invisible creatures, the miss chance is also only 20%. (For an attacker who can both see and strike ethereal creatures, there is no miss chance.) Likewise, your own attacks have a 20% miss chance, since you sometimes go ethereal just as you are about to strike. Any individually targeted spell has a 50% chance to fail against you while you’re blinking unless your attacker can target invisible, ethereal creatures. Your own spells have a 20% chance to activate just as you go ethereal, in which case they typically do not affect the Material Plane. While blinking, you take only half damage from area attacks (but full damage from those that extend onto the Ethereal Plane). You strike as an invisible creature (with a +2 bonus on attack rolls), denying your target any Dexterity bonus to AC. You take only half damage from falling, since you fall only while you are material. While blinking, you can step through (but not see through) solid objects. For each 5 feet of solid material you walk through, there is a 50% chance that you become material. If this occurs, you are shunted off to the nearest open space and take 1d6 points of damage per 5 feet so traveled. You can move at only three-quarters speed (because movement on the Ethereal Plane is at half speed, and you spend about half your time there and half your time material.) Since you spend about half your time on the Ethereal Plane, you can see and even attack ethereal creatures. You interact with ethereal creatures roughly the same way you interact with material ones. An ethereal creature is invisible, incorporeal, and capable of moving in any direction, even up or down. As an incorporeal creature, you can move through solid objects, including living creatures. An ethereal creature can see and hear the Material Plane, but everything looks gray and insubstantial. Sight and hearing on the Material Plane are limited to 60 feet. Force effects and abjurations affect you normally. Their effects extend onto the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, but not vice versa. An ethereal creature can’t attack material creatures, and spells you cast while ethereal affect only other ethereal things. Certain material creatures or objects have attacks or effects that work on the Ethereal Plane. Treat other ethereal creatures and objects as material.
green_yawgmoth 11-27-05, 03:04 AM	I'd say that unless your opponent has ghost touch gloves, there'd be a 50% chance each round of you 'phasing out' and him losing his grasp on you. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/yawgmoth/kittyjig.jpg
Black Mantha 11-27-05, 04:51 AM	Blink causes you to jump over more than half every 6 seconds. Maintaining a grapple either way should be impossible under blink.
allenchan 11-27-05, 04:55 AM	Blink causes you to jump over more than half every 6 seconds. Maintaining a grapple either way should be impossible under blink. You cant seriously think Blink should do what Freedom of Movement does, and more , at a lower spell level? :eek:
Gendar Manyspell 11-27-05, 12:15 PM	I agree with green.
Purkake 11-27-05, 02:11 PM	Ghost touch has nothing to do with ethereal creatures. It removes the 50% miss chance for incorporal opponents. Only force effects and abjurations extend to the ethereal. So no grappling for you, but blinking inside the other creature might do 1d6 damage IIRC.
Ginyu549 11-27-05, 02:24 PM	Blink is hardly freedom of movement. You may be able to escape grapples, walk through doors, avoid traps etc... while under a blink spell, but it is hardly comperable to freedom of movement. For one thing there is one huge drawback to the spell and that is that your offence has a 20% chance of doing nothing, your movement is reduced to two thirds, and as far as escaping the grapple, I would assume that means you would be moving through a solid object (the grappler) which means there would be a 50% chance you would materialize while passing through the grappler and take 1d6 damage and be shunted. Blink lasts 1 rnd/lvl and free move lasts 10 min/lvl. Free move will protect you from magical paralysis, being held, slowed, or any other similar spell effect, and let you move without hinderance underwater. Blink does none of that. Blink is a powerful spell, and improved blink(ca) is much better, but is is far from duplicating freedom of movement. It is in effect perhaps a poor-mans freedom of movement, which wizards need by the way, since they can't cast FOM - it's not on their spell list (even though it totally makes sense that it would be, I mean, who else needs that spell as much as wizards?)
masterofmayhem 11-27-05, 05:35 PM	OK, well, I'm not sure what my DM will say, since there is a dearth of any RAW rulings on that, so I'll have to talk with him about it. Logically, it does appear to me that it would be . . . difficult . . . to grapple someone under the effect of a blink spell, but per the RAW, it seems like you could. So I guess I'll ask him, and point him to this thread. Thanks, all. :)