Earth Glide and the elemental [Archive] - Wizards Community

Earth Glide and the elemental [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Midgard in Ruin
04-04-06, 09:20 PM Ok here's what i'm having to deal with, someone is arguing that an earth elemental could drag an opponent through the ground via a grapple check and earth glide. here's my problem, earthglide grants the elemental the ability to travel through earth like water but i does not indicate anywhere that this ability is extended to anything else but the elemental. he argues that this ability is obviously extended to possession (which i refute) and a grappled character could qualify as a possession. stupid i know. what bothers me is that there is a monster in frostburn that needed a specific ability to achieve this effect and the earth elemental achieves it for free? why couldn't the frostburn creature simply achieve the same effect by virtue of it's ice glide if this were true? And as for common sense, if you pass water thats dragging dirt througfh a screen, the dirt does not pass through, the water being the elemental and the dirt the grappled opponent. thats like a gaseous creature dragging a solid one through iron bars. give me your thoughts
Alac Luin
04-04-06, 11:53 PM This is a tough one.

You cant make a ruling based on an elementals equipment, I've never seen an earth elemental wearing cloths, carrying weapons or backpacks.

The is another creature, I think in underdark, that has an earth glide ability and can carry a passenger (they are used as mounts).

Then, you have to ask, do they have a burrow speed?
"Earth Subtype: This subtype usually is used for elementals and outsiders with a connection to the Elemental Plane of Earth. Earth creatures usually have burrow speeds, and most earth creatures can burrow through solid rock."

They don't have a burrow speed listed, but it does say they can move as easily as walking, so the they don't need a different speed.

The difference between burrow and earth glide is burrow opens a hole. It they can burrow, it would, theoretically, create a hole large enough to pull in a foe.

EDIT: I'm just glad I've never had to rule this one :D
Darkwolf_childe
04-05-06, 12:17 AM The idea stems from an R.A. Salvatore book; one of the Drizzt stories dating back to when he was a young drow in the Underdark and his scouting party attacked a mining expedition of deep gnomes (cannot spell it, sorry). The gnomes summoned a large Earth Elemental and it dragged Guenhwyver and a drow into the rocky ground before Drizzt destroyed it. So there is precedent in accepted Forgotten Realms' fiction.
Midgard in Ruin
04-05-06, 09:53 PM Forgotten realm is also poorly researched and a poorly balanced setting. Pun Pun proved that.
Priest_of_Shaundakul
04-05-06, 09:54 PM Oh look, an FR hater. HOW ORIGINAL. :rolleyes:
Alac Luin
04-06-06, 09:54 AM Pun-Pun proved that players can strip away lore and likely hood to take advantage of poorly written rules.
And FR does not hold a monopoly on poorly written rules, they plague our game.

It's the DM's job to figure all this out and keep players in line.

BTW: I'd say this is an invalid way of dealing with a Foe, no matter how much I liked that scene in the book. (I've had time to think about it since my earlier post)
Also one must remember that book was written during a time D&D was governed by a different set of rule, so what worked then, and what works now are sometomes two different things.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Midgard in Ruin 04-04-06, 09:20 PM	Ok here's what i'm having to deal with, someone is arguing that an earth elemental could drag an opponent through the ground via a grapple check and earth glide. here's my problem, earthglide grants the elemental the ability to travel through earth like water but i does not indicate anywhere that this ability is extended to anything else but the elemental. he argues that this ability is obviously extended to possession (which i refute) and a grappled character could qualify as a possession. stupid i know. what bothers me is that there is a monster in frostburn that needed a specific ability to achieve this effect and the earth elemental achieves it for free? why couldn't the frostburn creature simply achieve the same effect by virtue of it's ice glide if this were true? And as for common sense, if you pass water thats dragging dirt througfh a screen, the dirt does not pass through, the water being the elemental and the dirt the grappled opponent. thats like a gaseous creature dragging a solid one through iron bars. give me your thoughts
Alac Luin 04-04-06, 11:53 PM	This is a tough one. You cant make a ruling based on an elementals equipment, I've never seen an earth elemental wearing cloths, carrying weapons or backpacks. The is another creature, I think in underdark, that has an earth glide ability and can carry a passenger (they are used as mounts). Then, you have to ask, do they have a burrow speed? "Earth Subtype: This subtype usually is used for elementals and outsiders with a connection to the Elemental Plane of Earth. Earth creatures usually have burrow speeds, and most earth creatures can burrow through solid rock." They don't have a burrow speed listed, but it does say they can move as easily as walking, so the they don't need a different speed. The difference between burrow and earth glide is burrow opens a hole. It they can burrow, it would, theoretically, create a hole large enough to pull in a foe. EDIT: I'm just glad I've never had to rule this one :D
Darkwolf_childe 04-05-06, 12:17 AM	The idea stems from an R.A. Salvatore book; one of the Drizzt stories dating back to when he was a young drow in the Underdark and his scouting party attacked a mining expedition of deep gnomes (cannot spell it, sorry). The gnomes summoned a large Earth Elemental and it dragged Guenhwyver and a drow into the rocky ground before Drizzt destroyed it. So there is precedent in accepted Forgotten Realms' fiction.
Midgard in Ruin 04-05-06, 09:53 PM	Forgotten realm is also poorly researched and a poorly balanced setting. Pun Pun proved that.
Priest_of_Shaundakul 04-05-06, 09:54 PM	Oh look, an FR hater. HOW ORIGINAL. :rolleyes:
Alac Luin 04-06-06, 09:54 AM	Pun-Pun proved that players can strip away lore and likely hood to take advantage of poorly written rules. And FR does not hold a monopoly on poorly written rules, they plague our game. It's the DM's job to figure all this out and keep players in line. BTW: I'd say this is an invalid way of dealing with a Foe, no matter how much I liked that scene in the book. (I've had time to think about it since my earlier post) Also one must remember that book was written during a time D&D was governed by a different set of rule, so what worked then, and what works now are sometomes two different things.