Beginning the climb: Movement [Archive] - Wizards Community

Beginning the climb: Movement [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Raerin
09-04-06, 04:48 PM Alright, had a rule question in my game and didn't know where to post it. One of my players is a warlock, and has the spider-walk invocation. He casts spider climb as a standard action, then climbs up on the wall that is immediately next to him. He says he occupies a basic 5' square cube, so he thinks he instantly gets to move to the next square up on the wall. To make this clearer: his movement speed is 20 ft. He claims he can get 5 squares up the wall(25ft height total), because when he cast spider climb, he was already standing in the square in which his climb began (if you think of the grid as 3d, and the wall touching the ground in an L shaped way in that same square, he thinks the vertical portion is occupied by him as well).

I know I am not explaining this very well, so bear with me, but does anyone have a rule for this? I was positive that moving from ground to wall to begin a climb was a move in itself, and not free, even if the wall was in your current 5ft square. I justified this by saying that if you are considering 5ft movement to mean moving from the center of 1 square to the center of another, then you are indeed moving 5 feet in between each. In the same way, if you were in the center of said square in my example, moving to the wall would be 2.5 ft, and mounting the wall to midway would be another 2.5 feet, making a total of 5 ft, and part of your move.

If anyone can decipher this mess that I have typed out and have any reference to a rule, I would be extremely appreciative.
058
09-04-06, 10:43 PM I don't know the official ruling on this, but it seems as though you are in the right.
TheDarkLord
09-05-06, 11:57 PM I would actually agree with the player. The square, or cube he is currently in goes 5ft up the wall as well as five foot away from the wall.

Spider Climb
Transmutation
Level: Drd 2, Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: 10 min./level
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)
The subject can climb and travel on vertical surfaces or even traverse ceilings as well as a spider does. The affected creature must have its hands free to climb in this manner. The subject gains a climb speed of 20 feet; furthermore, it need not make Climb checks to traverse a vertical or horizontal surface (even upside down). A spider climbing creature retains its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) while climbing, and opponents get no special bonus to their attacks against it. It cannot, however, use the run action while climbing.
Material Component: A drop of bitumen and a live spider, both of which must be eaten by the subject.

Emphasis mine.

This implies you must use your hands to climb. In doing so it is reasonable that having a Hand on the wall is akin to having a foot in the square. so taking his first five foot step upward would actually have him in the second square above the floor.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Raerin 09-04-06, 04:48 PM	Alright, had a rule question in my game and didn't know where to post it. One of my players is a warlock, and has the spider-walk invocation. He casts spider climb as a standard action, then climbs up on the wall that is immediately next to him. He says he occupies a basic 5' square cube, so he thinks he instantly gets to move to the next square up on the wall. To make this clearer: his movement speed is 20 ft. He claims he can get 5 squares up the wall(25ft height total), because when he cast spider climb, he was already standing in the square in which his climb began (if you think of the grid as 3d, and the wall touching the ground in an L shaped way in that same square, he thinks the vertical portion is occupied by him as well). I know I am not explaining this very well, so bear with me, but does anyone have a rule for this? I was positive that moving from ground to wall to begin a climb was a move in itself, and not free, even if the wall was in your current 5ft square. I justified this by saying that if you are considering 5ft movement to mean moving from the center of 1 square to the center of another, then you are indeed moving 5 feet in between each. In the same way, if you were in the center of said square in my example, moving to the wall would be 2.5 ft, and mounting the wall to midway would be another 2.5 feet, making a total of 5 ft, and part of your move. If anyone can decipher this mess that I have typed out and have any reference to a rule, I would be extremely appreciative.
058 09-04-06, 10:43 PM	I don't know the official ruling on this, but it seems as though you are in the right.
TheDarkLord 09-05-06, 11:57 PM	I would actually agree with the player. The square, or cube he is currently in goes 5ft up the wall as well as five foot away from the wall. Spider Climb Transmutation Level: Drd 2, Sor/Wiz 2 Components: V, S, M Casting Time: 1 standard action Range: Touch Target: Creature touched Duration: 10 min./level Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless) Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless) The subject can climb and travel on vertical surfaces or even traverse ceilings as well as a spider does. The affected creature must have its hands free to climb in this manner. The subject gains a climb speed of 20 feet; furthermore, it need not make Climb checks to traverse a vertical or horizontal surface (even upside down). A spider climbing creature retains its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) while climbing, and opponents get no special bonus to their attacks against it. It cannot, however, use the run action while climbing. Material Component: A drop of bitumen and a live spider, both of which must be eaten by the subject. Emphasis mine. This implies you must use your hands to climb. In doing so it is reasonable that having a Hand on the wall is akin to having a foot in the square. so taking his first five foot step upward would actually have him in the second square above the floor.