Greenfield
Adventurer
Looking at the Immovable Rod thread brought to mind something that happened in play last session.
There are spells, such as Resilient Sphere, Wall of Force, as well as items like an Immovable Rod, that are, well immovable.
Some people play a physics game world where the planet spins, and that's okay. Some people cast spells while on moving ships, inside wagons, etc.
Now one example in the other discussion was the idea of activating a Rod in the crew cabin of a ship, to force it to stop. Considering the actual mass/weight of the ship and the limits to both the Rod and the structure of the crew quarters, as well as the small size of the rod, you're either going to overload the rod (it has limits), or you're going to rip a rod-sized hole in the ship.
But what happens when you cast a spell that creates an "immovable" effect, inside a moving environment? And I'm not just talking about a spinning planet.
In our game we were on a ship. One of the PCs was in a long term coma, some kind of magical sleep. Our ship was attacked, and my Wiz was needed on deck. But he wanted to make sure the other PC would be safe, so I asked the DM how he'd rule on a "stationary" effect (Resilient Sphere) cast inside an enclosed but moving environment? He had the character make a Spellcraft check to get the answer (not to modify the spell), and the PC figured out the answer.
His answer was that "immobile" is based on the caster's own perception. So long as the spell was "touching" the ship, and the cabin could be perceived as stationary, the spell would be stationary to that room.
That answer pretty much handles the "spinning planet" question, but leaves the door open for abuse. He trusts me not to abuse.
How do you handle things like that? Can you use your Immovable Rod to lock Jonah's whale in place, or is it simply a useful tool to aid in climbing out?
There are spells, such as Resilient Sphere, Wall of Force, as well as items like an Immovable Rod, that are, well immovable.
Some people play a physics game world where the planet spins, and that's okay. Some people cast spells while on moving ships, inside wagons, etc.
Now one example in the other discussion was the idea of activating a Rod in the crew cabin of a ship, to force it to stop. Considering the actual mass/weight of the ship and the limits to both the Rod and the structure of the crew quarters, as well as the small size of the rod, you're either going to overload the rod (it has limits), or you're going to rip a rod-sized hole in the ship.
But what happens when you cast a spell that creates an "immovable" effect, inside a moving environment? And I'm not just talking about a spinning planet.
In our game we were on a ship. One of the PCs was in a long term coma, some kind of magical sleep. Our ship was attacked, and my Wiz was needed on deck. But he wanted to make sure the other PC would be safe, so I asked the DM how he'd rule on a "stationary" effect (Resilient Sphere) cast inside an enclosed but moving environment? He had the character make a Spellcraft check to get the answer (not to modify the spell), and the PC figured out the answer.
His answer was that "immobile" is based on the caster's own perception. So long as the spell was "touching" the ship, and the cabin could be perceived as stationary, the spell would be stationary to that room.
That answer pretty much handles the "spinning planet" question, but leaves the door open for abuse. He trusts me not to abuse.
How do you handle things like that? Can you use your Immovable Rod to lock Jonah's whale in place, or is it simply a useful tool to aid in climbing out?