Freedom of Movement vs Otto's Dance

[rushlight]

So, lets say the party's mage cast Otto's Irresistable Dance on one dragon, and another dragon cast Freedom of Movement on the first dragon?

Does the FoM negate the Dance? Can the dragon just move now, but can take no other actions? Or is Otto's Dance not a "movement restricting" spell?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Carrion]

I would say that because the spell Otto's Dance is a Compulsion effect, it wouldnt be considered a movement hampering spell. For example, a Bard could cast Suggestion(another Compulsion effect) on another character that has Freedom of Movement active, and make the suggestion "stand still", the FoM spell wont help because he isnt being physically or magically restrained, he is being mentally dominated or coerced, the same is the case of OID.

Dance Dragon Monkey! Dance!

 

[Hypersmurf]

I would say that because the spell Otto's Dance is a Compulsion effect, it wouldnt be considered a movement hampering spell.

Hold Person is a Compulsion, if that makes any difference to your argument

-Hyp.

 

[Thanee]

Right, FoM shouldn't work against Hold Person. It only really does, because the text talks about "paralyzation".

Normally a compulsion should not be negated by Freedom of Movement, Hold person is the sole exception there (IMHO, of course).

I think it only works against spells, which alter your (base) movement (like the half movement from the Slow spell, the limited movement from Web or Entangle, or water, mud and similar movement impeding substances), plus paralyzation effects and the grapple immunity. That's it, nothing else. As if that wasn't enough, anyways.

It does not work against any spell, which makes you use your movement in a way you don't want to (usually Compulsion effects), turns you into a state, which doesn't allow any form of movement (like death, stunned, turned to stone, etc) other than paralysation, or which puts a barrier in your way (see below ).

One question is, does it work on exhaustion? I'd say no.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Thanee]

Otherwise, I think Freedom of Movement should also prevent death, since death (like from a Destruction spell) surely is movement restricting, and of course it allows you to move right through walls of force and other barriers, now those are definitely movement restricting.

Bye
Thanee

 

[rushlight]

In the end, everyone agreed that FoM wouldn't cut it. Poor green dragon - it was his own fault. He learned to be sure the wizard dies when you snatch him up in your mouth. (Otto's is Verbal only... and I ruled that being inside the dragon's mouth qualified as "touch".) That poor dragon fell right out of the sky, and lay twitching on the ground (doing the Electric Slide!) as they hacked him down.

Anyway, the other dragon there really couldn't help his buddy (clearly being a much lower caster level than the wizard) so he began straifing. He did a good job too... right up until he failed his save vs a Feeblemind. After that, the PCs made short work of him too.

In all, it was a memorable battle that took 2 sessions to complete, and nearly every spell from the wizard and cleric, not to mention a Mass Heal and several more Heals.

The dragons were a Green Wyrm and an Ancient Blue I think, CRs 22 and 21 respectively. Both were polymorphed as Hill Giants, and were escorting the PCs out of a Hill Giant enclave the PCs had gone to visit. The PCs were unaware of their presence, but became suspicious - and then cast Dispel Magic. That revealed both dragons, who promptly opened up with a Clinging Quickened Acid breath, and a Shaped Electric breath. That dropped the party to about 20-30 hps each, and put the Wizard at -3. But, one Mass Heal later, they were up and fighting - and did a good job keeping their wits about them. The Otto's was the lucky break - it took the Green dragon out for 4 rounds, and gave the PCs the ability to kill it quickly.

At the end, the 21st level Ranger/Rogue had 7 hp and was hiding from the straifing blue dragon, the 21st level Wizard had 23 hp left and cast the Feeblemind while flying in the air directly in the path of the oncoming dragon, the 20th level Fighter was hiding in a Prismatic Sphere with just a few hps left, as the 20th level Cleric/Wizard stepped out of the Sphere and hit the dragon with a Firestorm to finish it off.

 

[Thanee]

Yep, that sounds about right with the Otto's there. Even if he had to make a touch attack, it would've been extremely easy (probably hit on everything but a 1 at this level).

The fighter hiding in the Prismatic Sphere, now that must have been embarassing...

Bye
Thanee

 

[rushlight]

Yep, that sounds about right with the Otto's there. Even if he had to make a touch attack, it would've been extremely easy (probably hit on everything but a 1 at this level).

The fighter hiding in the Prismatic Sphere, now that must have been embarassing...

Bye
Thanee

Well, in his defense, he did his part. He tried several times to charge the Blue dragon (with Fly) but the dragon's "Large and In Charge" feat pretty much shut the Fighter down. After several beat-downs and a few lightning breaths, he went and finished off the Green dragon while the Ranger pelted the Blue with shots from his Dragon Hunter bow. The best thing the Fighter did was to get the Blue dragon moving - up until the Fighter charged it, it was using a Wingstorm (tornado gusts of wind) which was keeping everyone down.