Impale? Moving floors

[Kavok]

My DM had some moving floor tiles that shot you 5ft horizontally in one direction. At one end of the room he had long 'spikes'.

The rogue activated the the moving floor was I was 'throwing' a body onto the spikes. My DM ruled that this pushed my 5ft into the spikes impaling me and causing insta-death.

He gave me a reflex save, which I rolled a 15 on. He didn't roll damage or an attack roll for the spikes, saying it wasn't a trap.

I accepted the rule but I wanted to know if this was by the rules and what this should be treated as in the future.

For reference I was a level 2 cleric, 17HP, 16 AC.

Note: He said it wasn't a conveyor built type system, the floor 'blocks' were rotating and tossing you 5ft in one direction. However we didn't have to roll any sort of tumble, jump, or balance check when we moved so I don't know how rigorous this 'throwing' was.

 

[Pinotage]

It really depends on the nature of the trap and what the trap specification is. I'd have treated it as a trap, and allowed the Reflex save to negate it's effects. Mechanically it seems to make sense if you step on it, activate it, and get thrown onto the spikes (Reflex negating this).

Can you give more information on the write-up? I find it hard to imagine that this kind of thing is not written as a trap, but it doesn't require an attack roll (it has a Reflex save). It would inflict damage, but my guess was the damage was more than your character had.

Pinotage

 

[darthkilmor]

My DM had some moving floor tiles that shot you 5ft horizontally in one direction. At one end of the room he had long 'spikes'.

The rogue activated the the moving floor was I was 'throwing' a body onto the spikes. My DM ruled that this pushed my 5ft into the spikes impaling me and causing insta-death.

He gave me a reflex save, which I rolled a 15 on. He didn't roll damage or an attack roll for the spikes, saying it wasn't a trap.

I accepted the rule but I wanted to know if this was by the rules and what this should be treated as in the future.

For reference I was a level 2 cleric, 17HP, 16 AC.

Note: He said it wasn't a conveyor built type system, the floor 'blocks' were rotating and tossing you 5ft in one direction. However we didn't have to roll any sort of tumble, jump, or balance check when we moved so I don't know how rigorous this 'throwing' was.

To me it sounds like your DM is being a little unfair. Generally spikes get an attack roll, like Spiked Pit Traps . Reflex save to avoid the pit(DC 20, which it sounds like you missed), if not, the spikes at the bottom get to 'attack'(at +10 , iirc) when you fall to the bottom, and even then only deal 1d4 dmg. So yeah, no spiked trap should cause insta-death, IMHO.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

To me it sounds like your DM is being a little unfair. Generally spikes get an attack roll, like Spiked Pit Traps . Reflex save to avoid the pit(DC 20, which it sounds like you missed), if not, the spikes at the bottom get to 'attack'(at +10 , iirc) when you fall to the bottom, and even then only deal 1d4 dmg. So yeah, no spiked trap should cause insta-death, IMHO.

I am not sure about unfair, but the DM sounds inexperienced, at least in adjucating D&D.

Instant Death effects exist n D&D, as we all know and love/hate, but at this level, they are rare. They certainly have a considerable CR (the lowest level death effect spell is what - 5th level? For a trap with such a spell, that would give us a CR of 5, IIRC.)

Even if it was not a trap in the literal sense (it wasn't intentionally build to trap anyone, though from the descriptions, I wouldn't have guessed it), it should still be adjucated similar to a trap.

But my real point is that spikes in D&D never make good "Instant Death" effects, unless it's with a coup-de-grace or a vorpal weapon. Spikes will usually cause hit point damage, since they are basically a melee weapon that you are swung against, instead the other way around.

 

[Kavok]

My character did kinda deserve it, but I felt a little cheated.

I had just 'stabilized' the groups barbarian to 0 hit points, and he once again refused to give me a life debt. My character had been subtly trying to kill the barbarian since day one as the barbarian tried to rough up some of the other group members up for gold.

I told the Barbarian I would heal him and he approached then I used Death Touch (death domain) on him. I then, for good measure of course, tossed his body on one of these spikes in question. As I did this the group rogue activated the moving tiles again, which we had disabled, tossing me into the spikes.

Up until that point my Cleric had been relatively neutral, but he started to get an evil lean.

 

[irdeggman]

Sounds like the kind of group I hate to play with.

3.5 made the game all about group effort (unlike 2nd ed) and when the group is splitting itself up and being its own worst enemy - well it becomes a totally different game then.

Almost sounds like the DM was looking for a way to get the group to play as a group, but I could be wrong.

 

[Infiniti2000]

I accepted the rule but I wanted to know if this was by the rules and what this should be treated as in the future.

Why don't you ask the DM? We have no idea what rules he is using.

 

[Kavok]

Why don't you ask the DM? We have no idea what rules he is using.

He said "you get impaled, there is nothing in the book regarding impaling so your dead" - basically.

 

[irdeggman]

He said "you get impaled, there is nothing in the book regarding impaling so your dead" - basically.

I go with my earlier comment on finding a way to get team work back.

http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=3977101&postcount=6

In my games once a player has his character decidely attempt to "eliminate" another PC that is when the chracter sheet becomes mine.

They can "pick on each other" and "harass each other" (all in-character mind you) but once one PC goes after another then there is no "team" anymore and I don't need to run any opponents since the party will end up doing all of my work for me.

 

[Infiniti2000]

He said "you get impaled, there is nothing in the book regarding impaling so your dead" - basically.

That is a very unsatisfactory answer. I'd kick the DM squahr in the noots.