Bear climbing a rope?

[Piratecat]

It's almost as silly as the fact that under CoC d20 rules, Azathoth has a +5 to its hide check (the +20 it gets to all of its checks basically by virtue of being Azathoth isn't factored into its stats block for some reason, though). Nevertheless, a creature of infinite size actually gets a postive hide modifier...

It's a perfect example of not being able to see the forest for all the trees. Of course, in this case the trees are the last amorphous blight of nevermost confusion which blasphemes and bubbles at the centre of all infinity... but you get the idea.

Id say that a reincarnated PC bear can climb ropes a lot easier than a wild bear. I'd let one try it at a penalty; using jaws and feet and paws, I think it's possible.

 

[ShadowMaster]

That's kind of odd, IMO. And yes, I agree with you from a game perspective, but it doesn't seem to jive with reality. Maybe bears are a little better than I thought in real life, but the actual infromation I got about bears climbing in the real world is based on the Encarta article about bears, so I don't think I'm too far off.

I've you looked for any errata on that book? Maybe they corrected it in some sort of FAQ or sage advice!

 

[Tom Cashel]

Id say that a reincarnated PC bear can climb ropes a lot easier than a wild bear. I'd let one try it at a penalty; using jaws and feet and paws, I think it's possible.

Hmm. I see. He should also probably be able to wield two swords (since he has Ranger levels), open locks (since he has Rogue levels), cast Clerical spells with somatic components (since he has Cleric levels), wear armor, walk upright, and eat with a fork.



Sorry for the sarcasm, P-kitty, but it seems as if it is you who is not seeing the forest for the trees...

 

[Kwalish Kid]

What, was this whole thread a troll? Did Mr. Cashell not have any intention of actually listening to anyone who might say that it is possible?

Last I checked, people tried to seel D&D because it was a game that promoted cooperation. Not just amongst the players, but between the players and the DM in coming up with an exciting story. Seeing the bear struggling up the rope with his teeth is a lot more exciting than sarcastically mocking a player trying to react to the story.

 

[Clumsy Bob]

Try this on your players, get to climb a rope using only the palms of their hands and feet. Pretty much similar to how a bear would grasp a rope. Then after a few minutes of hilarity ask them 'can a bear climb a rope.'

Bob

 

[The_lone_gunman]

How about use a 1 foot long rope for the rope trick so that the opening is only 1 foot above the ground. Then the bear can just walk in. Thats what I would do .

TLG

 

[Tom Cashel]

What, was this whole thread a troll?

Nope. Are you?

Did Mr. Cashell not have any intention of actually listening to anyone who might say that it is possible?

Nope. I was hoping to find some back-up from the sensible folks here at EN World when trying to convince my players that such a silly thing as a bear climbing a rope would not be possible. I may indeed let him try, because it is D&D after all, but the climb DC will be quite...challenging.

...and "Mr. Cashel" was my Dad's name. Call me Tom.

Last I checked, people tried to seel D&D because it was a game that promoted cooperation. Not just amongst the players, but between the players and the DM in coming up with an exciting story.

Yeah...but you don't play in my game. And this doesn't have anything to do with excitement (because my game that you don't play in is plenty exciting...)--this is about verisimilitude.

Originally posted by The_lone_gunman
How about use a 1 foot long rope for the rope trick so that the opening is only 1 foot above the ground.

The spell's minimum height is five feet, as Fast Learner pointed out a while ago. This allows the Bear to just pull himself up into the rope trick, which is fine and dandy by me.

I need some coffee.

 

[Kwalish Kid]

So, Tom, you actually agree with Piratecat. You were just mocking him for no reason.

Glad to know.

 

[Tom Cashel]

Sure, Kwalish...just keep playing your semantical message board games.



It's you that I'm mocking for no reason.

 

[Artoomis]

Simplicity itself.

I imagine it's possible, but terribly hard.

Say, a -20 modifer on the climb check, with 10 ranks in climb required?

This is covered in the rules:

Practically Impossible Tasks

In general, to do something that's practically impossible requires that the character have at least rank 10 in the skill and entails a penalty of –20 on the character's roll or +20 on the DC (which amounts to about the same thing).

Practically impossible tasks are hard to delineate ahead of time. They're the accomplishments that represent incredible, almost logic-defying skill and luck.

The DM decides what is actually impossible and what is merely practically impossible.