Burned from Rope Trick! Help.

[Xarlen]

It's been a looong time since I even cracked open a D&D book, and I got into a debate with someone over a rules interpretation today.

It was about Rope Trick and Dispel magic. Now, he says that since Rope trick is a spell that is cast on the Rope itself, and if the rope can be drawn into the extra-dimensional space, it cannot be the target of any spell. Namely because no spell can be cast From the dimensional space, or Into it.

No spells are able to cross the dimensional void, sans Force effects.

I say that a Rope Trick can be detected via Detect Magic, can be Dispelled by dispelling the pocket itself, and that Adjuration magic can cross into other planes (Ala Ethereal Jaunt being dispelled, etc).

However, I don't have the rules fortitude to explain why I'm right, so I ask.

Who is right? Why?

 

[Justinian]

By a strict reading of the spell, he's right.

Think of the spell as turning a rope into a pathway to another plane. If the rope led to the Plane of Fire, and was pulled "up" to it, can someone dispel the Plane of Fire? In the same way, creatures inside the Rope Trick aren't inside a magical bubble, but in another dimension. That's why it can't be dispelled.

This came up in my game as well, and I instinctively ruled it like you did. Only further readings of the spell convinced me.

 

[gfunk]

By a strict reading of the spell, he's right.

I agree, think of a similar spell such as Maze which sends you to an extradimensional plane. You cannot dispel the Maze simply by casting dispel magic on the spot that the target disappeared.

 

[Xarlen]

Well damnation. I thought it *was* a bubble, because it merely created an extradimensional space. Darn.

I could've sworn we had debates a looong time ago over this matter, and it was ruled you could. Hell, Polecat did it to his PCs.

 

[Zhure]

Yep, technically the rope is the target of the spell. It can be pulled into the extradimensional space (counting as one of the eight creatures) and can only be targeted by spells able to cross dimensional boundries.

Since it does allow viewing across a planar boundry, an argument can be made that a rope trick can be sensed as per the scrying rules, no detect magic necessary. (Rumor has it that in 3.5 it's a Will save mechanic and not a skill.)