DM's: How Do You Deal with Rope Trick?
Re: Thank ye!
No worries, RJSmalls! Be sure to come back when your campaign reaches 10th level, with "DMs: How do you deal with teleport?" I am sure you will receive lots of constructive and useful suggestions, NONE of which will be along the lines of "teleport does not work in this dungeon". Because we're all more original than THAT, aren't we, boys and girls?
RJSmalls said:
No worries, RJSmalls! Be sure to come back when your campaign reaches 10th level, with "DMs: How do you deal with teleport?" I am sure you will receive lots of constructive and useful suggestions, NONE of which will be along the lines of "teleport does not work in this dungeon". Because we're all more original than THAT, aren't we, boys and girls?
Zhure
First Post
I like Hong. I wish for a chance to game with Hong.
As a player, I like Rope Trick the way it is. As a DM, I accept Rope Trick as part of the arsenal of things the players do.
Look, if they feel they need to waste a precious 2nd level spell slot and at least five feet of rope for a safe encampment, then they're probably fighting something dangerous or they're afraid to sleep outdoors, which only means I've been doing my job.
In the last campaign where it was an issue, my Sorcerer cast Rope Trick pretty much every day. That was one less Cat's Grace he had to cast on the archer. That was five feet of rope he used up. That means all the extradminsional equipment (Bags of Holding, Quivers of Ehlonna, etc) no longer functioned in the Rope Trick.
All to get 8 safe hours of sleep. And it wasn't totally safe. Dispels and bonfires could still wreck his world. Any decent bad guy can detect the invisible opening to a Rope Trick fairly easily or he isn't a bad guy. If he or one of his myriad of minions has Spellcraft, he's going to know it's a Rope Trick. So what happens? We get up, we get new spells, we start climbing out of the rope area and the invisible poison-wielding rogues jump us. Oh yeah, coming down the rope one character at a time with no supporting fire made the monk wince in fear. And even if you somehow get all of you out of the Rope Trick in time to save the first man out the gate, you're still walking out of the bedroom without brushing your teeth and sucking down a fireball!
Rope Trick isn't broken. DMs who make up cheesy ethereal herpes rules are broken. If you don't like a spell, ban it up front so you don't screw the Sorcerer out of a precious slot or screw the Wizard out of money.
Greg
As a player, I like Rope Trick the way it is. As a DM, I accept Rope Trick as part of the arsenal of things the players do.
Look, if they feel they need to waste a precious 2nd level spell slot and at least five feet of rope for a safe encampment, then they're probably fighting something dangerous or they're afraid to sleep outdoors, which only means I've been doing my job.
In the last campaign where it was an issue, my Sorcerer cast Rope Trick pretty much every day. That was one less Cat's Grace he had to cast on the archer. That was five feet of rope he used up. That means all the extradminsional equipment (Bags of Holding, Quivers of Ehlonna, etc) no longer functioned in the Rope Trick.
All to get 8 safe hours of sleep. And it wasn't totally safe. Dispels and bonfires could still wreck his world. Any decent bad guy can detect the invisible opening to a Rope Trick fairly easily or he isn't a bad guy. If he or one of his myriad of minions has Spellcraft, he's going to know it's a Rope Trick. So what happens? We get up, we get new spells, we start climbing out of the rope area and the invisible poison-wielding rogues jump us. Oh yeah, coming down the rope one character at a time with no supporting fire made the monk wince in fear. And even if you somehow get all of you out of the Rope Trick in time to save the first man out the gate, you're still walking out of the bedroom without brushing your teeth and sucking down a fireball!
Rope Trick isn't broken. DMs who make up cheesy ethereal herpes rules are broken. If you don't like a spell, ban it up front so you don't screw the Sorcerer out of a precious slot or screw the Wizard out of money.
Greg
Wicht
Hero
I would not ban it.
I would follow several of the suggestions detailed here-in concerning preparing for when the party disengages from the spell.
Some other ideas.
1 - If the PCs left the room below them filled with bodies carrion crawlers or other scavengers have moved in.
2 - Even if the monsters do not know where the PCs are but suspect they are in the room somewhere, they can always set up a nasty ambush involving a floor full of flammable liquids and archers in the hallway outside.
3. Monsters suspecting PCs are hiding in a room pile tons of rocks in front of the lone doorway into the room thus trying to trap the PCs inside.
4. A regular and well armed patrol of some sort is in the middle of investigating a looted room when the PCs descend from the rope.
Furthermore - I think it is a good idea to practice moderation in trying to mess the players over when they are using their abilities. Whether this or any other spell, the DM should let it work without a hitch 3 out of every 4 times or so (unless there is reason to make it less). But that 4th time throw something wild, unexpected, but completely logical at them in order to show them that no one ability is "the ability" and make them worry about the next time. Then let it work, lower their guard and hit them with something else.
I would follow several of the suggestions detailed here-in concerning preparing for when the party disengages from the spell.
Some other ideas.
1 - If the PCs left the room below them filled with bodies carrion crawlers or other scavengers have moved in.
2 - Even if the monsters do not know where the PCs are but suspect they are in the room somewhere, they can always set up a nasty ambush involving a floor full of flammable liquids and archers in the hallway outside.
3. Monsters suspecting PCs are hiding in a room pile tons of rocks in front of the lone doorway into the room thus trying to trap the PCs inside.
4. A regular and well armed patrol of some sort is in the middle of investigating a looted room when the PCs descend from the rope.
Furthermore - I think it is a good idea to practice moderation in trying to mess the players over when they are using their abilities. Whether this or any other spell, the DM should let it work without a hitch 3 out of every 4 times or so (unless there is reason to make it less). But that 4th time throw something wild, unexpected, but completely logical at them in order to show them that no one ability is "the ability" and make them worry about the next time. Then let it work, lower their guard and hit them with something else.
Jay Lofstead
First Post
Actually, the people inside CAN see out. From the SRD:
Those in the extradimensional space can see out of it as if a 3-foot-by-5-foot window were centered on the rope.
Those in the extradimensional space can see out of it as if a 3-foot-by-5-foot window were centered on the rope.
jasper
Rotten DM
Latency said:
Oh I did not know the spell casters in your DM's campaign were so STUPID to create a creative way to commit sucide.
The duration is 1 hr per level. So by your Dumb Master rules. The first time it casted the caster dies and hour or so later, the dead body falls to the ground.
I would allow detect magic and dispel magic to affect it. Why nerf a spell when works the way it suppose to.
Carnifex
First Post
jasper said:
Well as a minor point to make it all moot, you shouldn't have an air problem because there's that several-foot-square hole in the floor of the pocket demiplane Rope Trick creates, which air could get through. Then you could also use this to gas or smoke out the PC's from within their little hidy-hole too
jasper said:
Because the way it works is affecting the campaign badly?
Harm, Resurrection, teleport and others all work like they are supposed to, but they have negative effects on my campaign. I don't want my campaign to play like Baldur's Gate, where the party rests anywhere, anytime, to fill up HPs and spell slots, before continuing further in a dungeon, taking weeks to clear a single floor. It completely breaks my suspension of disbelief. The measures mentioned may work in making it a bit harder or riskier for the PCs, but I don't want that spell (and the "lets rest until we are full (spells and hps) again before going farther"-mentality that goes with it) used at all.
