Force Effects and Etherial things

[Jack Simth]

Bearing in mind that force effects extend to the Etherial plane.....

Situation 1: A fighter with who happens to be on the Etherial Plane wishes to bull rush a mage on the material plane by the Material Mage's Mage Armor. Can he? Why or why not?

Situation 2: A wizard on the Etherial Plane wants to put up a Wall of Iron to block the Material mage from progressing past a certain point with his Mage Armor on. Does it work? Why or why not?

Situation 3: A material mage wants to cast Magic Missle - the only problem is that there is a big hulking rock on the etherial plane covering both him, the target, and the entire distance between. Does the spell work? Why or why not?

 

[MatthewJHanson]

An ethereal creature can see and hear into the Material Plane in a 60-foot radius, though material objects still block sight and sound. (An ethereal creature can’t see through a material wall, for instance.) An ethereal creature inside an object on the Material Plane cannot see. Things on the Material Plane, however, look gray, indistinct, and ghostly. An ethereal creature can’t affect the Material Plane, not even magically. An ethereal creature, however, interacts with other ethereal creatures and objects the way material creatures interact with material creatures and objects.

Even if a creature on the Material Plane can see an ethereal creature the ethereal creature is on another plane. Only force effects can affect the ethereal creatures. If, on the other hand, both creatures are ethereal, they can affect each other normally.

A force effect originating on the Material Plane extends onto the Ethereal Plane, so that a wall of force blocks an ethereal creature, and a magic missile can strike one (provided the spellcaster can see the ethereal target). Gaze effects and abjurations also extend from the Material Plane to the Ethereal Plane. None of these effects extend from the Ethereal Plane to the Material Plane.

The way I see it, the relationship between the etherial plane and the material one is not a fair one, with the material plane having always having the advantage. Thus while the material mage armor protects against attacks from the etherial plane, it is in no way hindered by anything on it. Fighter can't bull rush, wall of iron can't stop you, and the magic missile goes off without a hitch.