Is The Web Spell Broken?

[Mark Chance]

Only if it's a narrow opening you are shooting through. Generally you just target the fireball at the center of the web, as that's the point at which total cover begins. The fireball then covers the same area as the web, burnning it all in one go.

If the center of the web has 20 feet of web between it and the caster, the center can't be targeted because it can't be seen.

 

[Staffan]

Only if it's a narrow opening you are shooting through. Generally you just target the fireball at the center of the web, as that's the point at which total cover begins. The fireball then covers the same area as the web, burnning it all in one go.

I'd say that "lots of sticky strands all over the place" counts as something you need to aim carefully to shoot through to me. Still, it's only something like AC 9 to hit: base AC 10, -5 for Dex 0 (static target), +4 cover.

 

[Caliban]

If the center of the web has 20 feet of web between it and the caster, the center can't be targeted because it can't be seen.

The center of the web is the last point you can see. The web is 40' thick, you can see to the halfway point. (Because there is 20' of web between you and the far half.) So you can't target anything in the far half, but you can target the last point you can make out.

 

[Henry]

You can burn yourself out at the rate of one 5 foot square a round with a torch. And you take 2d4 fire damage when you clear your own square. This assumes that you have a readily available means of fire. Many creatures don't.

Rare indeed is the adventurer who does not carry a tindertwig, flint and steel, or another means of producing fire. after 4th level, 2d4 damage is negligible, and once you are free of your own square, you're sitting with a cover in a space you can make reflex saves freely in, and use missile fire out of, or even start burning yourself out with more tindertwigs, or just keep letting the original fire do its work. It's a hindrance, but not overpowered in my opinion. It's the poor sod who sits in the web trying to make STR checks because he didn't carry a fire source that I feel sorry for.

 

[Seeten]

Web is really, really powerful. My Barbarian has less than a %50 chance to bust out while raging, and he is str 20, 24 with rage. The LBEG with the web spell turned my barbarian into a crossbow user for the length of the fight. (No torches, have darkvision)

 

[S'mon]

My experience in a Midnight game where Channelers used Web frequently was that yes, it's overpowered at 2nd level. I was playing a fairly strong Fighter-6 and was frequently rendered useless by enemy (or sometimes friendly) Webbing. For my own game I've gone back to 1e-2e rule that fire burns away the _whole_ Web in 1 round, not just a 5' square. That actually makes it _more_ lethal v very weak creatures like hordes of goblins (since they all take 2d4 dmg), but less powerful vs mid to high level NPCs.

 

[S'mon]

Rare indeed is the adventurer who does not carry a tindertwig, flint and steel, or another means of producing fire. after 4th level, 2d4 damage is negligible, and once you are free of your own square, you're sitting with a cover in a space you can make reflex saves freely in, and use missile fire out of, or even start burning yourself out with more tindertwigs, or just keep letting the original fire do its work. It's a hindrance, but not overpowered in my opinion. It's the poor sod who sits in the web trying to make STR checks because he didn't carry a fire source that I feel sorry for.

Naw Henry, what you have to realise is "Webs don't kill people - the Orcs outside the Webs kill people." What happens - as those of us who've played meat-shield PCs know - that the enemy caster Webs our meat-shield guy(s), then while we're desperately trying to burn or push our way out of the Web, the enemy caster's _own_ meat shields go to town on our un-meaty allies. It's all very well "you're sitting with a cover in a space you can make reflex saves freely in, and use missile fire out of" - but while you're sitting there happily, your Rogue, Wizard, Archer etc pals are being slaughtered by the orcs - and to help your mates all you can do is burn or push through ca 5' round of what's probably 20' of Web... net result can easily be TPK.

 

[S'mon]

Entangle is balanced by being far easier to get out of, only working in the Wilderness, and only available to Druids (admittedly Druids seem overpowered in 3.5) and Rangers. Our Midnight GM bumped it to 2nd level on the Channeler spell list, but in a regular D&D campaign I've not found it overpowered.

 

[ThirdWizard]

I was going to use web on my PCs (Brb6, Sorc5/Rog1, Rog6, Rang6, Favored Soul 5) in a soon to be fight against a Hobgoblin Hexblade 5, Sorcerer 4, and mooks, but then I realized that while it might not lead to a TPK, there would be several casualties more than if the enemy Sorcerer was using scorching ray, especially with the Hexex being thrown around (-2 strength checks).

Web is crazy good. A party split up is significantly weaker than the sum of its parts. Bad things that could happen are the Favored Soul (cleric variant) being cut off from healing others by the web, the barbarian being separated from the others making them easy pickings, or the ranged PCs (rogue and ranger) having to fire through the webbing giving their enemies cover. The only one who could be trapped in the web without a hitch would be the sorcerer, since it would protect him.

Now... I also have the sneaking suspicion that the sorcerer would burning hands everyone out of it, dealing 5d4+2d4 fire damage to everyone trapped. He does stuff like that. Often.

 

[Telas]

Nerfing the Web

Houserule on Web spells:

Movement within a Web: Characters who make the DC10 Strength or Escape Artist check move the exact number of feet that they beat the save by. So if you roll a modified 13, you move 3 feet. We mark it on the mat, and round to the nearest square for concealment, range, etc. (I made this rule when a Web was cast on a rubble-strewn area that had double movement costs, and nobody could make the DC20 necessary to move.)

Fire and Webs: Webs, once lit, will burn one square a round, igniting adjacent squares (but not diagonal squares). Regardless of when the Web was ignited, the square is fully burned/ignites other squares at the end of the round. A Flaming Sphere moves at half-speed through a Web, igniting adjacent squares.

Telas