Multiple Quesitons about the Stone Shape Spell?

[Aluvial]

To what percision can you use the Stone Shape spell?

Can you try and trap a creature in it?

How thin can you make it?

Can you force a creature to move with it? Will it push someone back or just run into them and stop?

Can you shape something, and then remove it from its source?

and most important...

How complex can you make a stone shape without moving parts?


Do any of these answers change if you have the Craft (Stoneworking) skill?

 

[Plane Sailing]

Well, the SRD says

You can form an existing piece of stone into any shape that suits your purpose. While it’s possible to make crude coffers, doors, and so forth with stone shape, fine detail isn’t possible. There is a 30% chance that any shape including moving parts simply doesn’t work.
Arcane Material Component: Soft clay, which must be worked into roughly the desired shape of the stone object and then touched to the stone while the verbal component is uttered.

I've always run the spell that it allows the caster to mould stone with his bare hands as if it were clay. However;

The arcane material component suggests that you can turn it into anything that you can make a crude clay model of in under six seconds (standard action). Blimey. That doesn't help in deciding for druids or clerics though.

From the description as given though I'd say

1. No

2. I'd say no more than an inch if you wanted thin (thinking of the clay model as the idea here)

3. No. It won't do anything beyond its spell description.

4. Yes, in the example a shaped door wouldn't be much use if it was still connected to the wall it was made in !


5. I'd say the rule of thumb given in the spell description is "no more complex than you could make with a small clay model"

I don't know if this is any help to you...

 

[Aluvial]

Yes, this is a help.

My PC is a Dwarf Fighter/Stonelord who has maxed out his Craft (Stonework) skill.

He's level 13 so I think his score is around a 20...

Anyhow, he got swallowed in my last game session and carries 40 lbs. of stone is his pack!

He wanted to use the stone to burst the stomach of the creature.

I argued that it couldn't do it, but we ended up having an argument about the volume of stone.

In the end, I won the argument about the volume, but he wasn't satisfied.

His idea was to turn his stone into a thin sheet, and basically split the creature in two....

He has tried to capture a creature before and in that case I allowed a Reflex save to avoid.

In the above case, the creature was unable to avoid, because the dwarf was actually inside it.

Anyway, it all worked itself out in the end, but it did bring up some interesting questions.

Thanks for you help...

If there are any more opinions, I sure could use the input.

Aluvial