PO: Heroes of the Elemental Chaos: Elemental Translation (p.95)) in need of errata?

[Jhaelen]

"You push each target to a square adjacent to the blast. If a target can't be pushed, its space is excluded from the blast."

The power can be used to create solid earth (i.e blocking terrain) in a close blast 3.

IIRC, the general rule is that I get to choose whether to push the target 0 squares or to an applicable destination square. So, I think this should allow me to enclose a medium-sized enemy entirely in blocking terrain (a 3-by-3 squares cube). Nice!

Interestingly, the power fails to mention the duration's effect, but the fluff intro tells us that all of the changes made by the power are permanent. Even nicer!

I'd totally take this power if it isn't errataed

Unfortunately, there's not a lot of other interesting stuff for my PHB2 sorcerer...

 

[OnlineDM]

I could see an argument that says "Push to a square adjacent to the blast" is different from "Push 2 squares to a square adjacent to the blast." If you push X squares, you can always choose to push fewer squares, true, including zero. But here, you have to push all targets out of the blast if possible. I don't know if that argument is correct, mind you!

I'd also say that this is one where the spirit of the power is pretty clear from the wording, even if it technically might have this loophole. Clarifying the wording to say "You must push each target to a square adjacent to the blast if possible" would be good.

 

[Jhaelen]

I'd also say that this is one where the spirit of the power is pretty clear from the wording, even if it technically might have this loophole. Clarifying the wording to say "You must push each target to a square adjacent to the blast if possible" would be good.

Oh, I agree. And in fact in the same book there is a power (Watery Sphere. p.111) that says "You must push..." (in the Miss line). So, an erratum is definitely in order.

I also found another power (Dig, p.114) that doesn't specify the duration of the effect. And another power (Gale Wall, p.115) that explains part of the rule machanics in the fluff text!

I've also noticed two powers with 'wrong' fluff:
- Yan-C-Bin's Breath, p. 102: The dude's the evil prince of Elemental Air, not Water.
- Elemental Warding, p.94: Fluff & the text accompanying the art suggest the power creates a kind of barrier but all it does is to grant resistance to your allies.

I've not read the book completely yet, but the number of issues I've found doesn't seem to be higher than in previous supplements, so it's okay, I guess.

I mostly worried about important information getting removed from the power descriptions; this is a bad thing to do (but also happened before, e.g. in the Dark Sun Campaign Guide).

 

[OnlineDM]

Well, the wording on Watery Sphere says, "You must slide the target up to three squares to a square adjacent to the blast." That's different - there's a number of squares specified. Elemental Translation doesn't have a number of squares, which is what makes me think you can't choose to slide zero. Still, clarification would be good.

The powers that don't specify a duration are permanent, as I read it. Dig makes a hole. The hole is now a new terrain feature. Same goes for the earth created by Elemental Translation. I don't see a problem here.

I'm with you on Gale Wall; the specification that it can break the normal rules for walls should be in the power itself. If you saw this power in the compendium, you'd have no idea about that rule.

Elemental Warding's only problem is the art; the fluff and rules are fine together, in my opinion. The art failing to match the rules isn't only an issue in this case - there are two illustrations of Sha'ir with tomes, which they can't use. Also, there are tome feats and tome items in the book, which no class in the book can use. Oops.

On Yan-C-Bin's Breath, yep, they just screwed up. Oops again.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

And another power (Gale Wall, p.115) that explains part of the rule machanics in the fluff text!

I'm with you on Gale Wall; the specification that it can break the normal rules for walls should be in the power itself. If you saw this power in the compendium, you'd have no idea about that rule.

What am I missing? I don't see the trouble with it.

 

[Kingreaper]

"You push each target to a square adjacent to the blast. If a target can't be pushed, its space is excluded from the blast."

If the target can be pushed, it's space isn't excluded.

So, if you could choose not to push them (which is clearly not the intention, although the rules seem somewhat unclear) not only would they be surrounded by blocking terrain, their space would be filled with it. Meaning you could encase even a huge creature with the power.

Note: even if you can't encase with this power on it's own, if someone is next to a wall, and you put the origin just in front of them: they can't be pushed and will clearly be encased.

 

[OnlineDM]

What am I missing? I don't see the trouble with it.

Normally walls have to rest on a solid surface. But you can suspend a Gale Wall in the air. This doesn't show up anywhere in its rules text, just in the intro text in the book.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

Oh I see. Because it's a wall and a conjuration. Thanks!

(D'oh, have to spread around XP...)

 

[Zaran]

It still sounds like you can entomb someone against a wall with this power. Since they can't be pushed unless they are further away from you you can fillin the squares around them and use the wall as a backstop.