Slippers of Spiderclimb Question?

[Celebrim]

Well, a couple of thoughts provoke the question. In normal circumstances, the following rule applies (from the climb skill).

"Any time the character takes damage while climbing, make a Climb check against the DC of the slope or wall. Failure means the character falls from the character's current height and sustains the appropriate falling damage."

Now, the question is, how normal are these circumstances? If contact with the ground is momentarily broken, the result is the person stays on the ground. There are cases, as you mentioned trip, where contact with the ground is broken in an unusual and prolonged fashion and I would assume normal rules would apply in such cases. Unlike contact with the ground, a person in contact with a rock wall who loses momentary contact with the surface does not accelerate back toward the rock wall. Thus, is it reasonable that a climb check would be required of any creature with a climb speed, when a climb check is provoked by an attack? Or does a creature with a climb speed 'automatically' 'reach' the wall again? If so, could the Griffin have 'tripped', bull rushed, or something to loosen the climber from the wall? If so, what sort of climb check would be required (if any) and would a creature with a climb speed get a bonus? Would it effect your opinion if the climber was upside down on the ceiling when attacked by a Dire Bat?

 

[Antikinesis]

RE: Movement while wearing the slippers...

From the SRD...

Slippers of Spider Climbing
When worn, a pair of these slippers enable movement on vertical surfaces or even upside down along ceilings, leaving the wearer’s hands free. Her speed is 15 feet. Extremely slippery surfaces-icy, oiled, or greased surfaces-make these slippers useless.

It's pretty obvious that this means her climb speed is 15 feet. You can't take the "when worn" part of the sentence without the "movement on vertical surfaces" part. When you're not climbing, you get your land speed back.

RE: Duration while wearing the slippers...
AFAIK, there aren't any rules determining how long you can hang upside down. I think you're applying real-world science (blood rushing to the head, etc.) to a situation involving magic. The "spider climb" spell lets you climb "as a spider". I think spiders can hang upside down indefinitely, so there ya go. It's magic.

RE: Climb checks while wearing the slippers...

From the SRD:

Climb
A creature with a climb speed has the Climb skill at no cost and gains a +8 racial bonus to all Climb checks. The creature must make a Climb check to climb any wall or slope with a DC of more than 0, but it always can choose to take 10, even if rushed or threatened while climbing. The creature climbs at the listed speed while climbing. If it chooses an accelerated climb, it moves at double the listed climb speed (or its normal land speed, whichever is less) and makes a single Climb check at a -5 penalty. Creatures cannot use the run action while climbing.

That pretty much spells it out what happens to the climber who's been raked by a griffon.

RE: Unconscious while wearing the slippers...

I'd say that if you're unconscious, you'd get a pretty hefty circumstance penalty to that climb check. (In other words... "look out below!")

-AK

 

[Celebrim]

Well, if we just assume that 'Spider Climb' gives you a climb speed, my problems with the power of the spell go out the window, but on the other hand so does the descriptive explanation of the spell. The spell specifically says that the spell lets you 'climb and travel on vertical surfaces or even traverse ceilings as well as a spider does'. Tradiationally, the implicit assumption is that you can climb along a ceiling, spider man like, without the need for a skill check.

But an analytical analysis of the spell doesn't reveal that. First, let's note that spiders _do not_ have racial bonuses to climb checks (a big oversight on the part of the designers if you ask me), although they do seem to have 4 or so innate skill points 'invested' in climb. Even so, a medium sized average strength spider 'only' has a +12 climb bonus. Combined with its ability via climb speed to always take 10 on a climb check, this means it can 'easily' traverse obstacles of up to DC 22. Problem is, a worked stone or brick wall is DC 25, and the difficulty for a smooth ceiling is up in the Epic range.

So as well as a spider in a literal sense doesn't appear to be all that good.

 

[kreynolds]

Thanks for the reference to the Climb skill, Antikinesis. That totally slipped my mind.

 

[Aluvial]

I forgot to look at the spell Spiderclimb ... Here is the relevent part about being knocked off a surface:

A creature with a Strength score of at least 20 +1 per caster level can pull the subject off a wall.

Since you need both hands and feet for Spiderclimb I might say that the slippers would make the check a DC of 15 + the caster level....

A trip, bullrush, or grapple might knock you off the wall if your strength were high enough.

What do you guys think?

Aluvial