Solid Fog

[Gansk]

If you take a standard action and then move at least 5 five feet, can you then enter a solid fog, or is it impassable because it reduces your speed to five feet?

If the answer is yes, what happens if your'e flying? Is it like hitting a wall and stalling?

If the answer is still yes, what if you fly above it and drop? Do you rest on top?

 

[Artoomis]

Before discussion, let's quote the spell for reference:

Solid Fog
Conjuration (Creation)
Level: Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S, M
Duration: 1 min./level
Spell Resistance: No

This spell functions like fog cloud, but in addition to obscuring sight, the solid fog is so thick that any creature attempting to move through it progresses at a speed of 5 feet, regardless of its normal speed, and it takes a -2 penalty on all melee attack and melee damage rolls. The vapors prevent effective ranged weapon attacks (except for magic rays and the like). A creature or object that falls into solid fog is slowed, so that each 10 feet of vapor that it passes through reduces falling damage by 1d6. A creature can’t take a 5-foot step while in solid fog.

However, unlike normal fog, only a severe wind (31+ mph) disperses these vapors, and it does so in 1 round.

Solid fog can be made permanent with a permanency spell. A permanent solid fog dispersed by wind reforms in 10 minutes.

Material Component
A pinch of dried, powdered peas combined with powdered animal hoof.

 

[Artoomis]

If you take a standard action and then move at least 5 five feet, can you then enter a solid fog, or is it impassable because it reduces your speed to five feet?

It's not impassible, but you can only move 5-feet per move action. I'd say you cannot enter a Solid Fog if you've moved over 5-feet with the same move action you are using to enter the Fog.

If the answer is yes, what happens if your'e flying? Is it like hitting a wall and stalling?

Pertty much. What really happens is you slow wayyyy down. But, in this turn-based system, you use up all of your remaining move action at once, and then can move 5-feet into the Fog with the next move action you have.

If the answer is still yes, what if you fly above it and drop? Do you rest on top?

No. You penetrate it at 5-feet per move action. If you fall, I suppose you fall at 1/6 the normal rate of speed.

 

[Thanee]

Yep. Only thing I would do different is falling. I would also use 5 feet 'base speed' there (i.e. falling is simply 10 feet per round).

Bye
Thanee

 

[Gansk]

"A creature or object that falls into solid fog is slowed, so that each 10 feet of vapor that it passes through reduces falling damage by 1d6."

The spell already has text that allows falling creatures to fall all the way through. Doesn't that contradict the other situations if you don't allow the creature to enter the first 5 feet?

 

[Artoomis]

"A creature or object that falls into solid fog is slowed, so that each 10 feet of vapor that it passes through reduces falling damage by 1d6."

The spell already has text that allows falling creatures to fall all the way through. Doesn't that contradict the other situations if you don't allow the creature to enter the first 5 feet?

No - but thanks for the quote. I posted the spell and then did not read that part. Sillly me. Of course that still does not say how fast you fall, though, but since you take no falling damage (reducing by 1d6 for every 10 feet effectively means no falling damge), then falling at 10-feet per round works for me.

 

[MarkB]

"A creature or object that falls into solid fog is slowed, so that each 10 feet of vapor that it passes through reduces falling damage by 1d6."

The spell already has text that allows falling creatures to fall all the way through. Doesn't that contradict the other situations if you don't allow the creature to enter the first 5 feet?

Not necessarily. First, the falling is involuntary, so it doesn't use up any of your movement speed. Second, there's no indication from the spell description as to exactly how much your falling speed is slowed. Ten feet per round from a 'standing' start seems reasonable, but it might not actually be the case.

 

[Gansk]

Of course that still does not say how fast you fall, though, but since you take no falling damage (reducing by 1d6 for every 10 feet effectively means no falling damge), then falling at 10-feet per round works for me.

It doesn't really need to say how fast you fall. All it says is that the fog introduces enough friction to reduce the falling damage as a result. If someone falls 1000 feet into a 20 foot high solid fog, he still passes through the fog, but takes 2d6 less damage when he hits the ground. Feather fall allows someone to fall 60 feet a round and take no damage under any circumstance, so solid fog must allow a speed faster than that.

My point is this: if the fog can allow creatures to fall through it and a 30 mph wind can blow it away, it obviously isn't very solid, is it? It's more gelatinous in nature, which implies that the first 5 feet cannot present itself as an impassable barrier under any circumstance. Once a creature is in the fog, then the spell description applies, as the language used in the description is "progresses through".

 

[Infiniti2000]

First, the falling is involuntary, so it doesn't use up any of your movement speed.

The case in point is actually voluntary because I was assuming like you guys did, that perhaps the creature cannot enter the solid fog. In other words, I cannot fly (walk) into the first 5ft of solid fog (5ft of movement), but I could fly above the fog (5ft "into" it) and drop 20ft through it.

That's obviously illogical. Now, it may be the rule and that's what were wondering. For now, Gansk ruled that you can enter the first 5ft, but then you stop and require additional move actions. Since it benefited me, I'm okay with that but the question remains.

While we're at it, is a solid fog a (not strictly defined like flame strike) cylinder or a (badly-described) sphere?

 

[MarkB]

While we're at it, is a solid fog a (not strictly defined like flame strike) cylinder or a (badly-described) sphere?

Well, it uses fog cloud's description, which isn't exactly a standard area-effect description: "Effect: Fog spreads in 20-ft. radius, 20 ft. high"

The text of fog cloud describes a "bank" of fog. Combined with the Effect entry, I'd tend towards making it a cylinder 40 feet in diameter by 20 feet high. Whether it would spread another 20 feet downwards (or function correctly at all) if cast on a point in space above ground level I'm not certain of, given the description.

My tendency would be to ignore the minor inconsistencies of the description, and make it a spherical area effect.