Sudden Stalagmite

[Someone]

What´s amusing is that a medium level fighter can be impaled by a 10 ft tall stalagmite, and suffer only around 35 hit points of damage. I think that having a big piece of stone firmly lodged through your abdomen and chest should be really serious to the point of, you know, death.

 

[frankthedm]

Well at least nobody can accuse you of playing favorites with the wife!

What´s amusing is that a medium level fighter can be impaled by a 10 ft tall stalagmite, and suffer only around 35 hit points of damage. I think that having a big piece of stone firmly lodged through your abdomen and chest should be really serious to the point of, you know, death.

Thats the assumption I work on as well. You get impaled when you run out of HP, otherwise you 'rolled with the hit, got hurt, but it was "just a flesh wound".

 

[Someone]

I agree with you: the impalement thing would make a gory death scene for somebody reduced to 0 or -10 hit points, but for a combatant still kicking and biting is ludicrous, really.

 

[lukelightning]

I agree with you: the impalement thing would make a gory death scene for somebody reduced to 0 or -10 hit points, but for a combatant still kicking and biting is ludicrous, really.

I'd change the flavor text to mean multiple spikes in the square stabbing up, and instead of impaling they cage the target.

 

[darthkilmor]

I agree with you: the impalement thing would make a gory death scene for somebody reduced to 0 or -10 hit points, but for a combatant still kicking and biting is ludicrous, really.

Not too ludicrous, it all depends on how large the spike is. if its only 1-2 inches in diameter, then the impaling would make sense for the amount of damage done.

 

[Crothian]

I agree with you: the impalement thing would make a gory death scene for somebody reduced to 0 or -10 hit points, but for a combatant still kicking and biting is ludicrous, really.

No more silly then everything else in D&D. It is not a realistic game, nor is it meant to be.

 

[werk]

No more silly then everything else in D&D. It is not a realistic game, nor is it meant to be.

Can I get an AMEN?!?

 

[Plane Sailing]

Thats the assumption I work on as well. You get impaled when you run out of HP, otherwise you 'rolled with the hit, got hurt, but it was "just a flesh wound".

It would have been better if (among other things) it said 'if the target is reduced to 0 or fewer hit points it is impaled" - the same kind of proviso as disintegrate now uses (since they nerfed it...)

 

[Piratecat]

A stalagmaite out of nowhere out of the second floor??? Where does the precedent stop? Why not out of the roof of a parapet 300 feet off the ground while we are at it? The fourth floor of the local inn?

No stalagmites grow out of the ground. Period. NOT out of iron. NOT out of wood.

[snarky] Actually, stalagmites grow when the ceiling above them drips slowly accumulating mineral-rich groundwater over the period of decades. I'd rule that if there's no ceiling above them dripping groundwater, the spell would fail.

Seriously? I don't see why this is any more ludicrous than, say, the precedent of conjuring a big ball of fire. I can absolutely see why the DM ruled the way he did, and I'd support that, but I think this should have been discussed ahead of time; it's one of those surprises that you don't want to spring on a player, because that's not fun for anyone.

 

[Someone]

No more silly then everything else in D&D. It is not a realistic game, nor is it meant to be.

Of course, but there are several problems with this: it contradicts the rules. Supposedly, hit points are a mixture of "cool guy factor", sheer luck, god´s protection, plain ability to roll with it, being able to turn a potentially fatal blow into a glancing strike, etc. By including effects that require a physical injury (like this spell, or the harpoon rules in Sword & fist) there´s no way to rationalize it but to admit that the character (that can very well be a 3 foot halfling) can live with a huge hole where his intestines should be, and not only that, but that an experienced adventurer can have not only one, but several of those grievous stalagmite wounds and still survive and heal in a matter of days. It may not be a problem for some, but everyone I know doesn´t play it that way.

Other attacks should realistically have other effects as well: nobody caught in a fireball able to melt soft metals should walk out of it unscathed; and acid injuries leave horrible scars. Still, there are ways to include those into the game without those side effects.

I wonder how the spell designer would put a guillotine into D&D terms. A heavy blade falls on your neck and deals 20d6 damage?