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ShortQuests -- Pocket Sized Adventures! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed for 1-2 game sessions.

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 2111388" data-attributes="member: 2067">And was completely silent when it was digging out of the earth *right next to you*?It's hard for me to think that a character wouldn't be aware if something dug out of the ground and stood up right next to him...But still, you probably want to preserve the shocking and sudden effect of it...so here's my interpretation:* An "encounter" basically happens as long as two sides can see each other or are aware of each other's presence nearby in some way. Spotting an army through a crystal ball isn't an encounter, and you don't get to encounter the monsters on the other side of the wall until you can actually interact with them...* So if the ghoul was laying under the earth, he wasn't part of the encounter at first* The ghoul is dimly aware of stuff happening above him...without blindsight or blindsense or the ability to see through earth, he can't really be aware of each creature's exact position, but he can hear some shouting and fighting* When the ghoul decides to enter combat, he's gotta dig himself out of the earth. That's gonna make noise, that's gonna make movement -- that's gonna be pretty obvious. He doesn't earth glide, he's corporeal, he can't really just kip up, even if he's only a few inches below the ground (which, to me, would seem to make his hiding place more obvious...). Digging himself out of the earth is probably a standard action, at least, allowing him to stand or roll away.* Alternately, there's the whole "fist comes up suddenly through the ground and grabs your ankles" thing. I'd say that the ghoul would effectively be attacking through full cover, meaning that he'd probably miss quite horrendously. But it's like stabbing your sword through a wall to something you see on the other side -- it either requires l33t n1nj4 sk1llz, or it's really a shot in the dark. A common ghoul doesn't have the sk1llz...he'd probably prefer to dig his way out, though if he thinks someone has stopped on top of him, he might claw instead. * When the ghoul does enter combat, everyone has to react to the new situation -- it's time to re-roll initiative, and until you go, you're flat footed again. Everyone is surprised by the ghoul -- monsters included. It's a new encounter, a new interaction, a new combat. Effectively, think about what you would rule if your PC's were on one side of a wooden wall, and there were monsters on the other side of it...would you let them stab through the wall and hit one? Or break through the wall and get a free attack against the surprised critters? In certain circumstances, yeah, I can imagine it. But I think in most, smashing through a wall or digging up from a mound of earth is going to interefere enough and cause enough chaos that you won't really gain much an advantage, at best making everyone try to take stock of the situation again.</blockquote>

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