Transmute Rock to Mud questions

[melkoriii]

The spell simply grants a -2 AC to anyone buried in the mud, no matter how deeply. Since someone buried up to her chest will have more cover than someone buried up to her legs, -2 can't include the cover, since there would be two different cover modifiers.

So, you're right, it is the latter. I don't have the book in front of me so I don't know the AC bonuses for cover, but if you use 3/4 cover for chest and 3/4 cover is a +4 AC, anyone stuck in the mud like that would effectively get a +2 bonus to AC. If 1/2 cover is +2, then anyone buried up to the hip would not change her AC.

And yes! Remember the dam is worked stone! Of course, that stone on either SIDE of the dam might not be worked...

3/4 cover is +7 AC and +3 save (giveing a +5 if mud givng cover)
1/2 cover is +4 AC and +2 save (giveing a +2 if mud gives a cover)

I still believe mud (and water) gives Concealment as it is not a solid object. Forest gives Concealment not cover. A Tree gives Cover not Concealment.

Mud would NOT stop a bullet.

I have a 75 lb Recerve Bow and I can shoot though a Door (Presto Wood) or metle garbage can with ease from 30 yards useing a field point.

 

[Tiberius]

I have a 75 lb Recerve Bow and I can shoot though a Door (Presto Wood) or metle garbage can with ease from 30 yards useing a field point.

I would presume that you are capable of this due to the fact that a recurve bow is considerably more powerful than its standard cousins, not because that task is particularly easy.

I agree that the mud should provide cover, especially against bashing and slashing weapons. I could see the point being made that mud (like water) wouldn't inhibit piercing weapons to the same degree.

-Tiberius

 

[Pielorinho]

3/4 cover is +7 AC and +3 save (giveing a +5 if mud givng cover)
1/2 cover is +4 AC and +2 save (giveing a +2 if mud gives a cover)

I still believe mud (and water) gives Concealment as it is not a solid object. Forest gives Concealment not cover. A Tree gives Cover not Concealment.

Mud would NOT stop a bullet.

Enough mud would. Remember that this is extremely thick mud, thick enough to walk on if you lay brush on top of it, thick enough to form a 5' deep puddle on a solid surface. If someone's buried up to their chest and you shoot at their feet, your sling bullet will have to pass through 3' or so of thick mud.

It's possible that you'd still hit them with your sling bullet, but it'd be a lot harder. That's why I'd count it as cover.

However, it's clearly providing both cover and concealment. Conceivably, you could give an opponent something like 1/2 cover and 25% concealment -- but that sounds like too much of a pain in the butt to me.

Daniel

 

[Jay Lofstead]

Another perspective for the protection of the mud is to use the underwater combat rules (something we had to use on Monday night). I would probably at least double the penalties and such since the mud is so much thicker (but then there is that exposed portion of the body thing to worry about...)

 

[Murrdox]

Whoa, let's NOT bring underwater combat into it!!

I agree that realistically speaking... the mud would probably provide both SOME cover (since it will stop some blows, missles, etc...) and SOME concealment (since it WON'T stop some blows, missles, etc, but those that DO penetrate the mud might not hit the parts of the person buried beneath it)

However, for simplicity's sake, I would most likely rule it a cover bonus.

 

[Kestrel]

"Castles and large stone buildings are generally immune to the effects of the spell, since transmute rock to mud can’t affect worked stone and doesn’t reach deep enough to undermine such buildings’ foundations. However, small buildings or structures often rest upon foundations shallow enough to be damaged or even partially toppled by this spell."

My question about this is, what if your druid became an earth elemental and went very deep into the bedrock under the castle? Would he be able to affect the castle with a casting of this spell?

 

[Wippit Guud]

I don't think an earth elemental needs to worry about using a spell to bring down a wall

 

[Murrdox]

I'm not up to snuff on how transforming into an Earth Elemental works.

If you were physically capable of casting the spell AS an Earth Elemental (could the earth elemental use all the material and verbal components to cast the spell) AND if you were capable of doing so underground (I assume the earth elemental tunnels through Earth and could hollow out enough space to cast the spell) then I don't see any reason why not

Of course, it'd be up to the DM as to how much of the foundation under the castle you'd have to affect before the castle de-stabalized... in which case you only might have a castle "sink" a few feet into the ground, or lean to the side a bit, which might result in some of the towers collapsing or something.

In any case, it's unlikely you'd be able to reduce a castle to rubble with this spell.

 

[Kestrel]

Well, I guess it doesn't really matter all that much, because at that level, you could probably topple the castle simply as a Huge Elemental.

When I was thinking of this idea, I was thinking of Elementals in the Shadowrun sense, being able to easily move through thier element, much like fish in water. But, nothing seems to say this in the rules. My thinking was that the druid in elemental form simply moves to the bedrock and casts the spell multiple times, causing much havok above with no threat to himself.

 

[LokiDR]

When I was thinking of this idea, I was thinking of Elementals in the Shadowrun sense, being able to easily move through thier element, much like fish in water. But, nothing seems to say this in the rules. My thinking was that the druid in elemental form simply moves to the bedrock and casts the spell multiple times, causing much havok above with no threat to himself.

Shadowrun Elementals also have immunity to normal weapons and engulf. Almost any power elemental can be summoned by a wizard. There were many ways for elementals in ShadowRun to be broken.