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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CruelSummerLord" data-source="post: 3755560" data-attributes="member: 48692">Back in the days of 1E, I remember some arbitrary rulings on the part of Gary Gygax in the 1E DMG-like arbitarily deciding that, even if he saved against the web spell and was only partly entangled, a villainous NPC could not free himself fast enough to be subdued or killed by the PCs, that arrows or warhammers tossed at an enemy at the same time as a lightning bolt or fireball would be destroyed, that a gust of wind spell could dissipate a wall of fog, etc.  Can these sorts of things happen in 3E?  Do they happen?  Have you ever made off-the-cuff rulings in response to a set of circumstances that you remark on?  Examples: Vampire turns to gaseous form to escape.  PC casts Gust of Wind at him to dissipate some of the gas and cause damage.  Either that, or the villain uses a poisonous gas attack, obcuring mist, or what have you, and the PCs summon some winds to blow the offending gases away?  PCs are fighting giants in a forest, and the PCs try snagging them with a web spell anchored among the trees.  The giants, however, have other ideas-with a successful Strength check, they simply bull through the web spell, uprooting the trees and either using them as clubs, or simply dragging them behind them until the webs wear off.  PC climbs a tree to escape an ogre.  The ogre, given that his usual response when confronted with something he doesn't like is to hit it, whacks the tree with his club.  Vibrations cause the PC to lose her balance, and the PC must suddenly make a Balance check.  If she fails, she falls out of the tree, taking 2d6 damage, and is unable to act for the next round, as she's too stunned to do anything.  If she succeeds, there's not much she can do anyway, since she's forced to spend the round grabbing the tree trunk to regain her balance.  PCs cast grease spell to make opponents slip up.  Opponents stop short, use their tinderboxes to set the grease on fire, and then order their iron golem into melee, standing back and using arrows.  Iron golem gets the benefits of a regenerate spell from the constant heat, and does additional damage, due to the superheated metal of its sword.  None of this is covered under the RAW, but I as DM rule these things anyway, based on my interpretation of the situation.  By the same token, of course, if players point similar things out that work in their favor, or try and pull some sneaky tricks of their own, giving a convincing rationale of why things will work the way they say, I might go ahead and have them turn out that way.  The PCs might try a similar trick, using a grease spell themselves to trip up a band of pursuing trolls, and then setting the grease on fire themselves with their torches.  Players think that the trolls can't escape the grease, since they're trapped in the flames the same way a human might be, and are almost certainly doomed.  Worse even, since trolls are vulnerable to fire.  Saving throws might work for some of the trolls who were able to escape the grease in time, but even they won't be able to cross the burning fire to reach the PCs.  The trolls being burned alive are too blinded by pain to think straight and escape.  The result?  A lot of PCs escaping safe and sound, leaving behind a dish of Roast Troll Surprise for any carrion crawlers that might happen along later.  How would you as DM handle any of the above situations?  Have you ever pulled something similar that didn't fit in under the rulebooks?  Got any good stories for unusual tactics that either you or your players pulled off?</blockquote>

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