Welcome to noobville: Tide of Iron Question

[Obryn]

OK, so I think I may have been running something wrong since Keep on the Shadowfell. And it's insane that in late 2010 I'd have a question about Tide of Iron of all things - one of the most iconic powers of 4e. But! Here goes.

Orcface the Orc is standing on difficult terrain. Bumbo Fightmore hits him with Tide of Iron.

Can Bumbo Fightmore shift into that square?

I was saying no, because, "wtf, ur not elf. lol." But actually reading the text has made me doubt my stance, since there's no "shift 1" in the power - it just says "shift into the square" regardless of distance.

Have I been a mean n00b DM for the past few years?

-O

 

[Saeviomagy]

When a power says "shift to position X" without a mention of squares, then yes, it means "shift any number of squares until you enter position X".

The same goes for powers that let you swap positions with the target, because a swap is "slide the target so that it partially occupies your square, then shift until you're in a square the target left".

So yes, you can use a swap or tide of iron to enter difficult terrain.

 

[The Little Raven]

Have I been a mean n00b DM for the past few years?

Completely.

Noob.

But anyway, since it doesn't specify a number of squares shifted, I wouldn't apply the double movement penalty for difficult terrain.

 

[the Jester]

HAW HAW! N00B!!!

But yeah, to answer the question, you've been doing it wrong.

 

[Obryn]

DOH! I think what happened is, I got confused when Footwork Lure got smacked down to a Slide 1...

Man. Goes to show that you can't take things for granted no matter how well you think you've learned the rules. I mean, honestly, the last time I looked at the exact wording of Tide of Iron was .... beyond memory, I think.

-O

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

In the rare instance you have a one-handed reach weapon (so you could it with a shield), you could shift the equivalent of 4 squares in difficult terrain...

 

[eriktheguy]

If you push a 50x50 monster, can you shift into any square in the 1x50 area it vacated?

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Probably not. I'm pretty sure you only get to push the victim 1 square.

 

[eriktheguy]

Probably not. I'm pretty sure you only get to push the victim 1 square.

Clearly. But if you push a 50x50 victim 1 square, they exit 50 squares on one side, and enter 50 squares on the other side. Technically they vacated all 50 of those squares that you pushed them out of, so you could shift into any one of them.

 

[Tony Vargas]

There aren't 50x50 creatures, but, yes, if you push a creature with a multiple-square space, you would have a choice of squares to shift into - especially if you pushed him corner-on.

Now, many a DM might rule that you must shift into the nearest such square, or into a square within your melee reach, but that'd be their preference. As always, the DM has the option of intepreting or changing the rules as he deems best fits his game.