Does a creature with a Burrow Speed leave a tunnel behind?


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I can't seem to find a definition for Burrowing in either the Core Rulebook or the Bestiary, but I might not be looking in the right places.

Does a burrowing creature leave a tunnel behind, or is it like Bugs Bunny's tunnels which collapse behind him?


Ultimate Magic Burrow (Spell)15 feet through sand, loose soil, or gravel, or at a speed of 5 feet through stone. Loose material collapses behind the target 1 round after it leaves the area.
Earth Glide(Ex): When the creature burrows, it can pass through stone, dirt, or almost any other sort of earth except metal as easily as a fish swims through water. If protected against fire damage, it can even glide through lava. Its burrowing leaves behind no tunnel or hole, nor does it create any ripple or other sign of its presence. A move earth spell cast on an area containing the burrowing creature flings it back 30 feet, stunning it for 1 round unless it succeeds on a DC 15 Fortitude save.

Format: earth glide; Location: Speed.

Eidolon Evolution Burrow(Ex): An eidolon grows thick and gnarled claws, allowing it to move through the earth. The eidolon gains a burrow speed equal to 1/2 its base speed. It can use this speed to move through dirt, clay, sand, and earth. It does not leave a hole behind, nor is its passage marked on the surface. The summoner must be at least 9th level before selecting this evolution.

So for most animals, I would go with the spell version, the tunnel collapese 1 round after. For Druids, the Earth Glide - no trace, no hole.

But I also could not find a simple answer as to what a burrow speed entails


Purple Worms leave tunnels, at least according to Dungeon Denizens Revisited.


Waffle_Neutral wrote:

I can't seem to find a definition for Burrowing in either the Core Rulebook or the Bestiary, but I might not be looking in the right places.

Does a burrowing creature leave a tunnel behind, or is it like Bugs Bunny's tunnels which collapse behind him?

Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. If they don't, it'll say. Otherwise, yes.


I remember the Dire Badger from 3.5, the MM stated that it did leave behind a usable 5' high tunnel. I used it to dig defences for us.
The real question is: does it hurt the fun or the story of the game?


The rule of thumb seems to be is it actually digging, or is it traversing via magic.

Worms, moles, badgers etc leave holes.

Earth elementals, bullets and the like do not.

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