Eldorn's page

Looking at the target line, how much stone is the bad guy standing on? If its more than 10+level cubic feet you can rule the spell fails (a problem casting in a natural cave then). If he's standing on cobblestones, the spell only affects one cobblestone. If you're in the middle of the woods he's not standing on stone so the spell can't be cast. Even if you're in a dungeon, there could still be a layer of dirt covering any paving stones, which would muck up the spell.

As to a save, I'd probably allow a reflex save not to be caught in the cage; just because the stone doesn't get a saving throw shouldn't mean the guy standing on top of it won't.

So, I made a quick spreadsheet, based off Egoish's formulas, with minor adjustments to make sure everything worked right at the high and low ends. (Making sure the confirmation roll is never more than a 95% chance and taking into account the fact you can't score a critical threat if you don't hit.) After a little playing about, I've come up with the following minimum damage bonuses for a falchion to be at least as good as a greatsword, damage wise.

Turns out, even without critical focus the chance to hit is relevant if it overlaps the chance to score a threat. With critical focus, it's definitely relevant.