I have a couple of questions that regard the Entangle spell. Due to the way Entangle operates, would the spell provide cover and/or concealment from ranged attacks to anyone caught inside it? Does it operate in places where there is no plant life? (Does it create the plant life, or does it just animate nearby life?)
Squid
Our last session actually invoked these very questions. The players were attacked by a foe that was hiding at the edge of a treeline. One of the players used Entangle to incapacitate the dude, and the rest attacked.
First, I believe the spell description requires that plants be present. In past encounters, if the land was barren, the spell was useless. Being a druid can really suck in dungeon settings.
Next, when a player fired arrows at the Entangled creature, I assumed that although the weeds and twigs were powerful enough to hold a creature en masse, they did not provide any protection (or maybe players would be wearing +2 weed armor). I also didn't grant any concealment beyond what the natural woods already granted. Those weeds and twigs were there before. Just because they are now strong and clingy doesn't make them any thicker.
That being said, when the party cleric cast a 10th level Flamestrike on the Entangled bad guy, I ruled that all plant life within the area of effect was utterly destroyed, freeing the creature. Since the area of effect for Entangle is greater than that of Flamestrike, the vines and weeds 20' behind the creature, at the edge of the newly burnt area, still clung and writhed.
Hope that helps, Squidly.
- Chuck
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2011 Top 16
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Entangle
Transmutation
Level: Drd 1, Plant 1, Rgr 1
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area: Plants in a 40-ft.-radius spread
Duration: 1 min./level (D)
Saving Throw: Reflex partial; see text
Spell Resistance: No
Grasses, weeds, bushes, and even trees wrap, twist, and entwine about creatures in the area or those that enter the area, holding them fast and causing them to become entangled. The creature can break free and move half its normal speed by using a full-round action to make a DC 20 Strength check or a DC 20 Escape Artist check. A creature that succeeds on a Reflex save is not entangled but can still move at only half speed through the area. Each round on your turn, the plants once again attempt to entangle all creatures that have avoided or escaped entanglement.
Note: The effects of the spell may be altered somewhat, based on the nature of the entangling plants.
Any cover or concealment that existed before the spell was cast is pretty much the same... the only thing is the plants just wrap around you... they don't grow at all, just move to grab you.
Light undergrowth provides 20% miss chance, heavy is 30%