Does a druid's woodland stride ability allow him to travel through an area affected by plant growth?
Woodland Stride (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, a druid may move through any sort of undergrowth (such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain) at her normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment. However, thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that have been magically manipulated to impede motion still affect her.
<emphasis mine>
Perhaps this is yet another changed I missed in the last edition switch, where areas of magical plants (such as entangle or spike growth clearly still affect the druid. However, a plant growth spell is an instantaneous effect with permanent effects. The plants themselves are not magical, but they were made that way by a magical effect, and they impede movement. Are druids prevented from "striding" through an area of plant growth?
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Does a druid's woodland stride ability allow him to travel through an area affected by plant growth?
Woodland Stride (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, a druid may move through any sort of undergrowth (such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain) at her normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment. However, thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that have been magically manipulated to impede motion still affect her.
<emphasis mine>
Perhaps this is yet another changed I missed in the last edition switch, where areas of magical plants (such as entangle or spike growth clearly still affect the druid. However, a plant growth spell is an instantaneous effect with permanent effects. The plants themselves are not magical, but they were made that way by a magical effect, and they impede movement. Are druids prevented from "striding" through an area of plant growth?
Even if a spell is an instantaneous effect I would classify that as 'magically manipulating the area'. The text doesn't say 'under an ongoing magical effect' it says 'areas that have been magically manipulated' inferring that the magical manipulation could have happened some time in the past. That's my 2.
Even if a spell is an instantaneous effect I would classify that as 'magically manipulating the area'. The text doesn't say 'under an ongoing magical effect' it says 'areas that have been magically manipulated' inferring that the magical manipulation could have happened some time in the past. That's my 2.
Yep, that's pretty much the conclusion we're coming to as well. The question then arises, how long is that area impassable to druids? Forever? After all, plants grow and die, and eventually whatever was manipulated is no longer there, though the area may be impassable. It seems ludicrous that 1000 years from the time of the casting, the land is still un-stridable.
We're working on a compromise based partially on the strangth of auras as to how long an area remains impassable, based in part on the the strength of an aura (basically, as the aura of magic fades, teh area becomes passable). This way instant terrain effects are negated, but the DM does not need to keep track of every single place that has ever had a plant growth spell cast on it.
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From long ago, I had a campaign where the druids cast a protective wall of plant growths around a wood, where they could move through, but trespassers not so much. I guess in the edition update, and the nerfing of the overpowered druid, this was a change made to the druid's capabilities that escaped notice until recently. Nothing like having campaign worlds older than the rules...
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It would have been better if they had mentioned plant growth specifically, but my reading is that it isn't the "magical" nature of the plants, it is the fact that they grow specifically and in extreme ways to limit movement - woodland stride doesn't allow a druid to move through all vegetation, only "natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas", and since plant growth is going beyond just those conditions, it still impedes a druid. Same for other spells that alter plants to impede movement.
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You could decide to use (spell level X caster level) X years as a formula to decide how long the effect of the spell lasts. Or you could alter years to be months, weeks, decades.....whatever really, depending on how long you and your group think something like this would last. I picture the fairy tale castle being covered in vines and surrounded by impenetrable hedges for a hundred years from the evil witch's spell as a personal reference.
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You could decide to use (spell level X caster level) X years as a formula to decide how long the effect of the spell lasts. Or you could alter years to be months, weeks, decades.....whatever really, depending on how long you and your group think something like this would last. I picture the fairy tale castle being covered in vines and surrounded by impenetrable hedges for a hundred years from the evil witch's spell as a personal reference.
Well, since the version that improves a harvest lasts for 1 year, that would be a fair baseline. Of course, vines and thorns have different life cycles than fruit plants, so you could factor that if you want. If you need a limit, I would say 1 year (having druids renew such growth once per year is not unreasonable), otherwise it is permanent.
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I assume we are talking about the "overgrowth" version not the "enrichment" version of the spell. Enrichment does not effect woodland stride. Overgrowth does.
In terms of how long, yeah, why not 1000 years? If the plants remain viable for that long, then yes. But all it takes is a fire to remove them or a work crew of laborers to clear it, its not really a problem. If the area in question is subject to extreme weather, perhaps you could have it slowly "degrade", but that hardly needs a rule...DM story goals are fine.
I would like to add one caveat: If the area in question already (naturally) had a speed impediment such that "Speed drops to 5 feet, or 10 feet for Large or larger creatures" I wouldn't have Plant Growth stack and therefore THAT area would be passable via woodland stride.
I assume we are talking about the "overgrowth" version not the "enrichment" version of the spell.
Definitely.
I guess this can now come down to a philosophical point for Nature-adherents. One can "rush" and magically increase the overgrowth of a region, but that qucik way impedes not only others, but also oneself. It makes Nature impassable for all.
However, one could choose the patient method, and guide the growth of plants in a non-magical manner so that they grow so thick and full that they impede the movement of all but those favored by Nature, i.e., those with woodland stride.
The lesson thus becomes that patience trumps fast action. I can see this fitting in with druids who are never rushed to action, who grow and act and speak slowly, like the maturing of the oaks or the eroding of the mountains. In story terms, this fits in nicely with a partciaulr ethos of Nature. In "rules" terms, it also works well, nerfing the "quick-fix" to a tactical advantage of plant growth, while still allowing the impassable effect to occur if time is no deterrent (that is, Knowledge, nature, Survival, and Profession skill checks could be used to get plants to grow into inpenetrable thickets over time).
I would like to add to this with feather step. It does say difficult terrain in the wording of feather step but not in plant growth, but does that mean in the hampered movement rules that work like plant growth, are not difficult terrain also?