WoT says: "Creatures can force their way slowly through the wall by making
a Strength check as a full-round action. For every 5 points by which the check exceeds 20, a creature moves 5 feet (up to a maximum distance equal to its normal land speed)."
So that's a minimum of 25 on a Strength check to move at all? That seems...difficult (well, impossible, actually), especially for non-martial/melee types. Am I missing something?
Also, if the wall is 5' thick, is that one roll to enter the affected square, then a second to move out (assuming a strength roll that only allowed one square of movement)?
And finally, is there any reason why you couldn't place an Insect Plague inside a Wall of Thorns?
Yeah it's pretty hard to push through by RAW.
If the wall is 5' thick, and you move 5', you finish your movement on the other side.
You need line of sight. So fly/levitate then cast and laugh maniacally.
Hilarity ensues.
Don't forget Cloud kill!
Yes it does mean a DC 25 check to move. It is a druids way of totally pwning creatures without high str and no ranged attacks.
Or wall of thorns, followed by cloud kill followed by wall of stone to seal it all in. If those trapped within do not have a way of teleporting just wait a few rounds them dismiss the spells break open the wall of stone and loot the corpses.
Ah, but don't forget entangle and reverse gravity on the wall of thorns... :D Much fun had with those spells... Wall of fire and blade barrier are also much fun in a wall of thorns...
My fave in 2nd ed. was casting Reverse Gravity whilst the Druid cast Spike Stones.
For every 10' fallen creatures took 1d4 dmg.
So 100' = 10d6 + 10d4. Then the Druid casts Spike Stones again on the ground, dismiss Reverse Gravity and they take another 10d6 + 10d4.
Or in 3e as a Druid cast Entangle, Briar Web, and Plant Growth.
They have to make a Strength check or Escape Artist check to move, if they do they take damage, and because of the Plant Growth can only move 5'. Then break out the longbow.
The Stick and Pin.
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As far as I know, Wall of Thorns doesn't block line of sight. James Jacobs once posted the following about it
The spell itself doesn't come out and say it, but it does describe the effect as "very tough, pliable, tangled brush." Page 426 talks about heavy undergrowth, which is what I would qualify a wall of thorns as. There, heavy undergrowth provides concealment (in fact, heavy undergrowth's concealment creates a 30% miss chance, not the normal 20%). I would therefore say that a wall of thorns provides concealment and interacts with such things as spellcasting and ranged attacks as appropriate.
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As far as I know, Wall of Thorns doesn't block line of sight. James Jacobs once posted the following about itThe spell itself doesn't come out and say it, but it does describe the effect as "very tough, pliable, tangled brush." Page 426 talks about heavy undergrowth, which is what I would qualify a wall of thorns as. There, heavy undergrowth provides concealment (in fact, heavy undergrowth's concealment creates a 30% miss chance, not the normal 20%). I would therefore say that a wall of thorns provides concealment and interacts with such things as spellcasting and ranged attacks as appropriate.
And that's why any archer worth his/her salt has a seeker bow. :)
I was thinking, Wall of Thorns (in the from of a large square) + Insect Plague (for more damage and forcing a save vs. the swarm to allow for movement) then summoned/wildshaped large air elemental that picks up anyone who escapes (via whirlwind) and dumps them back into the middle of the Wall (and the swarm).
Edit: I am still a little unsure about how many str. rolls would be required to get through a 5' thick wall, however. Wouldn't it require two? One to enter the 5' square containing the wall, and then another to leave?
It sounds like you're using a lot of resources to build that deathtrap.
I don't think that the question about moving through a 5' thick wall that you start not trapped in has ever been answered. Of course anything that can fly would be free to go, and some folks might ask if they couldn't just climb over the wall. I've never heard an official opinion on climbing it either though I'd imagine that the thorn damage would apply.
I think you'd need a Str check to exit a thorny square, else a 5' thick wall wouldn't affect anybody trapped in it. I'm really not sure if you'd need a Str check to enter a thorny square though. Certainly moving from one thorny square to another is as easy as moving from a thorny square to an open square. This implies to me that you go into the thorns for free but it costs a Str check to get out. That's just my impression though. The spell is kind of confusing.
Anyhow, I've personally found Wall of Thorns almost completely useless in numerous encounters. Many enemies have ways to escape the wall, and others don't mind being in it. I too once had evil plans of pinning foes down and applying ongoing AoE to them, but we rarely seem to fight anything without a way to escape the wall (or fight us effectively from inside it) which would be worth expending two 5th level spells on. We're only 11th level now though. I guess at higher levels it might become more cost effective.
Thanks for the replies, everyone.
@DK: Yeah, it is rather unclear as to the movement cost for entering vs leaving. I ended up with a PC on the edge of the wall, so I ruled the roll was for leaving the square. Poor, wizard. Ah well, he got off some ranged spells, so he contributed.
And, yes, it's a lot of resources, but this was for an introduction of a new BigBad, a CN storm/huntsman "nature as tooth and claw" Druid. It was supposed to showcase how powerful he was, but some lucky rolls by the PCs blew that plan right out of the water. Damned "I made my save!" and "I needed a 19 to hit and still got a crit!" smiling, happy PCs. *grumblemumblemumble*
Worked out for the best, tho. They missed the "mysterious item to be used when all else fails" emergency button, and without the good rolls probably would have lost at least one, if not two PCs. In the end, he/she/it got to slap them around and deliver the "We will meet again and all of you will die, muahhahahaha!" speech. Which prompted one of the players to express his fervent hope that the party was a couple levels higher when that happened.
So, all in all, mission accomplished and much fun was had by all.
Happy Gaming to everyone.
Edit: I am still a little unsure about how many str. rolls would be required to get through a 5' thick wall, however. Wouldn't it require two? One to enter the 5' square containing the wall, and then another to leave?
For the purposes of difficult terrain, or squares with obstacles, what matters for the purposes of movement is what's in the square you're entering. At least as far as game mechanics go.
For example, if you walk into a wall (solid obstacle), if you didn't check obstacle/terrain prior to entering it, you could literally walk inside the wall. So one DC 25 strength check gets through the wall you're proposing.