Rope Trick


Rules Questions


So my players are now using Rope Trick to rest without a worry in the world. Can they be interrupted, disturbed?


Well, things can climb into the window, but they have to be able to find it. Also, a nasty surprise can be waiting for the party when they wake up in the morning...

Remember, effectively, the party is trapped in a corner, and if the creatures tracked them/figured out what's what, then they can set up an ambush, spikes under the drop-out area, or any number of nasty things, even if the party picks the rope up into the window, so even if they try to wait out the bad guys, the spell will end, dropping them into whatever the bad guys have planned.

Also, remember the party is effectively on their own plane of existence, an extradimensional plane. They can't access their bags of holding or handy haversacks, etc. They can't teleport from the rope trick (since the rope trick is the entire plane) unless they leave the space and come back to the current plane.

There are limitations. Oh, and dispel magic? Works really well right here.

Sovereign Court

Aretas wrote:
So my players are now using Rope Trick to rest without a worry in the world. Can they be interrupted, disturbed?

Well yes and no.

Since the spell states "The rope cannot be removed or hidden" some intelligent creatures may want to investigate where it goes or send minions/summoned creatures up it and into the space where the party rests.


Cylerist wrote:
Aretas wrote:
So my players are now using Rope Trick to rest without a worry in the world. Can they be interrupted, disturbed?

Well yes and no.

Since the spell states "The rope cannot be removed or hidden" some intelligent creatures may want to investigate where it goes or send minions/summoned creatures up it and into the space where the party rests.

Ah, good point. Add this to my above statements...

My 2E heritage is shining through, unless they couldn't then, then my AD&D heritage is... well, you get the point.


By anything smart enough or curious enough to investigate a rope hanging from nowhere. A pack of starving creatures with scent may not be a threat, but they could spend all night howling at the smell of living meat just out of reach. Dependant on level of enemies, divinations could locate and attempt assassination or morning ambush.

Grand Lodge

Note "the rope cannot be removed or hidden". They can no longer pull the rope up into the extradimensional space.


Yeah, Pathfinder changed the flavor text in an obvious "balance" move. Now you have to cast Invisibility on the rope to keep monsters from tugging on the rope like it was a servant bell. (Invisibility should not break the "hidden" clause, and illusion spells should work too.)

Rope Trick is great for low-to-mid-level characters, but the monsters start being intelligent to figure it out by the time you can actually cast the 2nd-level spell long enough to last 8 to 9 hours for a full rest.


Ah, the rope cannot be removed or hidden. Guess the PC's missed that bit of information.


Adventure Path Charter Subscriber
Aretas wrote:
Ah, the rope cannot be removed or hidden. Guess the PC's missed that bit of information.

If they played 3.5e, they're probably remembering that version -- then, you could pull the rope up, it just counted as a "person".

PF changed that, though. Of course, even if you can cast invisibility on the rope, the invisibility spell's never going to last long enough for you to get your 8 hours of rest.

I'm wondering what the point of rope trick is now -- before, it was clearly a way to hole up, hide out, and rest up. Now, you can't actually hide, so why are you going up in the hole in the first place? Hoping whoever or whatever you're hiding from doesn't notice the rope, or is unable to climb and is too dumb to hang around and wait?

Also, I'm amused that one sentence says it can't be removed, and two sentences later it says a weight more than 8 tons can remove it. Umm, what?

So, if you are strong enough to drag 16,000 lbs, are you strong enough to pull the rope off? Or do you have to have 16k heavy load? Or is it a weird magic thing where strength doesn't help -- Silver Age, planet-juggling Superman himself couldn't pull the rope loose, but an 8 ton weight could?

Grand Lodge

coyote6 wrote:
Also, I'm amused that one sentence says it can't be removed, and two sentences later it says a weight more than 8 tons can remove it. Umm, what?

My guess is that if something pulls the rope loose, the spell ends.


Starglim wrote:
coyote6 wrote:
Also, I'm amused that one sentence says it can't be removed, and two sentences later it says a weight more than 8 tons can remove it. Umm, what?
My guess is that if something pulls the rope loose, the spell ends.

Ha now that is the nice version :)

evil grin

Beware of evil Game Masters !!

*)Spell might not end, until duration is up. Oh look out the window, the goblins pulled the rope off, and are now digging a 20 foot pit under us. 2 hours latter, oh now they are putting wooden spikes in the pit that are 15feet long. 1 hour latter, on now they are filling the pit 10 feet deep with some sore of black mud. 1 hour latter, 4 goblins stand guard over the pit, with torches dipped in black mud, now alight with flame. Look like they are awaiting company.

*)Spell might have unusually effects: Poof you fall out; Poof you get dumped on the Astral/Eternal plane; Poof you get teleported were ever the Game Master wants; Poof you fall out but are now all Tiny size for remainder of the spell duration; etc.

.........................

Bummer this is in rule forum: Ya would think spell would just end if rope is pulled out now.


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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

We had an archmage come across our rope trick once. He used Move Earth to raise the elevation of the surrounding landscape until our portal was effectively underground. The sod buried us alive!


Nice of the archmage (GM) to do that.

I think the purpose behind leaving the rope visible was the playtesters giving the enemy _some_ chance to find the PCs. Yeah, it's a bad situation if halfway through your sleep getaway there's an orc tugging on the rope that leads nowhere. That's why I was grasping for straws by saying the rope could be illusioned or made invisible.

Duration a problem? Craft Wondrous Item to make an invisible rope (invisible by command-word twice a day to cut down on cost).

Deep down in a dungeon you should be able to find an empty room to hole up in, Rope Trick would just be your fallback position, or to get away from swarm attacks. Out in the woods you climb a tree first, then use Rope Trick. If you're cleaning out an occupied fortress it becomes more dangerous to use Rope Trick, if there are active patrols with enemy spellcasters in the groups.

There IS a way around even Pathfinder's restrictions on extradimensional spaces - Shrink Item (Sor/Wiz 3). Bags of Holding are nice; Bags of Shrink Item are better, IMHO. Some GM approval may be needed to get a Bag of Shrinking Items to be the same cost/weight as a Bag of Holding, but then you never have to worry about extradimensional blowouts again.


jhpace1 wrote:
Invisibility should not break the "hidden" clause

I don't know, that sounds like hidden to me.


Dire Mongoose wrote:
I don't know, that sounds like hidden to me.

By "hidden" in my own opinion the Pathfinders meant "pulled up into the extradimensional hole". They intended on a naked rope just hanging in the middle of the room for the enemy to find, and to make the Pathfinder definition different from the 3.5 version.

I don't play that game. I'm putting the rope against the wall, then using Invisibility or Silent Image on it (or have it part of the rope itself as Craft Wondrous Item). Having it against the wall also helps the Climb checks.


jhpace1 wrote:


Duration a problem? Craft Wondrous Item to make an invisible rope (invisible by command-word twice a day to cut down on cost).

Permanency on invisibility works just fine.

-James


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Dire Mongoose wrote:
jhpace1 wrote:
Invisibility should not break the "hidden" clause
I don't know, that sounds like hidden to me.

Don't ever cast the new rope trick!

If you do the multiverse will implode upon itself!

The rope cannot be hidden, but it is always hidden from most everyone anyways (as the world blocks line sight). The multiverse cannot take that kind of rules break and the magic prohibition causes everything to implode in its self-contradiction.


Ravingdork wrote:
Dire Mongoose wrote:
jhpace1 wrote:
Invisibility should not break the "hidden" clause
I don't know, that sounds like hidden to me.

Don't ever cast the new rope trick!

If you do the multiverse will implode upon itself!

The rope cannot be hidden, but it is always hidden from most everyone anyways (as the world blocks line sight). The multiverse cannot take that kind of rules break and the magic prohibition causes everything to implode in its self-contradiction.

LOL, ya the rules were rushed :D


Ravingdork wrote:
We had an archmage come across our rope trick once. He used Move Earth to raise the elevation of the surrounding landscape until our portal was effectively underground. The sod buried us alive!

That's an awesomely evil idea. I'm totally stealing it to use against my players. *wicked grin*

Grand Lodge

Still trying to think of a way to make this spell useful for players (You would think the GMs would like one less combat spell)until Tiny Hut kicks in;

I assume pulling up the rope and tucking it into a bag (or coil it) and letting it hang just outside the entrance would not count as removing or hiding the rope.

What about if the rope or the bag was black or camouflage would that count as hidden or does the rope in the spell component need to be Day-Glow Orange.

If all that fails can you bring your own door that is bigger than the 3 x 5 opening and a couple of 3.5' bars to bolt the door in place? (A arrow slit would be a nice touch)


I'm rather curious what kind of "hidden" the rope cannot be.

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