Portable Hole Mechanics

[Ghoster]

Hello, all!

One of my players is interested in possibly buying a portable hole, which will be the first time I am running a game where one comes up. My question is when the portable hole is in use, the magic activating to make the dimensional space, am I right in assuming it's use of the phrase, "...When spread upon any surface, it causes an extradimensional space 10 feet deep to come into being..." that it needs to be laid flat on a surface that can support its full width? It would not be able to function if they, for instance, spread it out inside of a backpack or the like?

It feels like the intent with the item is that it cannot line the inside of things, but I am not wholly sure.

[TxSam88]

you are correct, typical use of it is to spread it on the ground, it creates a hole, 6' in diameter, and 10' deep. you need to be able to spread it out completely. so no putting it on a ceiling or wall.

it does not allow you to pass through floors or anything like portrayed in the Drizzt novels.

aside from it being a very lightweight portable storage system, people can hide in it, as long as the air inside lasts, or if they have a way of not suffocating.

the intent of the item is to store things, but that they are not easily retrieved during combat.

[Pizza Lord]

I agree with TxSam88. It has to be spread out and open, like a rug would be on the floor. I probably would allow it if it was almost completely open, like laying it out in a 5'x5' room where the edges might be just a little curled, but certainly not if it was draped over a dining table, like a tablecloth, hanging down (I am trying to even imagine what that would look like, could you see through the table? Not important, since I wouldn't let it work anyway.) Or if someone had it wrapped about them like a bedsheet or cloak and just had to "pull the rest of it over them like a hood" or somesuch.

It definitely says spread open on any surface, I could even see spreading it open on a ceiling or wall, but that takes planning or specific circumstance, like reverse gravity, or hanging it against the wall like a a picture (not a tapestry hanging just off the wall), either pinned or tacked or with (sovereign) glue applied to the wall or back of the portable hole. But that's getting into specific circumstances territory.

And if you assume that a 6 foot circle of spun spider silk can float on the surface of water, technically you probably lay it on water and be able to access or jump into it (some waves might splash some water in, and in rough or stormy water you're probably bailing constantly, and your GM could rule that a wave rolls up under the edge and risks flopping it closed).

[Azothath]

It is a wonky OGL magic item from the old days.
Rules wise just do exactly what the description says, no more, no less.
It is a little pocket dimesion accessible through the cloth when the cloth is laid out on a surface.

review Rope Trick.

[Tim Emrick]

The most entertaining use of a portable hole that I've seen was in an old D&D 3E game, where a dwarven sapping team used one to help simplify travel arrangements. There were the obvious uses of picking up the hole then teleporting with it, or smuggling it into or out of places where a small squad of clanking dwarves would draw too much notice.

They could also place it on an inner wall of a ship to make an extra cabin. That came in especially useful when a sketchy-looking gnomish flying machine (operated by even sketchier-looking gnomes) was the only way to get where the PCs and their allies needed to go. Because it was an extradimensional space, they also avoided having to make saves vs. motion sickness while inside it!

[I grok do u]

Think others have covered this pretty well. Yes, it has to be fully opened to activate.

Links for reference: Portable Hole
Bag of Holding (Because of its potential interaction)
Extradimensional Spaces

There's an item that describes a possible use, which is a good example of how it can work:Caravan Master's Wagon.

[quibblemuch]

Don't forget:

PRD wrote:

If a bag of holding is placed within a portable hole, a rift to the Astral Plane is torn in that place. Both the bag and the cloth are sucked into the void and forever lost. If a portable hole is placed within a bag of holding, it opens a gate to the Astral Plane. The hole, the bag, and any creatures within a 10-foot radius are drawn there, the portable hole and bag of holding being destroyed in the process."

I once weaponized this to greatly simplify the final encounter of a campaign.

[Waterhammer]

My AD&D 1st ed magic-user hired a carpenter to build wooden bookcases and a ladder inside his portable hole. 10 foot deep hole is not easy to get out of.