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In my campaign, our level 12 party is travelling through deep, underdark tunnels on Phantom Steeds (CL12) Tunnels are described as difficult terrain and dark. Every party member has racial darkvision...
My question is: Will difficult terrain and darkness require the party to move at half speed on Phantom Steeds? Or is terrain not an issue at CL12 and is only player vision relevant?
Our DM argues that the spell doesn't state if the "horse" has darkvision and the spell doesn't state anything about rocky, underdark terrain thus requires the party to move at half speed while traveling.
I'm also curious is the Phantom Steed's insubstantial hooves would be subeject to detection by tremorsense.
Thanks for your help.
Looking at the spell, I would side with the DM on the movement. The steed doesn't get any sort of special vision, so without any sort of light, it is blind. Even with the character guiding it, the mount would still suffer from that status. As for the hooves, unless the mount was doing the air walk it should still be "visible" by tremorsense. The spell just calls out no sound, there is still a semi real creature pounding hooves on the ground (barring the round of air walk or later flying) to be detected. Also, difficult terrain is in effect unless the type of terrain ignored listed is in the tunnel.
All that being said, air walk lasts for one round, doesn't cost an action to activate and can be used at will. This largely negates terrain issues, just air walk a little off the ground and then back down, at worst you're chewing up 15' of movement (5' diag up, then 10' diag back down) which is much better than half. Also as you aren't on the ground, you'd only be tripping tremorsense the initial and ending points of the air walk.
The most major concern would be a blind mount. Having to make an acrobatics check every round to go faster than half speed would just be annoying, failing and having the mount go prone and toss/damage you would make it useless (no acrobatics skill so 50/50 every round). So you'd either need a light source or to give the mount darkvision as well.
Regarding vision, it's not clear to me. It would help if the spell described what the steed's creature type is. If it's effectively an animal, it doesn't have darkvision. If it's effectively an outsider or a construct or magical beast, it would. The subtype of the spell is creation (not calling or summoning) meaning it's a magical construction, essentially. Do magical constructions have sight and do they need it?
I would say that the steed's hooves would not be detected by tremorsense--the hooves "make no sound" which means they cause no vibration.
(As an aside, the spell's description needed some reviewing anyway. It says in one clause that it can be any color your want and in the next that it has a black head and gray mane. Not that these things are rules important, but I thought it was weird.)
It is indeed way too vague in description. I guess because it's an overland travel spell that only really becomes good when teleport and other ways of travel are often easy enough to come by.
My group has a talent in overcomplicating things at times.
I think of Phantom Steeds as magical hoverbikes, that only look like horses because that's how transportation would likely come to the mind of a spellcaster of that "era.'
Much like the hoverboards of Back to the Future part 2, I think the weaker caster level just means it doesn't work so well (or indeed at all) over some surfaces, but the upgraded/higher caster level version is a very comfortable way to travel pretty much anywhere. How is a cave more treacherous than a swamp as far as footing?
I really think they're not touching the ground (based on the wording insubstantial hooves make no sound), and I think their vision would be limited solely by the person it was made for as they can only been ridden by that person. A phantom steed is not a creature, just a magical effect that carries you long distances when teleporting isn't an option.