tripped while casting and dropped net

[elgabalawi]

two quick rules questions.

first, i couldn't find anything on what happens if the attack of opportunity a caster takes while casting next to someone is a trip attack? normally my understanding is that the concentration check goes against whatever damage is done during the attack of opportunity, but a trip is calculated differently, so i wasn't sure what the case would be here. any insight would be greatly appreciated.

second, from reading the rules on a net, my take on it is that the entangled effect happens if you succeed the touch attack. then if you win the strength check, they can't move out of the 10 foot range or whatever. i'm assuming that means that you have to keep holding on to the rope attached to the net which would mean you can't really do much else. if you choose to net someone and then let go so that you can attack someone else or whatnot, they still have to succeed in the normal ways to get un-entangled, right?

again, any insight would be awesome. thanks so much.

[Cyberwolf2xs]

1. While a trip attack does no damage, I'd say the caster would have to make a concentration check for vigorous or violent movement (dc 10/15+spell level). Another idea would be to have to check dc depend on the degree of success of you combat maneuver, something like 5+whatever you exceeded the cmd by+spell level.
However, it gets better when you use greater trip (or vicious stomp), as you trip and then probably damage the caster, so he has to make two checks then (or one hell of a check, debatably).

2. Correct.
If someone is hit by a net, he is entangled and reduced to half speed (etc). If you want to reduce that movement allowance, you have to hold the rope and succeed on a strength check (which would normally require one hand, but I'd allow things like fastening the rope to your belt).
If someone wants to escape or break the net, he can try that anyway, but that's a full-round action that should provoke an AoO.

[elgabalawi]

thanks for the feedback. i'll pass your thoughts along to my dm and chat with him about is as my bard plans on tripping folks fairly regularly.

[Mabven the OP healer]

If your party is 5th level or higher, and you have an arcane caster, here is an interesting idea - find a boulder weighing roughly 4000 lbs, with a hole in it through which a rope can be fastened. Tie the rope of your net through the hole. Have your arcane caster cast Shrink Item on it. Now you have a 1 lb weight tied to your net's rope. Throw the net, if it hits, drop your end of the rope, and your arcane caster dismisses his Shrink Item spell. Now your target is entangled, and tied to a 4000lb boulder.

[Cyberwolf2xs]

While I could see some issues with the realization of it (if you shrink the stone, the hole in it might become too small to still male the rope fit through), the idea is awesome.

[Mabven the OP healer]

You just need to find a boulder with a hole through it which is more than 16x the diameter of the rope. Or, you could just make such a hole if you are not averse to some primitive sculpture.