Antilife shell

[noblejohn]

Can you tell me how an antilife shell works?

If you cast an Antilife shell on your self, does that mean nobody can get closer than 5 feet from you? What if someone is 5 ft from you and you step forward?

Can arrows go through this shell? I assume yes.

Can you attack if you are inside the shell? What is the strategy in using this spell?

Thanks for the help.

[Claxon]

Antilife Shell is a 10ft radius emanation centered on you, so it can only be cast on you.

Quote:

You bring into being a mobile, hemispherical energy field that prevents the entrance of most types of living creatures.

The effect hedges out animals, aberrations, dragons, fey, giants, humanoids, magical beasts, monstrous humanoids, oozes, plants, and vermin, but not constructs, elementals, outsiders, or undead.

This spell may be used only defensively, not aggressively. Forcing an abjuration barrier against creatures that the spell keeps at bay collapses the barrier.

If you try to force the barrier against someone, it causes the barrier to collapse. It will keep them from walking up to you directly though. Arrows and reach weapons would pass through the barrier without any problems as they are not living creatures.

[StreamOfTheSky]

You can attack from inside it; best to use a ranged weapon or reach weapon in order to avoid collapsing the barrier. Works even better if you're primarily fighting with spellcasting as a purely protective measure.

It's a decent spell due to how many natural weapon-using brute monsters there are. It basically protects you from them without even a save to resist (but it has SR).

Claxon wrote:

Antilife Shell is a 10ft radius emanation centered on you, so it can only be cast on you.

Well, an Arcane Archer with Imbue Arrow could use it on someone else. But generally, that is true.

[Kayerloth]

Had a player long time back (under 2E rules in fact) used a combo of Antilife Shell, Wall of Stone and Stone Shape to lethal effect against a large group of humanoids (Orcs, Ogres and a few Giants). He (and his party) managed to trap them in the rear of their lair so the only way out was past him. He was behind the Stone Shaped arrow slit in the Wall of Stone with the Antilife Shell overlaying it all.

[Claxon]

Being that antilife shell is an emanation (at least now) it wont go around or through walls. If there is a solid surface it stops. So..maybe I'm just reading your description wrong but that shouldn't have been possible.

[Kayerloth]

Claxon wrote:

Being that antilife shell is an emanation (at least now) it wont go around or through walls. If there is a solid surface it stops. So..maybe I'm just reading your description wrong but that shouldn't have been possible.

I may have been wrong (especially given this was 2E and about 3 decades ago, rules about such things tended to be a bit 'looser' then) but there is the arrow slit/hole in the Wall from using Stone Shape on the Wall(2nd paragraph in the quote below).

from the CRB wrote:

A burst, cone, cylinder, or emanation spell affects only an area, creature, or object to which it has line of effect from its origin (a spherical burst's center point, a cone-shaped burst's starting point, a cylinder's circle, or an emanation's point of origin).

An otherwise solid barrier with a hole of at least 1 square foot through it does not block a spell's line of effect. Such an opening means that the 5-foot length of wall containing the hole is no longer considered a barrier for purposes of a spell's line of effect.

I was assuming this hole is sufficient to allow the emanation to ... emanate. I was also assuming if a shaman or similar had been present for the humanoids and managed to toss an AoE spell that the PC could have been hit albeit with the equivalent of Improved Evasion, +8AC and +4 saves as appropriate for being under Improved Cover (i.e. the arrow slit).

EDIT: In any case even if the emanation didn't get through he'd still have the arrow slitted wall for cover and if/when the humanoids managed to pound through the Wall the emanation would have still been there to block further movement and escape down the passage he was blockading.