Questions about Tiny Hut

[andreww]

So, I have been looking at this spell recently as a great way to provide a group with protection from archers or enemy spellcasters using targetted spells. For information the spell description says:

Quote:

Tiny Hut

School evocation [force]; Level bard 3, sorcerer/wizard 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a small crystal bead)
Range 20 ft.
Effect 20-ft.-radius sphere centered on your location
Duration 2 hours/level (D)
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no

DESCRIPTION

You create an unmoving, opaque sphere of force of any color you desire around yourself. Half the sphere projects above the ground, and the lower hemisphere passes through the ground. As many as nine other Medium creatures can fit into the field with you; they can freely pass into and out of the hut without harming it. However, if you remove yourself from the hut, the spell ends.

The temperature inside the hut is 70° F if the exterior temperature is between 0° and 100° F. An exterior temperature below 0° or above 100° lowers or raises the interior temperature on a 1-degree-for-1 basis. The hut also provides protection against the elements, such as rain, dust, and sandstorms. The hut withstands any wind of less than hurricane force, but a hurricane (75+ mph wind speed) or greater force destroys it.

The interior of the hut is a hemisphere. You can illuminate it dimly upon command or extinguish the light as desired. Although the force field is opaque from the outside, it is transparent from within. Missiles, weapons, and most spell effects can pass through the hut without affecting it, although the occupants cannot be seen from outside the hut (they have total concealment).

So, you create a 20' radius opaque dome centered on your location. It appears to be immobile given the reference to the spell ending if you remove yourself from it. A few questions arise though:

1. It is a 20' radius spell but specifies that only you and 9 other medium creatures fit inside. That creates an immediate conflict. A 20' radius effect contains enough space for 44 medium creatures to stand in without squeezing into each others spaces.

2. If you are hard limited to a total of 10 creatures does that mean if I have 10 people inside no-one else is able to enter? If I bring along a large enough party can you effectively turn the spell into an impenetrable bastion against enemy entry. What about if after creating the area we summon a few ranged attack using monsters to fill our allotted 10 spaces, are melee based opponents just screwed?

3. The spell ends if you remove yourself from it. Obviously that would include a voluntary choice to move outside but what if you are subjected to forced movement or a spell which pushes you out of the area? Does that cause the spell to end?

[MurphysParadox]

1. I suspect it is that the magic cannot protect and enclose more than that many people, not that there is a limit to the physical space.

2. I'd say more than 10 people in the hut causes it to end immediately.

3. If you leave the confines of the hut, the spell ends. The wording is a little iffy, but the idea that you can cast the hut and then just have a friend drag you out to go cast the spell again 100 feet down the hill is definitely against the concept.

[whew]

The 3E L***'s Tiny Hut was 15' diameter and held 7 people, which makes more sense. Perhaps the 3E-to-Pathfinder converter was mistakenly thinking about the capacity for a 20' DIAMETER hemisphere, which should be 12 medium creatures. Or maybe the 20' radius was intended to be 20' diameter aka 10' radius, which would be closer to the size in 3E.

Edit: Another possibility: they decided to add some space for mounts and forgot to take out the reference to 10 medium creatures.

[Sadurian]

I can't help thinking that cramming all those targ... people into a 20' radius is crying out for being attacked with an AoE spell or weapon.

[OldSkoolRPG]

andreww wrote:

So, I have been looking at this spell recently as a great way to provide a group with protection from archers or enemy spellcasters using targetted spells. For information the spell description says:

Quote:

Tiny Hut

School evocation [force]; Level bard 3, sorcerer/wizard 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a small crystal bead)
Range 20 ft.
Effect 20-ft.-radius sphere centered on your location
Duration 2 hours/level (D)
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no

DESCRIPTION

You create an unmoving, opaque sphere of force of any color you desire around yourself. Half the sphere projects above the ground, and the lower hemisphere passes through the ground. As many as nine other Medium creatures can fit into the field with you; they can freely pass into and out of the hut without harming it. However, if you remove yourself from the hut, the spell ends.

The temperature inside the hut is 70° F if the exterior temperature is between 0° and 100° F. An exterior temperature below 0° or above 100° lowers or raises the interior temperature on a 1-degree-for-1 basis. The hut also provides protection against the elements, such as rain, dust, and sandstorms. The hut withstands any wind of less than hurricane force, but a hurricane (75+ mph wind speed) or greater force destroys it.

The interior of the hut is a hemisphere. You can illuminate it dimly upon command or extinguish the light as desired. Although the force field is opaque from the outside, it is transparent from within. Missiles, weapons, and most spell effects can pass through the hut without affecting it, although the occupants cannot be seen from outside the hut (they have total concealment).

So, you create a 20' radius opaque dome centered on your location. It appears to be immobile given the reference to the spell ending if you remove yourself from it. A few questions arise though:

1. It is a 20' radius spell but specifies that only you and 9 other medium creatures fit inside. That creates an immediate...

1) I don't think that the actual size is what constrains the number of creatures. Look at rope trick which says it can hold 8 creatures of any size. True it is an extradimensional space so it isn't an exact parallel but a rope trick can only hold 8 humans who can then climb out and 8 hill giants can climb up, then they can climb out and 8 ancient red dragons can fly up in there. Its just magic.

2) Whether that 10th person would be barred from entry or if the spell would wink out isn't specified. I'm guessing it would wink out instead of becoming an impenetrable fortress.

3) It doesn't say anything about the type of movement just that it winks out if you move out of it the spell ends. So forced movement out would end the spell.

Sadurian wrote:

I can't help thinking that cramming all those targ... people into a 20' radius is crying out for being attacked with an AoE spell or weapon.

Were I the GM I certainly wouldn't be able to resist it =D

[Dosgamer]

My players cast Tiny Hut on a wilderness adventure once as an enemy druid approached (amidst a storm). Said druid proceeded to cast call lightning and picked random squares around the perimeter to strike in an attempt to drive the PCs into the center of the hut. After several rounds of this, the druid then cast flame strike in the center and was quite successful with his attempt.

So Sadurian is correct. *grin*

[OldSkoolRPG]

Dosgamer wrote:

My players cast Tiny Hut on a wilderness adventure once as an enemy druid approached (amidst a storm). Said druid proceeded to cast call lightning and picked random squares around the perimeter to strike in an attempt to drive the PCs into the center of the hut. After several rounds of this, the druid then cast flame strike in the center and was quite successful with his attempt.

So Sadurian is correct. *grin*

Oh that is evil, evil, evil. I approve!