Greetings.
This last Friday my Rise of the Runelords group had an encounter with the Scarecrow before going to the Shadow Clock after spying on the Seven's Sawmill and witnessing Ironbriar performing a ritual. As a GM I thought that a preview of the Scarecrow would encourage them to stop the cult before the murders escalate further and for hint that they were already targeted by the sect.
For my surprise, the wizard of this party did manage to spot a hidden Scarecrow, initiatives were roll and he managed to get a 25. This allowed him to cast Create pit, the Scarecrow failed the reflex save and fallen into the hole. From there everything when downhill for the flesh golem.
The magus casts grease on the pits border and the hunter then does an entangle spell, then stone calls and acid arrows were used on the awakened construct managing to cause him 30 points of damage. A chance for a very atmospheric encounter ruined as it almost became slapstick until the spell effects ceased.
My question is:
Could a hole made with a Create Pit spell be target of spells like entangle or grease?
Yup, I don't see why not. However grease does not cover enough area to get edge of the hole. The entangle is a pretty good addition to the pit, grease would just make them have to climb out one side instead of the other.
That being said, multiple casts of grease could certainly cover the situation.
Sounds like your players know how to play god wizards well, they just had some lucky rolls and slapped down a disgusting amount of battlefield control.
grease would just make them have to climb out one side instead of the other.
It would deny the climbing bonus from having opposite walls to use though.
Aside from all the difficulties to target areas at the bottom of the pit or the golem you can target the area fine.
Entangle is big enough not to worry about it, grease is not that large and must be targeted more selectively.
The sides of the pit are plain rough rock, and no vegetation so the entangle effect wouldn't exactly extend to climbing movement.
The golem is likely to have (total)cover versus ranged attacks unless they are taking a risk to approach the edge of the pit.
The scarerow has a climb modifier of +16, counting bracing against opposite walls that could make +26. Meaning that accepting a -5 penalty could bust him out of the pit in a single round climbing 30' (two move actions, accelerated). >> That means it is fairly unsafe to approach close enough to pelt him with spells.
grease would just make them have to climb out one side instead of the other.It would deny the climbing bonus from having opposite walls to use though.
Maybe, you probably need at least three sides of the insides of the pit and not around the edges of the pit though. The golem is large which makes bracing rather easy for it.
Sometimes, when their toolset happens to align well or the monsters roll badly, encounters you thought would be difficult become trivial. I know this can seem like it ruins a thematic encounter and often the reaction can be to knee-jerk limit the things that worked well for them. I recommend instead considering that perhaps the players sometimes also enjoy encounters where their tactics work well and they quickly gain the upper hand. It can make them feel like their decisions are meaningful.
Of course, if every encounter becomes 'pit, entangle, acid arrow' you may need to reconsider your encounter design, but this combo being strong generally, or used once to trivialise an encounter is not an issue in the slightest.
Sometimes, when their toolset happens to align well or the monsters roll badly, encounters you thought would be difficult become trivial. I know this can seem like it ruins a thematic encounter and often the reaction can be to knee-jerk limit the things that worked well for them. I recommend instead considering that perhaps the players sometimes also enjoy encounters where their tactics work well and they quickly gain the upper hand. It can make them feel like their decisions are meaningful.
Of course, if every encounter becomes 'pit, entangle, acid arrow' you may need to reconsider your encounter design, but this combo being strong generally, or used once to trivialise an encounter is not an issue in the slightest.
I agree, though such tactics often have major flaws that many GMs (or players) might miss at first glance. If it becomes a drag then you might decide to discuss any potential house rules with your players, after they had their fun with it.