Black Tentacles cast atop cliff ... spread along two levels?

[Tim K]

Not sure it will be possibke to have a DEFINITIVE answer to this ... But, we had a situation tonight where there was some dispute over how BLACK TENTACLES would work on uneven surfaces ...

The spell was cast targeted atop a 40-foot cliff, 10 feet from the edge of the cliff. With its 20-foot radius, the argument was whether the tentacles would also appear at the bottom of the cliff for 10 feet from that edge, or would they simply travel down the cliff's side 10 feet.

Is there any way to tell how a spell like this (radius-spread) should work in such a two-level situation?

Thanks!

[Lady-J]

any radius at the bottom will take away from the side so if they allocate 10 feet to the floor they have 30 feet for the wall

[Tim K]

Lady-J wrote:

any radius at the bottom will take away from the side so if they allocate 10 feet to the floor they have 30 feet for the wall

Sorry, not quite sure I follow what you're saying ... could you perhaps restate that for me? (Sorry if I'm being thick)

[Tim K]

PS> The DM's argument was that is was like a globules that went flying out from that center point and then landed all over within a 20-foot radius. That too makes sense to me though.

[Lady-J]

so a spell with a 20 foot radius has a diameter of 40 feet if you use 10 feet of that for the floor you will only have 30 feet for the wall or vice versa
o=spell area x=non spell area

xxxxxxxxxxxx
oxxxxxxxxxxx
oxxxxxxxxxxx
xooooooxxxxx is what it would look like horizontally and

xxooxxxxxxxx
xoooooxxxxxx
xoooooxxxxxx
xooooooxxxxx
xooooooxxxxx
xoooooxxxxxx
xoooooxxxxxx
xxooxxxxxxxx is what it would look like from a top down

[avr]

Spreads can turn corners like Lady-J says, yes, It won't appear as two disjoint pieces at the top and bottom of the cliff.

[Lady-J]

Tim K wrote:

PS> The DM's argument was that is was like a globules that went flying out from that center point and then landed all over within a 20-foot radius. That too makes sense to me though.

and no its not globs spreading out at random from the center you are summoning a portal in which the tentacles come threw like how sheagorath does sometimes with dr strange

[Tim K]

Got it! Thanks Lady-J and avr !!