My group is heading for Thistletop next week and so I was going over my notes and looking stuff up online about how some of these encounters had gone from other groups when I stumbled across a thread about some of Gogmurt's tactics. The thread in question is from late 2014 so I don't want to revive it with a question, but it goes like this;
Correct me if I am wrong, but after he casts Entangle, any PC that is caught in it is considered flat footed and thus would be subject to his Sneak Attack bonus with his Produce Flame wand (within 30 feet of course and only if actually having failed the save) since the spell acts as a ranged touch attack.
The thread itself doesn't say anything about him being wrong, but looking at the spell I can't actually understand how this would work? Nothing in the text of Produce Flame makes the target flat, though it can definitely crit and sneak if they were, and the Entangled condition imposes some movement restrictions and penalties, but that isn't enough to count as flat footed, as far as I know.
Is there something I'm missing here than allows Gogmurt to sneak with his wand of Produce Flame?
I'm not the best rules master but I think the original poster was confused, either from misunderstanding the entangle spell or from perhaps carrying over an understanding from 3.x (and I'm too lazy to go lookup the spell in the previous edition to confirm.)
No, Gogmurt does not get sneak attack damage with produce flame against someone who failed their save against the entangle spell. A failed save against the spell gives you the Entangled condition which cuts your movement in half, a -2 penalty on attack rolls and a -4 penalty to your Dex. It does not give you a condition that makes you vulnerable to sneak attack - either you are denied your dex (classic example: flat-footed) or you are flanked. A penalty to Dex is not the same as being denied your dex - which is typically associated with being immobile or unable to act at all. Produce Flame doesn't have any bearing other than being a form of ranged attack a character with sneak attack dice can use in a qualifying attack.
You were right - no sneak attack against entangled characters with produce flame or otherwise - unless they are vulnerable for another reason. Example: Gogmurt is flanking with his animal companion.
Thanks for the confirmation!