Would iridescent spincle ioun stone make the user immune to the altitude sickness, or does the altitude sickness has other cause than just the lack of air?
Would iridescent spincle ioun stone make the user immune to the altitude sickness, or does the altitude sickness has other cause than just the lack of air?
If I'm reading the Wikipedia article correctly, altitude sickness is purely a function of breathing (albeit a complicated one). Therefore it shouldn't arise if you don't need to breathe.
Agreed.
Decompression sickness might still be a thing, depending on how the lack of requirement to breathe actually works, but that may be getting into catgirl-killing territory.
Would iridescent spincle ioun stone make the user immune to the altitude sickness, or does the altitude sickness has other cause than just the lack of air?
This stone sustains the wearer without air.
Go high enough, and you are in space where there is NO air. Stone works here, and under normal air, so why would it not work with some air?
/cevah
The iridescent spindle does not protect you from (de)pressurization unless you stick it in a wayfinder, and even then it's half damage. If altitude sickness were caused by pressure effects other than on the lungs (or otherwise breathing-based), the stone would not immunize you.
That is, the question revolves around the nature of altitude sickness, not the nature of the stone.
Since I've asked this question I've found out that in one of the books iridescent spindle is explicitly called out as one of the ways to deal with altitude sickness.
Since I've asked this question I've found out that in one of the books iridescent spindle is explicitly called out as one of the ways to deal with altitude sickness.
Neat! Which book?
I found the following: SRD
High altitude travel can be extremely fatiguing—and sometimes deadly—to creatures that aren’t used to it. Cold becomes extreme, and the lack of oxygen in the air can wear down even the most hardy of warriors.
Acclimated Characters ... Undead, constructs, and other creatures that do not breathe are immune to altitude effects.
Altitude Zones ...
At these elevations, creatures are subject to both high altitude fatigue (as described above) and altitude sickness, whether or not they’re acclimated to high altitudes. Altitude sickness represents long-term oxygen deprivation, and affects mental and physical ability scores.
The text is repeated under Mountains Terrain Fatigue
/cevah
Since I've asked this question I've found out that in one of the books iridescent spindle is explicitly called out as one of the ways to deal with altitude sickness.Neat! Which book?
AP #6, Spires of Xin Shalast, p. 68. Other methods that are given are: ring of elemental command (air), bottle of air, cloak of etherealness, helm of underwater action, necklace of adaptation, elixir of the peaks, rope trick and magnificent mansion.
It's in a section that wasn't reproduced in the Anniversary Edition, but in AE there are some monsters using the spindle.
Thanks to the both of you! That's actually very helpful.