How exactly do you escape the Maze Spell?

[Gloom]

I think this spell may need a little bit of errata.

https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=187

From the way it reads there is no set duration, instead it is simply sustained for as long as the caster wishes it. They can only trap one creature in the maze. And finally the part that is most troubling to me is the way that the saves work for it.

It says that once per round you can spend an action to attempt either a Survival or Perception Check against the Spell DC with the following results.

Critical Success: The target escapes and the spell ends.
Success: The target escapes and the spell ends.
Failure: The target makes no progress toward escape.
Critical Failure: The target makes no progress toward escape, and if it was on the right path, it no longer is.

From the way that it reads to me you should be earning some sort of progress through the use of your checks to escape the maze rather than simply escaping on a single attempt, while Failure makes no Progress and Critical Failure resets your progress.

How exactly is this supposed to work in the new system?

[David knott 242]

You didn't cite the Success case correctly:

"Success: The target is on the right path to the exit. If the target
was already on the right path, it escapes the maze and the
spell ends."

So a Success only gets you out of the maze if you have not strayed from the "right path" via a prior Critical Failure result. If you have an uncanceled Critical Failure result, all a Success does is cancel it.

[Reziburno25]

Seems to weak for spell lvl 8 where one success lets them leave it.

Rather I like to see it changed to needing progression of 5 or 7 points.
Where 1 action you roll perception or survival check.

Critical Success: You found traces of what appears lead to way out, increase your progression by 2.
Success: You found path which has made you gain way, increase your progression by 1.
Failure: You ended up hitting dead end, decrease your progression by -1.
Critical Failure: You feel like you been down this way before, decrease your progression by -2.

[Gloom]

Thanks!

[Pan, definitely not a Kitsune]

David knott 242 wrote:

You didn't cite the Success case correctly:

"Success: The target is on the right path to the exit. If the target
was already on the right path, it escapes the maze and the
spell ends."

So a Success only gets you out of the maze if you have not strayed from the "right path" via a prior Critical Failure result. If you have an uncanceled Critical Failure result, all a Success does is cancel it.

In that case, Archive of Nethys has it wrong, apparently.

To be fair they're only human, but it's good to know and should probably be corrected…