I’m toying with a Summoner build. If a large or huge eidolon has burrowing…
1) Can it stay mostly burrowed and only partially emerge?
1a). If so, does it have cover?
1b) And would it still have reach?
2) Could it use this trick to fit in places where large/huge creature ordinarily could not fit?
Seems like it could be a great way to have a huge pet and avoid some of the drawbacks.
The rules discuss Burrow only as a form of movement. Nonetheless, my party found six Bulettes, an 8th-level creature with burrow speed 30 feet, and I decided to make the combat more interesting by letting the bulettes Take Cover with their Burrowing ability.
TAKE COVER [one-action]
Requirements You are benefiting from cover, are near a feature that allows you to take cover, or are prone.
You press yourself against a wall or duck behind an obstacle to take better advantage of cover (page 477). If you would have standard cover, you instead gain greater cover, which provides a +4 circumstance bonus to AC; to Reflex saves against area effects; and to Stealth checks to Hide, Sneak, or otherwise avoid detection. Otherwise, you gain the benefits of standard cover (a +2 circumstance bonus instead). This lasts until you move from your current space, use an attack action, become unconscious, or end this effect as a free action.
My makeshift rules were that a burrowing creature on dirt, sand, or a similar loose material can Take Cover for standard cover just by digging in a little, similar to how a prone creature can take cover by flatting down. A burrowing creature can Take Cover for greater cover immediately after a Burrow action, where the impression is that they left themselves partially buried for the greater cover. Since burrowing is not balanced as a combat activity, requiring the additional Take Cover kept it balanced and gave me rules on what actions ended the cover.
They would still have reach, but being partially underground would increase the distance to their prey.
The sorcerer transformed via her Dragon Form spell into a burrowing blue dragon and joined the bulettes partially underground. This negated their cover from the dirt.
As for burrowing letting huge creatures fit into narrow corridors, the usual burrowing ability lets a creature burrow through dirt or sand, not rock walls.
The rules discuss Burrow only as a form of movement. Nonetheless, my party found six Bulettes, an 8th-level creature with burrow speed 30 feet, and I decided to make the combat more interesting by letting the bulettes Take Cover with their Burrowing ability.
TAKE COVER [one-action]
Requirements You are benefiting from cover, are near a feature that allows you to take cover, or are prone.
You press yourself against a wall or duck behind an obstacle to take better advantage of cover (page 477). If you would have standard cover, you instead gain greater cover, which provides a +4 circumstance bonus to AC; to Reflex saves against area effects; and to Stealth checks to Hide, Sneak, or otherwise avoid detection. Otherwise, you gain the benefits of standard cover (a +2 circumstance bonus instead). This lasts until you move from your current space, use an attack action, become unconscious, or end this effect as a free action.My makeshift rules were that a burrowing creature on dirt, sand, or a similar loose material can Take Cover for standard cover just by digging in a little, similar to how a prone creature can take cover by flatting down. A burrowing creature can Take Cover for greater cover immediately after a Burrow action, where the impression is that they left themselves partially buried for the greater cover. Since burrowing is not balanced as a combat activity, requiring the additional Take Cover kept it balanced and gave me rules on what actions ended the cover.
They would still have reach, but being partially underground would increase the distance to their prey.
The sorcerer transformed via her Dragon Form spell into a burrowing blue dragon and joined the bulettes partially...
Good idea. Giving it “free” cover makes sense but seemed too powerful. At least your Take Cover idea imposes an action cost.
Is there a rule I missed about cover and large/huge creatures? I think you get cover if more than half the creature is hidden, but for a huge creature that is still a lot of exposed surface area. I would think it’s pretty easy to hit even a quarter of an exposed giant!