This is an article in the continuing series, “Fun with Magic”, where I examine spells from the D20 System Reference Document, which corresponds to spells from the Player’s Handbook v. 3.5. These spells are in almost every campaign and form the foundation of spells used in Yön. Each article demonstrates strengths and weaknesses of a particular spell and some unique applications for each, to the limit of the author’s imagination, such as it is.
Animate Rope
Transmutation
Level: Brd 1, Sor/Wiz 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target: One ropelike object, length up to 50 ft. + 5 ft./level; see text
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
You can animate a nonliving ropelike object. The maximum length assumes a rope with a 1-inch diameter.
Reduce the maximum length by 50% for every additional inch of thickness, and increase it by 50% for each reduction of the rope’s diameter by half.
The possible commands are “coil” (form a neat, coiled stack), “coil and knot,” “loop,” “loop and knot,” “tie and knot,” and the opposites of all of the above (“uncoil,” and so forth). You can give one command each round as a move action, as if directing an active spell.
The rope can enwrap only a creature or an object within 1 foot of it—it does not snake outward—so it must be thrown near the intended target. Doing so requires a successful ranged touch attack roll (range increment 10 feet). A typical 1- inch-diameter hempen rope has 2 hit points, AC 10, and requires a DC 23 Strength check to burst it. The rope does not deal damage, but it can be used as a trip line or to cause a single opponent that fails a Reflex saving throw to become entangled. A creature capable of spellcasting that is bound by this spell must make a DC 15 Concentration check to cast a spell. An entangled creature can slip free with a DC 20 Escape Artist check.
The rope itself and any knots tied in it are not magical.
This spell grants a +2 bonus on any Use Rope checks you make when using the transmuted rope.
The spell cannot animate objects carried or worn by a creature.
This spell is usually ignored, but situations exist that can make it very useful. One particularly nasty use is in a shipboard fight. You can’t animate rope that is carried or worn by a creature, but rope is everywhere on a ship and the medium range of the spell allows the caster to reach nearby ships, such as an approaching pirate ship. Not only can it entangle sailors, you can untie ropes that control a ship’s sails, and if this is done during tricky maneuvers around shoals and such, it can prove fatal to the ship.
The spell can also make an instant trap to hinder a pursuit: a tripline that tangles the first creature that touches it or a rope that springs up between two trees to sweep riders from the saddle. Naturally, the spell caster has to be near enough to trigger this effect. |