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akma
2010-09-25, 08:52 AM
Are there any special rules regarding underground movement? What is the digging speed for a human using non magical digging equipment?

ericgrau
2010-09-25, 11:43 AM
Not much in the SRD, based on a search of "dig". Most people handle it via damage. Assuming we treat hard compacted dirt like wood then it would have 10 HP per inch and 5 hardness. That at least could help you ballpark whether it takes minutes or hours.

A PC can clear 5 times his heavy load in debris per minute. With tools he may double that. A 5'x5' pile of debris weighs 2,000 lbs. A solid 5'x5'x5' cube of dirt weighs 20,000 lbs.

So removing a 5 foot cube might require 600 damage after subtracting hardness and some more time to remove the dirt from the opening. Maybe 30 minutes as a ballpark for 1 str 15 PC working alone. Maybe an hour for a str 10 commoner. Half of those with real tools. Most of the time we're talking hours or days for any sizeable tunnel, so handwaving it with "You eventually dig your way through" works. I mean if nothing attacks within 5 minutes then the PCs probably have all the time in the world.

Cicciograna
2010-09-25, 11:51 AM
There are some rules for digging in the Manual of the Planes (3rd Ed.), in the section regarding the Plane of Earth. Never tested personally, however.

Claudius Maximus
2010-09-25, 12:11 PM
Races of the Dragon has excavation rules for use with Profession: Miner.

akma
2010-09-25, 03:17 PM
So removing a 5 foot cube might require 600 damage after subtracting hardness and some more time to remove the dirt from the opening. Maybe 30 minutes as a ballpark for 1 str 15 PC working alone. Maybe an hour for a str 10 commoner. Half of those with real tools.

Sounds resonable, thank you.


There are some rules for digging in the Manual of the Planes (3rd Ed.), in the section regarding the Plane of Earth. Never tested personally, however.

Tragically, I don`t have that expansion book, and I don`t got races of the dragon eithar.