Can Earth Glide be used offensively?

[CyberThread]

Can a earth elemental, grapple, and then drag a person underground with earth glide, forcing them to suffocate?

[holywhippet]

My thought is no. The ability description just says the earth elemental can glide through dirt without any problems. It says nothing about taking anyone or anything with it.

[Rubik]

Can a earth elemental, grapple, and then drag a person underground with earth glide, forcing them to suffocate?Is "elemental" a verb?

I don't think an earth elemental can use earth glide with anything but its equipment. I suppose if you PAO'd someone into an object and then had the elemental leave it in solid stone it might work.

Though with things like Teleport, you generally get shunted out into the nearest available space. I imagine the same would happen here.

[123456789blaaa]

The build Lo-Kag Rootwatcher in the Iron Chef: Geomancer competition used the Earth Dreamer PRC's Earth Glide ability + Improved Grab to drag people into the earth with him (Imp Grab causes you to drag people into your square when you grapple them). I see no reason why a normal Earth Elemental couldn't do the same (though I'm unclear on how it works by RAW whether using the PRC or the monster).

[Thiyr]

While not quite (...okay fine, not at all, but its relevant to the title) answering your question exactly, an amusing idea I've had has consisted of using earth glide and bullrushing someone straight into the air, which could have offensive potential as well.

[Fax Celestis]

You can use Earth Dreamer's earth sense coupled with Earth Glide to attack people through a wall of stone. Food for thought.

[Mr Adventurer]

Even with a limiting reading of EG you could find an EG creature with Swallow Whole and have it retreat deep underground after it swallows someone. Then even if the swallowed character kills the monster, they're entombed.

[nedz]

Grapple
Move whilst maintaining grapple
?


The above might work, but I'm not totally sure. Now if they were unconscious, and therefore an object, it should be fine.

[Gorfnod]

I don't think an earth elemental can use earth glide with anything but its equipment.

I recall reading another post on the forums a few months back that by RAW an elemental can take nothing with it while earth gliding. It came up when people were discussing earth elemental familiars and equipment.

I will see if I can find the actual rules.

[Invader]

I brought up the same question nit long ago and there was disagreement but the general consensus waa no they can't. At the very least they should get a save to avoid it otherwise it's a pretty surefire way to easily kill your players.

I did it with a necromental in my campaign but just used it to grapple a PC and then moved through a wall and deposited him on the other side to break up the party and I didn't give him a save in that instance because I didn't do damage to him and he was only moving through a 5 foot wall.

Overall I think my group really liked that encounter.

[inuyasha]

Do you want it to? Are you DMing? Say it does :)

[Ravens_cry]

Do you want it to? Are you DMing? Say it does :)
Just be warned. There is ways for players to get this ability and they will be up in arms (I know I would be) if they couldn't do the trick as well.

[PraxisVetli]

Even with a limiting reading of EG you could find an EG creature with Swallow Whole and have it retreat deep underground after it swallows someone. Then even if the swallowed character kills the monster, they're entombed.
This.

While not quite (...okay fine, not at all, but its relevant to the title) answering your question exactly, an amusing idea I've had has consisted of using earth glide and bullrushing someone straight into the air, which could have offensive potential as well.
Does that work? I know a friend playing some class or another that gives him Earth Glide, and does a bit of bullrushing.

[tyckspoon]

This.

Does that work? I know a friend playing some class or another that gives him Earth Glide, and does a bit of bullrushing.

You'd want one of the abilities that lets you smack somebody away from you and not have to move with them while you Bullrush, but yeah, I'd think it would work. You'd have to get a pretty significant check result to fling them high enough to do meaningful fall damage from the result, tho.

[PraxisVetli]

You'd want one of the abilities that lets you smack somebody away from you and not have to move with them while you Bullrush, but yeah, I'd think it would work. You'd have to get a pretty significant check result to fling them high enough to do meaningful fall damage from the result, tho.

He's a feat that does that, don't know the name. And I think the tactical goal here would be less fall damage, more to have comrade engage in flanking, then when enemy launches, watch the tree of AoO's go off.

[Kennisiou]

I remember in one campaign the DM ruled that if an earth elemental grappled you and tried to pull you underground you just sort of slammed into the ground and stopped as he went back. He ruled that the player fell prone and took some damage (I assume it was just the earth elemental's slam damage, since how hard they hit probably relates to how hard they can pull/push you into things). I feel like that's a pretty elegant solution.

[Thiyr]

Near I can tell, it should work to do that. The only disagreement I've seen is trying to argue that bull rushing needs to happen horizontally because bull rush says "back", but then again any other suggestion as to how it would work would be a lot sillier.

(And personally, I'd still love to do a tag-team of fighters who can do the bull rush thing, one popping them up from underground, the other readying an action to dungeon-crash them into the ground. Though admittedly popping them up into a flier for some kind of combo is generally a solid choice regardless, I'd say.)

[Menzath]

I think your glide / grapple would need the wording that specifically says you can as per the creature in Frostburn. Entomber(or that might be the name of that undead from lib mort.) or something of the sort is what it was called- has an ice glide and can take people with it.
AFB so i'll look it up after work.