Question about Vine Mine

[Dugong]

Hi everyone,

I found the spell Vine Mine (SC, pg 230) but I don't really get how it works. When you cast it (bind helpless targets) is the only way a person inside can avoid being pinned and helpless a DC 25 Escape artist? No Reflex saves, no strength checks, just escape artist (and SR)? This seems like entangle on steroids (especially since they're helpless and the duration is 10 min/level!!)

Can the Caster or other druids move through the vines thanks to Woodland stride?

[eggynack]

Hi everyone,
I found the spell Vine Mine (SC, pg 230) but I don't really get how it works. When you cast it (bind helpless targets) is the only way a person inside can avoid being pinned and helpless a DC 25 Escape artist? No Reflex saves, no strength checks, just escape artist (and SR)? This seems like entangle on steroids (especially since they're helpless and the duration is 10 min/level!!)
The target needs to be helpless (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/conditionSummary.htm#helpless), which is a pretty hefty requirement. Helplessness is a prerequisite, rather than an inflicted condition. The best reason to cast the spell is the hamper movement effect, because heavy undergrowth (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/wilderness.htm#forestTerrain) is a reasonably strong terrain feature. The other effects are mostly of the side variety, though they're nice to have, and make the spell quite a bit more worthy of preparation, even if you'll rarely use them.


Can the Caster or other druids move through the vines thanks to Woodland stride?
No, because woodland stride only works against non-magical growth. Briar web (SpC, 39) is a nifty exception to that rule though.

[Dugong]

You're right, I thought vine mine inflicts the condition because I was reading The Tales of Wyre campaign journal and it appears they ruled that the spell was able to pin the opponents.

"Nwm began to fly upwards again, and invoked another spell. Vines sprang up, covering over an acre at the centre of the camp, in an area where the tents were most densely crowded. They wrapped around arms and legs, pinning many of those within a one-hundred yard circle, and impeding all of them in their efforts to move. Across the infested area, dozens of soldiers began to sicken and fall from the poison in the toxic vines."

from www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?58227-Tales-of-Wyre&p=1029552&viewfull=1#post1029552

The attack was during the day but perhaps the soldiers were sleeping/resting in their tents?

[eggynack]

I suspect that the term is being used for dramatic purposes rather than mechanical ones. As for the spell in use, the mention of a 100 foot radius circle implies that plant growth (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/plantGrowth.htm) is the spell being used, though the fact that the vines are poisonous indicates that the spell is poison vines (SpC, 160) rather than the ordinary version. I don't think any of those would account for pinning though.

Edit: Apparently it was poison vines, given that they mention the spells used at the end. Anyway, yeah, probably the almighty force of drama.