Immovable Rod Optimization

[TheMonocleRogue]

I'm in a campaign where the DM doesn't want me to min/max my character for RP purposes, so I decided to create a conjurer specializing in grappling opponents with his summons. I have also taken the role of the party crafter to save on gold since this is a heroic campaign that is mainly focused on role playing.

I took the craft rod feat so I could create metamagic rods for the party casters. One of my friends suggested that I create some immovable rods using the gold I have remaining which begs the all important question: How could I best use the immovable rod?

[Fouredged Sword]

Have a summon get swallowed whole, then have it activate the rod. Laugh as whatever just swallowed the rod is restricted to moving 10ft a round as a full round action.

[Diarmuid]

And that's assuming it makes the DC 30 Strength check.

[dysprosium]

There was a prestige class from the 3rd party splatbook Master of Arms that had a class that specialized in using the immovable rod as a weapon.

[Big Fau]

Have a summon get swallowed whole, then have it activate the rod. Laugh as whatever just swallowed the rod is restricted to moving 10ft a round as a full round action.

Or go rocketing off into space if the rod is set to absolute location, instead of planetary-relative location.

[TheMonocleRogue]

Have a summon get swallowed whole, then have it activate the rod. Laugh as whatever just swallowed the rod is restricted to moving 10ft a round as a full round action.

That's a great idea, but I'm curious about the rod itself taking damage from stomach acid. I'll have to ask the DM if it's a valid tactic or if the rod takes damage each round until destroyed.

Then again it is a magic item. The Purple Wurm, a creature with stomach acid strong enough to corrode organic material in seconds, has hordes of magical items and precious gems stowed away in their gullets.

[hymer]

Rods, unless described otherwise (and the immovable rod isn’t), have hardness 10 and 10 hit points. Acid ignores hardness, so it’d chew up the rod fairly quickly. The purple worm deals 8 points of stomach acid damage per round. That's if its crushing damage (2d8+12) doesn't do the job first. Its MM entry mentions gems specifically, not magical items.

[Immabozo]

throwing weapon, lock them in place after hit for possible extra damage running into it? Ranged trip? Plant some kind of trap on them and suspend them in air? Cast invisibility on them and arrange them in in the battlefield above your four legged animal's heads.

But I think my favorite idea is to hang chandeliers from your invisible, immovable rods and start Hogwarts.

[hymer]

throwing weapon, lock them in place after hit for possible extra damage running into it? Ranged trip?

They're activated by pushing a button on them, so they're not much good as throwing weapons, other than for giving your enemies valuable magical gifts.


Plant some kind of trap on them and suspend them in air?

Why not just plant that trap on the ground? Also risks turning the rods into gifts, or damaging them depending on the trap.

[FullStop]

If you don't have access to some flavor of at-will flight, a pair of immovable rods can be pretty handy for dealing with various terrain problems(think of anywhere you might need to cross or climb, and you've got the means to do it, basically).

There's gotta be some pretty creative uses for them...Maybe like, blocking a channel into a harbor by setting them up underwater? Lock a creature prone, a la Thor setting Mjolnir on somebody?

[Immabozo]

They're activated by pushing a button on them, so they're not much good as throwing weapons, other than for giving your enemies valuable magical gifts.

Why not just plant that trap on the ground? Also risks turning the rods into gifts, or damaging them depending on the trap.

I thought they were command word operated. Oh well.

And the second one I was thinking suspending mines, cause who looks above them for flying invisible mines? But, alas, that isn't exactly D&D type technology

[TheMonocleRogue]

There's gotta be some pretty creative uses for them...Maybe like, blocking a channel into a harbor by setting them up underwater? Lock a creature prone, a la Thor setting Mjolnir on somebody?

That was the first suggestion pointed out by my adventuring party. And it works very well against medium sized opponents with low strength modifiers.

[hymer]

blocking a channel into a harbor by setting them up underwater?

For a surprise, perhaps, though it's not inconceivable that a ship can exert the kind of pressure to move the rod. Some DMs may let the ship sink (to be kind and let the PCs' plan work, or to be nasty and ruin its cargo), but in actuality ships don't sink so easily.
The real problem is that someone would just steal the rods.


Lock a creature prone, a la Thor setting Mjolnir on somebody?

It's just pushing the button, and the creature's free. Not all victims may understand this, though, but ropes, manacles and chains are much cheaper ways to keep creatures bound up.

[FullStop]

For a surprise, perhaps, though it's not inconceivable that a ship can exert the kind of pressure to move the rod. Some DMs may let the ship sink (to be kind and let the PCs' plan work, or to be nasty and ruin its cargo), but in actuality ships don't sink so easily.
The real problem is that someone would just steal the rods.



It's just pushing the button, and the creature's free. Not all victims may understand this, though, but ropes, manacles and chains are much cheaper ways to keep creatures bound up.

Right, keep forgetting about the ease with which someone can just re-click the button.

As to the harbor blockade, we get into a force over area argument in determining whether a ship just knocks the immovable rod(s) aside (They can withstand what, 3000 pounds of force before moving?), or the rod punches a hole in the hull when that much force is exerted over that small an area.
That, and getting that granular with physics tends to end poorly in 3.5.

But yeah, you're also right about people just swiping them.

[TheMonocleRogue]

Right, keep forgetting about the ease with which someone can just re-click the button.

As to the harbor blockade, we get into a force over area argument in determining whether a ship just knocks the immovable rod(s) aside (They can withstand what, 3000 pounds of force before moving?), or the rod punches a hole in the hull when that much force is exerted over that small an area.
That, and getting that granular with physics tends to end poorly in 3.5.

But yeah, you're also right about people just swiping them.


"When the button is pushed (a move action), the rod does not move from where it is, even if staying in place defies gravity."

"An immovable rod can support up to 8,000 pounds before falling to the ground."

This seems to be a useful tactic if you place it in a hidden area within the ship. The rod would keep the ship from gaining any momentum and thus keep it from departing. Of course you still run the risk of someone finding and deactivating the rod.

[hymer]

Okay, let's kill some cat girls.

Since the rods are not in fact immovable despite their name, the impact would be softer than collision with a reef, say. Such collisions are dangerous, but far from inevitably fatal.
If the ship shoves the rod off (and a caravel weighing in at sixty tons or more, moving at anything more than a snail's pace, will do that), it's almost guaranteed there'll be no hole, unless you have problems with structural integrity.
Finally, the rod and ship would likely slide off each other, unless the unlikeliest thing happened, and the ship hit straight on the rod with no way for anything to slip off to the side.

[FullStop]

Okay, let's kill some cat girls.

Since the rods are not in fact immovable despite their name, the impact would be softer than collision with a reef, say. Such collisions are dangerous, but far from inevitably fatal.
If the ship shoves the rod off (and a caravel weighing in at sixty tons or more, moving at anything more than a snail's pace, will do that), it's almost guaranteed there'll be no hole, unless you have problems with structural integrity.
Finally, the rod and ship would likely slide off each other, unless the unlikeliest thing happened, and the ship hit straight on the rod with no way for anything to slip off to the side.

I guess the real problem here is that I have no bloody idea how big a wooden sailing ship would be.

Well, had. I see now that it would be less than practical.

[Know(Nothing)]

Immovable Rod + Harpoon + Rope/Chain + War Hulking Hurler.

Trap those fliers, or at least force them to rip a new hole in themselves to not be stuck.

[Diarmuid]

Again, activating the IR after it's left your person is problematic due to the "button" that needs to be pushed.

[Know(Nothing)]

You keep the rod and activate it on your end.

[Immabozo]

Immovable Rod + Harpoon + Rope/Chain + War Hulking Hurler.

Trap those fliers, or at least force them to rip a new hole in themselves to not be stuck.

Genius! I actually think I might build this character.

[Naanomi]

Sovereign Glue + Immovable Rod + Stealth + Someone's Back (where they can't easily reach) = good way to neutralize someone from stealth...

Sovereign Glue + Immovable Rod + Adamantine Tower Shield = Moveable Cover for archers/warlocks/etc...

Best in-game thing I've done with an Immovable Rod: taunt a mounted character, hold an action that when they charge I set the rod at head level and 5-foot step backwards; watch them biff their spot check to see it and watch the horse biff it into the rod and pitch them to the ground at my feet.

[Rubik]

Consider adding the immovable rod enhancement to other items for a 50% markup (after halving the price, for knocking off its slotless quality).

Add it to a gauntlet, for instance. It's always on hand (heh) and is good for stopping yourself from falling, or for helping you grapple, especially if the gauntlet stays in the same configuration as it was when you activated it. It can help you automatically make Str checks of 30 or less for holding something immobile (rather than moving it), such as a door you want to hold shut, or a portcullis you need to keep open.

Add the button to the rope-end of a harpoon, so the whole thing immediately seizes up in its current configuration when you hit it. There are all sorts of useful options there, from seriously screwing over a flying enemy to acting as a tightrope with no swaying from the wind to acting as a quick trip-line in a pinch. Add the Exit Wounds property to the harpoon for even more fun.

Add it to a specially crafted boot/glove set, so each hand has the button for each immovable boot. Now you can climb in mid-air, albeit somewhat slowly.

How about adding it to a portable hole or enveloping pit? You might not even have to anchor it to a solid surface that way, since it's basically its own solid surface once you activate it.