Pouring Lava on an Army

[unseenmage]

In our IRL, level 15, Pathfinder game there's an army we could use the assistance of but it's tied up elsewhere fighting a southern neighbor. We had an idea of how to resolve the dispute. And of course this idea involves lots and lots of lava.

The idea is to cast a Gate connecting the underside of a flying Animated Object building to somewhere uninhabited under a lava sea on the Plane of Fire.
Then have the Animated Object flying building cruise back and forth over the battlefield at an extreme height pouring lava. Kinda like icing a cake.

We have access to two Gate spells per day and we can Invisibility the Animated Object flying building and it's 'pilot'.
Gate does not have the rider that Wall of Force has saying it doesn't move with a ship it is cast on.
Even if we can't cast the Gate onto the bottom of the Animated Object flying building as it is now actually a creature, the Animated Object flying building could likely float a ship or stone slab or something we can cast Gate onto.


My question is can this work? Why shouldn't/couldn't it work? What can we do to make it work better?

[Geddy2112]

Gate is created at a fixed point and time-I don't think you can stick it to anything. It just opens a hole.

That said, you can still probably do a ton of damage by opening a giant hole and letting lava pour through, even if you can't get a strafing run. 20ft in diameter is a lot of volume, even at just 6 seconds.

[Ashtagon]

I can't remember where I read it (a Dragon magazine probably), but I'm pretty sure the gate spell doesn't let through the natural environment from either side, except as visual effect amounts alongside a creature passing through.

[Rezialn]

Assuming you can transport lava, don't forget the fires it will start and the irreparable damage it will do to the land.

[Toilet Cobra]

Assuming you can transport lava, don't forget the fires it will start and the irreparable damage it will do to the land.

Yeah but that lava will make for some seriously fertile soil later! Tell those druids to take the long view.

[Fouredged Sword]

Yeah but that lava will make for some seriously fertile soil later! Tell those druids to take the long view.

No, that's the ash. The lava itself hardens into rock. Can't grow anything on rock.

[Malimar]

Everyone knows lava eventually evaporates and only becomes obsidian if it mixes with water. You've still gotta be careful of the !!fire!! it can start.

[Fouredged Sword]

Everyone knows lava eventually evaporates and only becomes obsidian if it mixes with water. You've still gotta be careful of the !!fire!! it can start.

NO! It turns into Cobblestone unless you gather it directly.

[Manyasone]

NO! It turns into Cobblestone unless you gather it directly.

Only flowing lava; stand still becomes obsidian

[Toilet Cobra]

No, that's the ash. The lava itself hardens into rock. Can't grow anything on rock.

Really? I thought the rock was really porous and broke down into usable soil.

Well scratch that idea. Now researching mobile portal to the Demiplane of Ash.

[Lightlawbliss]

Assuming Gate allows the enviroment through, you could always find some giant lake of acid (I'm sure the abyss and/or hell has at least one) and dump that over the area. Thanks to the wonders of infinity, that effectively 0% chance of there being a lake of your desired size in an acid that hurts people but not plants is just saying it takes time to find.

[Nibbens]

If a lake of lava or acid is not available, why not just a lake? Billions of gallons of water falling on someone from ridiculous heights would probably do 20d6 points of damage per round in the impact zone due to the "falling objects" rules, and due to the amount of water wash everything away - scattering the army to anywhere and everywhere - disrupting organization and drowning many.

Plus, after the water is absorbed - you have fertile land AND new lakes! How about that to make the druids happy!

[Glimbur]

As I read the Pathfinder version of gate, it's basically a souped-up Plane Shift. It only talks about creatures going through, so I don't think lava (or even water) would.

[Quertus]

As I read the Pathfinder version of gate, it's basically a souped-up Plane Shift. It only talks about creatures going through, so I don't think lava (or even water) would.

Can you animate object a colossal++ block of lava, plane shift / gate it through, dismiss/dispel the magic as necessary, and watch the countryside burn? Oh, and maybe kill that pesky army too, as an added bonus.

For the druid-conscious, given the number of people who due in mud slides, just find some nice, rich, fertile mud to use in place of the lava.

All that having been said, why are people with flying, living castles, and able to cast multiple gate spells, having any trouble dealing with an army? Or caring but so much about getting another army to help them, for that matter?

Edit: just mind rape the enemy leader into feeling the need to prove that an army of mundanes isn't useless by killing the tarrasque. Then, after they all die in the attempt, problem solved!

[DrMotives]

Why not just Gate in an elder Magma Paramental? That way you aren't wondering about Gate allowing the environment through, or making a castle fly around.

[unseenmage]

Can you animate object a colossal++ block of lava, plane shift / gate it through, dismiss/dispel the magic as necessary, and watch the countryside burn? Oh, and maybe kill that pesky army too, as an added bonus.

For the druid-conscious, given the number of people who due in mud slides, just find some nice, rich, fertile mud to use in place of the lava.

All that having been said, why are people with flying, living castles, and able to cast multiple gate spells, having any trouble dealing with an army? Or caring but so much about getting another army to help them, for that matter?

Edit: just mind rape the enemy leader into feeling the need to prove that an army of mundanes isn't useless by killing the tarrasque. Then, after they all die in the attempt, problem solved!

Why not just Gate in an elder Magma Paramental? That way you aren't wondering about Gate allowing the environment through, or making a castle fly around.

Because the lava idea combines different strengths of the party members and has the style of cool we're looking for honestly. And it's just three large animated objects, not a castle.

Also, as the OP explains, this is for PF so no Mind Rape or Programmed Amnesia.

And we need the army for crowd control. There's a militant but largely innocent population of primitives who need removed from the environs of the quasi-deity they've been tricked into worshiping. And an army or two guarding them that needs defeated and/or converted.

[nedz]

Yeah but that lava will make for some seriously fertile soil later! Tell those druids to take the long view.

Well the rock lava becomes does eventually erode into clay and sand, but that's a geological process so the druids would have to take a very, very long view.

[Quertus]

Also, as the OP explains, this is for PF so no Mind Rape or Programmed Amnesia.

There's no mind rape in path finder?! Well, there goes any chance of me ever playing path finder. ;P

Does it have suggestion? Simulacrum? Dominate person / monster? Any other way to try to get the army to commit suicide?

Edit: I thought PF had all 3.x content that wasn't explicitly changed...

[unseenmage]

...

Edit: I thought PF had all 3.x content that wasn't explicitly changed...

That would be 3.P. To my mind 3.P is 3.x plus Pathfinder while PF is just Pathfinder content. Though it never hurts to make a 3.x suggestion in either case especially when said suggestion is accompanied by the question, 'Does PF have this?'.

At least that's how I approach PF vs 3.x vs 3.P vs PF threads.

For my purposes the game this is for is just PF.
3.P wound up having too many options and exploitable interactions.

[FocusWolf413]

Well the rock lava becomes does eventually erode into clay and sand, but that's a geological process so the druids would have to take a very, very long view.

Just summon earth elementals after the battle. They can grind up all of that rock with no problem. Easy peasy.

[nedz]

Just summon earth elementals after the battle. They can grind up all of that rock with no problem. Easy peasy.

Unfortunately to simulate the geological processes, albeit a lot faster, you really need to do some water leaching - and Earth Elementals don't like water. Still grinding things up will help since it increases the surface area.

[Quertus]

That would be 3.P. To my mind 3.P is 3.x plus Pathfinder while PF is just Pathfinder content. Though it never hurts to make a 3.x suggestion in either case especially when said suggestion is accompanied by the question, 'Does PF have this?'.

At least that's how I approach PF vs 3.x vs 3.P vs PF threads.

For my purposes the game this is for is just PF.
3.P wound up having too many options and exploitable interactions.

Ah, thanks for the clarification. And congratulations! Now get back to your game / girls ;)

[FocusWolf413]

Unfortunately to simulate the geological processes, albeit a lot faster, you really need to do some water leaching - and Earth Elementals don't like water. Still grinding things up will help since it increases the surface area.

Anyway, point is, with magic, the will be fertile land soon.