Plant growth

[Chugger]

Plant growth, the version that makes terrain very difficult (4 ft of movement to cover 1 ft of distance), I'm realizing is a pretty nasty spell.

It's especially handy that it allows zones that aren't overgrown (for party members).

If I were to cast it with the idea that the party would use arrows and spells on the monsters caught in it, two things that the phb seems not to cover:

(1) is the area also obscured (i.e. do targets have cover or do we have a disad to hit them - or can we not see them at all?) - the phb doesn't speak to this, so I assume not - incredibly thick but low plants, perhaps.

(2) would a fireball create a plant-dead area in it? Would a lightning bolt create a plant-free strip?

[Mellack]

Plant growth, the version that makes terrain very difficult (4 ft of movement to cover 1 ft of distance), I'm realizing is a pretty nasty spell.

It's especially handy that it allows zones that aren't overgrown (for party members).

If I were to cast it with the idea that the party would use arrows and spells on the monsters caught in it, two things that the phb seems not to cover:

(1) is the area also obscured (i.e. do targets have cover or do we have a disad to hit them - or can we not see them at all?) - the phb doesn't speak to this, so I assume not - incredibly thick but low plants, perhaps.

(2) would a fireball create a plant-dead area in it? Would a lightning bolt create a plant-free strip?

1. The spell says nothing about creating obscurement, so I see no reason to add it in. Good for the ranged people.

2. Not by RAW, but that would be a DM ruling that is certainly possible. Fireball does say it lights unattended objects on fire, so perhaps you might get some extra damage if they are still in a burning area, or some concealment from smoke.

[Willie the Duck]

Well, #1, the spell says nothing about creating obscurement, so no do not add it, but if you have vegetation in the area to begin with, it is anyone's guess whether there was obscurement to begin with. Good or bad for the ranged people, just no change.

As for #2, this really depends on how you picture fireball and lightning bolt spells. Is the wash of flame (or zot of lightning) enough to vaporize/pulverize/blow-apart the greenery in the moment it exists? If not, what is the climactic situation? A perfectly lush and verdant green forest not in areas of drought have more moisture held within it than is needed to quench said area. I.e. forest fires happen during droughts, very specific times of year, or when 50 years of Smokey the Bear initiatives create too much unburnt forest waste. Not anytime, anywhere, and wherever a flame occurs. So it really depends on how the DM describes the landscape and the fireballs, etc.

[Easy_Lee]

I'm surprised you didn't ask what happens when it's cast on top of difficult terrain. The answer is still the same: if it isn't specified, it's up to the DM.

[Chugger]

I didn't think of _that_, Easy - hah!

Yeah I'm mostly wondering about RAW or how a module DM might typically interpret it.

Fire insta-kills weeds and weak, little plants. But if these thickets have substance, a fireball will not just get rid of them. It will burn off their foliage but leave their stems and vines - and since they're full of water - they won't just burn up. So I'm thinking a fireball won't affect a plant-growth area, at least not much.

Thanks.

[SharkForce]

you should be able to use the speak with plants spell to manipulate which areas are easy and which are super difficult.