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View Full Version : Unorthodox bolt defense.



Renx
2007-09-05, 01:13 PM
Okay, here's something that's probably been tried at some point in some campaign: Using a portable hole as a defence against arrows and/or bolt-type spells. IIRC a Lightning Bolt bounces back towards the caster, and a Fireball or a Delayed Blast Fireball could be avoided simply by catching the 'small fire' closing in on the explosion and closing the hole (or using it as a bazooka-type enhance weapon since the blast originates in a 6'x10' cylinder).

How would this work in all of your opinions? IE Discuss.

//Edit1: For clarification, the portable hole can be spread upon basically anything, for example a round wooden shield 6' in diameter. How would this affect the AC of the shield?

UserClone
2007-09-05, 01:16 PM
Um, Ok, that would require a DISGUSTINGLY HIGH reflex save to accomplish- faster than Lightning? I've never liked the idea of Ref vs. Lightning- I think it should be Fort "I'm so tough I can survive a lightning Strike."

Renx
2007-09-05, 01:19 PM
I'm not saying you could catch it... if it's cast directly on you all you have to do is shield yourself with the shield (no pun intended).

On second thought, why not catch it? Readied action+reflex save should do it.

UserClone
2007-09-05, 01:20 PM
Still feels a tad Munchkin-y. I do think it's pretty funny to slap it on your tower shield and hide behind it, tho.

Person_Man
2007-09-05, 01:29 PM
Or you could just take the Dive for Cover feat, which allows you to re-roll any Reflex Save. Or the Action Before Thought Maneuver, which allows you to replace a Reflex Save with a Concentration check, which is quite easy to boost. Either one combined with Evasion (from class levels of a ring) makes you pretty much immune to Reflex Save spells.

Renx
2007-09-05, 01:32 PM
Well, yes, but... you could actually reflect a LB back to its caster (tho 20' shorter). Also 100% piercing immunity. Would make small bags of holding excellent throwing weapons against the character, though.

UserClone
2007-09-05, 01:43 PM
Those would be some EXPENSIVE throwing weapons! Though, thinking about it, halflings totally make sense having a +1 to hit with bags of holding.:smallwink:

Jasdoif
2007-09-05, 02:06 PM
IIRC a Lightning Bolt bounces back towards the casterNo. I've read that it did bounced back in older versions, but in the present version it simply stops if it can't destroy an obstacle that blocks it.

Anyway...if you're draping it across a shield, you could claim that the shield's AC bonus applies to your touch AC as well; since it will touch the extradimensional space behind the portable hole instead of you. Drape it across a tower shield, and it now even provides total cover against ranged touch attacks.

You would have to be careful about the Bag of Holding grenade squad, however.

daggaz
2007-09-05, 03:08 PM
Hmmm... I could have sworn that bags of holding were not made of impenatrable material, and that one needed to take care that the cloth was not pierced by the contents, as piercing the bag ruined its magical properties... Coulda sworn that was in the description somewhere.

If not, its subclause C, paragraph 27a subsection 401-2b of Rule 0 in my campaign worlds.

Jasdoif
2007-09-05, 03:23 PM
Hmmm... I could have sworn that bags of holding were not made of impenatrable material, and that one needed to take care that the cloth was not pierced by the contents, as piercing the bag ruined its magical properties... Coulda sworn that was in the description somewhere.Bags of holding are described as such, yes; but we're talking about a portable hole here.

tainsouvra
2007-09-05, 03:58 PM
IIRC a Lightning Bolt bounces back towards the caster, and a Fireball or a Delayed Blast Fireball could be avoided simply by catching the 'small fire' closing in on the explosion and closing the hole Neither should work in this edition. Lightning Bolt doesn't reflect and Fireball is a radius effect, not a volume effect. Second edition might work, maybe, if your DM was cooperative. Third edition closed loopholes like that one.