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Archangel Yuki
2007-12-10, 12:44 AM
Ok, I kind of got this idea from the Sword of Truth novels, so hear goes.

If I link a Chain Lightning to a tree, would the tree explode with enough force to do any real damage? I have seen the aftermath of a tree hit by lightning, and it is not pretty.
Basically, the sap in the tree superheats, and explodes. So this couldbe done with fire spells also, if the tree is not reduced to ash too quickly.
In the book, they superheat the inside of the tree, with devistating results. Taking out 4 or 5 soldiers per tree.


Edit:
I jsut thought of a class that I can't remember the name of, but I know that it involves being a fallen Druid and burning everything. Maybe this could be an inclusion to that?

reorith
2007-12-10, 12:55 AM
huh
something tree and fire related
prerequisites:
knowledge nature x ranks, knowledge arcana x ranks
benefits:
you can splode trees with spells with the fire type
normal:
normally, you can't make trees asplode with spells with the fire type

RTGoodman
2007-12-10, 12:59 AM
If I link a Chain Lightning to a tree, would the tree explode with enough force to do any real damage?

Well, a small or medium tree has 150 hp, and large one has 600 hp, so I'm not sure that a lightning bolt or chain lightning (20d6 damage, max 120) can technically even take down a tree. In fact, a character that gets hit by lightning, according to the SRD, take [1d10]d8 damage (as in, roll 1d10, and then roll that number of d8s). That's a maximum of what, 80 damage? So that won't work either.

If you wanted to allow spells to blow up trees, that can't be too hard (but you'd have to make sure it's not so good that that's all the players would do). It'd probably be piercing, slashing, and bludgeoning damage to everyone within about 10-20 feet, with a Reflex save for half damage. Damage would probably depend on the size of the tree, but no more than 10d6, I'd say. And that's probably pushing it. To do more than that, you'd need a gigantic tree*, and that's probably not going to be easy to blow up.

*Or a tree made of, say, knives. :smallbiggrin:

magic8BALL
2007-12-12, 06:03 AM
sure, the rules say that a direct hit from a lightning bolt cannot take out a tree... but that just shows how the rules are... well... not realistic.

I'm going to homebrew something, as is the occasion.

A tree that takes more than 50 points of electric damage explodes (it has taken massive damage an auto fails its save, despite being an object, not a creature, due to a lack of CHA and WIS scores).

The explosion deals the remainder of the damage in a bust of radius equal to the damage dealt in feat. The damage is reduced by 1 point for every foot that the target is away from the centre of the tree when it explodes.

Example:

A tree is hit with a lightning bolt, dealing 78 points of damage.

Anyone adjacent to the tree takes 28 points of damage.
Anyone within 10 ft of the tree (one free squre between the trees space and their own space) takes 23 points of damage.
Anyone two squares away takes 18 points of damage.
Anyone three squares away takes 13 points of damage.
...etc...

However, toi answer the origional question: can you even target a tree with chain lighting? The tree is not a creature, so I believe not.

Charlie Kemek
2007-12-12, 08:11 AM
Ok, I kind of got this idea from the Sword of Truth novels, so hear goes.

If I link a Chain Lightning to a tree, would the tree explode with enough force to do any real damage? I have seen the aftermath of a tree hit by lightning, and it is not pretty.
Basically, the sap in the tree superheats, and explodes. So this couldbe done with fire spells also, if the tree is not reduced to ash too quickly.
In the book, they superheat the inside of the tree, with devistating results. Taking out 4 or 5 soldiers per tree.


Edit:
I jsut thought of a class that I can't remember the name of, but I know that it involves being a fallen Druid and burning everything. Maybe this could be an inclusion to that?

you mean the blighter? it's in CD

Lady Tialait
2007-12-12, 08:47 AM
um..lightning bolt..and i quote *clears throat* says "if the damage caused to a interposing barrier shatters or breaks through it, the bolt may continue beyond the barrier if the spell's range permits; otherwise, it stops at the barrier just as any other spell effect does."

that means..the lightning bolt spell could be turned into a lawn mower....

ps...yes...damnable blighters..i hate them so.

Pronounceable
2007-12-12, 07:00 PM
Like catgirls to the slaughter...

Actually anything hit by lightning would explode and burn, be it a tree or a dragon (a hypothetical one existing in real world that is). There's SO much power in a natural lightning strike it isn't even funny. A cursory glance to wikipedia gives me an average figure of 100 terawatts...

Trying to express that sort of potential destruction into DnD terms would yield a whole lot of d6s, not a mere 20. Compatibility with real world physics was not a prominent issue in DnD design.

However, the blow to the catgirl race was fun. And the houserule seems reasonable.