Pass through rock - furniture and monsters

[cynthialee]

Pass through floor I could see only being effective if there is an empty space immediately below the caster. Without empty space ... dead caster.
A multi floor dungeon like a Keep or a deep multi level dungeon would not be an issue. Just need to figure out which room the hero enters. Could be problematic for the hero. He is after all in the next level of the dungeon alone....

[knightkrawler]

Does it go back upwards then in case the caster can utilize the spell a second time or has a scroll loaded with PTR?

[Sjeng]

Well, if you could pass through the floors with that spell, wouldn't the wizard just fall through immediately? To the center of the Old World?

[knightkrawler]

Well, if you could pass through the floors with that spell, wouldn't the wizard just fall through immediately? To the center of the Old World?

That is an incredibly stupid question, really.

Back to my clever one:

Does it go back upwards then in case the caster can utilize the spell a second time or has a scroll loaded with PTR?

[Blackthorn]

I'd say Blackthorn got it right a while back.

I'm glad someone finally realized this

[Big Bene]

All this to say that if a player wants to creatively use a spell, an innovative and adaptable DM will allow it, maybe requiring a D6 check. A purist won't. Which one are YOU, cynthialee / Big Bene?

As a DM, I normally allow it, or at least I allow to try it. If I think it would have a negative effect on the game (which means, in the end, the fun everyone will have playing), I won't simply disallow it, but let the player try, and think of a way to explain in-game why it didn't work.
But in making this decission, I also take into account the type of game we are playing. I would not allow in a dungeon crawler board game everything I would allow in a pen and paper rpg.

Then again, we are not talking about a spontanous idea of an innovative player, and the result a talented DM will improvise for this idea.
We are talking about a fixed and set houserule to clarify the pass through rock spell.
An extra effectivenes of a spell that seems cool in the moment, but may prove problematic for the game mechanics in the long run, may very well be allowed by the DM as an exceptional revard for good role playing, but should not be included in a permanent rule. The DM, if he really is this adaptable, will have no problems thinking of an explanation why it worked once - he has all the time he needs, as the same spell won't be used until the next quest.
This is not to say that "pass through floor" will in fact cause problems in the long run. We are still discussing this topic.

Well, if you could pass through the floors with that spell, wouldn't the wizard just fall through immediately? To the center of the Old World?

This is an incredibly clever observatioin.
It's exactly what I meant - the caster doesn't sink into the floor, so the effect
either:
- just is restricted to horizontal movement, or doesn't affect the floor, so there's no danger of "sinking", but also no possibility to "pass through floor",
or
- the caster has control over vertical movement, so he can pass through the floor, but doesn't sink in if he doesn't want to.

But if he/she has control over vertical movement, this would also mean he can move up at will. And this again leads to the possiblility to "dive" through-under monsters, or to use it to escape a pit trap. Wich is not necessarily a bad thing, but personally, I would find it too far away from the intention of the spell, and also too complicated when we try to make rules for it.

Pass through floor I could see only being effective if there is an empty space immediately below the caster. Without empty space ... dead caster.
A multi floor dungeon like a Keep or a deep multi level dungeon would not be an issue. Just need to figure out which room the hero enters. Could be problematic for the hero. He is after all in the next level of the dungeon alone....

This would be the way to go, but it still leaves the question (wich players inevitably will ask) why the caster can not "dive" (as he/she obviousely doesn't sink into the ground accidentely, as explained above).
It also requires clarification as to where the caster lands in the below dungeon level. Are the two dungeon plans are just put exactly above each other, so he lands in the same room on the gameboard? Or does the entry stairs of the lower level correspondent to the exit stairs of the upper level, and the maps must be aligned accordingly?

[el_flesh]

Use a little of Logic guys.
The caster normally passes through a rock wall, while still walking perfectly fine on rock ground.
Therefore, he has to affect a door-shape of volume in front of him. Therefore, there is no reason he cannot aim it at the ground and "dive" through it. However, this would only be useful for dropping down to a lower level, since entering a closed off section of the board = death materializing within solid rock.
The space "softened" to allow passage is one door shape; not allowing someone to escape a pit trap UPWARDS against gravity, nor to dive a loop around a monster. You could always cast it on the floor underneath a monster, making it fall and materialize inside of solid rock, killing it instantly - since that's too O.P. you have to disallow it somehow. Maybe explaining it's too OP would be simple enough.

[Daedalus]

...I'd rule the gargoyle as an impassable monster The End but then, what if while the hero is under the effects of this spell, he triggers a falling rock trap? Does he get hurt? Lol. Stupid games and their complications!

I think I'd honestly let it go and allow the trap to trigger but rule that the hero suffers no damage as long as he can continue to move past that square. If his turn ends in the square, treat it as solid rock... death

Interesting case. I agree it would be a good idea to allow the Hero to forgo rolling the combat dice for damage. However, the Hero's turn can't end in the falling-block square. The triggering Hero must make a decision to move forward or back, and is allowed to do so. "Move to the space you have decided upon. This ends your turn," is mandatory for this special trap square and overides the general movement rules of continuing movement with red dice.

[Big Bene]

...cast it on the floor underneath a monster, making it fall and materialize inside of solid rock, killing it instantly - since that's too O.P. you have to disallow it somehow.

The card text reads "This spell can be cast on anyone Hero, including yourself". So, no casting on Monsters, by definition. It seems it is just a "friendly spell" and doesn't work for the opposing faction.
In the European edition, however, this text reads "This spell may be cast on any one player", making it a bit ambigous, but one could argue that this also refer to heroes only, because the hero figures are representations of a player each, whereas the EWP is Morcar/Zargon, and the monster minis represent only his minions.

Therefore, he has to affect a door-shape of volume in front of him. Therefore, there is no reason he cannot aim it at the ground and "dive" through it. However, this would only be useful for dropping down to a lower level, since entering a closed off section of the board = death materializing within solid rock.
The space "softened" to allow passage is one door shape; not allowing someone to escape a pit trap UPWARDS against gravity, nor to dive a loop around a monster.

I never thought of the spell effect this way, perhaps because of the wording on the card. I allways assumed that it affects the character it is casted on, tranferring him into a state in which he can, well, pass through rock - and not affect the rock, in this case: an area of rock, making it pass-able for the character in question. Your version pretty well seems to solve the "pass through floor" problem. When the caster alters the state of an area of rock under him, he would sink in, and there would be no reason to assume he can move up as well.

But then again, when the spell affects a defined area of rock, then all those posts above about the caster using his full movement and search a way through the rock (if he doesn't land in an unoccupied place in a room immediately), would not work anymore.

[el_flesh]

Well to pass through matter, you have to somehow alter Quantum Mechanics, and cancel the Repulsive Nuclear Force. Since cancelling it on a character would make him immediately fall through the floor towards the core of the Earth (assuming Gravity still worked on him), it kind of couldn't "work" that way. But making Gravity NOT work on him would also immediately makes him kilometers away as he could no longer stick to the ground as Earth moved on in its orbit. He also couldn't push himself forward by walking since he could no longer interact with normal matter.
Of course, we're talking about "magic" which is ridiculous to apply Physics to on the one hand, while ignoring how it could even be altered in the first place, hahaha.

Look at all these rationales, Lords and Ladies, and choose one you can live with!