Question on Stone Shape Spell?

[Aluvial]

What are the exact limits of the Stone Shape spell?

I've rulled that you can't take one of the dimensions down to under one inch?

What other restrictions do you think there should be?

Can you capture someone it it? I give a Reflex DC 15 for this...

How precise of an object can you make?

Can you make a wall out of it to block a passage, just using the surrounding stone in say a normal dungeon chamber?

Any other comments would be VERY welcome!!

Aluvial

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

What are the exact limits of the Stone Shape spell?

Stone Shape
Transmutation [Earth]
Level: Clr 3, Drd 3, Earth 3, Sor/Wiz 5
Components: V, S, M/DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Stone or stone object touched, up to 10 cu. ft. + 1 cu. ft./level
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
You can form an existing piece of stone into any shape that suits your purpose. While it’s possible to make crude coffers, doors, and so forth with stone shape, fine detail isn’t possible. There is a 30% chance that any shape including moving parts simply doesn’t work.
Arcane Material Component: Soft clay, which must be worked into roughly the desired shape of the stone object and then touched to the stone while the verbal component is uttered.

I've rulled that you can't take one of the dimensions down to under one inch?

A fair ruling. Maybe an inch is a little much. I tend to think that Stone manipulated with Stone Spell becomes a little bit like Silly Putty.

Can you capture someone it it? I give a Reflex DC 15 for this...

IMO, no, because you actually have to work the soft stone (Range: Touch). You can't make a stone cage spring up from the ground and catch an opponent.

How precise of an object can you make?

See spell description.

Can you make a wall out of it to block a passage, just using the surrounding stone in say a normal dungeon chamber?

Why not? You can block off a 5' X 8' corridor with a 6-inch thick wall of stone at 10th level. You just have to be careful that you can affect enough stone (10 cubic feet + 1 cubic feet per level)

AR

 

[Mahali]

What are the exact limits of the Stone Shape spell?

Can you capture someone it it? I give a Reflex DC 15 for this...

How precise of an object can you make?

Can you make a wall out of it to block a passage, just using the surrounding stone in say a normal dungeon chamber?

Any other comments would be VERY welcome!!

Aluvial

I use Reflex DC 10 + Spell Lvl + Caster Mod. The spell has an area and a duration of Instant. You don't mold the stone you have a vision of what it looks like and you cast, touch, and bam! There it is.

Craft check for precision. Anybody can make "snowman" of stone but to make a sculpture, that requires skill. The spell also limits it so "fine detail" isn't possible.

Yes, you could make a wall. Remember it effects one peice of stone so you can't do much against a brick a wall. But a solid peice of stone or cavern can be shaped.

 

[Aluvial]

Craft check for precision. Anybody can make "snowman" of stone but to make a sculpture, that requires skill. The spell also limits it so "fine detail" isn't possible.

Yes, you could make a wall. Remember it effects one peice of stone so you can't do much against a brick wall. But a solid peice of stone or cavern can be shaped.

Interesting... I never thought about the one brick thing... That does limit it there. I find that my player has the tendancy to abuse this spell as much as he can.

What do you think constitutes fine detail?

I imagine that you couldn't make anything with less than 1" as a demension... That means that at best, any shape that is made is at least 1 x 1 x 1 and no finer...

As for the trap, I looked at the Wall of Stone spell which gives a reflex save... so there's that.

Back to the wall, or in another case, a bridge. How thick does a piece of stone have to be to support the average PC (say 150 to 300 lbs.)?

I know it is based on its compression and its tensile strength, but I wouldn't know how to make the calculation, especially when dealing with spans...

The Wall of Stone spell says anything over 20' must be butressed.

I do know that one cubic foot of stone (granite) weighs 165 lbs.!!!

That alone is going to disuade a PC from carrying around his own supply of stone (like my guy wants too)... sounds like he is going to find water soon.

Aluvial

 

[Mahali]

What do you think constitutes fine detail?

I imagine that you couldn't make anything with less than 1" as a demension... That means that at best, any shape that is made is at least 1 x 1 x 1 and no finer...

Back to the wall, or in another case, a bridge. How thick does a piece of stone have to be to support the average PC (say 150 to 300 lbs.)?

I know it is based on its compression and its tensile strength, but I wouldn't know how to make the calculation, especially when dealing with spans...

Aluvial

I'd say fine detail would stuff like writing (unless its in big characters) or sizeable numbers, eyebrows/fingernails/more than the basic shape of an ear on a statue, 90 degree corners, or closely spaced bars/latticework. Think of what a sculpture could do with large chuck of clay and at most a 2 minutes.

A long time ago people discussed making bridges. Try a search here or on Wizard's site. For a 20' no supported span I'd say a 5-6".

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

You could probably make the stone spring up to trap someone, but that would require working the material component into the desired form. For example, making a cage with bars would probably take a fair amount of time (rather than just a free action).

 

[Gaiden]

What about a readied action to cast stone spell into something like a readied spear against a charge?

What about stone shaping the largest volume possible of the ceiling to simply create a seam around a 3-D block so that once the spell is cast the block falls on the foe?

What about shaping the stone block from above to have spikes on it?

Why the 1" limitation? Is that in the spell description? It seems perfectly reasonable for a caster to shape something with a sharp edge.