Slippers of Spider Climb

[woltage]

quick question,

i have a ranger who regularly climbs up vertical or beyond vertical walls, using his slippers of spider climb, and then rains down arrows on my poor monsters. i've tossed up a using modifiers such as -4 to all attacks or only allowing him to have one attack per round (he has 3 attacks at the moment).

the slipper rules don't mention the need for hands to be in contact with the surface being climbed.

any ideas much appreciated.

woltage.

 

[AGGEMAM]

the slipper rules don't mention the need for hands to be in contact with the surface being climbed.

Actually it does.

The affected creature must have its hands free to climb in this manner.

That means he can't have anything in his hands while climbing, which is another way of saying he must use both his hands to climb.

 

[Darklone]

Actually it does.

That means he can't have anything in his hands while climbing, which is another way of saying he must use both his hands to climb.

I would be nice and allow him to throw weapons with one hand.

 

[AGGEMAM]

I would be nice and allow him to throw weapons with one hand.

Not me

 

[pl]

Actually it does.



That means he can't have anything in his hands while climbing, which is another way of saying he must use both his hands to climb.

The SRD has the following text for the slippers:

Slippers of Spider Climbing: When worn, a pair of these slippers enable movement on vertical surfaces or even upside down along ceilings, leaving the wearer’s hands free. Her speed is 20 feet. Severely slippery surfaces—icy, oiled, or greased surfaces— make these slippers useless. The slippers can be used for 10 minutes per day, split up as the wearer chooses.

Seems quite clear (to me at least) that you don't need your hands to climb.

 

[kreynolds]

Seems quite clear (to me at least) that you don't need your hands to climb.

Only in 3.5.

 

[bret]

Only in 3.5.

Sorry, no.

In the 3.0 version of the SRD, we see this:

Slippers of Spider Climbing
When worn, a pair of these slippers enable movement on vertical surfaces or even upside down along ceilings, leaving the wearer’s hands free. The wearer’s speed is 15 feet. Extremely slippery surfaces-icy, oiled, or greased surfaces-make these slippers useless.
Caster Level: 4th; Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, spider climb; Market Price: 2,000 gp; Weight: 1/2 lb.

 

[biorph]

flying creatures, spellcasters with fly/prot. from arrows/dispel magic/wind wall/etc., drippy wet cave walls, places where the ceiling is only 10 feet high, archers. really he shouldn't take any penalty to attack since this kind of attack is what the slippers were degigned for, unless he happens to be hiding behind a wall when he does. it's like attacking with a fly spell. also in the new 3.5 version the slippers got their use time per day cut down.

 

[bret]

One thing I would do is set up an encounter to check if the archer is still thinking. Have them meet a bunch of large spiders in an underground area. Describe the web overhead as they enter.

See if when he sees the spiders on the ground, the archer immediately climbs the walls. It would be most amusing to see a character run into some giant spider webs as he flees up the wall (not very effective), only to require the rest of the group to save him.

 

[Nail]

I didn't realize you needed your hands free. Does this mean that you still (like in 3.0e) cannot cast spells while spider climbing?