Kinematics
Hero
Would a character with immunity to difficult terrain caused by ice and snow be able to be restrained via a method that used lots of snow (ie: super difficult terrain/avalanche/etc)?
-
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
D&D 5E Restraint vs difficult terrain immunity
- Thread starter Kinematics
- Start date
Hawk Diesel
Adventurer
My initial thought is yes, such a character would be restrained. Their magic or skill allows them to avoid the pitfalls that would normally slow others, but it is a matter of degree. Characters without the ability can still move through the difficult terrain, albeit slower (going faster would be too painful or they need greater attention to move through it). Someone that can move through difficult terrain has no advantage over anyone else to scaling a wall. If that wall includes another five sides, they are just as stuck as anyone in that situation.
A good example would be Dresden. With the mantle of the winter knight, he can walk on ice like it's asphalt. And the cold doesn't seem to bother him. But encase him in ice and he'd be just as stuck as anyone.
A good example would be Dresden. With the mantle of the winter knight, he can walk on ice like it's asphalt. And the cold doesn't seem to bother him. But encase him in ice and he'd be just as stuck as anyone.
Hawk Diesel
Adventurer
Now if that same character had a burrow speed, especially one that specifies movement through ice and packed snow, that's a different story.
Yes, he would still be restrained. Speed is a kind of ability score while movement is a resource whose capacity is based on Speed. They're not the same thing. If you have a speed of 0 (restrained), it doesn't matter whether the terrain is difficult or not. You aren't moving.
As always, DMs can make their own rulings. I don't recognize "immunity to difficult terrain caused by ice and snow" as any official PC feature*, so presumably you're already dealing with homebrew/house rules. I would take a moment to consider exactly what that immunity means and how it manifests in a narrative sense before applying any particular ruling. If it's a matter of walking over snow with ease like Legolas (or Dresden, as Hawk describes), that's probably not going to prevent an avalanche from causing you difficulty. If you can basically phase through ice and snow, that's another matter.
* - You might take a cue from Land's Stride (ranger and druid class feature) when arriving at a ruling. I would probably grant some sort of advantage to escape or pass through the icy restraint that other PCs wouldn't get.
As always, DMs can make their own rulings. I don't recognize "immunity to difficult terrain caused by ice and snow" as any official PC feature*, so presumably you're already dealing with homebrew/house rules. I would take a moment to consider exactly what that immunity means and how it manifests in a narrative sense before applying any particular ruling. If it's a matter of walking over snow with ease like Legolas (or Dresden, as Hawk describes), that's probably not going to prevent an avalanche from causing you difficulty. If you can basically phase through ice and snow, that's another matter.
* - You might take a cue from Land's Stride (ranger and druid class feature) when arriving at a ruling. I would probably grant some sort of advantage to escape or pass through the icy restraint that other PCs wouldn't get.
Kinematics
Hero
It was for a custom yuki-onna race, but the ability was pulled from the frost genasi. The question was just a hypothetical due to how some things interacted, that got me curious.Nevvur said:
Ah, yeah, that sounds reasonable.Nevvur said:
BookBarbarian
Expert Long Rester
Yep. I see it as being able to step over difficult Icy terrain, doesn't make you able to walk through an Ice wall.
While I don't disagree with anybody here, as a DM I'd simply look at whether that cool PC feature has actually come to the fore and been used recently. Normally such things come up with great irregularity. As such, I would say they are only slowed, not restrained like a normal person. I want players to feel that their PCs cool features actually matter more often than not and will bend things slightly to ensure that they do.
