Rope Trick: Get Up In My Hole
Spell Level: 2
School: Transmutation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Duration: 1 hour
Components: V, S, M (powdered corn extract and a twisted loop of parchment)
You touch a length of rope that is up to 60 feet long. One end of the rope then rises into the air until the whole rope hangs perpendicular to the ground. At the upper end of the rope, an invisible entrance opens to an extradimensional space that lasts until the spell ends.
The extradimensional space can be reached by climbing to the top of the rope. The space can hold as many as eight Medium or smaller creatures. The rope can be pulled into the space, making the rope disappear from view outside the space.
Attacks and spells can’t cross through the entrance into or out of the extradimensional space, but those inside can see out of it as if through a 3-foot-by-5-foot window centered on the rope.
Anything inside the extradimensional space drops out when the spell ends.
Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
Furious, the steel bull turns the corner of the corridor. Green smoke billows from its constructed nostrils, empty eyes scanning for the group of little cretins that it was charging down just seconds earlier. From above, huddled and aggressively holding their breath, the party looks down from their extradimensional hiding hole, waiting out the monster that would otherwise certainly kill them.
Rope Trick is a delightful little spell that I adore. I only wish a few more classes got access to it, as with it being wizard and artificer exclusive, it sees very little play at most tables. When it does come up, though, the DM has to figure out what their monsters do when the entire team pulls a disappearing trick out of nowhere.
Beyond that, it can be a way to create a short rest safe space in a pinch. Sometimes you just really don’t want to be in a spot in a couple seconds, whether it's because a patrol is going to pass through or a swarm of hungry insects. In these situations, having a rope to pop up and an extradimensional hiding spot to keep the entire party is great!
Rope Trick isn’t going to be a wizard’s most cast spell, but as a cheap 2nd level tool, it's a blast to play with that will affect the game from the moment you get it until it ends. Clever players can juice this for all it’s worth, and even in its average use case, your DM is going to have to consider how they deal with it. If you like disappearing tricks, want a short rest bunker, or crave a niche magical tool that you can weaponize in odd ways from time to time, Rope Trick is the spell for you.
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