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I'm a new DM starting a Pathfinder campaign. I have an Alchemist with the tanglefoot bomb discovery (Works like the bag), which has the potential to both entangle and glue a victim to the floor.

What happens if he then bull rushes a glued target? From a narrative standpoint it seems like they should be knocked over in a rather awkward/challenging way

Some useful information for an answer would be:

  • How much penalty the victim should take to CMD for being entangled/glued
  • On a successful bull rush, should the victim be knocked prone?
  • If they are knocked prone, are their feet still glued to the ground?
  • Should the Alchemist make a strength check to break the glue, as part of the rush?

Entangled condition
Bull Rush maneuver

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    \$\begingroup\$ You mention from a narrative standpoint, but you've tagged RAW, which means you're going to get a literal answer by the rules whether it makes any sense at all in the game fiction or not - is that what you want? \$\endgroup\$
    – mxyzplk
    Sep 15, 2017 at 19:26
  • \$\begingroup\$ @mxyzplk Sorry for the delay. The other commenters are correct, I am looking for RAW. The narrative explanation is just to clarify how I see the situation I guess. \$\endgroup\$
    – progressiveCavemen
    Sep 18, 2017 at 13:41
  • \$\begingroup\$ A note, Bull Rush typically doesn't have a 'knock prone' effect so any RAW isn't going to cause the target to be prone, no matter how logical it might be \$\endgroup\$
    – Ifusaso
    Sep 18, 2017 at 19:44
  • \$\begingroup\$ I was considering mentioning grapple into my answer, but I simply opened another can of worms...A grappled creature cannot move but could easily be moved, unless the grappler doesn't want to let her to be moved, which we would have to enter house ruling territory and we have two options there, make the attacker roll his CMB twice as if bull rushing two creatures, or make him roll against the highest of CMDs and actually move only the victim. By the rules, nothing prevents two grappled creatures to be away from each other, but the mental image of that is...Disturbing. \$\endgroup\$
    – ShadowKras
    Sep 19, 2017 at 12:27

1 Answer 1

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You won't move the target

The entangled condition prevents movement if the entangled creature is anchored to something. Here, this anchor is the fact that she is glued to the surface.

Entangled

The character is ensnared. Being entangled impedes movement, but does not entirely prevent it unless the bonds are anchored to an immobile object or tethered by an opposing force.

A tanglefoot bag, when exposed to the air, becomes a strong substance, that isn't easily pushed away.

When you throw a tanglefoot bag at a creature (as a ranged touch attack with a range increment of 10 feet), the bag comes apart and goo bursts out, entangling the target and then becoming tough and resilient upon exposure to air.

And the only ways to remove this to either force your way out (strength check), or to remove the glue with a slashing weapon (damage), or to wait for the glue to dry out (2d4 rounds), or apply an universal solvent.

A creature that is glued to the floor (or unable to fly) can break free by making a DC 17 Strength check or by dealing 15 points of damage to the goo with a slashing weapon. A creature trying to scrape goo off itself, or another creature assisting, does not need to make an attack roll; hitting the goo is automatic, after which the creature that hit makes a damage roll to see how much of the goo was scraped off.

This means that a simple Bull Rush, an attempt to move the creature against her will, will not simply move them if they are anchored to an immobile object or opposing force (like the ground).

A bull rush attempts to push an opponent straight back without doing any harm. (...) You cannot bull rush a creature into a square that is occupied by a solid object or obstacle.

This is a different condition than attempting to bull rush a Paralyzed creature, which is unable to move, as it is prevented from moving.

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