Hungry Earth (3.5e Maneuver)

''The ground softened, the feet of the gnolls slipping through. Before long the enemy was neck deep in trouble.''

You create a patch of quicksand on sand, gravel, soil, marsh, and other non-solid material. Creatures standing in the quicksand when it forms get a Reflex save DC 14 + Wisdom modifier to jump into the nearest clear square, otherwise they sink. Quicksand is hard to detect, and creatures must succeed on a DC 10 Survival check to notice it. Running or charging creatures do not gain a check.

Creatures which sink in quicksand must make a DC 10 Swim check every round to simply tread water in place, or a DC 15 Swim check to move 5 feet in whatever direction is desired. If a trapped character fails this check by 5 or more, he sinks below the surface and begins to drown whenever he can no longer hold his breath. The quicksand is 20 feet deep, creatures taller than 20 feet are in no danger of suffocating. Characters below the surface of quicksand may swim back to the surface with a successful Swim check (DC 15, +1 per consecutive round of being under the surface).

Rescuing a creature trapped in quicksand can be difficult. A rescuer needs a branch, spear haft, rope, or similar tool that enables him to reach the victim with one end of it. Then he must make a DC 15 Strength check to successfully pull the victim, and the victim must make a DC 10 Strength check to hold onto the branch, pole, or rope. If the victim fails to hold on, he must make a DC 15 Swim check immediately to stay above the surface. If both checks succeed, the victim is pulled 5 feet closer to safety.

The quicksand typically dries out in 1 hour unless the conditions are right for quicksand to naturally form. The time is halved in arid environments and doubled in wet environments. This maneuver is a supernatural ability.