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If you place the Pit from the Robe of Useful Items, will it remain there forever, as if it was dug? RAW, I assume so. The RAW on the Robe of Useful Items doesn't say anything about the items being temporary, so we should assume they are not.

I'm less convinced on Dispel Magic, and I know I will have to make a ruling on this, likely in a session or two, but I am leaning toward no. If the patch has "become the object or creature", then this is a normal, everyday, non-magical pit. The magic was in its creation, not its essence. As such, Dispel Magic would have no effect, right?

Or am I perhaps overlooking something?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I love the phrasing in "the magic was in its creation, not its essence". Explains the situation really well, and I'll remember it for future games I DM! \$\endgroup\$
    – Jase
    Mar 10, 2021 at 23:55

3 Answers 3

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The pit can not be dispelled, since it is not magical in any sense, and it is permanent.

The text of Dispel Magic spell says (emphasis mine):

Choose one creature, object, or magical effect within range. Any spell of 3rd level or lower on the target ends.

To check if something is magical, one should apply the method described in the Sage Advice Compendium (see the question Is the breath weapon of a dragon magical?). The SAC says that if the answer to at least one of the following question is "yes", then this something is magical:

  1. Is it a magic item?
  2. Is it a spell? Or does it let you create the effects of a spell that’s mentioned in its description?
  3. Is it a spell attack?
  4. Is it fueled by the use of spell slots?
  5. Does its description say it’s magical?

Let's check these possibilities one by one.

  1. No, the pit is not a magic item, it is just a hole in the ground. Being very pedantic, there's no magic item named Pit in any manual.
  2. It is not a spell, and it is not the effect of any particular spell. If it were so, the description of the Robe of Useful Items would have said so.
  3. No.
  4. No: no spell slot have been used to create it.
  5. The description says simply

Pit (a cube 10 feet on a side), which you can place on the ground within 10 feet of you

and nowhere it says that it is a magical pit.

The pit created by the patch of the Robe of Useful item does not satisfy any requirement to be considered magical, hence it can not be dispelled.

Moreover, the description does not have any duration entry: the pit is placed forever, or at least until someone fill it.

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    \$\begingroup\$ I think the main sticking point is in number 1. Obviously, the robe itself is a magic item, so does that extend to the pit after it's removed? I'm inclined to agree with you that it isn't magical anymore. It certainly doesn't have any magical properties after placement, but its source was magical. There's also the issue of what happens to the stuff that used to be where the pit was placed, but that's outside the scope of this question. \$\endgroup\$ Mar 9, 2021 at 20:24
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    \$\begingroup\$ @RevenantBacon Yes, I agree the origin (the robe) is magical, but the object itself not. I included all the others points for sake of completeness. One may wonder also what happens if you cast Dispel Magic on the robe itself... \$\endgroup\$
    – Eddymage
    Mar 9, 2021 at 22:24
  • \$\begingroup\$ Yeah, I don't know if Dispel Magic even does anything to magical items. As far as I remember, it only affects spell effects. \$\endgroup\$ Mar 10, 2021 at 2:00
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    \$\begingroup\$ @nick012000 Dispel Magic does one thing and one thing only... it ends spells. \$\endgroup\$
    – Slagmoth
    Mar 11, 2021 at 13:32
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    \$\begingroup\$ Here is a fun thought... once the pit is dropped is it even an object? Or is it negative space within a structure? Can you even target a pit? \$\endgroup\$
    – Slagmoth
    Mar 11, 2021 at 13:36
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I would agree with the way you're interpreting the spell.

The Robe of Useful things only says a patch removed from it "becomes the object or creature it represents". Since there's no mention of those objects being magical in nature, it seems that the magic is only in storing and releasing (or possibly conjuring) the item in question.

The pit is certainly the odd one out on this list, since it represents removing or destroying matter, rather than conjuring or restoring an object or creature. That said, I wouldn't think too hard about it. The pit is a nonmagical pit that remains in place forever as if you'd dug the hole and somehow gotten rid of all the material that used to be there. It can't be dispelled or undone any more than matter destroyed by a disintegrate spell could be somehow dispelled back into existence.

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    \$\begingroup\$ I think this is the best way to describe this. The pit is a consequence of a magical effect. Once something physically happens, you can't retroactively undo it (short of a wish spell) as the consequences of a magical effect are distinct from the effect itself. \$\endgroup\$
    – Andrendire
    Mar 9, 2021 at 19:27
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The pit cannot be dispelled by Dispel Magic.

Dispel Magic says:

Choose any creature, object, or magical Effect within range. Any spell of 3rd Level or lower on the target ends.

The Robe of Useful Items does not make any reference to it casting any spells and its effects can therefore not be dispelled by the spell.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Is the pit a "magical effect"? The spell does say it can be used on "magical effects". \$\endgroup\$ Mar 9, 2021 at 12:56
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    \$\begingroup\$ Spells of 3rd level or lower on the "magical Effect" end. Not the magical Effect itself. The Effect is only the target. \$\endgroup\$ Mar 9, 2021 at 12:58
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    \$\begingroup\$ @ThomasMarkov While the pit can be targeted, there are no spells of any level affecting the pit to be dispelled. As far as I am aware, Dispel Magic only dispels spell effects, and has no affect on other effects, even if they are magical in nature. \$\endgroup\$ Mar 10, 2021 at 2:02

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