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I recently came across the following issue in a homebrew campaign setting, and am unsure how it would work RAW:

Our Warlock had used Minions of Chaos to summon a Fire Elemental via Conjure Elemental. Shortly after this we entered the Feywild, leaving the minion on guard duty on the Prime Material. As per the "Time Warp" section of the DMG's description of the Feywild (p. 50):

While time seems to pass normally in the Feywild, characters might spend a day there and realize, upon leaving the plane, that less or more time has elapsed everywhere else in the multiverse.

We have yet spent under an hour in the Feywild, potentially days in Material-Time, yet are unsure whether the Elemental will have expired, whether concentration is broken, or whether it will continue to be under the caster's control for their subjective hour time span?

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The spell/concentration lasts for an hour of the Warlock's subjective time - extended or shortened in the Material Plane as appropriate

We know from Can you maintain concentration on a spell from another plane? that you can indeed maintain concentration on a spell on another plane.

If a spell must be maintained with concentration, that fact appears in its Duration entry, and the spell specifies how long you can concentrate on it. You can end concentration at any time (no action required). (D&D Basic Rules, p. 83)

It seems obvious that "how long you can concentrate on it" relates to time from your perspective - if it did not, then the fact that time is constantly passing differently in the Feywild could mean that spell duration in the Material Plane constantly varies even if you're not in the Feywild.

So the concentration will last for an hour from the perspective of the Warlock. While they are in the Feywild, that hour will be counted against their perception of time, not time passing in the Material Plane.

While the Warlock maintains concentration, the spell will not end (barring being Dispelled). And when they lose concentration, it will.

So if the Warlock returns to the Material Plane while still concentrating, the spell must still be active (barring being Dispelled) and the remaining duration will be the time left from the Warlock's perspective.

From this, I'm forced to conclude that the spell's duration will be extended or shortened as a result of any difference between Feywild-time and Material-Plane-time. i.e.

  • if half an hour passes in the Feywild but days in the MP, the spell's duration will be extended
  • or if nearly an hour passes in the Feywild but only seconds in the MP, the duration will be shortened.
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    \$\begingroup\$ "How long you can concentrate on it" and "How long the magic effect lasts" (the duration) only seem to be related in that the later is constrained by the former. The Magic effect is empowered and exists in one timeline, concentration could be seen to be a side effect of the spell, not the cause. It doesn't seem obvious at all... \$\endgroup\$
    – Destruktor
    Commented Jul 15, 2019 at 13:42
  • \$\begingroup\$ I agree with the logic, however I'm not asking if there is an "objective" time (hence no need to worry about the Feywild influencing spells not acting across it), but rather which of caster and effect's perception is important. "How long you can concentrate on it" seems the crux of the argument, else it could have been written "How long it can be concentrated on" \$\endgroup\$
    – Fifth_H0r5eman
    Commented Jul 15, 2019 at 14:42
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    \$\begingroup\$ Weird plot idea: A villain is getting essentially permanent spell effects by persuading or forcing low- and mid-level casters to cast a few spells, then trapping them in a pocket dimension. \$\endgroup\$
    – aschepler
    Commented Jul 15, 2019 at 21:15
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If you are a Dungeon Master, it's up to you.

If you read further in that section you can read:

Time Warp, DMG 50

Whenever a creature or group of creatures leaves the Feywild after spending at least 1 day on that plane, you can choose a time change that works best for your campaign, if any, or roll on the Feywild Time Warp table.

So either Days Become Minutes/hours/weeks/months/years or nothing happens at all. These days can also be hours in the feywild, to the Dungeon Masters discretion.

If you are a Player on the other hand, you'll find this out when you go back to the "Prime Material". It depends on your Dungeon Master if he'll give you a clue that you feel your concentration has stopped, but it can be he/she won't give you any clue.

When talking about the concentration, that has already been answered in another topic. Can you maintain concentration on a spell from another plane

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