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Can you use a Glyph of Warding and Plant Growth to set up a semi-permanent effect in an area?

Background

I am a Cleric/Druid in one of the campaigns I play in and the setting is an area with very little vegetation, bar some oases. Even then, the plants here have been suffering. So, I want to help the small settlements that are dotted about the area by using the permanent effect of Plant Growth.

This got me thinking about using the spell in conjunction with Glyph of Warding, to create a semi-permanent effect to really help these areas flourish and help the local villages in this region.

I want to cast Glyph of Warding in conjunction with the eight-hour version of Plant Growth, where I set a trigger of time, e.g. that one, or two, or three years have elapsed, and so forth. Would it be possible to set them up so that they trigger over a sequence of many years? Ideally, I want to be able to enrich the land of an area for 100 years. I could get other spell-casters to join me with this.

Is it possible to use Glyph of Warding and Plant Growth to set this up?

Thanks for your help with this.

Plant Growth

If you cast this spell over 8 hours, you enrich the land. All plants in a half-mile radius centered on a point within range become enriched for 1 year. The plants yield twice the normal amount of food when harvested.

(PHB p.266)

and

Glyph of Warding

Spell Glyph. You can store a prepared spell of 3rd level or lower in the glyph by casting it as part o f creating the glyph. The spell must target a single creature or an area. The spell being stored has no immediate effect when cast in this way. When the glyph is triggered, the stored spell is cast. If the spell has a target, it targets the creature that triggered the glyph. If the spell affects an area, the area is centered on that creature. If the spell summons hostile creatures or creates harmful objects or traps, they appear as close as possible to the intruder and attack it. If the spell requires concentration, it lasts until the end o f its full duration.

(PHB pp. 245-246)

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    \$\begingroup\$ Related: Storing long casting time spells in a glyph \$\endgroup\$
    – Someone_Evil ♦
    Commented Feb 2, 2020 at 12:12
  • \$\begingroup\$ @GroodytheHobgoblin please stop with the tag edits for now. \$\endgroup\$
    – Thomas Markov
    Commented Mar 2, 2022 at 11:21
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    \$\begingroup\$ @ThomasMarkov: aye. Let me know if this is not desired (I saw they exist for wish and simulacrum, and thougt glyph is another one of "those") \$\endgroup\$
    – Nobody the Hobgoblin
    Commented Mar 2, 2022 at 11:22
  • \$\begingroup\$ @GroodytheHobgoblin See Role-playing Games Chat. \$\endgroup\$
    – Thomas Markov
    Commented Mar 2, 2022 at 11:23

1 Answer 1

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Yes, you can set Glyphs of Warding to trigger at a certain time.

The spell states:

You decide what triggers the glyph when you cast the spell.
(PHB pp. 245-46)

While the PHB provides examples, it never says the trigger can't be a date, therefore, as long as you are willing to spend 200 3rd level spell slots or you can coordinate very well with some fellow casters, you could enrich the land for 100 years.

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    \$\begingroup\$ The example triggers given in the spell's description all involve some kind of interaction with the glyph. I'm not sure the mere passage of time is a valid trigger. However, you could achieve a similar effect by keying each glyph with a common password plus the year number, e.g. "O great benefactor, please enrich the land for the 5th year!". Then as long as someone is there to say the password each year, the glyphs will be triggered on time. \$\endgroup\$
    – Ryan C. Thompson
    Commented Feb 2, 2020 at 14:45
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    \$\begingroup\$ It may also be worth noting whether Glyph of warding can store and cast plant growth in this way (I think it can, but mentioning it is useful) \$\endgroup\$
    – L0neGamer
    Commented Feb 2, 2020 at 20:54
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    \$\begingroup\$ Don't forget that it will also consume 40,000gp of incense and powdered diamond! \$\endgroup\$
    – Louis Wasserman
    Commented Feb 3, 2020 at 1:18
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    \$\begingroup\$ @LouisWasserman: 20k gp, not 40k. Each casting of Glyph of Warding costs 200g, and you'd be casting it 100 times. Plant Growth is also a 3rd level spell, but has no material components. That's where the other 100 3rd-level spell slots are going. \$\endgroup\$
    – Peter Cordes
    Commented Nov 20, 2021 at 22:38

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