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The spells Find Steed (PHB, p. 240) and Find Greater Steed (XGtE, p. 156) both state:

While mounted on your steed, you can make any spell you cast that targets only you also target your steed.

The Wish spell (PHB, p. 288-289) has a range of Self.

What happens when someone mounted on his Found (Greater) Steed casts Wish?

  1. Only the caster will benefit from it, since Wish has the potential to affect more than just you (especially if you use it to replicate an existing spell)
  2. Both the caster and the steed will benefit from it, but it will have to be the same Wish effect (ex: both doing the 25 000 gp value object appearance)
  3. Both the caster and the steed will benefit from it, and will both be able to choose their own effect (ex: the caster replicating spell X and the steed replicating spell Y). Sub-case here is whether the "targets only you" restriction must also apply to the chosen spell(s) or not.
  4. Other behaviour

One crazy scenario I can think of if #3 is true: sitting on a Steed and casting Wish. The Wish you choose is a Simulacrum of you. The Wish the steed chooses is also a Simulacrum of you. You now have a simulacrum controlled by you, and a simulacrum controlled by your steed controlled by you. Absolute bollocks.

Another crazy one: The Wish you choose is [something unimportant]. The Wish your steed chooses is Find (Greater) Steed, so that your steed... controls a steed... And then, repeat it the next day, while the first steed is reduced to mount the second steed (and you are still small enough to mount the first steed), so that you cast Wish for [something unimportant], so that your steed gets Wish to cast [something unimportant], and your steed's steed gets Wish to cast Find (Greater) Steed... Creating a Command chain of Caster -> Steed -> Steed -> Steed. Absolute bollocks!

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    \$\begingroup\$ For those wondering how this could even happen...Bard and magical secrets :) \$\endgroup\$
    – NotArch
    Jan 30, 2019 at 20:07
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    \$\begingroup\$ @NautArch Well, any high level caster with access to Wish can Wish for a (Greater) Steed on day 1, then Wish for [something] on Day 2 while mounted on the (Greater) Steed. \$\endgroup\$
    – Gael L
    Jan 30, 2019 at 20:08
  • \$\begingroup\$ Spell scrolls are also a thing... and they do both go all the way up to 9th level and come in "Paladin". \$\endgroup\$
    – Ben Barden
    Jan 30, 2019 at 20:11
  • \$\begingroup\$ @BenBarden I don't think that would work, because the Wish spell isn't on the Paladin's spell list. And " “If the spell is on your class’s spell list, you can read the scroll and cast its spell without providing any material components. Otherwise, the scroll is unintelligible." (DMG, p. 200 post errata ) \$\endgroup\$ Jan 30, 2019 at 20:19
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Gandalfmeansme Sure - but those scrolls can be cast underlevelled. The reason you can't do it with standard spell slots is that you'd need to be both a 17th level wizard and a 5th level paladin. If you can use spell scrolls, you can relax one or both of those, and the character gets a lot more legal. Admittedly, just using Wish to cast Find Greater Steed is the better option. \$\endgroup\$
    – Ben Barden
    Jan 30, 2019 at 20:33

1 Answer 1

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Option 2: both the caster and the steed will benefit, provided you Wish for something that only targets yourself.

Wish can create many different effects, but choosing which effect you want is part of the casting of the spell, so the steed won't be able to choose for itself the effect it wants. Whatever effect the caster creates will also apply to the steed.

However, the effect needs to be one that "targets only you". Here are the possibilities:

  • Duplicate the effects of any other spell 8th level or lower: affects the steed if the spell you are duplicating only affects you (depends on the spell).
  • Create one object worth 25000gp: doesn't target you, so it doesn't target the steed.
  • Restore all hitpoints to up to 20 creatures: If you only choose yourself, then it targets the steed as well, but you could just choose yourself AND the steed AND others.
  • Grant resistance to a damage type to up to 10 creatures: same as above.
  • Grant immunity to a specific effect for 8 hours to up to 10 creatures: same as above.
  • Undo a single recent event: doesn't target you, so it doesn't target the steed.
  • Other (any creative use of the spell): if it only targets/affects you, then it will affect the steed as well (But you could also word it so that it affects the 2 of your regardless).

As we can see, there aren't a lot of actual benefits to sharing Wish with your steed, but you could do some fun things by duplicating spells.

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    \$\begingroup\$ In the case of simulacrum, would you get a simulacrum of yourself, and your steed would get a simulacrum of itself? \$\endgroup\$
    – goodguy5
    Jan 30, 2019 at 21:06
  • \$\begingroup\$ @goodguy5 to be fair that question would be the same if you just asked about casting simulacrum on a mount without wish. \$\endgroup\$ Jan 31, 2019 at 1:31
  • \$\begingroup\$ "Undo a single recent event" could be considered to target you, depending on what the event is. \$\endgroup\$ Dec 26, 2022 at 19:20

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