Does Antimagic Field suppress or prevent petrification from Flesh to Stone?

Question

Inspired by this question and in particular, this answer. I'm focusing on a specific effect; petrification.

For the flesh to stone spell, the process of becoming petrified goes through this sequence: first, you become restrained if you fail a CON save, and must make additional CON saves until you succeed three or fail three, similar to how death saves work. If you fail three before you succeed three, you become petrified.

The flesh to stone spell is a concentration spell, which says (PHB, p. 243):

If you maintain your concentration on this spell for the entire possible duration [1 minute], the creature is turned to stone until the effect is removed.

From this, I have a few closely related questions with regards to how flesh to stone interacts with antimagic field (I decided to split this question up into two sets, since otherwise all 5 questions together made this post too broad; the other set of questions is here):

• If a creature has been petrified by flesh to stone and the caster has concentrated for a full minute on the spell, does antimagic field have any effect on their petrified condition?
• If a creature has been petrified by flesh to stone but the caster has not yet concentrated for a full minute on the spell, does antimagic field have any effect on their petrified condition?
• If a creature has failed their initial save against flesh to stone but they are yet to make their three-of-a-kind saving throws, does antimagic field allow them to auto-succeed the saves and no longer be restrained/turning to stone?

Answer 1

An antimagic field suppresses Flesh to Stone during its duration and prevents the final petrification (but doesn't reverse it after the fact)

During the 1-minute duration of the Flesh to Stone, all of the spell's ongoing effects are magical and would be suppressed if the target were put inside an antimagic field. This means that the target would not be restrained or petrified and will not have to make any saving throws against the spell while inside an antimagic field. Among other things, this means that the target will not accumulate any successes or failures on saving throws.

The more interesting question is what happens at the end of the 1-minute duration:

If you maintain your concentration on this spell for the entire possible duration, the creature is turned to stone until the effect is removed.

Normally, the petrification becomes permanent if the spell's full duration elapses; since the spell has ended and nothing about petrification is inherently magical on its own, at this point the petrification becomes non-magical. Notably, the permanent petrification still occurs even if the creature has not yet failed 3 saving throws and becomes (temporarily) petrified by the time the spell ends, a situation that is normally impossible without an antimagic field.

However, even though the petrification becomes permanent and non-magical after the end of the spell's duration, the transformation itself is magical. Hence, if the creature is inside an antimagic field at the time the spell's duration elapses, the permanent transformation never occurs in the first place, and the petrified condition is never inflicted. So, as long as the target is inside the antimagic field when the spell ends, they walk away without any lasting effects from the spell.

Finally, if the target has already been permanently petrified by a Flesh to Stone spell, there is no remaining magical effect to suppress, so putting the petrified creature in an antimagic field has no effect - the creature remains petrified.

Answer 2

Antimagic field suppresses the effects of the spell.

One of the things antimagic field does is suppress spell and magical effects:

Any active spell or other magical effect on a creature or an object in the sphere is suppressed while the creature or object is in it.

The applicable definition of suppress from OED for reference:

Prevent or inhibit (a process or reaction)

Not petrified

While in the field, the target is not petrified nor restrained as those are an active magical effect of flesh to stone. This applies to all scenarios where flesh to stone has affected a target within an antimagic field.

No saving throws

The saving throws aren't auto-succeed or auto-fail. They do not take place. Since the saving throws are dictated by an active magical effect, they don't occur while the target is within an antimagic field. This could be a method a target uses to avoid subsequent failures.

Avoiding three successes or failures

An interesting edge case of this situation is a target that avoids making three failing or succeeding saving throws. The effect of concentration on flesh to stone for the entire duration is not explicitly predicated on the target failing three saves:

If you maintain your concentration on this spell for the entire possible duration, the creature is turned to stone until the effect is removed.

Since antimagic field doesn't pause the duration of a spell, the target of flesh to stone would get temporary relief, but also remove their ability to end the spell early by succeeding on three saving throws.

So a target that didn't succeed on three saving throws and allowed the caster to concentrate on the spell for the full duration would satisfy the final condition of the spell. The target would be "turned to stone until the effect is removed." Of course, that is an ongoing magical effect which is suppressed while in the antimagic field, but would come back into effect when the target leaves the field.

Answer 3

Prevent: yes, Reverse: no

The spell, by virtue of being a spell, is magical and subject to the effects of anti-magic. The duration of the spell is 1 minute.

The petrified condition is not magical as it meets none of the criteria. The duration of the condition is either 1) the duration of the spell, while active; or 2) permanent, if concentrated on for the full duration, unless reversed by a specific effect. In the first case, the condition is being caused by the spell; in the second case, it isn’t, because the spell has ended. So, antimagic field will suppress the first sort but not the second. The second case can bear the analogy to asking if a creature killed by a magical effect is still dead if brought into an antimagic field.

• If a creature has been petrified by flesh to stone and the caster has concentrated for a full minute on the spell, does antimagic field have any effect on their petrified condition?

No, as there is no magical effect to be suppressed.

• If a creature has been petrified by flesh to stone but the caster has not yet concentrated for a full minute on the spell, does antimagic field have any effect on their petrified condition?

Yes, the petrification is presently the result of an ongoing magical effect that is being suppressed to the creature is not petrified while the suppression lasts. However, if concentration is maintained for 1 minute, the spell ends, antimagic is no longer relevant and the creature turns to stone.

• If a creature has failed their initial save against flesh to stone but they are yet to make their three-of-a-kind saving throws, does antimagic field allow them to auto-succeed the saves and no longer be restrained/turning to stone?

No, it allows them to defer them while the spell is suppressed. If the deferral exceeds the duration of the spell they don’t have to make them at all.

Answer 4

To answer your first point - antimagic field doesn't impact the petrified condition because nowhere does it say it's a magical condition, as described here (quote below) So there would be no magic to neutralize at that point.

A petrified creature is transformed, along with any nonmagical object it is wearing or carrying, into a solid inanimate substance (usually stone). Its weight increases by a factor of ten, and it ceases aging. The creature is incapacitated (see the condition), can’t move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage. The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity Saving Throws. The creature has Resistance to all damage. The creature is immune to poison and disease, although a poison or disease already in its system is suspended, not neutralized.

When reading on the description of conditions in general, (quoted below, emphasis mine) there's a mention that conditions can be results of a spell, but not that it remains magical or has magical properties aside from being from a spell. Hope this clears up my reasoning.

Conditions alter a creature’s capabilities in a variety of ways and can arise as a result of a spell, a class feature, a monster’s Attack, or other effect

The second and third points aren't so set in stone (mind the pun). If I were the DM, I'd rule that since the caster hasn't finished his concentration, the petrified effect from 3 failed saves is magically induced, thus susceptible to the laws of antimagic field. Same goes for the third point - so yes, the antimagic field would nullify the spell and the restraining conditions/turning to stone.