Requirements for creatures to wake others when put to sleep by magic

Question

What is the intelligence requirements to waking up allies?

I recently ran a D&D 5e game where wolves attacked the party. They were put to sleep using the sleep spell. When the wolves went to wake up the other wolves, one of the players said they couldn't do that since they have an intelligence of three. Then when the wolves started to retreat the same player said that the wolves couldn't wake up the rest of the sleeping pack since they have an intelligence of three.

What is the intelligence required for creatures to wake up allies?

Answer 1

The sleep spell says:

each creature affected by this spell falls unconscious until the spell ends, the sleeper takes damage, or someone uses an action to shake or slap the sleeper awake.

Intelligence is not a factor. The spell indicates how a creature can be awoken. Wolves can shake someone awake using their action. So mechanically it is possible.

But if you did want to reference intelligence...As a dog owner I can tell you that they can and will wake you up if they want something.

Answer 2

As Sam pointed out the sleep spell has no requirement of intelligence. That being said, neither do thieves tools or cutting a bridge to stop an enemy crossing - that doesn't mean you can't bring intelligence into it.

You can make checks for enemies to see whether they figure something out.

Perhaps its whether they've realised a battle is unwinable and they should retreat or maybe its to see whether they can figure out they should wake their companions. For sleep I'd probably make that a wisdom check to see whether they know their fellow wolves are just sleeping, rather than dead, and choosing a DC based on things like how close they are to their ally or their emotions - an infuriated enemy may make more rash decisions, a terrified one may be more likely to flee.

A low intelligence or wisdom score may give a lower chance of an enemy putting the pieces together but doesn't mean they can't do it. (Though, for reference, I wouldn't roll for a wolf figuring out how to use theives tools - as a DM you get to decide what may be possible.)

Answer 3

Intelligence score is secondary to DM adjudication here

Sam has helpfully pointed out that there are no rules which stop creatures with low intelligence from shaking their allies awake.

There is scope, however, for a DM to decide that a creature is incapable of knowing that they can shake an ally awake. I agree with Sam's judgement that this is something a wolf would do in real life, and thus in the game also.

Ability scores can be helpful clues when considering how a creature might respond to a particular event, but they are only part of the picture. However these scores are very abstract and don't map perfectly on to real life aptitudes.

A wolf has the same intelligence score as a zombie, but the two creatures react very differently to threats: a DM might reasonably decide that a wolf can awaken a slumbering ally and a zombie cannot. This is because the two creatures behave differently in ways that are related to the world's lore and their creature descriptions, and do not depend on ability scores.

If the rules do not explicitly reference an ability score, it can still be useful as a clue but has no explicit effect on the game.

Answer 4

See the PHB, p177.

Arcana. Your Intelligence (Arcana) check measures your ability to recall lore about spells, magic items, eldritch symbols, magical traditions, the planes of existence, and the inhabitants of those planes.

Xanthar on p85 has a guide to this. It's optional, but it's what I would do for identifying a spell.

Identifying A Spell

Sometimes a character wants to identify a spell that someone else is casting or that was already cast. To do so, a character can use their reaction to identify a spell as it's being cast, or they can use an action on their turn to identify a spell by its effect after it is cast.

If the character perceived the casting, the spell's effect, or both, the character can make an Intelligence (Arcana) check with the reaction or action. The DC equals 15 + the spell's level. If the spell is cast as a class spell and the character is a member of that class, the check is made with advantage. For example, if the spellcaster casts a spell as a cleric, another cleric has advantage on the check to identify the spell. Some spells aren't associated with any class when they're cast, such as when a monster uses its Innate Spellcasting trait.

This Intelligence (Arcana) check represents the fact that identifying a spell requires a quick mind and familiarity with the theory and practice of casting. This is true even for a character whose spellcasting ability is Wisdom or Charisma. Being able to cast spells doesn't by itself make you adept at deducing exactly what others are doing when they cast their spells

As such, the DC is 16.

A wolf, at -4 int, would need to roll 20 to recall how to handle sleep, as such. It's possible, but at the edge of plausibility.

In terms of in game stuff, I'd consider several things.

1. Do you routinely tell your players what spells enemies are casting? Do they have an expectation that everyone will know what spells are being thrown around? If they feel that wolves get meta knowledge that players don't, they may feel the game is unfair and adversarial as the enemy gets info they do not.

2. Do you give players information for free without knowledge rolls, well above their passive knowledge? If not, they may feel these wolves are unfairly knowledgeable.

3. Do your enemies routinely show the tactical awareness and skill of highly trained combatants, and not need intellect or wisdom to do so? If so, they may feel the game is adversarial.

In the future if you get into this situation, I recommend rolling their arcana to see if they know, rather than having them simply know spells. In addition, if they question it, turn the question back on them.

"It is weird that they know what sleep does. You wonder who taught them." Because then you can use that as a plot thread, with a werewolf master or some hostile caster using sleep on them.