How long do creatures from a Bag of Tricks last?

Question

For reference, the description of the Bag of Tricks says, in part (DMG, p. 154):

You can use an action to pull the fuzzy object from the bag and throw it up to 20 feet. When the object lands, it transforms into a creature you determine by rolling a d8 and consulting the table that correspond's to the bag's color. See the Monster Manual for the creature's statistics.

The creature is friendly to you and your companions, and it acts on your turn. You can use a bonus action to command how the creature moves and what action it takes on its next turn, or to give it general orders, such as to attack your enemies. In the absence of such orders, the creature acts in a fashion appropriate to its nature.

How long do creatures from a Bag of Tricks last?

Answer 1

As noted in daze413's answer, the description of the bag of tricks was clarified in the DMG errata in 2015 to read as follows:

Bag of Tricks (p. 154). The second paragraph ends with a new sentence: “The creature vanishes at the next dawn or when it is reduced to 0 hit points.”

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The item had limitations on in previous editions, as noted below:

• 2nd edition time limit: 10 minutes (1 turn)

  Only one creature can be drawn forth at a time. It alone exists until it is slain, until one turn has elapsed, or until it is ordered back into the bag of tricks. At that point, the creature vanishes. Only then can another animal be brought forth. Up to 10 creatures can be drawn from the bag each week.

• 3rd edition time limit: 10 minutes

  The animal serves the character who drew it from the bag for 10 minutes (or until slain or ordered back into the bag), at which point it disappears. [...] Animals produced are always random, and only one may exist at a time. Up to ten animals can be drawn from the bag each week.

• 3.5e: Same as 3rd edition

• 4th edition time limit: 5 minutes or encounter length

  The creature remains until the end of the encounter or for 5 minutes.

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Note, that in the absence of orders (one would presume continual), the animal summoned will wander off and do what is natural to it. So you could game it several ways to prevent the character from having an army of baboons or similar.

Answer 2

As of the 2015 Dungeon Master's Guide errata, a duration has been added to the description of the bag of tricks:

Bag of Tricks (p. 154). The second paragraph ends with a new sentence: “The creature vanishes at the next dawn or when it is reduced to 0 hit points.”

Despite Jeremy Crawford's answer to tweets, it seems this is the official position of their collective brainstorming. The item description does not specify a limit to the number of creatures from a bag of tricks that can exist at the same time.

Answer 3

In response to a question from @BrailSays pointing out that the description of the Bag of Tricks didn't specify a duration or a limit to the number of creatures that it could create, D&D 5e rules designer Jeremy Crawford tweeted the following clarification on 09 Jan 2015:

The bag of tricks is missing its duration: 10 minutes, 1 animal at a time. We'll correct it.

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This has since been given an official errata, as explained in this answer by daze413.