Questions tagged [spells]
For questions about specific manifestations of magic that we generically call "spells." Use the [magic] tag for more generic questions about magic, and [spellcasting] for questions specifically about the process of spellcasting.
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What's the orientation of the Rope Trick hole?
The Rope Trick spell specifies
Holding one end of a 60-foot or shorter rope causes the other end to rise up until the rope is fully perpendicular to the ground. At the high end, a portal opens to an ...
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By RAW, does Astral Projection allow you to keep your astral body when you leave the Astral Plane?
This spell honestly has me scratching my head with the way it's worded.
Astral Projection states the following:
If you enter a new plane or return to the plane you were on when casting this spell, ...
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Can the Faerie Fire spell be oriented in a small space to not affect allies?
Many AOE spells use a point as their origin, and from this point, area is calculated. Faerie Fire doesn't state where spells start. Often, AOE spells are cast in rooms near walls to avoid friendly ...
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What is the point of origin for a square area of effect?
The spellcasting rules for areas of effect state:
A spell's description specifies its area of effect, which typically has one of five different shapes: cone, cube, cylinder, line, or sphere. Every ...
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Casting a spell in a smaller space than the spell itself?
What happens with a spell when it is cast in a smaller space/area than the actual spell itself? Does it simply not work? Does it adapt to the size of the room etc?
For example: Ice Storm casts at a ...
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Casting wall of fire in a T-shaped corridor
In D&D 5e, is casting wall of fire like this allowed, or would I need to have line of sight for the entire corridor? Assume my wizard knows that the corridor extends both ways and how long it is.
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Are non-damaging effects obvious in combat without a check?
This question came about in response to a debate relating to this answer, wherein I stipulated that the effects of the Warp Mind spell are not immediately obvious to your allies.
The reasoning I had ...
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Is this Visions of Danger spell balanced for level 7?
So I am looking to homebrew a 7th level sorcerer spell because I am not entirely happy that the options match my characters theme.
I have seen Visions of Danger in Pathfinder 2e and have made an ...
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What is the etymology of Mind Blank?
The spell mind blank protects you from divinations.
For most spells, I can figure out how their name reflects what they do: mind fog produces fog that makes your mind foggy; meteor swarm creates a ...
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Can Warp Mind's effect be mitigated just by hitting your friend?
The Warp Mind spell says the following:
You scramble a creature's mental faculties and sensory input. The
target must attempt a Will saving throw. Regardless of the result of
that save, the target is ...
- 12.5k
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Is a concentration check required when temporary hit points absorb all the damage?
A spellcaster with 6 temporary hit points is hit for 3 damage. Do they have to make a concentration check?
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Do bonus rolls, like guidance and Bardic Inspiration, affect a passive check? [duplicate]
After reading this question: Bless/Bane and their effects on Passive checks, I want to ask about the general bonus rolls to passive ability checks.
The description for passive check is:
A passive ...
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1
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What level should this version of Warp Mind be?
I have taken this spell from Pathfinder 2e, where it is a level 7 spell (I think here are 10 levels there though), and converted it into a 5e spell.
I think it is still around the correct power level ...
- 84.9k
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Charm a previously charmed NPC
Let's say a PC casts charm person on the town's sheriff. One hour later, the spell ends and the sheriff realizes he has been charmed, and is now furious and out to arrest the PC. During the ...
CommunityBot
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Are there any spells that can damage several enemies but not allies?
After the first round of combat, the party and the enemy usually get intermixed, not a great time for a Fireball. There are several control spells that target individual enemies like Fear (heightened),...
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Is a container full of objects a valid target for the Enlarge/Reduce spell?
In the last session, my party and I had to rob the major of a city. We needed to retrieve a particular object that proves his actual corruption by the local thieves' guild.
We managed to get into the ...
- 23.5k
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How can an unwilling Elemental planar ruler be drawn into the Material Plane?
Gate would normally be the answer, but if the planar ruler is unwilling, they would prevent this spell from opening near them:
You conjure a portal linking an unoccupied space you can see within ...
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Is this Electrifying Body spell thematic and balanced? (V2)
Stark Rost, look away!
Version 2 of this question.
I've omitted most of the redundant discussion from this iteration of the question and instead focused on what changes I made and why. For the ...
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1
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Can a dispelled zombie's remains be reanimated? [closed]
How the animate dead spell works in the video game Baldur's Gate 3 has me wondering:
Can I reanimate the remains of a dispelled zombie?
Does it remain a zombie (undead creature) after dispelling, and ...
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Can you do anything other than dashing while affected by Fear?
The spell fear forces those affected by it to take the dash action on their turn. Can they do anything else besides that? Could a rogue dash with cunning action and still attack for example? Are they ...
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Does Shielded Arm require a free hand to raise/block?
The description of Shielded Arm reads (emphasis mine):
Reinforcing veins of ore run through the target's arm, letting it ward off blows with its bare skin. It can use the Raise a Shield action to ...
- 12.5k
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1
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How does an angel's Protective Aura affect its spells and allies' spells?
Angels in Pathfinder 1E all have the Protective Aura supernatural ability:
Protective Aura (Su) Against attacks made or effects created by evil creatures, this ability provides a +4 deflection bonus ...
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If a druid uses Wild Shape to turn into a Cranium Rat, and has the Pass Without Trace spell active, do they become effectively untraceable?
The pass without trace spell description says:
A veil of shadows and silence radiates from you, masking you and your companions from detection. For the duration, each creature you choose within 30 ...
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Does the Hex spell give disadvantage to saving throws and attacks?
The Warlock Spell 'Hex' (PHB 251) gives Disadvantage on ability checks.
Does this include saving throws and attacks? That is, in this context, are saving throws and attacks 'ability checks'?
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What is the AoE of Acid Splash?
The description of Acid Splash says (emphasis mine):
Range 30 feet; Targets 1 creature
You splash a glob of acid that splatters your target and nearby creatures. Make a spell attack. If you hit, you ...
- 12.5k
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Can Wind Wall block a Cone of Cold?
Wind Wall says: "The strong wind keeps fog, smoke, and other gases at bay."
Cone of Cold says: "A blast of cold air erupts from your hands."
Given Cold of Cold is cold air, and air ...
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Can a College of Swords bard use the Slashing Flourish option to apply a Smite spell to all creatures in range?
The description of the Wrathful Smite spell says (PHB, p. 289):
The next time you hit with a melee weapon attack during this spell's
duration, your attack deals an extra 1d6 psychic damage. ...
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Ways to expand a Beguiler's spell list?
Which options exist for a Beguiler in an E6 campaign to expand their spell list?
I'm aware of
the Beguiler’s own class feature Advanced Learning
the feat Arcane Disciple from Complete Divine
and the ...
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Does Burning Hands really require touching thumbs?
The D&D 5E spell Burning Hands has verbal and somatic components, and is described like this:
As you hold your hands with thumbs touching and fingers spread, a thin sheet of flames shoots forth ...
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In D&D 3.5, are there any spells that can do simple work?
As the title says... are there any spells that can do simple work, such as pulling on a rope or turning a capstan? The work would be simple and constant, and would require no decisions other than to ...
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Is there a statement from Gygax on the origin of the Unseen Servant spell?
Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions is is cited in Appendix N of the original Dungeon Master's Guide as one of the inspirations for D&D, and is an influential source that contributed to ...
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What would happen if somebody raises someone whose soul has become a demon?
Assuming there's a party fighting that demon, they failed to kill it and let it escape several times.
The spellcaster comes up with the idea that they can just resurrect that demon's original creature'...
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Can a Necromancer reuse the corpses left behind from slain undead?
I’ve recently been doing some builds for Necromancers for a one-shot we’ll be doing. I have been struggling to find anything that mentions how to keep up with all of the corpses you will need for the ...
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What class defaults for Improved Strength/Cat's Grace Spells for Psionicist?
In Spells & Magic, only four class categories – Priest, Warrior, Wizard, Rogue – are used for defaults for calculating how much Strength or Dexterity is gained when using these buffs. These class ...
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Can the current HP of a damaged Construct/Simulacrum be increased by spells or class features that don't specify "Healing"?
As of the 2018 PHB errata, the creature generated by Simulacrum is a construct. Constructs cannot be healed by many spells or features, such as Cure Wounds or a Paladin's Lay on Hands (that ...
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How many spell-bearing items can you activate in a turn?
In the Prometheum Exxet, there are two means of creating an item that can cast a spell: Items with the Automatic Spells power, which require no Zeon and have to recharge, and items with the ...
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How does the Dream Spell manipulate the target?
One of my players uses the Dream spell regularly as pretty much a visual telephone. He casts it to contact people he wants/ needs to talk to, who are otherwise unavailable due to distance. This has ...
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Is this Thaumatology: Ritual Path Magic casting cost calculation correct?
I'm looking at the example spells in Thaumatology: Ritual Path Magic and the very first example, Air Jet, seems to have an error in the calculation of casting cost.
I'm aware that SJG sources often ...
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Can a lvl 20 CoC Bard waive the spell cost to cast and sustain the spell, Imprisonment, for six hours?
The relevant quotes are as follows:
Performance of Creation. Also at 3rd level, as an action, you can channel the magic of the Song of Creation to create one nonmagical item of your choice in an ...
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When someone under the effect of Disguise Self casts Mislead, what does their illusory double look like?
Casting disguise self (a first level illusion spell requiring no concentration) on a target of Self results in being able to:
"make yourself [...] look different until the spell ends or until ...
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Does an Enlarge/Reduce spell on a druid affect the beast form if the druid Wild-Shapes?
If a druid (multiclassed into sorcerer) casts Enlarge on himself so that he becomes a Large humanoid (approximately twelve feet tall), and he then Wild Shapes in a brown bear, is the brown bear form ...
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Must a warlock replace spells with new spells of exactly their Pact Magic spell slot level?
The Warlock Pact Magic feature says:
The Spells Known column of the Warlock table shows when you learn more
warlock spells of your choice of 1st level and higher. A spell you
choose must be of ...
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1
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Does Blinking creature loss the benefit on attacking if the opponent can see invisible creature?
You strike as an invisible creature (with a +2 bonus on attack rolls), denying your target any Dexterity bonus to AC. (Blink)
If the attacker can see invisible creatures, the miss chance is also only ...
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Can a Swiftblade with Perpetual Options benefit from extra attacks that don't normally stack with Haste?
A 9th level Swiftblade gains the Perpetual Options class feature:
Perpetual Options (Ex): At 9th level, you can perform even more actions with the haste spell. Instead of making one extra attack at ...
- 12.5k
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What are all of the published "off-label" uses of the Wish spell?
The spell description of wish offers several things you can wish for that are guaranteed to work. Wishing for other things can lead to unforeseen consequences, at the DM's discretion:
You might be ...
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Can a creature under the effect of Nondetection be detected by the Detect Magic spell?
Can someone with nondetection be picked up with detect magic? It seems to me that detect magic will sense a magical aura (perhaps abjuration or illusion) since it does not target the creature.
Also, I ...
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What exactly happens when I cast Web in midair?
The web spell is a bit special, in that it initially fills a 20-foot cube, but can collapse and/or disappear if the chosen placement does not provide sufficient anchorage:
You conjure a mass of ...
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What happens to a flying creature when it is caught in an anchored Web spell?
Suppose I cast web so it is anchored by two trees. A flying creature without hover starts its turn in the web.
According to the description of web:
You conjure a mass of thick, sticky webbing at a ...
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How many servants can this Vampire summon to “moon” the party?
The city in which my current campaign is based has been recently divided along social lines. An in-universe counterpart of the Twilight series has become the basis of a werewolf vs vampire factional ...
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How can I bind a draconic spirit?
My wizard is fond of summoning or conjuring elementals and binding them using planar binding, keeping them around for a while. Even keeping them a day is awesome, because concentration is not ...
