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 is the source of the "spells do only what they say they do" rules interpretation principle?
Every time somebody asks a question like "can I use X spell for doing Y" the answer is usually "no" because spell descriptions are very short in 5e, and usually they don't ...
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Why would I ever cast True Strike?
One of my players has complained several times that True Strike is a useless spell. The effect of True Strike is:
On your next turn, you gain advantage on your first attack roll against the target, ...
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Do Cantrips use your character level or class level?
Cantrips seem to be the only type of spell that cares only about your class level.
However, in the multiclassing section they are not mentioned, does this mean that cantrips use your character level, ...
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Is the Moonbeam spell amazing, or are we doing it wrong?
The description of the moonbeam spell (PHB pg. 261) says:
When a creature enters the spell's area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, it is engulfed in ghostly flames that cause ...
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My DM insists on rolling a single save for groups affected by AoE save spells. How does this affect my odds of successfully affecting the enemy?
As the title question, my DM rolls a single d20 save for groups affected by my area of effect spells that require a save, in order to save time. I can't help but feel like I'm being ripped off by ...
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Realistically, does Leomund’s Tiny Hut allow for indefinite long rests in a dungeon?
I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this, but the more I read into Leomund’s tiny hut, the more it looks like it’s a spell designed entirely around taking free long rests in dungeons, or ...
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Does Warlock combat just equal Eldritch Blast spam?
Been looking over the warlock because I thought it would be cool to make a spellcaster that can also mix it up in melee combat. After all how awesome is it to conjure up a magical weapon and start ...
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The fastest way to remove bones from a man
I'm likely going to be playing a human necromancer in an upcoming return to our Out of the Abyss campaign. My character is morally "scrambled" at the best of times, and has no qualms about raising 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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Can Ogre clerics use Purify Food and Drink on humanoid characters?
Can Ogre clerics use Purify Food and Drink on humanoid characters to cure them as humanoid creatures are regarded as food in Ogre culture?
Similarly, can Ogre clerics use Create Food and Water to ...
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Is there “flavor text” in D&D 5e spells?
Is there any evidence, in the rules or from developer comments, that parts of the description of a D&D 5e spell is “only flavor text” and should be ignored for determining what happens in-game?
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Does Power Word Kill kill druids in wild-shape?
Power Word Kill is a 9th level spell that "compel[s] a creature to die" as long as it has less than 100 hit points.
If this is cast on a druid in wild-shape form with less than 100 HP, does the druid ...
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What spells are available to resurrect characters?
What official spells exist that can be used by characters to resurrect their fallen comrades in Dungeons & Dragons? Which classes can cast them and at what level?
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Are there ways to concentrate on more than one spell at a time?
Are there any ways to maintain concentration on more than one spell at a time, or to interrupt and later resume concentration on a spell?
I do know the general rules says it can't be done, but the ...
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How to not let the Identify spell spoil everything?
I am currently DMing a campaign where there is a wizard with the Identify spell, the bane of my existence.
Identify allows him to learn the properties of literally every single item the party ...
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Does casting a spell from an item allow you to apply class abilities that are used when casting a spell?
This question is updated to request additional answers and details in light of information now available in the Dungeon Master's Guide.
In the released DM basic rules, Lost Mine of Phandelver, Hoard ...
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How much should NPCs charge for spells cast as services to PCs?
As the title suggests, I need to know how to compute the appropriate cost for spells that NPCs provide as services (components included) to the party.
My search has come up with the following:
...
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21
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Need out-of-game solution for spell choice paralysis
I could really use some advice from someone with experience with new players dealing with D&D spell analysis paralysis.
I'm about to kick off a second D&D 5e campaign for a set of friends ...
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Can a multiclass character with 1 level of wizard copy any wizard spell they find into their spellbook?
The "Your Spellbook" sidebar for the wizard includes the following line:
Copying a Spell into the Book. When you find a wizard spell of 1st level or higher, you can add it to your spellbook ...
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Can the spell Find Traps find traps in legal documents?
The argument presented in this Reddit post is that the spell find traps can be cast on a legal document to find out if that legal document is fair, or if it contains any non-obvious "legal" ...
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What is a spell slot in-lore, and how does it justify the limits on casting spells?
Spell slots are something that we, as players, expend when we want our spellcasting PCs to cast a spell. It is a resource to limit how many powerful spells we can cast in a day. But for our characters ...
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Can a creature take turns as normal if they are inside an Antimagic Field while another creature casts Time Stop?
Time stop is a spell that stops time for other creatures, allowing one creature to take multiple turns in a row. It says:
You briefly stop the flow of time for everyone but yourself. No time passes ...
user62688
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Can a GM prohibit players from using external reference materials (like the PHB) during play?
I have recently started playing D&D 5th edition. All of the players are new except for the GM, who has played before, but it is his first time being a GM.
I am playing a Wizard character, and I ...
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Can one enter Leomund's Tiny Hut from below?
In a session today we were camped out in a Leomund's tiny hut and the DM determined that since it is described as a dome, the bad guys (Wraiths, so they are incorporeal) could enter the area from ...
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Would striking someone at 0 hit points with an entire Magic Missile spell automatically kill them?
Assuming the target is able to be hit and does not have immunity to force damage, would firing all three missiles at a target with 0 hit points inflict three guaranteed death saves ergo death?
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Is a creature in the area of a Wall of Water spell trapped in ice when hit by the Ray of Frost cantrip?
In 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons, I am playing a Sorcerer where I have set myself the rule that I can never take fire spells, and instead take weaker spells and try to make the most of them with ...
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Counterspelling a counterspell
My party went up against two wizards. Wizard NPC 1 cast a spell, and Wizard PC used their reaction to Counterspell to try to block it. Wizard NPC 2 counterspelled Wizard PC. I have two questions about ...
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What do I know, when deciding whether to cast Counterspell?
I'm not entirely clear on how Counterspell works, when trying to counter higher-level spells: the CS description only talks about disrupting a creature you can see, within 60 feet, casting a spell.
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Can spells be cast through a Wall of Force?
The spell description of wall of force is silent on the question of whether spell effects can pass through the wall. The semi-relevant part of the description states:
Nothing can physically pass ...
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Can you cast a spell learned from the Magic Initiate feat using spell slots?
Can you cast a spell learned from the Magic Initiate feat using spell slots?
Say I play a wizard who learns cure wounds by taking the Magic Initiate feat. Could I cast that spell using the Wizard's ...
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What happens when a Mage Hand touches a mimic?
I anticipate this is going to come up in the next session I am running. Our wizard has been going around the dungeon using Mage Hand to open doors. One of the doors he has not yet dealt with is ...
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Can you cast banishment on yourself?
Can you cast banishment on yourself from a non-native plane, as a way of returning to your native plane?
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NPC casting Suggestion on PC: who decides it's reasonable?
A simple scenario:
The DM wishes to break a cleric's concentration on their bless spell, and a foe uses suggestion to tell the cleric to cast silence on an enemy spellcaster. The rationale is that ...
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What are the dangers of renaming spells and changing their flavour, without changing mechanics at all?
I'm about to help get a bunch of interested new players into D&D, running a one-shot for them to give them a feel for the game and hopefully a fun first-taste of tabletop roleplaying.
Before ...
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Can I use my familiar from the Find Familiar spell as a safety deposit box?
The Find Familiar spell states, in part:
As an action, you can temporarily dismiss your familiar. It disappears into a pocket dimension where it awaits your summons.
The question arising from this ...
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What is the easiest way a Wizard can copy-protect the scrolls he makes?
I'm trying to come up with a way for a greedy NPC Wizard who sells spell scrolls exclusively to be used as consumables to prevent the buyers from copying the spell into their own spellbooks.
For ...
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Is a mushroom a plant for the purposes of Speak With Plants?
In real life, fungi are not plants; they are their own separate kingdom (I'm no biologist, so here's a quote from Wikipedia, for what it's worth):
These organisms are classified as a kingdom, fungi, ...
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Can a permanent Teleportation Circle be made on a moving vehicle?
There is a similar question about this for 3.5e, but can a permanent teleportation circle be created on a large moving vehicle? For example, a sailing ship, or a wide portable floor?
The spell says:
...
user27327
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Is the Mordenkainen's Sword spell underpowered?
The Mordenkainen's Sword spell seems to be under-powered for a 7th-level spell. It only does 3d10 damage; while admittedly it can do this damage every round for 1 minute, it still just seems to not be ...
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If you start casting a new concentration spell while concentrating on Haste, does the wave of lethargy interrupt the casting of the new spell?
Say a spellcaster has previously cast haste on themselves and is currently concentrating on it. However, they see a situation unfolding that desperately requires them to concentrate on another spell (...
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Is Hunger of Hadar seriously overpowered or am I reading it wrong?
I'm not even going to go into the debate about whether darkvision can see through hunger of hadar, the thing that I think makes it overpowered is the this line.
creatures fully within the area are ...
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How does wizard & cleric spell preparation and casting work? [closed]
In 3.X wizards had spellbooks, while clerics had their entire spell list, but they both memorized/prepared spells every day from those lists, and had a certain number of slots for preparing spells in.
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When a creature is hit with more than one fireball simultaneously, do they take damage from all of them?
Say a creature walks through a door and triggers two spell glyphs from two glyph of warding spells that are programmed to cast a fireball at the creature that walks through the door. Both glyphs are ...
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Does Repelling Blast work once per spell or once per beam?
Warlocks can take the following invocation:
Repelling Blast
Prerequisite: eldritch blast cantrip
When you hit a creature with eldritch blast, you can push the creature up to 10 feet away from you in ...
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Is it possible to cast multiple spells per turn?
Never had an issue with spellcaster scaling until today.
A player in the group claims he can cast Eldrich Blast twice on his turn. Once as an action, and a second time as a bonus action since it is a ...
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Does the Clone spell make someone effectively immortal?
While reading through PHB 5e spell list, I found an interesting spell: Clone.
This spell grows an inert duplicate of a living creature as a safeguard against death. This clone forms inside a sealed ...
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What happens if you cast Resurrection on a found body part?
Assuming the soul is untrapped and willing, and the creature is indeed dead, if a character casts Resurrection on the severed hand of a dead creature, what memories does that creature have (i.e. from ...
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Clarification of Blink Mechanics, or "Should Someone have Punched in my Sandwich?"
I am looking for clarification as to the mechanics of the Blink spell. I believe that the spell reads quite clearly, however most of my play group does not agree with my recent ruling.
Background:
...
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4
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How loud/obvious is a wizard casting a spell?
Some spells have somatic and vocal components, that's well known.
How loud must a wizard talk? How obvious/wide should his gestures be?
Some spells that would be awesome would be fairly limited if ...
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4
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57k
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Does a bard have to play a musical instrument when using it as a spellcasting focus?
At my table I have ruled that 'to use as a spellcasting focus' does not imply 'to play'; since the sorcerer can simply point a wand, it seems like an undue burden that the bard should have to use both ...
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