71
votes
What happens if you drop a 30-foot cube of water from a height of 30+ feet on someone's head using the Create or Destroy Water spell?
Create or destroy water doesn't do that.
The spell description of create or destroy water states (PHB, p. 229; emphasis mine):
Create Water. You create up to 10 gallons of clean water within range in ...
- 112k
65
votes
How can a party move 10,000 pounds of gold?
Assuming casting Dispel Magic on the Alarm is infeasible (perhaps the makers of the Vault were so meticulous that they cast Alarm on each individual piece of gold), this seems like an ideal use case ...
- 841
64
votes
Accepted
Can dominate monster and drowning be used as an insta-kill?
Dominate monster probably does work this way.
The spell description seems pretty straightforward:
You can use your action to take total and precise control of the target.
This seems pretty ...
- 112k
56
votes
Do I understand the difference between the two versions of Symbol, and why would anyone ever choose the second one?
The idea is that the surface option doesn’t move.
When the spell describes the surface option, the idea is that you are inscribing the glyph on an immovable or mostly immobile surface:
such as a ...
- 112k
54
votes
How can I use Animate Objects in combat, without slowing combat down for everyone?
Share with your party!
When our Druid used his conjuration spells, he usually asked the party members to help with his attacks. There were 4 players, and basically each player (Druid included) rolled ...
- 44.3k
54
votes
Can coins count as raw materials for Fabricate?
“Raw materials” literally means only “materials used to make something else.” Anything that can be used to make something else can be considered a raw material. That is, something is a “raw material” ...
- 321k
50
votes
Accepted
Can the spell Find Traps find traps in legal documents?
I think it is useful here to approach this from both the RAW and RAI approaches.
RAW: Yes
Let's take a look at what Find Traps says:
You sense the presence of any trap within range that is within ...
- 8,170
49
votes
Accepted
Is there a rule that enables Sending to ignore the spell targeting rules regarding Total Cover?
For my money, you have a good point—they should have explicitly said something about cover
To be clear, this is purely a matter of technicality. Under no circumstances should anyone rule that sending ...
- 321k
45
votes
Can I throw dynamite from inside the effects of sanctuary?
God knows what you did.
When sanctuary was originally published, it was available only to Clerics and Paladins. This gives some insight into the original intent for the spell's function. The question ...
- 112k
43
votes
Accepted
Does the 'Protection from Evil and Good' spell protect from all listed entities, or just one?
The use of the plural form "types" and the word "and" both indicate that the spell protects against the whole list
The spell states (emphasis mine):
Until the spell ends, one ...
- 72.2k
43
votes
Is this ship resurrection spell balanced for 4th level?
As written, that spell is extremely powerful. Ships are expensive, and this lets you get one for free. (Arguably, better than free, because the resurrected ship comes with free sailors who don't eat ...
- 77.9k
42
votes
If a target affected by the Slow spell uses the Metamagic option Quickened Spell when casting a spell, does that spell take effect on the same turn?
RAW, yes, it does take effect that turn. The spell's casting time becomes 1 bonus action so it is not affected by the Slow spell.
- 469
41
votes
Is there any class+subclass combination which can use divination spells but doesn't rely on magic for combat?
Thomas Markov's answer is probably the closest you can get with player-focused material. The following is how I would normally handle a short-term character with specific requirements.
Roland uses an ...
- 16.9k
41
votes
Accepted
What are all of the published "off-label" uses of the Wish spell?
Spells and spell effects
Spells and spell effects that name wish as an end condition:
Ending the effect of feeblemind
Reversing the hit point loss of create magen
Reversing the aging effect of time ...
- 112k
39
votes
How often do I need to hand out spell scrolls as the DM in order to balance the Wizard's spell list with the Cleric's?
The wizard, without needing anything, is the most powerful* class in the game. They do NOT need handouts.
There are several things that I think are wrong about your question, but primarily you seem to ...
- 26.3k
38
votes
Accepted
What is the history of the Toll the Dead spell?
First of all, it may be worth noting that the word “toll” can be a verb meaning “to sound (a bell) by pulling a rope,” (Merriam-Webster). This usually applies to large bells, which tend to produce a ...
- 321k
38
votes
Accepted
Why shouldn't one make changes to concentration in homebrew?
I wouldn't say that "all changes to concentration are inherently overpowered", but I would say that all changes to concentration are inherently suspect. You'll need to playtest the heck out ...
- 61.8k
37
votes
Accepted
How to balance spellbooks looted from enemy wizards?
I find this a really interesting question, but not an easy one to answer.
My best educated guess is that the value of additional spells depends on how your wizard player picks their existing spells, ...
- 26.3k
37
votes
Accepted
If the Feign Death spell is cast on a warlock, what happens to their Pact Boon item? Does it matter whether their patron is "tricked" by Feign Death?
Whether a patron is fooled by the Feign Death spell or not is irrelevant. I would suspect not since we're talking a about low-level spell vs a god-like entity, but that's more in the realm of the DM's ...
- 26.9k
37
votes
Accepted
Can you counterspell Greater Teleport with the Teleport spell?
No, you cannot.
The rules are quite clear about this. Allow me to quote from the rules for counterspells found on page 170 of the player's handbook:
As a general rule, a spell can only counter itself....
- 21.1k
36
votes
Can the spell Find Traps find traps in legal documents?
RAW: No
I don't think the rules as-written support this interpretation. From the spell description you linked:
A trap, for the purpose of this spell, includes anything that would inflict a sudden or ...
- 2,171
35
votes
Can I smite somebody so hard they pop out the side of a Forcecage?
The rules assume you already know how walls work
I've looked everywhere I can think of, and as far as I can tell there's nothing in the rules explaining that you can't walk through walls.1 Despite ...
- 54.7k
35
votes
Is this ship resurrection spell balanced for 4th level?
So many issues
First, it would need to be a Transmutation spell
Yes, there may be skeletons involved, but really, the spell is fixing a ship. The fact the skeletons exist is beside the point. The fact ...
- 28.3k
34
votes
Accepted
Could both an alive and an undead version of a creature exist?
You can't have two Bobs at once, but that's not what you have here
If we look at spells such as reincarnate, raise dead, true resurrection, and resurrection, we see that they all mention the soul. ...
- 72.2k
34
votes
Accepted
What countermeasures protect against Power Word Kill?
Simplest first, good old counterspell
Counterspell is the first thing that comes to mind and just needs a reaction, a 3rd level spell slot, and a PC to make a 19 DC ability check. Not a guarantee, but ...
- 3,484
33
votes
How to balance spellbooks looted from enemy wizards?
There is no need to balance, but you may want to control it anyways
The wizard class description is designed for wizards to be balanced, even if they eventually have access to their entire spell list. ...
- 25.4k
33
votes
Why shouldn't one make changes to concentration in homebrew?
It potentially affects every concentration spell...
...and how that interacts with every concentration spell, and how that interacts with every concentration spell, etc.
There are currently 237 ...
- 16.9k
32
votes
Is it impossible to Ready the Green-Flame Blade cantrip?
This has been fixed in the SCAG errata and TCE reprint
Tasha's Cauldron of Everything includes an updated version green-flame blade. SCAG received an errata when TCE released, which updates it to ...
- 16.9k
32
votes
How does the Bladesinging wizard's Extra Attack feature interact with the additional Attack action from the Haste spell?
You can make a single weapon attack with Haste
Let's look at your quoted text for Bladesinger:
Starting at 6th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on ...
- 4,926
31
votes
Accepted
How does the Armor of Agathys spell interact with characters in heavier armor?
Armour of Agathys only triggers on mechanical hits, not narrative hits.
If a creature hits you with a melee attack while you have these hit points, the creature takes 5 cold damage.
Here, "hit&...
- 12.7k
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