Tomb of Annihilation: errata, clarifications, fixes

CapnZapp · Jan 12, 2019

There's errata threads for many WotC modules, but I couldn't find one for Tomb of Annihilation.

So let me offer one possible item that you might want to inform WotC about. If there is an existing thread and I just missed it, feel free to copy this here and then close this thread.

Acererak (ToA p.209)

His Paralyzing Touch is listed as a melee spell attack, but its attack bonus is only listed as +8, when according to his Spellcasting trait it should be +15. This is how the MM lich works, so this appears to be an error.
As written, his Disrupt Life affects "each creature", however the MM lich's Disrupt Life affects "living creatures." This is a significant difference because Acererak can at-will cast animate undead as a Legendary Action, meaning that during the encounter with Acererak he may animate lots of skeletons. It seems strange if his Disrupt Life power were to then destroy them. I submit that this is an error, and Acererak's Disrupt Life should work like the MM lich.

[SBLOCK=Possibly misinformed item]
Acecerak (page 209) has this Legendary Action listed:
Talisman of the Sphere (Costs 2 Actions). Acererak uses his
talisman of the sphere to move the sphere of annihilation under
his control up to 90 feet.

What it doesn't say is that this movement is per levitation and thus up and down only.

See Also:
https://rpg.stackexchange.com/quest...ks-spoiler-legendary-action-function-this-way

D&D 5e uses natural language. For the DMG p.207 to say that a talisman of the sphere allows you to levitate a sphere of annihilation a certain distance is not the same as saying it allows you to cast the levitate spell on the sphere of annihilation, anymore than an adventure module describing 10 goblins which are deep in sleep would not imply they're under the effect of a sleep spell. When the authors intend to describe a spell effect, they are explicit about it calling it out as such.[/SBLOCK]

Yunru · Jan 12, 2019

CapnZapp said:
Acecerak (page 209) has this Legendary Action listed:
Talisman of the Sphere (Costs 2 Actions). Acererak uses his
talisman of the sphere to move the sphere of annihilation under
his control up to 90 feet.

What it doesn't say is that this movement is per levitation and thus up and down only.

Cite? It's by levitation, but it's not by the levitate spell, and thus doesn't have those restrictions.

CapnZapp · Jan 12, 2019

I've made the first post wiki-editable, Yunru, so you can edit yourself.

Quickleaf · Jan 12, 2019

CapnZapp said:
I've made the first post wiki-editable, Yunru, so you can edit yourself.

I made an edit adding errors in Acererak's stat block. I also question your interpretation of talisman of the sphere, explaining my logic in the OP.

CapnZapp · Jan 12, 2019

The logic in "Acererak can at-will cast animate undead as a Legendary Action" seems to be based on the inclusion of Animate Dead in his spell loadout.

This is correct by a legalese interpretation of what's written, but problematic in that it requires us to conclude Acecerak can legend-cast any level 1-3 spell regardless of casting time, despite this fairly significant departure from the rules isn't mentioned anywhere.

Either that, or the spells listed are special somehow - that Animate Dead isn't generally interchangeable - despite this not being mentioned anywhere, and the spells being described in the perfectly ordinary manner of all monster prepared spells.

An alternative interpretation, of course, is that the inclusion of Animate Dead, a spell with longer casting time, is a simple mistake: either that all level 1-3 spells are indeed meant to be at-will, and he can't prepare spells with long casting times. Or maybe even more reasonable: that he can prepare spells with long casting times well enough, but can't use them for the legendary action.

Quickleaf · Jan 14, 2019

CapnZapp said:
The logic in "Acererak can at-will cast animate undead as a Legendary Action" seems to be based on the inclusion of Animate Dead in his spell loadout.

This is correct by a legalese interpretation of what's written, but problematic in that it requires us to conclude Acecerak can legend-cast any level 1-3 spell regardless of casting time, despite this fairly significant departure from the rules isn't mentioned anywhere.

I asked for clarification from the designers on Twitch relating to this topic a while back and no reply was forthcoming.

If you take a holistic perspective – rather than a legalistic one – and look at how the dungeon is designed and the story of the villain, it seems that my interpretation (Acererak can cast animate dead as a legendary action) is on point thematically.

As to the designers intentions, maybe someone else can ask and they'll get better feedback (that is, any feedback) than I did.

Charlaquin · Jan 14, 2019

Acererak’s At-Will Spell Legenday Action is weird. As noted, Animate Dead had a casting time of 1 minute, which makes it unclear if he can actually use it in combat, where legendary actions matter. Two of his other at-will spells have a casting time of 1 Reaction. Does At-Will Spell let him cast those more than once per round? Can he even use At-Will Spell to cast them, since they are cast in response to specific triggers on a creature’s turn and Legendary Actions can normally only be taken at the end of a creature’s turn? It’s unclear. Two of his at-will spells are very nearly useless in combat. That leaves him with four (prepared) spells he clearly and unambiguously can cast with At-Will Spell, three of which are cantrips. It’s either a very narrow ability, or it makes a lot of exceptions to the normal rules that it’s not nearly explicit enough about. Either way, it is very strange.

Quickleaf · Jan 14, 2019

Charlaquin said:
Acererak’s At-Will Spell Legenday Action is weird. As noted, Animate Dead had a casting time of 1 minute, which makes it unclear if he can actually use it in combat, where legendary actions matter. Two of his other at-will spells have a casting time of 1 Reaction. Does At-Will Spell let him cast those more than once per round? Can he even use At-Will Spell to cast them, since they are cast in response to specific triggers on a creature’s turn and Legendary Actions can normally only be taken at the end of a creature’s turn? It’s unclear. Two of his at-will spells are very nearly useless in combat. That leaves him with four (prepared) spells he clearly and unambiguously can cast with At-Will Spell, three of which are cantrips. It’s either a very narrow ability, or it makes a lot of exceptions to the normal rules that it’s not nearly explicit enough about. Either way, it is very strange.

Mhmm. I've presented this question more precisely to the designers on Twitter. Back in March I asked a related question pertaining to legendary casting animate dead, to no avail. Hopefully they'll have time to field the question this time around.

Tomb of Annihilation: errata, clarifications, fixes

CapnZapp

Legend

Yunru

Banned

CapnZapp

Legend

Quickleaf

Legend

CapnZapp

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Quickleaf

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Charlaquin

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Quickleaf

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