Same. I'm currently trying to wrangle players for a high level Eberron game. I have run 5E to 13th level and run a couple 17th-20th level adventures but I want to run an actual high level campaign in 5E before I'm done with the edition.
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D&D General Wishing Away The Adventure
- Thread starter Reynard
- Start date
well first of all it's possible for the sword of awesomeness to be somewhere the wish cant retrieve it. It could be in a magic dead zone, it could be in a vault protected from magical hijinx by it's own wish, or dozens of other things. But wishes change reality with absolutely no way of knowing how it's going to be done. If the players are smart and just wish for an appropriate level spell effect sure, but if they just wish for the sword of awesomeness then I'd probably give it to them as the Solar they just made a open ended deal to serve for a year with a powerful planer Ally Spell delivered it. Now they have stuff to do. Like get the scabard that has magical properties that they left wherever the wish was.
So the answer is yes I've had players do that to me. Give em a Wish and it might happen, why get mad at them for what you'd do in real life. Just roll with it.
Crimson Longinus
Legend
Which never made any sense to me. It is an arcane spell, not divine. Who in universe is interpreting this wording?
I like the idea that there is an extremely powerful, extremely dumb algorithm where all wishes go to be processed.
ok it's a 9th level spell that only duplicates the effects of 8th level spells and below. If you go by straight rules it can't do anything a 9th level caster with a full 8th level and below spellbook couldn't do. Unless your giving out mythic wishes from some more powerful source . And they only end up in the game if you the DM let the part find one or the wizard hits 9th level. In short it's just normal high level stuff...
TwoSix
"Diegetics", by L. Ron Gygax
The general problem is that the current version of wish is trying to serve two different narratives.
The legalistic, contractual style of wish (complete with the DM identifying loopholes to screw the intent of the wish) makes sense for a wish that is being granted by a powerful, concept bound entity like a genie.
It makes much less sense for a wish that a wizard is casting from their own power, in which the wish is generally described as the will of the wizard imposing itself on reality.
I always do it like this, nearest Power if not near then random source, wish will always take the use a spell route if possible. If the players ask for more than the wish should be able to do, the result could be anything from you get what you ask with unexpected consequences or it just simply doesn't work. If say they were in hell then the wish would be granted by a power from hell so automatically legalistic and they'll get exactly what they ask for not necessarily what they want. If it's in an unknown area i'll roll a d100. The closer to 100 the more favorable the power is to them and the less likely they'll get screwed. Roll a 1 and it might be a demon lord granting it.
but so long as it stays within the safe limits no DM hijinks other than giving them what they ask for.
so say you ask to ressurrect two party members with wish, well that's too much, the power granting the wish might simply do it if they are favorable to the party and it's within thier power, ignore the wish and nothing happens spell doesn't go off no resources used, or decide two 5th level reincarnations are the closest they can offer so boom. the spell description has always said in some way or form that asking for too much might be unreliable or only grant partialy what you asked for. the party members could simply be raised as intelligent free willed undead because you asked for two instead of one. Asking for anything beyond the base parameters of the wish spell (one 8th level spell, or one 7th level spell from a non arcane spell list) should be unpredictable.
this is why I always decide who is granting the wish. I've played with DM's that simply ruled Wizard wishes were the wizards projection of power and nothing past the power of a 9th level spell was possible period. (edit. which is how a wizard spell works in my game till they ask for too much. then the spell petitions some power) No one way is wrong as long as it's consistant in the game.
I recomend people only pull the legalistic stuff with hell it's what they do. Abyssal wishes should be cursed in some way, if your getting anything from the lower planes bare minimum it's going to taint your soul and create a connection to that group of lower planars. Djinn it's going to depend on the how that CG djinn views you and how he feels about what you are doing. If the Djinn has respect for what you are doing it might do everything in it's power to make the wish work as intended. if you caught him and beat him into submission maybe not. Nobles I think should be able to grant bigger wishes.
Also not sure if they ever ruled this in 5e but I don't let wishing creature's grant each other wishes. That's automatic get dumped into the Abyss button by reality. Of course if hell can get living mortals to do it for them.....and even better the mortals take the consequences. I used to really struggle with wishes till I started deciding what power source each individual wish is coming from. If it's the god the wizard has attracted the most attention from hope he or she likes the wizard...... Or if the wizard is stupid enough to be carrying the uber powerful staff he took from a powerful devil in Hell, then all his wishes might get routed to that guy.
Consequences of all that they've done along the way might come into play. I've even twisted the game myself until Hell wanted the wish being made to succeed as intended because even though they were good the party was beating down demons and helping Hell. (it was a rather fun and frustrating moment for me the DM to realize that). By the time you get to players having wishes thier should be enough context in thier actions, where they are and what's going on and who in the heavens and hells cares to make it fairly easy to decide who is granting the wish if it's an undefined spell.
and if you just don't want wishes then leave the wish spell as simply a spell that can replicate other spells you don't have and dont' let it be any more powerful.
MarkB
Legend
Yeah, making a verbal wish is like asking Chat GPT to take your intention and write it up as a program in the machine code of the universe. It might return a useful program that technically achieves what you asked for, but exactly how it gets there is another matter.
LOL I wish for the sword to be in my hand pure and unblemished with no curses or ill effects...........Universal Wish algorythym engaged...Planar ally req 12-18HD Alignment not specified. Payement not specified. " hey bring the me sword " <Angel checks out party> "Ok but you have to go to hell and kill one of Asmodeus's right hand devils and leave a message that Heaven will not stand the interference in the prime material with the god xyz" Algorythm....."done deal thank you"
