D&D 5E Can an unseen servant fly?

[greg kaye]

Then say it doesn't take initiative on its own. ...

I could say that a zombie "doesn't take initiative on its own". I could also say it was mindless. Either way, it can still obey instructions, at least "to the best of its ability".

 

[Oofta]

The spell is telling us that "The servant can perform simple tasks that a human servant could do, such as fetching things, cleaning, mending, folding clothes, lighting fires, serving food, and pouring wine," and that, "Once you give the command, the servant performs the task to the best of its ability until it completes the task, then waits for your next command." By "mindless" I just take it that it can't decide to initiate action of it's own volition. It can do all the rest. How does it do it? Who knows. It does.

It's a magical robot. My roomba doesn't think, yet it sweeps the floor just fine. Many automated robots do more complex things like build cars.

I don't see the issue, other than some people just going out of their way to find problems.

 

[Oofta]

D&D magical fire does not at all conform to how actual fire works.

A real fireball in an enclosed space would suffocate everyone and cause a huge pressure wave.

A fireball only lasts for a moment, the fire is not created by a chemical reaction. You could cast fireball in a vacuum and it would still work because it doesn't need the accelerant to combine with the oxygen in the room. In the same way, there's no concussive force because the concussive force of a bomb is a side effect of the explosion.

Fireball doesn't conform to the way actual fire works because it's not actual fire in the way that can be experienced without magic. It's the same reason that 1 person can be standing next to someone that gets burnt to a crisp without even getting warm, the area of the fireball is only temporarily infused with the heat of the fire.

 

[CleverNickName]

I just read the whole thread, and it was a RIDE y'all.

I'm firmly in the "it's magic, not physics" camp. The spell is designed to create a servant...not a guard, or a soldier, or a test pilot. Something that can chop wood, carry water, cook dinner, fold my laundry, mow the yard, water the garden, and shear the sheep. If I need it to do something more than housework, I probably need a different spell.

But I understand that some people will find that answer very unsatisfying. Some folks like to pick this game apart and look for creative ways of doing things. And really, I do appreciate that kind of outside-the-box thinking at the game table, and I like it when players and DMs alike start getting creative. So if that's you...

Spoiler: If I were going to nitpick this spell to pieces

I would start with the description itself.

"This spell creates an invisible, mindless, shapeless force that performs simple tasks at your command until the spell ends. The servant springs into existence in an unoccupied space on the ground within range. It has AC 10, 1 hit point, and a Strength of 2, and it can’t attack. If it drops to 0 hit points, the spell ends." ​

The first thing I noticed is that the Unseen Servant spell doesn't summon a creature, it creates a force. Therefore, it doesn't have Actions, it doesn't roll Initiative, it doesn't have a stat block, it doesn't get save throws, and it can't be targeted by things that can only target creatures. It isn't alive, it doesn't eat or sleep or breathe, it doesn't think, it doesn't have a metabolism, etc., etc. This is all important, so I wanted to say that first. A lot of people want this to be a pet or a creature, and it's not. It's basically an object with a movement speed and Strength score.

So the first question that came up was the OP's question: can it fly? I'd say no, an unseen servant cannot fly...at least, not per the rules. The servant can move but it doesn't have a Fly speed. So just like everything else in the game that can move: no fly speed, no flight. Pretty straightforward. (shrug)

Can you cast Fly on it, to make it fly? No, because the Fly spell only targets creatures, and this isn't a creature.

Then there were follow-up questions about the Unseen Servant setting off pressure plates and activating traps. The Servant isn't incorporeal, it is only invisible, and those two things are not the same. So I would rule that it can indeed activate a tripwire, especially if you hand it a broom and command it to sweep the floor ahead of you as you walk.

While an Unseen Servant doesn't have a described weight, it isn't described as "weightless" either. This is true for most things in the game: wolves and flying carpets, for example, don't have a listed weight but that doesn't mean we can assume they are weightless. So I would rule that an Unseen Servant could set off pressure plates...especially if you command it to carry a bucket of water or whatever. If the precise amount of weight needed to trigger something is ever important (it usually isn't), something strange is going on and I'd just go with whatever I think would be more interesting at the time. Sometimes its fun to have the trap detonate at a distance, hinting to the players that the corridors are very dangerous up ahead...other times it's fun to have it detonate beneath a player's character and watch everyone snap to attention at the table.

What about traps that have proximity triggers and alarms and stuff? Well, if they are keyed to detonate when a creature approaches within a certain distance, they won't trigger. Because remember: an Unseen Servant isn't a creature. It's not going to be much help if there's a medusa waiting in ambush up around the corner.

 

[BookTenTiger]

The last wizard I played would cast this spell a lot, using a piece of a dragon cultist sarcophagus as a material component. Flavor-wise, he was calling forth the spirit of this cultist to now follow the wizard's commands.

Every time he gave a command to the Unseen Servant, there would be an audible sigh before the command was carried out. I liked the idea of this spirit, having served his cult masters or the dragon itself for many decades, now having to clean the camp and gather firewood for this young upstart wizard, and giving a world-weary sigh before getting to work.

 

[CleverNickName]

Every time he gave a command to the Unseen Servant, there would be an audible sigh before the command was carried out. I liked the idea of this spirit, having served his cult masters or the dragon itself for many decades, now having to clean the camp and gather firewood for this young upstart wizard, and giving a world-weary sigh before getting to work.

"I am sworn to carry your burdens..."

 

[SkidAce]

"I am sworn to carry your burdens..."

Yup.

 

[Lanefan]

No, because a human servant would refuse to do that, it's a servant not a henchman

Yes, but a servant over whom the caster has domination-level mind control. It follows orders, period.

 

[Lanefan]

And all this plus the range and time limits and a slot cost ends up creating a spell that is inferior to having a human servant.

I'll disagree with this bit, in that human servants come with some rather significant built-in drawbacks: they want to be paid for their time, they'll balk if you try to put them in danger, and there's legal repercussions if following your orders gets them killed...or worse, if you kill them yourself through your own negligence or deliberate action.

None of these issues arise when the servant is a conjured-up invisible blob of force that you fully control.

I do agree with you, however, that the spell is badly written; though I also suspect your rewrite of it and mine would end up looking quite different.

 

[Lanefan]

I would start with the description itself.

"This spell creates an invisible, mindless, shapeless force that performs simple tasks at your command until the spell ends. The servant springs into existence in an unoccupied space on the ground within range. It has AC 10, 1 hit point, and a Strength of 2, and it can’t attack. If it drops to 0 hit points, the spell ends." ​

The first thing I noticed is that the Unseen Servant spell doesn't summon a creature, it creates a force. Therefore, it doesn't have Actions, it doesn't roll Initiative, it doesn't have a stat block, it doesn't get save throws, and it can't be targeted by things that can only target creatures.

I'd say it does have a statblock, albeit a very short one, and it's right there in the spell write-up: AC 10, Str 2, HP 1.

There's also nothing said about what can damage it, so we're left to assume it's able to be affected by anything that causes damage...which makes saving throws redundant as it only has one h.p. anyway and the minimum damage something can do is 1.

(while typing this I just realized there's yet another hole in the write-up: doesn't being invisible give you some sort of AC or defense bonus, and if so why isn't that included in its AC?)

In the rae instances where the actions of an unseen servant could affect a combat (e.g. having it fetch you a potion from your backpack nearby) I would give it an initiative for that action if only for timing purposes: does the potion get to you before or after your turn this round.

And, stupid corner case question number 14: what happens if this spell is cast in mid-air, or while floating on the astral or ethereal plane, or somewhere else where there isn't any "ground" for the servant to show up on?