Held and spell-like abilities

[Particle_Man]

Can one use spell-like abilities while under a hold person or hold monster spell?

What about supernatural abilities?

What about psionics?

 

[Infiniti2000]

Based on the text in the SRD, while held you "cannot take any actions." If you can't take actions, you can't fly, you can't cast spell-like abilities, or anything else. The one exception is to break out of the hold.

 

[Dross Swordra]

based on the text from the SRD a held person is considered paralyzed and thus can take purely mental actions.
to quote the SRD :
Paralyzed

A paralyzed character is frozen in place and unable to move or act. A paralyzed character has effective Dexterity and Strength scores of 0 and is helpless, but can take purely mental actions. A winged creature flying in the air at the time that it becomes paralyzed cannot flap its wings and falls. A paralyzed swimmer can’t swim and may drown. A creature can move through a space occupied by a paralyzed creature—ally or not. Each square occupied by a paralyzed creature, however, counts as 2 squares

I would consider most psionics to be "purely mental" as well as a silent and still spell in conjunction with eschew materials

-Dross

 

[the Jester]

The main difference between casting a spell and using a SLA is that SLAs don't require any components (including somatics, i.e. movement).

 

[Murrdox]

based on the text from the SRD a held person is considered paralyzed and thus can take purely mental actions.
to quote the SRD :
Paralyzed

A paralyzed character is frozen in place and unable to move or act. A paralyzed character has effective Dexterity and Strength scores of 0 and is helpless, but can take purely mental actions. A winged creature flying in the air at the time that it becomes paralyzed cannot flap its wings and falls. A paralyzed swimmer can’t swim and may drown. A creature can move through a space occupied by a paralyzed creature—ally or not. Each square occupied by a paralyzed creature, however, counts as 2 squares

I would consider most psionics to be "purely mental" as well as a silent and still spell in conjunction with eschew materials

-Dross

I seem to remember a bit of debate regarding whether or not the "Fly" spell still functions while under the effects of a Hold Person spell. Some people are of the opinion that "Fly" is purely mentally controlled.

Personally, I picture "Flying" characters very much like "Superman", in the sense that some physical movement is required to guide you. I don't have much in the way of rules for this, it's just more cinematic, and has proven more fun in my games... after my players got upset when they "Held" one of my NPCs, and his paralyzed body started flying away. Next time it came up, I "Held" one of my players, who had "Boots of Flying" and we all had a laugh as the little wings on his boots beat furiously to try and keep him in the air... but he plummeted to the earth.

 

[Taloras]

Hm..that depends. If its a warlocks invocations, they all have somatic components(and cant be used without somatic components). If its other spell like abilities....Im not sure.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I seem to remember a bit of debate regarding whether or not the "Fly" spell still functions while under the effects of a Hold Person spell. Some people are of the opinion that "Fly" is purely mentally controlled.

My response to that is to note that a character (with sufficient Strength) can carry plate armor and fly at 60, but if he wears plate armor, he flies at 40.

Obviously, then, there's some physical component to travelling using a Fly spell!

-Hyp.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Based on the text in the SRD, while held you "cannot take any actions." If you can't take actions, you can't fly, you can't cast spell-like abilities, or anything else.

It depends on whether you consider Hold Person to have two effects:
1. You are paralyzed.
2. You can't take any actions.

... or one effect:

1. You are paralyzed (which means you can't take any actions).

If it's two, then you can't manifest powers, etc. If it's one, then the actions you can't take are more explicitly defined in the description of the paralyzed condition, as Dross Swordra noted - those which are not purely mental.

-Hyp.

 

[Len]

Obviously, then, there's some physical component to travelling using a Fly spell!

I'm not sure about Fly, but when the dwarf wizard in my group uses Overland Flight, I insist that his little legs are zipping back & forth like mad.