D&D 5E Unseen Servant, fun with

[Jefe Bergenstein]

I'd estimate my housecats' Strength at less than 1. Unseen Servant can lift 30 pounds, my cats can't even manage 4 pounds.

True, I'm just going by the monster manual, which lists them as Strength 3! At least they cant easily murder 1st level PC's with claw/claw/bite/rake lol.

Regular sized crabs, lizards and seahorses have a 1 strength, Regular sized bats have a 2. RAW (I know, I know shoot me), the Unseen Servant is incredibly weak. I think its fine to play it as stronger though. Does 5E change carrying capacity by creature size still?

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Yes, PHB 176 gives the rules for carrying capacity by size. Double capacity per size above medium, or halve for size Tiny.

 

[Wik]

So, in regards to strength requirements. A strength of 2 or 3 is pretty damned low - assuming a medium-sized servant that can lift 30 pounds, it's not going to have a whole lot of impact power. Lifting a bucket of water, sure - but throwing it? Harder.

I work as a carpenter. I'm the small guy on the team, but I'm strong enough to get most tasks done. For a while, we worked with a tiny guy who really wasn't cut out for the trade (and he was only there because a government program put him there). This guy could barely lift a few 2x4s, had a hard time swinging a hammer, and struggled to move a wheelbarrow. I'd argue his strength sat around 6 mark, were he a D&D character. So, still stronger than an unseen servant.

Swinging a hammer, sledge hammer, axe - all of those could be done with a 2 strength... but the impact force wouldn't be any better than if the servant DROPPED it. Because all of those tools are strength multipliers... and if your strength is low, they won't be any use.

A neat side note - I'd assume Unseen Servants never get tired. This means that, over an hour, they might actually get repetitive low-strength tasks done quicker than a strong, skilled labourer could... things like pulling nails, using a crowbar, etc, because they never get tired.

Honestly, though, I don't like being this much of a stickler in play. When a player uses Unseen Servant, I tend to ignore their strength score and instead just let things fly based on creativity. In 3E, we had a wild mage who would cast mass unseen servant and equip them all with tools. Pretty soon, the entire isle of dread was criss-crossed with roads that the mage built as they travelled through the jungle.

 

[Zaruthustran]

I agree that chopping a tree seems improbable with 2 Str. If you want an Unseen Servant to fell trees, better to give it a saw.

 

[Wik]

I fully agree. Better yet, a chainsaw, but let's not get silly.

 

[Chris Markham]

Folks are forgetting the obvious use of this as an engine for just about any device needing one. So many possibilities there. DaVinci type war machines come to mind.

 

[gyor]

Spying, it's invisible, so it could be good at that, except it doesn't have much range.

Also a Sorcerer can get the spell with a feat and use extend spell metamagic on it making it last 2 hours for a sorcery point. I also like the idea above of mixing it with illusion spells.

It also works well with Phantom Steed, another ritual, because you can have the servant ride the phantom steed and direct it, acting as the brains, while the phantom steed acts as the muscle.

 

[Phazonfish]

Spying, it's invisible, so it could be good at that, except it doesn't have much range.

Also a Sorcerer can get the spell with a feat and use extend spell metamagic on it making it last 2 hours for a sorcery point. I also like the idea above of mixing it with illusion spells.

It also works well with Phantom Steed, another ritual, because you can have the servant ride the phantom steed and direct it, acting as the brains, while the phantom steed acts as the muscle.

Is it smart enough to function effectively as a spy? It is described as a "mindless force".