D&D 5E Does Rope Trick Heal?

Does Rope Trick Heal?

  • Yes

    Votes: 8 10.0%
  • No

    Votes: 72 90.0%


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TwoSix

Dirty, realism-hating munchkin powergamer
It's exactly one hour, what are you going to do when the spell ends? Fall on your tail after the pocket dimension poofs out of existence? Quite the wake-up call that would be. If it was literally just one minute longer I would agree with the sentiment. But as it stands, the spell is designed in such a way that it just edges out a short rest under normal use. Making it an invisibility spell that pushes the boundaries as far as it possibly can before it becomes something else, without hard-stopping it because 5e avoids hard stops as much as possible. Heck, even in prior editions it was a hiding spell first and foremost, so it's not like it's a hot new take on a classic spell.

Do you mean you literally tell your players "Sorry, that rest was only 59 minutes and 30 seconds, I'm afraid you get NOTHING!" Like, that's literally a thing you do in your game? If you don't want Rope Trick to give a short rest, just cut the duration to like half an hour or something. Pulling something like "Haha, you forgot to account for the time CLIMBING THE ROPE!" wouldn't be just bad DMing, it's a mustache-twirling cackling caricature of bad DMing.
 

Mistwell

Crusty Old Meatwad (he/him)
Or you could just fly into the hole. :p

Yes, I am fully aware there are ways to circumnavigate the climbing requirement.
No, that doesn't change the interpretation of the spell, because climbing in was only half the problem with it.

The other problem was the duration:

It's exactly one hour, what are you going to do when the spell ends? Fall on your tail after the pocket dimension poofs out of existence? Quite the wake-up call that would be. If it was literally just one minute longer I would agree with the sentiment. But as it stands, the spell is designed in such a way that it just edges out a short rest under normal use.

I will make you a bet. I bet you the rules as intended are that you can take a full short rest using this spell. You think you can barely not. So great, let's bet. Preferably a whole lot of money, but if nothing else for bragging rights. You can ask Crawford and Mearls, or I can.

Do you mean you literally tell your players "Sorry, that rest was only 59 minutes and 30 seconds, I'm afraid you get NOTHING!" Like, that's literally a thing you do in your game? If you don't want Rope Trick to give a short rest, just cut the duration to like half an hour or something. Pulling something like "Haha, you forgot to account for the time CLIMBING THE ROPE!" wouldn't be just bad DMing, it's a mustache-twirling cackling caricature of bad DMing.

I think he honestly doesn't realize how pedantic his position looks.
 

SkidAce

Legend
Supporter
In terms of looking at it from a meta rules perspective as opposed to an in-game perspective, yes absolutely it's in the category of "heals" and also "regenerates short rest based abilities".

I would say it allows you to rest. It doesn't make you rest nor heal you.

So theoretically, since you could cast it and not rest, it doesn't "heal" nor "restore".

You could be using it as a scouting position in or around a battle, and not be resting.

JMHO.
 

Mistwell

Crusty Old Meatwad (he/him)
I would say it allows you to rest. It doesn't make you rest nor heal you.

So theoretically, since you could cast it and not rest, it doesn't "heal" nor "restore".

You could be using it as a scouting position in or around a battle, and not be resting.

JMHO.

You can add a third purpose to it of scouting, but that doesn't negate it fits in the other two categories as well. I mean, there are spells which heal and do something else in the game already (like drain hit points from a foe and heal you), and you don't HAVE to use them for the healing...which would not eliminate the fact they still are included in the "spell which can increase PC hit points" category.
 

MarkB

Legend
Or you could just fly into the hole. :p

Yes, I am fully aware there are ways to circumnavigate the climbing requirement.
No, that doesn't change the interpretation of the spell, because climbing in was only half the problem with it.

The other problem was the duration:

It's exactly one hour, what are you going to do when the spell ends? Fall on your tail after the pocket dimension poofs out of existence? Quite the wake-up call that would be. If it was literally just one minute longer I would agree with the sentiment. But as it stands, the spell is designed in such a way that it just edges out a short rest under normal use. Making it an invisibility spell that pushes the boundaries as far as it possibly can before it becomes something else, without hard-stopping it because 5e avoids hard stops as much as possible. Heck, even in prior editions it was a hiding spell first and foremost, so it's not like it's a hot new take on a classic spell.

Why would you wait until after you'd cast it to begin resting? You can start taking your short rest five minutes before you actually cast the spell if you're really insistent upon counting it down to the second.
 

SkidAce

Legend
Supporter
I understand your point, and somewhat agree.

But enabling something is not the same thing as doing something.

Rope Trick (IMO) does not heal. The resting/spell casting does.

Its all good, its mostly semantics....I do wish I had read the thread before answering though....a couple of those middle pages....sheesh!!!

(not poking at you [MENTION=2525]Mistwell[/MENTION])
 

Maxperson

Morkus from Orkus
Do you mean you literally tell your players "Sorry, that rest was only 59 minutes and 30 seconds, I'm afraid you get NOTHING!" Like, that's literally a thing you do in your game? If you don't want Rope Trick to give a short rest, just cut the duration to like half an hour or something. Pulling something like "Haha, you forgot to account for the time CLIMBING THE ROPE!" wouldn't be just bad DMing, it's a mustache-twirling cackling caricature of bad DMing.

You know, it actually isn't even less than a full hour. You can cast and then move, so even the caster will get inside in the round it was cast. At worst, it's going to be 59 minutes and 54 seconds if you really want to cast the casting round against them.
 

Maxperson

Morkus from Orkus
I would say it allows you to rest. It doesn't make you rest nor heal you.

So theoretically, since you could cast it and not rest, it doesn't "heal" nor "restore".

You could be using it as a scouting position in or around a battle, and not be resting.

JMHO.

Or a quick 2 minute hiding spot to let a patrol go by.
 

Maxperson

Morkus from Orkus
You can add a third purpose to it of scouting, but that doesn't negate it fits in the other two categories as well. I mean, there are spells which heal and do something else in the game already (like drain hit points from a foe and heal you), and you don't HAVE to use them for the healing...which would not eliminate the fact they still are included in the "spell which can increase PC hit points" category.

But those spells do heal you, whether you need the healing or not, and whether your intent is to be healed or not, making those healing spells. This one doesn't even do that much. The spell itself does not heal you at all.
 

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