How would you have ruled this?
How exactly was the whole sword-relay thing making them faster? If it was a matter of encumbrance, wouldn't it have made more sense for them to be carrying it between them?
3. Bard casts Suggestion on the goblin carrying the sword. Suggests that the only way the goblin will survive is if he throws the sword back. Goblin fails saving throw, and I feel this is a perfectly legitimate suggestion.
4. Second goblin goes before the Suggested Goblin. Second goblin goes past the Suggested Goblin, taking the sword as they have done in the past.
It feels like a continuation of metagaming and negates a 3rd level spell in a way that feels a bit cheap to me.
3. Bard casts Suggestion on the goblin carrying the sword. Suggests that the only way the goblin will survive is if he throws the sword back. Goblin fails saving throw, and I feel this is a perfectly legitimate suggestion.
It was the PC that made the Suggestion. A bad Suggestion is just the same as a Fireball launched against a statue or illusion. Player's choice so player bears the consequences.
Yeah, thinking about it more, I can see that argument. The Suggestion Goblin resists anything other than something that makes the sword go back to the undead guardians so it can escape.
Note, the bit about bigger bad guys and whatnot, well, as I said, I ruled that the suggestion was perfectly okay. That's not something I feel I need to reexamine.
Like I said, I left it up to the dice - a second saving throw. But, thinking about it now, that's kinda screwing over the caster.