D&D 5E messy's 5e newbie questions thread
55. with casting times mostly of one minute, it would seem that most conjure spells are intended to be cast out of combat. this strikes me as odd. am i missing something?
56. it would seem that caster power has been reduced through the concentration mechanic, less spell slots, and less save-or-die spells. are there any other ways in which casters have been scaled back?
57. elemental weapon says that its bonuses to attacks and damage increase when cast with a 7th level spell slot. but this is a paladin-only spell, and paladins can only cast spells up to 5th level. am i missing something?
59. since a spell like flame blade requires a melee spell attack to hit, which uses the wielder's casting ability for the attack roll, does this mean that strength/dexterity is not added to damage?
56. it would seem that caster power has been reduced through the concentration mechanic, less spell slots, and less save-or-die spells. are there any other ways in which casters have been scaled back?
57. elemental weapon says that its bonuses to attacks and damage increase when cast with a 7th level spell slot. but this is a paladin-only spell, and paladins can only cast spells up to 5th level. am i missing something?
59. since a spell like flame blade requires a melee spell attack to hit, which uses the wielder's casting ability for the attack roll, does this mean that strength/dexterity is not added to damage?
Salthorae
Imperial Mountain Dew Taster
Nope. They are mostly designed to not be cast in the heat of battle. There are some that allow for that though.
Depends on your POV. For the Save-or-Suck spells that are still in the game, targets mostly get to make saves every round either at the start of their turn or end of their turn to shake off the effects.
It's not Paladin only anymore. It's on the Hexblade supplemental list, it's the Forge Domain spell list, and now the Artificer has it on their list as well.
Also a Bard could always grab it (if they wanted) from Magical Secrets, and they are a full caster so could potentiall up cast it all the way to 7th for max spell benefit. If they wanted.
Correct.
The target takes the damage listed in the spell, casting ability doesn't add unless your PC has some other ability like a Draconic Sorcerer could add their Charisma to the damage if you were multiclassed.
Each spell is pretty specific in what adds to attack and damage.
Shadow Blade creates a Light Finesse weapon of shadow, so you'd use your Str/Dex to attack. Green-flame Blade or Booming blade uses your normal weapon attack (str/dex) for attack/damage as well. Spiritual Weapon and Flame blade and other spells like them use Casting stat for attack and listed damage only unless you have another ability from class or something else to add to it.
billd91
Not your screen monkey (he/him)
One nitpick - if someone isn't proficient with a tool or instrument, I wouldn't penalize them with disadvantage. Their lack of proficiency is already covered by not being able to use their proficiency bonus on the stat check. I would only apply disadvantage under fairly extreme circumstances like an instrument that isn't merely unfamiliar but completely alien in design or made for something with a radically different body structure. I might also impose disadvantage on finding beneficial chords to strike or tunes to play on a super complex musical artifact like Heward's Mystical Organ.
Beleriphon
Totally Awesome Pirate Brain
I agree. Being non-proficient already covers not knowing now to play, disadvantage really should cover something that goes beyond not know how to play an instrument into being in some way hindered in actively playing the instrument. An pipe organ sized for a giant could have disadvantage for example, regardless of proficiency.
Salthorae
Imperial Mountain Dew Taster
i agree though with large sized instruments you start getting into physical impossibility at size. Like I don’t care how good a horn player you are, the mouthpiece on a giant sized horn is just going to be too big for a medium or smaller creature to use effectively And make noise at all.
Beleriphon
Totally Awesome Pirate Brain
Of course, but I just imagine this halfing bard literally leaping about a the keys of a massive pipe organ to play it. If you prefer a lute sized for a fire giant is going to be difficult for a human sized creature to play, it would probably work out more like a very strange sort of harp.
some questions about spells and a few other random topics:
60. can call lightning be cast indoors?
61. is studded leather considered metal armor for the purposes of use by druids and for giving advantage to shocking grasp?
62. if two wizards hit a creature with ray of frost in the same round, is the creature's speed reduced by 20 feet?
63. can the target of a bless spell benefit from it more than once during its duration?
64. is there a way to heal undead and constructs?
65. how exactly does barkskin work? it seems to make the target's minimum armor class 16, but can it be increased from there? if the target has a 14 dexterity, is his/her armor class then 18?
66. does produce flame ignite combustables?
67. does a target of faerie fire continue to be affected even if he/she leaves the spell's area of effect?
68. do fighting style bonuses apply to spells? for example, if an eldritch knight has chosen archery for his/her fighting style, does the +2 apply to attack rolls with fire bolt?
69. are all "spell slots per spell level" tables in the phb identical? if so, it seems like they could've saved quite a bit of space by printing the table just once...
70. a druid will not wear metal armor, but will wear armor made of the skin of an animal. does that strike anyone as unusual?
71. a druid will not wear metal armor, but a cleric of nature not only can wear metal armor, but also gains the extra ability to wear the heaviest, metalist armor in existence. does that strike anyone as unusual?
60. can call lightning be cast indoors?
61. is studded leather considered metal armor for the purposes of use by druids and for giving advantage to shocking grasp?
62. if two wizards hit a creature with ray of frost in the same round, is the creature's speed reduced by 20 feet?
63. can the target of a bless spell benefit from it more than once during its duration?
64. is there a way to heal undead and constructs?
65. how exactly does barkskin work? it seems to make the target's minimum armor class 16, but can it be increased from there? if the target has a 14 dexterity, is his/her armor class then 18?
66. does produce flame ignite combustables?
67. does a target of faerie fire continue to be affected even if he/she leaves the spell's area of effect?
68. do fighting style bonuses apply to spells? for example, if an eldritch knight has chosen archery for his/her fighting style, does the +2 apply to attack rolls with fire bolt?
69. are all "spell slots per spell level" tables in the phb identical? if so, it seems like they could've saved quite a bit of space by printing the table just once...
70. a druid will not wear metal armor, but will wear armor made of the skin of an animal. does that strike anyone as unusual?
71. a druid will not wear metal armor, but a cleric of nature not only can wear metal armor, but also gains the extra ability to wear the heaviest, metalist armor in existence. does that strike anyone as unusual?
Paul Farquhar
Legend
Yes, if the ceiling is at least 60 feet high.
Usually not, but the rules don't specify. I usually allow druids to obtain non-metallic armour (e.g. Ankheg) for additional cost/effort.
Yes.
Yes.
It varies, check the creature's description and stat block.
It doesn't, it's garbage.
No, it's garbage.
Not RAW.
Yes.
No.
I get confused about this spell too. Call Lightning actually says the cloud formed is 10 feet high, but has a 60-foot radius. So the room needs to be at least 10 feet high (more like 15 or 20 if you want to avoid arguments about the lightning strikes "a point you can see under the cloud"), but the room also needs to be minimum 120 feet across. Otherwise the spell fails.
