D&D 5E Wish: additional 9th level slot

[Hawk Diesel]

In most of my games, "slots" and "spell levels" are not in-game concepts, so there'd be no way to wish for one.

I disagree. Even if the concepts of spell slots or levels are not explicitly "in-game" concepts, I would argue that spellcasters are aware of the differences between kinds of spells and their relative power level. In character a spellcaster might not wish for an extra 9th level spell slot, but they could wish for an extra reserve or well of power to call upon their most powerful spells at will. Or something to that degree.

EDIT: Sorry, didn't mean to say I disagree with how your table handles things. But just to say that the OP's wish could potentially be made even without concepts like concrete spell slots or spell levels.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Wouldn't you just be using a spell slot to gain the exact same spell slot back? Seems like a waste unless you are thinking of something else.

 

[FrogReaver]

Wouldn't you just be using a spell slot to gain the exact same spell slot back? Seems like a waste unless you are thinking of something else.

Nothing prevents me from resting and regaining the first slot.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Nothing prevents me from resting and regaining the first slot.

Nothing prevents the wished "extra slot" to be lost after the rest.

 

[FrogReaver]

Nothing prevents the wished "extra slot" to be lost after the rest.

Sure, the question is how would you rule. This kind of wish is up to total DM discretion. Is that your ruling?

 

[DND_Reborn]

Sure, the question is how would you rule. This kind of wish is up to total DM discretion. Is that your ruling?

Yep.

Since you regain all expended spell slots after a long rest, you wouldn't regain a 9th because, although you expended it by casting Wish, your wish refilled it with the request of the spell.

So, IMO, there is nothing to regain.

Assuming you allow mechanics to be part of the in-game stuff...

Wizard: I wish I could cast another 9th-level spell.

Granted. You can cast one after your next rest, and after the next rest, etc. until you die.

Now, you could try to get around it. Something like "I wish I could cast Foresight tomorrow." But you still have Wish prepared and don't change it. Could you cast both tomorrow? Or would even that wording of the wish spell compel you to prepared Foresight after your long rest?

As you said, it is up to the DM's discretion, and IMO any wording to try to trick things into getting two 9th-level slots would not work. The wish would be granted, but then done in such a way that there weren't any loopholes.

 

[FrogReaver]

Yep.

Since you regain all expended spell slots after a long rest, you wouldn't regain a 9th because, although you expended it by casting Wish, your wish refilled it with the request of the spell.

So, IMO, there is nothing to regain.

Assuming you allow mechanics to be part of the in-game stuff...

Wizard: I wish I could cast another 9th-level spell.

Granted. You can cast one after your next rest, and after the next rest, etc. until you die.

Now, you could try to get around it. Something like "I wish I could cast Foresight tomorrow." But you still have Wish prepared and don't change it. Could you cast both tomorrow? Or would even that wording of the wish spell compel you to prepared Foresight after your long rest?

As you said, it is up to the DM's discretion, and IMO any wording to try to trick things into getting two 9th-level slots would not work. The wish would be granted, but then done in such a way that there weren't any loopholes.

Cool - I kind of feel like you forgot the word "additional 9th level slot" in the original wish request but sure - you don't have to give exactly what I asked for in a wish - it's just your justification for it seems a little off given the wording of the original request.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Cool - I kind of feel like you forgot the word "additional 9th level slot" in the original wish request but sure.

I think to bring it out of the metagame aspect, I would require something more like:

I wish I could cast Meteor Swarm twice tomorrow.

Then after your long rest you prepare Meteor Swarm... and what happens?

EDIT: I just figured out how I would do this one but part of it depends on timing. As soon as the wizard cast the first Meteor Swarm, he would fall into a magical, "resting" coma. 8-hours later he would wake, having regained the spent 9th-level slot, and could cast Meteor Swarm again.

The only problem with this solution would be if he cast the first Meteor Swarm really late in the night, and wouldn't be able to finish the induced long rest prior to the next day coming. Of course, maybe the moment before time was too short, the Wish also compelled the first casting of Meteor Swarm, the resting coma triggered, he woke and was compelled to cast the second Meteor Swarm before the next tomorrow came.

Could potentially still be useful, but the Wizard had better be in position to make use of the Meteor Swarms.

 

[LordEntrails]

I haven't had any party yet that could cast 9th level spells in 5E so I haven't had to worry about this one, yet (or maybe for a long time, we like mid-tier campaigns).

Before I would allow a player to be able to learn Wish, I would already have a strong idea of how to handle these things. And I think having a more than a 1:3 chance of not being able to cast the spell again isn't a strong enough recompense for some of the possibilities the spell could do.

So, in this case, the wording is important, and along the lines of @Umbran and @Hawk Diesel's comments, it could not use game mechanics in the wording. And as others have said, I would would have additional possible consequences. Sure, it's possible it would work as hoped for, but it could also be character ending. I think I would do something like what @Fanaelialae suggested.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

I would not make a ruling until I saw the exact wording of the player making the Wish. And then I would remember that this wish is coming from a spell, not from a genie or something, so I would take the wording as literally as I could and not try to distort it or manipulate it the way a genie would, or the way some of the replies here are doing.