D&D 5E Wish and the requirement removal

[Maxperson]

Well, to cleave as closely to the text, the clause: including costly components
is a guide. Costly components appear in this area of the spell write up:
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (fire and holy water)
Duration: 8 hours

So, I think it reasonable to limit the definitions of requirement to be limited to the above block :
Casting time, Range, Components, and Duration.

Anything in the body text of a spell write up is the effect of the spell, or description of the spell.
Though, 5e does not label this portion of the spell write explicitly as such, 1e spell write ups labeled the body text as “description”, 4e labeled the area as “effect”.
(2e, 3e, and 5e have no labels for the body text).

This is the easiest way to rule it, and the most parsimonious interpretation.

It does say in the spell, though, not in the stat block. The entire spell is covered by what is written. I don't know what the RAI is, but RAW allows you to waive the time limit requirement.

Ultimately, this is a DM ruling and going either way is reasonable I think.

 

[Maxperson]

But then, wouldn't that mean the range is "self." Tsunami says "at a point you choose within range" but since Wish is the spell being cast, not Tsunami, wouldn't that mean that the only eligible point is "self." Also, in terms of Resurrection, the effect isn't the first paragraph. I don't know what you'd call it if it isn't a requirement, but it the spell's effects are listed below. I guess conditional? Either way, Wish's next relevant sentence is that the spell "simply takes effect."

They are requirements. @Ovinomancer is wrong when he claims that the only requirements are the spell components. The section he listed mentioning components clearly said they are the PHYSICAL requirements, not all requirements. Further, that is only the general rule. Spells can specifically call out other physical requirements in the description that are outside the spell components.

An example of a physical requirement outside of components is in Teleport.

"If you target an object, it must be able to fit entirely inside a 10-foot cube, and it can’t be held or carried by an unwilling creature."

Physical requirements = must be able to fit entirely inside a 10-foot cube and can't be held by an unwilling creature. Both requirements. Both physical.

Wish waives ANY requirement in the spell, physical or otherwise. So you the caster don't need to meet the requirement of an object having to fit in that cube.

 

[Oofta]

They are requirements. @Ovinomancer is wrong when he claims that the only requirements are the spell components. The section he listed mentioning components clearly said they are the PHYSICAL requirements, not all requirements. Further, that is only the general rule. Spells can specifically call out other physical requirements in the description that are outside the spell components.

An example of a physical requirement outside of components is in Teleport.

"If you target an object, it must be able to fit entirely inside a 10-foot cube, and it can’t be held or carried by an unwilling creature."

Physical requirements = must be able to fit entirely inside a 10-foot cube and can't be held by an unwilling creature. Both requirements. Both physical.

Wish waives ANY requirement in the spell, physical or otherwise. So you the caster don't need to meet the requirement of an object having to fit in that cube.

So the Horrid Wilting spell that normally only affects a 30 ft cube could instead affect the entire multiverse? Basically wiping out all life as we know it unless there's somewhere that all plants are magical?

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

My own "natural language interpretation" just for grins:

The basic use of this spell is to duplicate any other spell of 8th level or lower. You don't need to meet any requirements in that spell, including costly components. The spell simply takes effect.

"duplicate" means make an exact copy. Nothing about the spell changes, aside from additional qualifiers noted in the wish spell text.

"any other spell" could be interpreted in a variety of ways, DM's call.

• Obviously, it refers to any official spell in RAW.
• Arguably, it also refers to a spell altered by any official feature/s, such as metamagic or feats, as long as the resulting spell is no more powerful than an 8th level spell.
• A still broader interpretation could be "any spell from among all the spells that exist, or could conceivably exist, in any form anywhere," which means the DM has to decide if the wish effect could be a spell, what it does, and how it works. If the DM wants to go that route, then this provides a straightforward way for the player define the wish: just write up the new spell in the regular format and hand it over to the DM to decide how to rule.

"You do not need to meet any requirements in that spell" bounds the requirements of "You", nothing else.

• "You" is the wisher, only.
• "requirements" is the set of personal qualities (race, class, stats, etc), conditions, possessions, features, etc, that can be plugged into [X] in this statement, if "You" cast the spell with this incantation: "I wish I was briefly [X] so that I could cast [some spell]."

• This does not change other requirements pertaining to targets, area of effect, duration, or anything else.
• This obviates the need for concentration, as that is a requirement on "You."

"The spell simply takes effect" This bypasses casting time, and indicates the spell just does whatever it does normally.

 

[Maxperson]

So the Horrid Wilting spell that normally only affects a 30 ft cube could instead affect the entire multiverse? Basically wiping out all life as we know it unless there's somewhere that all plants are magical?

That's the area of effect, not a physical requirement inside the spell such as the object in teleport. The area of effect of teleport was unaffected. It remains 8 creatures or 1 object in range.

 

[Maxperson]

My own "natural language interpretation" just for grins:


"duplicate" means make an exact copy. Nothing about the spell changes, aside from additional qualifiers noted in the wish spell text.

"any other spell" could be interpreted in a variety of ways, DM's call.

• Obviously, it refers to any official spell in RAW.
• Arguably, it also refers to a spell altered by any official feature/s, such as metamagic or feats, as long as the resulting spell is no more powerful than an 8th level spell.
• A still broader interpretation could be "any spell from among all the spells that exist, or could conceivably exist, in any form anywhere," which means the DM has to decide if the wish effect could be a spell, what it does, and how it works. If the DM wants to go that route, then this provides a straightforward way for the player define the wish: just write up the new spell in the regular format and hand it over to the DM to decide how to rule.

"You do not need to meet any requirements in that spell" bounds the requirements of "You", nothing else.

• "You" is the wisher, only.
• "requirements" is the set of personal qualities (race, class, stats, etc), conditions, possessions, features, etc, that can be plugged into [X] in this statement, if "You" cast the spell with this incantation: "I wish I was briefly [X] so that I could cast [some spell]."

• This does not change other requirements pertaining to targets, area of effect, duration, or anything else.
• This obviates the need for concentration, as that is a requirement on "You."

"The spell simply takes effect" This bypasses casting time, and indicates the spell just does whatever it does normally.

That's a reasonable interpretation. One of the things I like about 5e is that it's deliberately(I hope) vague, as is fitting for a rulings over rules edition.

Another reasonable interpretation is that the spell requirements listed in the description also apply to you. Back to teleport, it says that "If you target an object...," which to me indicates a requirement applying to you.

DM's call on this issue.

 

[Oofta]

That's the area of effect, not a physical requirement inside the spell such as the object in teleport. The area of effect of teleport was unaffected. It remains 8 creatures or 1 object in range.

I see said the blind man.

Not sure I would rule that way - I think it's easier to always follow the descriptive text of a spell. If it ever actually comes up in a game.

Come to think of it I don't know I've ever seen a PC actually cast wish in any edition.

 

[Asisreo]

Casting time is a requirement for casting a given spell. If you don't take the required time to cast a spell, the spell does not happen and you do not spend the spell slot you would have had you successfully completed the spell.

Components (whether material, somatic, or verbal) are a requirement for casting a given spell. If you do not have all the components listed as required for a given spell, the spell does not happen.

Concentration is not a requirement for casting a given spell. If you cannot concentrate on a given spell, the spell still happens (it just ends immediately after).

Targeting is not a requirement for casting a given spell. If you cast a spell that has no valid targets (due to range, invalid target, etc) the spell still happens (it just has no effect).

Attack rolls are a requirement of duplicating those spells which have them, and are not a requirement to cast said spells themselves (except possibly in the cases of Booming Blade and Green-Flame Blade).

So, we agree on the first two: Casting time and components, as does everyone in this thread.

For the third one, concentration, it says "you don't need to meet any requirement in that spell." It doesn't say "you don't need to meet any requirement to cast the spell." In fact, the assessment that Wish only duplicates the effects isn't a solid argument, as Wish says it duplicates the spell, not the effects.

Targeting, we partially agree. That is, you can cast the spell without targeting, but under most circumstances the spell will just not do anything. For instance, you can target a vase with speak with dead. The spell takes effect, consuming the spellslot, but since the vase isn't a corpse, all effects that references a corpse does not activate.

Attack rolls are weird. It basically is a requirement. If you want to cast Ray of Sickness without wish, you must target a creature and you must make an attack roll. You can't ignore the attack roll part of the spell in order for it to take effect. Even if you want it to miss, you have to target and attack something. That could be classified as a requirement.

 

[Maxperson]

I see said the blind man.

Not sure I would rule that way - I think it's easier to always follow the descriptive text of a spell. If it ever actually comes up in a game.

Wish is one of those spells that has 1000 different ways it is implemented at 1000 different tables.

Come to think of it I don't know I've ever seen a PC actually cast wish in any edition.

And 1 table where it isn't implemented at all.

I see it happen, but then my campaigns typically end at 15th-20th level, with most of those at least 17th.

 

[Oofta]

Wish is one of those spells that has 1000 different ways it is implemented at 1000 different tables.


And 1 table where it isn't implemented at all.

I see it happen, but then my campaigns typically end at 15th-20th level, with most of those at least 17th.

Yeah, I've done a couple of campaigns up to 20, I'm actually kind of surprised I never saw it.