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Thanks for the expanded explanation. I'm still not entirely sure whether you're considering the increased value of cut diamonds to be included or excluded from the "multiversal inherent value." In the case of an uncut gem with a value listed in the book, can its "multiversal inherent value" be...

Largely the second, although I'm sure there are spells out there written with components that effectively require the first. I would also add that while my take on the mechanistic approach doesn't consider "sacrifice value," it's not just raw material cost. If a spell requires finished...

I think that's an entirely reasonable approach. I just personally find the idea of cutting a gemstone to increase its value when crushed to be just-unpalatable-enough to be worth the added complexity of breaking that straightforward correlation in the specific case of crushed gemstones.

Wait what? Now I'm confused. I thought you were arguing that a solid ruby worth X was still worth X when crushed into dust? But the above post seems to contradict that completely. To make sure I'm understanding you correctly, could you please clarify your answers to the following questions? If...

To my limited understanding of gemology, your assumption that gem cutting is mostly about mechanical removal of inclusions isn't true in the real world. While one could, of course, design a fantasy setting where your assumption is true, it seems overkill to do so just to allow gemstones' cut and...

I suppose it's possible that's what the designers intended. However, the wording for the material component for the Continual Flame spell in 5e is: "Ruby dust worth 50 gp, which the spell consumes." If they intended it the way you're suggesting, it would have been a lot clearer and only slightly...

@Maxperson, on your general point that it's sufficient to know the value of diamond (or ruby, etc.) dust required to cast the spell, I agree with you. I also agree that the price paid for that same amount of dust might change depending on local economic conditions, and that such can be...

The rarity of rubies in a game world is inherently linked to the price of them. In a world where rubies are particularly rare, they would be more expensive, and so 50gp worth of ruby dust would be a smaller amount. Conversely, in a world where rubies are particularly common, they would be...

I didn't mean my question to be rhetorical--I'm curious: under your reading, what change did they intend to make to the function of the rule when they changed the language of the rule?

The fact that they changed the wording is strong evidence that the intent changed. If they did not intend to permit OAs against allies, why else would they have removed the language that restricted OAs to enemies?

Because whether or not I personally consider it degenerate depends more on how silly the tactic is, and less on how much damage output it causes. Hence, I consider the move-the-cleric-every-turn tactic more degenerate than I consider party full of Clerics, regardless of relative damage output...

My personal subjective sense of when it becomes degenerate is long before party size + 1. :) But even if it does less total damage, I personally feel moving the Cleric around off-turn is more degenerate than multiple Clerics, just due to the fact that multiple Clerics are actually paying for...

The issue with the peasant railgun is that it mixed game rules and the real-life concept of kinetic energy to produce a degenerate outcome. By contrast, for damaging emanations, the game rules own their own are enough to produce the degenerate outcome. Furthermore, with the peasant railgun...

2x2x4 is 16 cubic feet, but the bag explictly holds 64 cubic feet. Whether it's an incorrect "clarification" or an exception, either way you can stuff 64 cubic feet into the bag, despite its interior dimensions being too small to hold that much volume.

Even though the bag's interior dimensions are limited to 2x2x4 in the 2024 text, the bag can still explictly hold up to 64 cubic feet of material. So it can magically hold four 2x2x4 objects, or 256 of your 3"x3"x4' longsword blades.

Alas, I think "the larger context of this discussion" is not amenable to any one discrete interpretation. It seems evident to me that even many of the posters directly responding to each other aren't actually having the same discussion, at least in part due to using language differently and...

If "the PCs do everything right" still allows for the PCs to have incomplete information, then I think it is entirely possible for the PCs to be able to successfully impact the setting, but for that impact to fail to advance their goals the way they intended. For instance, the PCs' chosen goals...

I think the objection is based on the fact that the word "tourist" can have a pejorative connotation. Even when not used pejoratively, "tourist" carries an implication that the exploring being done is passive in nature--indeed, a respectful tourist strives to be low-impact. This may conflict...

Understood. My response assumes that the existence of the door and its locked state is being generated on the fly. In the specific paragraph you quoted I was describing a hypothetical combination of context and DM intent in which I wouldn't find your example to be railroading, namely one where...

From my perspective, whether or not this qualifies as railroading depends on both the larger context and the GM's intent. At one extreme, if the GM deliberately lured the PCs into the alley by falsely giving them reason to believe the door was unlocked because the GM wanted to run a preplanned...