Break Enchantment is stone crazy!

[drnuncheon]

Actually, it wouldn't do anything aagainst cure spells, because it "frees creatures from enchantments, transmutations, curses, and petrification (as well as other magical transformations)." Cure spells are conjurations and not covered in that statement.

J

 

[Zentermi]

Well, it shouldn't affect Flesh to Stone either, even tho it is mentioned specifically, because that particular spell is ouside it's sphere of effect "If the spell is not one that, as a special property, cannot be dispelled by a Dispel Magic, Break Enchantment only works if that spell is 5th level or lower."

Yer reading is literal(Cures are conjurations), drnun, but so is mine. It says this spell "can even reverse an instantaneous effect". Read as written, it appears to mean enchantments, transmutations, curses and petrifications as well as all instantaneous effects. This should be quantified in the text to read "if those instantaneous effects are one of the preceding schools types"

As written, the spell is a treasure trove of loop-holes and broken-ness

 

[Magus Coeruleus]

My interpretation of "This spell frees victims from enchantments, transmutations, and curses. Break enchantment can reverse even an instantaneous effect..." is that BE can reverse the types of effects listed in the first sentence, even if they are instantaneous effects. To me, the connotation comes from the word "even." If it also worked on instantaneous effects that were not of those types, I would expect something more like "BE can also reverse an instantaneous effect."

I am not claiming to have definitive proof, but I believe that is the most appropriate interpretation given the grammar, the absurdity of the spell affecting all instantaneous effects (such as cures), etc.

Far less clear to me is the whole deal with petrification. The spell list summary includes "petrification" on the list of types of effects, but the spell description itself does not. 3.5 is notorious for having failed to revise those spell list summaries when spells change (e.g. Shillelagh, Color Spray), so it could be that.

And of course there's the glaring inconsistency of citing Flesh to Stone as a spell that can be reversed, while also saying that 6th+ level spells cannot be reversed if the cannot be dispelled. Note that the singling out of Stone to Flesh is in both the 3.0 and the 3.5 PHB, but in neither the 3.0 nor 3.5 SRD.

Perhaps when they decided to give Wizards access to Break Enchantment, they decided not to have it reverse petrification anymore, since they already had Stone to Flesh. On the other hand, doing this would mean Clerics would lose their ability to reverse petrification just because Wizards now have BE (clerics don't have Stone to Flesh).

Just as feasible is the idea that they decided petrification did not deserve specific mention in the spell description, since it is just another type of transmutation,. Perhaps they felt that to single it out would confuse people and make them wonder whether other transmutations can be affected.

I sent an email to customer service a couple of days ago. I know their responses are often not terribly useful or highly-regarded, but since this involves a blatant contradiction (in the Stone to Flesh vs. no 6th-level spells case), they can't just tell me that it's not a situation covered in the rules so the DM makes the call (they like saying that for most things that aren't obvious with a careful reading).

 

[Magus Coeruleus]

For what it's worth, response from Customer Service:

I have a few questions regarding the Break Enchantment spell:

1) Can Break Enchantment be used to reverse petrification from a Gorgon's breath or Medusa's gaze? On the one hand, nothing in the spell specifies that it only works on spells only. On the other hand, it assumes a caster level for the effect to be undone.

-No, unfortunately, the Break Enchantment spell refers to spells and effects caused by spell-like abilities. A medusa's gaze and a gorgon's breath are Supernatural abilities, and the effects are only reversable with a Stone to Flesh spell, Wish, Miracle or the like.

2) If Break Enchantment can be used to reverse a non-spell-based enchantment, transmutation, or curse, how do you set the DC for the caster level check (normally 11 + caster level of the targeted effect) if there is no caster level given for that effect?

-You can't.

3) Flesh to Stone is a 6th-level spell that has an instantaneous duration and cannot be dispelled (the Dispel Magic description specifies both instantaneous duration spells and petrification as effects on which it will not work). In the PHB, Break Enchantment specifically mentions Flesh to Stone as a spell it can reverse. It also says that if a spell cannot be dispelled with Dispel Magic, then Break Enchantment can only reverse it if it is a spell of 5th-level or less. Taken together, this does not make sense. Either Flesh to Stone cannot be affected by Break Enchantment, or
Break Enchantment can affect at least that one particular 6th-level spell. I notice that the SRD, unlike the PHB, does NOT mention Flesh to Stone as an example spell that can be undone with Break Enchantment in the latter's description.

-At this point, unless we release errata to the contrary, I would say that Break Enchantment cannot reverse a spell higher than 5th-level, with Flesh to Stone being the only exception.