D&D 5E Can a Basic Wish give you 2 contingency spells?

[Stalker0]

First, I want to make it very clear that I am referring to the basic wish...duplicating 8th level or lower spells. I think most would agree the greater uses of wish could do this.

So normally a player can only have 1 contingency at a time as per the spell. The question is, with a basic wish duplicating the contingency spell...could you have 2?

Does the wish turn in to contingency...and therefore wouldn't stack. Or is it still the wish spell simply providing the effects of contingency, which would allow it to stack.


The spell says duplicate, so my first thought is it wouldn't stack. But on the other hand, you get to bypass the casting time and material components of the original spell...so clearly a wish driven spell isn't the exact same as the spell you are duplicating.


A followup question to this. For the purpose of dispel magic, would the spell level be 8th (the wish turned into an 8th level spell), or 9th (it is still a wish spell that is producing the effect)?

 

[Croesus]

If you use wish to exactly duplicate the contingency spell, then no, you can't have two at the same time. Wish says you ignore the requirements of the duplicated spell, such as components, but it doesn't say you ignore the constraints. So similarly, wish wouldn't allow you to concentrate on two spells at the same time.

That said, if the combination was not game-breaking, I'd allow it. In effect, the wish spell would grant an effect similar to contingency, not the exact spell. The wish spell does say the GM can allow other effects outside the ones specified in the spell description. And after all, casting a wish is pretty darn costly in terms of components and limitations on spellcasting for the remainder of the day.

edit: I'd treat it as 8th level, since the wish spell specifically limits duplicating a spell up to that level. I have no idea if that's RAW.

 

[Ovinomancer]

If you use wish to exactly duplicate the contingency spell, then no, you can't have two at the same time. Wish says you ignore the requirements of the duplicated spell, such as components, but it doesn't say you ignore the constraints. So similarly, wish wouldn't allow you to concentrate on two spells at the same time.

That said, if the combination was not game-breaking, I'd allow it. In effect, the wish spell would grant an effect similar to contingency, not the exact spell. The wish spell does say the GM can allow other effects outside the ones specified in the spell description. And after all, casting a wish is pretty darn costly in terms of components and limitations on spellcasting for the remainder of the day.

edit: I'd treat it as 8th level, since the wish spell specifically limits duplicating a spell up to that level. I have no idea if that's RAW.

I'll disagree -- concentration is a requirement of the spell. Using a wish to have a second concentration spell up for the normal duration is, to me, a not-game-breaking thing to do with a 9th level spell. Similarly, the second contingency effect isn't game breaking at the point of what a wish can do. It's not something I'm going to get concerned about.

 

[Croesus]

I'll disagree -- concentration is a requirement of the spell. Using a wish to have a second concentration spell up for the normal duration is, to me, a not-game-breaking thing to do with a 9th level spell. Similarly, the second contingency effect isn't game breaking at the point of what a wish can do. It's not something I'm going to get concerned about.

It's a fine line, but requirements appears to refer to being able to cast the spell. It doesn't say all constraints on a spell disappear. Concentration is not a requirement to cast a spell, it's a constraint once the spell is cast. Note the language below, "The spell simply takes effect." So I would still rule that wish does not automatically allow one to bypass the concentration mechanic when duplicating another spell.

That said, as I mentioned above, many spell effects could be achieved through creative language in describing the wish to the GM. If the GM agrees, it's no problem. And if the effect desired isn't game-breaking, I wouldn't impose the rather severe limitations listed at the end of the spell description.

WISH
9th-level conjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V
Duration: Instantaneous

Wish is the mightiest spell a mortal creature can cast. By simply speaking aloud, you can alter the very foundations of reality in accord with your desires. 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.

Alternatively, you can create one of the following effects of your choice:
• You create one object of up to 25,000 gp in value that isn't a magic item. The object can be no more than 300 feet in any dimension, and it appears in an unoccupied space you can see on the ground.
• You allow up to twenty creatures that you can see to regain all hit points, and you end all effects on them described in the greater restoration spell.
• You grant up to ten creatures that you call see resistance to a damage type you choose.
• You grant up to ten creatures you can see immunity to a single spell or other magical effect for 8 hours. For instance, you could make yourself and all your companions immune to a lich's life drain attack.
• You undo a single recent event by forcing a reroll of any roll made within the last round (including your
last turn). Reality reshapes itself to accommodate the new result. For example, a wish spell could undo an opponent's successful save, a foe's critical hit, or a friend's failed save. You can force the reroll to be made with advantage or disadvantage, and you can choose whether to use the reroll or the original roll.

You might be able to achieve something beyond the scope of the above examples. State your wish to the DM as precisely as possible. The DM has great latitude in ruling what occurs in such an instance; the greater the wish, the greater the likelihood that something goes wrong. This spell might simply fail, the effect you desire might only be partly achieved, or you might suffer some unforeseen consequence as a result of how you worded the wish. For example, wishing that a villain were dead might propel you forward in time to a period when that villain is no longer alive, effectively removing you from the game. Similarly, wishing for a legendary magic item or artifact might instantly transport you to the presence
of the item's current owner.

The stress of casting this spell to produce any effect other than duplicating another spell weakens you. After enduring that stress, each time you cast a spell until you finish a long rest, you take 1d10 necrotic damage per level of that spell. This damage can't be reduced or prevented in any way. In addition, your Strength drops to 3, if it isn't 3 or lower already, for 2d4 days. For each of those days that you spend resting and doing nothing more than light activity, your remaining recovery time decreases by 2 days. Finally, there is a 33 percent chance that you are unable to cast wish ever again if you suffer this stress.

 

[neogod22]

Are you asking as a player or DM?

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

 

[steeldragons]

I'd say it depends on how you view the energies and "rules/laws" of magic...and how the Wish spell functions, itself,...in the campaign world.

If using the wish basically turns the "magic of the wish" into a "contingency spell" then it would seem, per the [very clear] description of the contingency spell, it could not.

If, however, you consider "Wish" to be the penultimate greatest magic in the world, as I do, bending [or breaking] reality, to the letter of the proposed Wish...and said something along the lines of...

"I wish the rules of magic to allow as many Contingency spell effects to be cast and function properly upon my person and all worn or carried belongings for the rest of my life."

...then sure. You can have multiple contingency spells work on you. In the whole known world, only you can have multiple contingencies function at once, in a flagrant bending of the laws that typically dictate the magical [meta]physics of that world. Not a bad use of a Wish, truthfully. Until you die, of course. When/if you are brought back, it no longer applies.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Would you allow a wizard to research a spell called "Not Technically Contingency", which does everything that Contingency does but doesn't count as Contingency for the purposes of only having one in effect at a time?