D&D 5E Can you cancel Forcecage early?

[Nebulous]

All that said, players really need to master the rules of their spells as much as possible, which includes having spell sheets/cards for easy reference to their specific spell list during play. Questions about newly added spells can be posed to the group between sessions or before a session starts. The DM has enough on their plate during a session without worrying about the cost of components and whether an effect can be dismissed and...etc. Of course, sometimes it's not readily apparent that an aspect of a spell might be confusing until it comes up during play.

I remember toward the end of our Princes campaign during a climatic fight, the players wanted to polymorph someone into a dragon to help in the battle. We had used polymorph before in some edition of D&D, and these were all seasoned players who had read the spell description, so I allowed it even though something seemed off to me. I was juggling so much stuff at that moment that trusted their ability to understand the spell. The fight was next session, but in the downtime I read the spell myself closely, and you only transform into a Beast type, not a Dragon type. None of the players had noticed this very important detail, so I had to nix it next session and they went with a different plan of action.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

To answer your question, I will leave these 4 separate comics all dedicated to the misuse of forcecage:

(in order)
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1102.html

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1103.html

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1104.html

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1105.html

(Or you can click on the first link and just advance the comic through the 4 pages.)

Edit: to clarify my opinion: I don't think you can end it early but I might houserule that the caster can use a second casting to dismiss it voluntarily. Which is a heavy price to pay but the advantage of a non-concentration prison is nice.

 

[MarkB]

I've experienced this from the player side. Trapped a Bone Devil in the barred-cage version of Forcecage while we killed the rest of the cultists and stopped the sacrificial ritual. We could have then gone and tried to stab it to death through the bars, except that the underground temple started to collapse as a result of the disrupted ceremony. By the time we'd run out of there, the devil in the forcecage was probably the only thing left alive in there.

One solution to this issue is for someone in the party to have Disintegrate prepared - it will take down a construct of magical force in one shot.

There are other spells with similar issues. Whatever answer you come up with, you may want to consider whether it applies to spells such as Rope Trick, Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion, or Demiplane.

 

[jasper]

So far Sage Advice has nothing. During Season 6 especially in the Against the Giants chapter, I ruled that insect swarm could be cancelled early. It was slowing down combat especially once the pcs got the upper hand.

 

[MarkB]

So far Sage Advice has nothing. During Season 6 especially in the Against the Giants chapter, I ruled that insect swarm could be cancelled early. It was slowing down combat especially once the pcs got the upper hand.

I'm not familiar with Insect Swarm. If you mean Insect Plague, it's a concentration spell. Any concentration spell can be ended at any time by ceasing to concentrate on it - no action required.

 

[jasper]

I'm not familiar with Insect Swarm. If you mean Insect Plague, it's a concentration spell. Any concentration spell can be ended at any time by ceasing to concentrate on it - no action required.

No the insect cloud from the staff of swarming insects. It is found in the Fire Giant king. And in Season 3
Insect Cloud. Expend 1 charge swarm of harmless insect’s covers a 30 foot radius around you. Last 10 minutes. The area is heavily obscured. A wind of 10 mph > disperses the swarm