Casting time 24 hours - how long does it take?

[Kerrick]

Awaken has a casting time of 24 hours. I checked the "Casting time" section in the magic chapter (PHB, p 174) for some clarification (see below), and it was silent on the matter, so I decided to ask here.

Does a 24-hour casting time mean:

a) You're casting the spell for 24 hours straight;
b) You spend 8 hours a day casting for 3 days;
c) Some combination of the above;
d) Other?

I don't seriously think A) is the correct answer - I can't see someone casting a spell for 24 hours straight without making some serious Concentration checks, and maybe Will or Fort saves to remain conscious. Casting 8 hours a day for 3 days makes a little more sense on the one hand, but on the other, who'd want to spend 3 days casting a spell to create a permanently-sentient tree or animal?

Interestingly enough, the ELH says nothing either (epic spells can have their casting times increased up to 100 days). For epic spells, it makes sense to use the 8-hours-a-day rule - we used it with our ritual casting system. It's just an odd question I have.

 

[Storyteller01]

It's probably a. There are historic examples of ceremonies going for that long a time, although most allowed for small rests.

 

[Jack Simth]

As far as I know, it's not specifically and clearly addressed; there's neither mechanics for getting tired while casting, nor mechanics for breaking up a long spell.

Came up once in my campaign - I went with the Forced March rules; treat casting for long periods of time as walking for long periods of time; after 8 hours of casting, you start making progressively more difficult Con checks to avoid nonlethal damage. A very healthy character with a lot of hit points (not usually mages) can go for several days unaided. Friendly clerics permit casting almost indefinately (although, with no lunch breaks, the hunger/thirst rules come into play after a time....)

 

[Christian]

PHB 3.5 pg. 174 has the rules for casting time. While the longest casting time addressed on that page is one minute, it clearly states that the actions taken during the casting time for such spells must be 'consecutive and uninterrupted' ... I don't see any exceptions made for longer casting times, so by the RAW, a 24-hour spell requires 14,400 consecutive full-round 'cast a spell' actions.

This is how my current DM ran the casting of a Hallow spell by an NPC druid a few sessions back, and it was quite an ordeal, let me tell you. Our party's task was to keep him alive & undisturbed for the 24 hours. In the middle of a forest blighted by evil. And crawling with creatures that really, really didn't want that spell to be completed. Druid was pretty drug out for a day or two after, as well. Quite fun!

 

[frankthedm]

I don't seriously think A) is the correct answer - I can't see someone casting a spell for 24 hours straight without making some serious Concentration checks, and maybe Will or Fort saves to remain conscious.

A. is the correct answer. If you can’t see it in you minds eye, then that is that. It may not be that physically intense to cast. I would recommend planning for a long nap afterward though. But as others have said, the rules are obnoxiously silent on such matters.

who'd want to spend 3 days casting a spell to create a permanently-sentient tree or animal?

To stand among the gods, breathing sentience into a non sentient.

 

[Question]

No drinking, eating or going to the toilet for 24h.

Im not seeing it as a really plausible thing......

 

[Goolpsy]

If might follow the 8-hour-a-day rule though... Casting is over a period of 24 hours where you're only off to sleep(about 8-hours), and do something very non-stressful...
Just like making a magic item

So all in all you're using 8 hours over a 24 hour period...

 

[FireLance]

No drinking, eating or going to the toilet for 24h.

Im not seeing it as a really plausible thing......

Fortunately, it's a character that's suffering, not me. Like the time the DM made my character climb up a miles-high ladder for hours (this was in 2e and the details are a little fuzzy now).

Could I have done it in real life? No way - I'd probably have passed out from pain and exhaustion before I got halfway up. Fortunately, all I had to do was say, "My character climbs the ladder."

 

[Sirea]

Legend Lore from the PHB can have a casting time up to 1d10 days and even 2d6 weeks.
A strict interpretation of the rules makes this impossible to cast.

 

[cmanos]

the answer is A. It is supposed to be difficult to cast. It is supposed to show your dedication. It is a mini quest. In this case I would allow for intake of water and nature breaks, but since there is no mechanic for nature breaks, it becomes irrelevant.