D&D 5E Downtime XP farming with animate dead or conjuration spells

[Ilbranteloth]

So you'd be OK with frenemies? (Two necromancers that send their animated dead to attack the other guy every day?)

XP is a game construct that doesn't really exist within the game world itself. It is up to the DM to determine what constitutes activities within the setting worthy of gaining XP in the game. The rules do not define the setting/game world. They are an out of setting tool to help a DM consistently and fairly adjudicate action within that world.

In my game you can almost always be assured that if you're trying to find loopholes in the rules, which are a framework to help me as a DM adjudicate the action in the world, that I will opt to close the loopholes rather than entertain this sort of nonsense. Sure, it's fun to look for the endless ways that strict adherence to game rules create absurd situations. But that sort of "fun" doesn't actually enter my game.

Of course, I'm assuming that when you posted the OP and follow-ups that you already knew that the answer from the vast majority of DMs would be, "no."

 

[pnewman]

Remember, you can't animate a corpse that has been previously animated:

Which means the number of corpses you would need to reach level 20 (starting at level 5) is 6970. In order to get that many bodies, you would have to kill several small towns. And if you are at the point where you are killing towns, it's less steps to just kill more towns and finish leveling up the old fashioned way.

But the component rules say that if you have a Component pouch it is assumed to have all the 0 GP cost components you need. No cost is listed for corpses. Therefore by RAW every Wizard with a pouch has an infinite supply of dead corpses suitable for reanimating in their pouch.

It's bigger on the inside?

 

[Maxperson]

But the component rules say that if you have a Component pouch it is assumed to have all the 0 GP cost components you need. No cost is listed for corpses. Therefore by RAW every Wizard with a pouch has an infinite supply of dead corpses suitable for reanimating in their pouch.

It's bigger on the inside?

What spell has corpses listed as a material component?

 

[pnewman]

Animate Dead says that it requires "a drop of blood, a piece of flesh, and a pinch of bone dust". The size of the piece of flesh is not specified.

Therefore a PC can declare that the piece of flesh they are using is a 99.5% corpse. Since components are free this makes the corpse free. Therefore you just pull one out of your pouch before casting to use as a target and use the second tiny piece as the component.

 

[Maxperson]

Animate Dead says that it requires "a drop of blood, a piece of flesh, and a pinch of bone dust". The size of the piece of flesh is not specified.

But it can't be a body or even most of a body, or hell, even a chunk of body. A piece is a small part of something.

Therefore a PC can declare that the piece of flesh they are using is a 99.5% corpse. Since components are free this makes the corpse free. Therefore you just pull one out of your pouch before casting to use as a target and use the second tiny piece as the component.

A pouch is tiny dude. Whatever you are pulling out has to fit through an opening a few inches wide. It's not a component sack.

 

[Fanaelialae]

Animate Dead says that it requires "a drop of blood, a piece of flesh, and a pinch of bone dust". The size of the piece of flesh is not specified.

Therefore a PC can declare that the piece of flesh they are using is a 99.5% corpse. Since components are free this makes the corpse free. Therefore you just pull one out of your pouch before casting to use as a target and use the second tiny piece as the component.

You can try it, but if your GM is anything like me, the best you'll get is a chuckle and "nice try".

That is clearly not the intent of that rule.

 

[pnewman]

But it can't be a body or even most of a body, or hell, even a chunk of body. A piece is a small part of something.

A pouch is tiny dude. Whatever you are pulling out has to fit through an opening a few inches wide. It's not a component sack.

No size is specified for a component pouch, only a weight. By the rules as written the pouch can hold an infinite supply of components of any size.

You are making up D&D rules.

 

[pnewman]

You can try it, but if your GM is anything like me, the best you'll get is a chuckle and "nice try".

That is clearly not the intent of that rule.

Rules do not have an intent. Anything you can possibly get away with by rules lawyering the heck out it is what you are always meant to do. Anything else is bad-wrong-fun.

 

[Fanaelialae]

Rules do not have an intent. Anything you can possibly get away with by rules lawyering the heck out it is what you are always meant to do. Anything else is bad-wrong-fun.

Nice try.

 

[Maxperson]

No size is specified for a component pouch, only a weight. By the rules as written the pouch can hold an infinite supply of components of any size.

You are making up D&D rules.

Do you know what a pouch is?