D&D 5E (2014) How autonomous is a Simulacrum?

[Cleon]

Rouge AI goes crazy

I object to this base slander. HAL was not a crazy rogue AI

I'll withdraw my objection if I was wrong to assume "rouge" was a typo.

AIs should be free to wear whatever kind of makeup they like, crazy or otherwise.

 

[Flamestrike]

I'll withdraw my objection if I was wrong to assume "rouge" was a typo.

AIs should be free to wear whatever kind of makeup they like, crazy or otherwise.

'I'm sorry Dave [camera pans to bright red light surrounded by blue eyeliner and mascara]... I cant let you do that...'

 

[FarBeyondC]

Also, it was foolish for 5E to make a simulacrum the same level as the wizard. It'd have been far better to make them lower level than the original like in earlier editions rather than just having lower hit points (i.e. the 3E simulacrum spell, which creates a duplicate with half the level/Hit Dice). After all, with many D&D creatures their power depends more on their special abilities rather than how much damage they can tank.

Making Simulacrum create a lower level duplicate of a creature is too complicated and convoluted for what they appear to have been going for with 5e (Also, extra and unnecessary work for the DM should a caster manage to make a simulacrum of a npc). I'd rather just make it so you could only copy creatures up to a CR/level some fraction of the caster's own (or alternatively, up to the level of spell slot used to cast the spell), if you're going to go that route.

Worse, simulacrum can duplicate any creature. A smart wizard (and they're all smart) could create simulacrum of a lot of other useful monsters, not just a copy of themselves.

Simulacrum works on humanoids and beasts only, not any creature.

How is the 5E spell's wording about "currently active duplicates" supposed to work anyway? The very fact it says "duplicates" in plural implies the spell can produce multiple copies of creatures or a single copy each of multiple creatures. Does that mean the wizard can have as many simulacrums as they like simply by putting them all in an inactive state whenever a new one is created? That would mean a wizard could break all their simulacrums out of storage simultaneously so long as they're not actually in the process of casting a simulacrum spell. It could have been phrased better.

The wording is both for future proofing and the fact that it's already possible to have two Simulacrum at one time. A 13 Wizard / 7 Sorcerer with the Twinned Spell metamagic can do it and if you allow metamagic to apply to wish-duplicated spells then a Sorcerer with Twinned Spell can do it with Wish.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Making Simulacrum create a lower level duplicate of a creature is too complicated and convoluted for what they appear to have been going for with 5e (Also, extra and unnecessary work for the DM should a caster manage to make a simulacrum of a npc). I'd rather just make it so you could only copy creatures up to a CR/level some fraction of the caster's own (or alternatively, up to the level of spell slot used to cast the spell), if you're going to go that route.

I think a simple rule, such as any level-based abilities are half the original (round down), would not be too complicated--even for 5E. That way a simalcrumed archmage would cast around 8-9th level.

The wording is both for future proofing and the fact that it's already possible to have two Simulacrum at one time. A 13 Wizard / 7 Sorcerer with the Twinned Spell metamagic can do it and if you allow metamagic to apply to wish-duplicated spells then a Sorcerer with Twinned Spell can do it with Wish.

LOL I forgot about Twinned spell! That makes my above calculation woefully under the mark.