D&D 5E How does [i]animate objects[/i] work?

[Arial Black]

Specifically, if you animate, say, ten objects, do you roll separate initiative totals for each of the ten?

Do you roll once, and all ten act on that initiative?

Or do you not roll at all, and have all ten do what they do on your (the caster's) initiative count?

 

[jgsugden]

Per the spell description, they have their own turn. It is up to the DM as to whether they take their turn right ater yours, if they roll initiative as a group, or roll initiative as individual creatures.

 

[mrpopstar]

Easiest to have them roll initiative as a group once they animate.

 

[Nebulous]

Sigh. My powergamer wizard, who can't even cast this spell yet (he's planning 4 levels ahead), wants to keep 10 poisoned daggers on him in a bag, then dump them when needed and cast the spell and have them do 10d4 +40 +30d6 poison damage in a round. The price for a vial of serpent poison alone is 200 gold, so that right there would jack the cost to poison ten daggers to 2000gp. Naturally, he wants to find a way around that annoying cost hump.

 

[Coroc]

Sigh. My powergamer wizard, who can't even cast this spell yet (he's planning 4 levels ahead), wants to keep 10 poisoned daggers on him in a bag, then dump them when needed and cast the spell and have them do 10d4 +40 +30d6 poison damage in a round. The price for a vial of serpent poison alone is 200 gold, so that right there would jack the cost to poison ten daggers to 2000gp. Naturally, he wants to find a way around that annoying cost hump.

Make him do 10 dexterity checks whenever he empties his bag of toxic daggers on the floor prior to casting his spell, to see whether one of these (or more) accidently plunge itself into his foot during the process

 

[Li Shenron]

Sigh. My powergamer wizard, who can't even cast this spell yet (he's planning 4 levels ahead), wants to keep 10 poisoned daggers on him in a bag, then dump them when needed and cast the spell and have them do 10d4 +40 +30d6 poison damage in a round. The price for a vial of serpent poison alone is 200 gold, so that right there would jack the cost to poison ten daggers to 2000gp. Naturally, he wants to find a way around that annoying cost hump.

Powergamers talking about exploiting poisons always give me inspiration to start designing creative uses of poison against them too. In and out of character, obviously. And I like to let them know.

 

[Baldurs_Underdark]

Sigh. My powergamer wizard, who can't even cast this spell yet (he's planning 4 levels ahead), wants to keep 10 poisoned daggers on him in a bag, then dump them when needed and cast the spell and have them do 10d4 +40 +30d6 poison damage in a round. The price for a vial of serpent poison alone is 200 gold, so that right there would jack the cost to poison ten daggers to 2000gp. Naturally, he wants to find a way around that annoying cost hump.

I would DM that the poison drips off as soon as you animate the objects (and I would tell the player before (s)he invests money to buy the poison). The spell description is clear on the damage, and I wouldn't allow more damage. It's already one of the highest damage spells in the game. The player is welcome to find other reasons why it will not work if it improves the storyline, but I would make it a non-negotiable to exceed that damage.

Allowing 30d6 extra damage is potentially game-breaking and you cannot compensate that with a monster that also does 30d6 poison damage on the players (because it's an insta-killer which is no fun).

Sorry if we're hijacking the thread.

On topic of the OP:
I personally let the objects act on the initiative of the character. It's just easier.

Also, I rule that the PC can only send 1 command per round (since they only have 1 bonus action). Effectively this means that usually all objects attack the same enemy, which greatly speeds things up.

 

[Li Shenron]

Do you roll once, and all ten act on that initiative?

Or do you not roll at all, and have all ten do what they do on your (the caster's) initiative count?

I don't think the spell dictates the DM to use a specific way to manage initiative. So all of the three main options are ok: act on caster's turn, use their own single initiative roll, use their own multiple initiative rolls.

Keep in mind that commanding the objects require a bonus action (I don't like how this spell is worded ambiguously... you can command the objects to use a specific action OR do something generic, I think the spell should have allowed only one or the other), so if the DM chooses to have the objects act on their own initiative, the effect of the command will occur later.

The choice between single or multiple roll is instead rather subjective. I tend to roll initiative for ALL identical monsters in an encounter for simplicity, so I would also roll for all the animated objects together. Individual initiative for every single creature slows the game a bit, but can make combat even more dynamic and tactical.

 

[anthr]

Compare Animate Object with Find Familiar.
Animate Object doesn't have the word initiative in it, so the objects has the same initiative count as the caster.

About the ten poisoned daggers: I would allow it.
1. The wizard spend 2000 gp for one attack.
2. The daggers could be fastened to a leather strip that the caster has wrapped up (less dngerous than in a bag).
3. For how long is the poison active? My guess is that the wizard must apply the poison right before the fight - so it can only be used for planned attacks.
4. Applying poison is dangerous and you could poison yourself, see assassin. Maybe mage hand will mitigate?
5. The wizard uses his bonus action to let ten flying poisoned daggers attacking the same target. That's ten attack rolls. How many will hit? (of course those who miss can attack next round)
6. For each hit the target makes a poison save. (how many saves will fail?)

My point: 10d4+40 + 30d6 requires a lot of successful attacks and a lot of failed saves.

 

[Nebulous]

Compare Animate Object with Find Familiar.
Animate Object doesn't have the word initiative in it, so the objects has the same initiative count as the caster.

About the ten poisoned daggers: I would allow it.
1. The wizard spend 2000 gp for one attack.
2. The daggers could be fastened to a leather strip that the caster has wrapped up (less dngerous than in a bag).
3. For how long is the poison active? My guess is that the wizard must apply the poison right before the fight - so it can only be used for planned attacks.
4. Applying poison is dangerous and you could poison yourself, see assassin. Maybe mage hand will mitigate?
5. The wizard uses his bonus action to let ten flying poisoned daggers attacking the same target. That's ten attack rolls. How many will hit? (of course those who miss can attack next round)
6. For each hit the target makes a poison save. (how many saves will fail?)

My point: 10d4+40 + 30d6 requires a lot of successful attacks and a lot of failed saves.

All very good points. The counter price-point makes it so not worth it, but a player like him would go above and beyond to find/steal/manipulate poison into his possession for a one-shot powerplan. If I told you about his attack and trap plans for the cantrip move earth you would probably cry. I about did