D&D 5E I cast Shield! For one Turn?

[Helldritch]

The problem here is mixed initiatives.

Here is a three cases scenario.
Wizard, Hobgoblins and Hobgolin captain.

Wizard is first all other monsters are second.
Round 1
1. Wizard attack
2. Hobgoblin attack. Wizard use shield
3. Captain attack. Shield is still up.
Round 2
1) shield ends. Wizard do some stuff..

Case 2
Captain, Hobgob, wizard
1) Captain attack, wizard up shield.
2) Hobgob attacks. Shield is up.
3) Shield go down. Wizard do some stuff.

Case 3
Captain, wizard, hobgob.
1) Captain attack, shield goes up.
2) Shield goes down, wizard curses like a madman about stupid RAW and do some stuff.
3) Hobgob happilly strike the wizard without shield.

In our game we use mixed initiatives. This case came up quite often and we do not want to go the one side first, the other side next. We really love mixed initiative because it adds a bit of randomness and it's a bit more tactical (at least in our mind) So we stated that the shield spell will last until the triggering initiative order. It's a house rule, but it works out quite well for us.

With non mixed initiative, the problem does not present itself as the spell will always last 1 round.

 

[jaelis]

as a general rule, the duration is "up to but not exceeding" the time given. I.e., spells can often end earlier than the duration, but never last longer (unless something else is going on that impacts that specifically).

So your DM is correct. Shield could last an entire round maximum, but always ends at the start of your next turn.

Well, if you want to be technical, doesn't a spell that lasts until the end of your next turn generally last (slightly) more than one round?

 

[Tormyr]

I think the idea (story-wise) is that the attack comes in, the creature throws up shield, and shield goes away when you start moving again. It is a reaction (Ah! Don't hit me!) and goes away when the creature moves or takes actions (the start of its turn).

 

[TheCosmicKid]

Actually, your analogy implies that if you cast it at 11, it ought to last until 11 comes around again. If it shuts off at 12, it was only 1/12 of a round.

The duration entry says "1 round", but the text of the spell says specifically that it shuts off at 12, whether that's a whole round or only 1/12th of a round. If you think this is a plausibility problem, you should keep in mind that your proposed solution doesn't materially alter it: the real duration of the spell still varies with the wizard's place in the initiative order, and could be much shorter than a full round if the wizard rolls low.

To the OP: this is why cyclic initiative is horrible. There is no good answer to your question--all answers will be unsatisfactory on some level.

Cyclic initiative works fine. Shield works fine. The text of the spell provides a perfectly clear and satisfactory answer to the question. And non-cyclic initiative doesn't improve anything. So there's no reason to raise the flag of the Anti-Cyclic Crusade here.

 

[Prakriti]

It only says "1 round" because rounds are the shortest unit of time in combat.

And shield is still one of the most powerful 1st-level spells in the game.

 

[GMMichael]

Cyclic initiative works fine. Shield works fine. The text of the spell provides a perfectly clear and satisfactory answer to the question. And non-cyclic initiative doesn't improve anything. So there's no reason to raise the flag of the Anti-Cyclic Crusade here.

::salutes::

Except it doesn't work fine. Shield's utility is turn-order-dependent, and I'd be surprised if that's an intentional consequence used elsewhere in the game. If you get attacked immediately after your turn, your Shield, 1st level spell, protects against all other attacks before your next turn. If you get attacked immediately before your turn, well sorry, Shield works against one attack only.

It's an incentive really, to end your turn next to an enemy brute, or to end it by taunting the enemy spellcaster.

So no, we won't raise our flag here, but that doesn't mean that we don't walk among you...

 

[darjr]

I think it is as intended. It's a powerful spell after all. And I think it works just fine.

Like invisibility it has a duration but ends early based upon certain things.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

Except it doesn't work fine. Shield's utility is turn-order-dependent, and I'd be surprised if that's an intentional consequence used elsewhere in the game. If you get attacked immediately after your turn, your Shield, 1st level spell, protects against all other attacks before your next turn. If you get attacked immediately before your turn, well sorry, Shield works against one attack only.

Yeah, I got that already. And as I already explained, old-school initiative doesn't change this situation. But if it really bothers you, y'know what would...?

*houserules shield to only work against the triggering attack*

This is why we can't have nice things.

 

[Xetheral]

Except it doesn't work fine. Shield's utility is turn-order-dependent, and I'd be surprised if that's an intentional consequence used elsewhere in the game. If you get attacked immediately after your turn, your Shield, 1st level spell, protects against all other attacks before your next turn. If you get attacked immediately before your turn, well sorry, Shield works against one attack only.

In both cases you describe, shield has protected you from all the inbound attacks between one of your turns in the next. The difference between them is how many attacks there were rather than the initiative count on which you were attacked. For example, if you're only going to be attacked once, shield will protect against exactly one attack no matter whether that attack comes immediately after your turn or immediately before your next turn. The only difference is that in the latter case you know in advance that it will only be one inbound attack because no one else has a turn before shield expires.

Ultimately, while the place in the initiative order of the first inbound attack may affect your decision on whether or not casting shield is worth the opportunity cost due to imperfect foreknowledge, the spell still protects against the same number of attacks no matter when it is cast.

Two exceptions: if you decide not to cast shield on the first inbound attack and change your mind on a later one, or in the unlikely case where the act of casting shield somehow causes more enemies to decide to attack you.

 

[Horwath]

You could always change it that it lasts until the END of your next turn. That way you get one turn to dash to safety or jump into fray with less worring about AoO.