D&D 5E Light Spell on a stick and then breaking it into two limbs?

[Dannyalcatraz]

It just occurred to me that a country could use a modified Light spell as a form of anti-counterfeiting and anti-fraud measure for its currency, depending on how the spell is adjudicated.

The key elements are:
1) if a version of the spell be made to produce a certain unusual color of light or to appear different under certain circumstances- like "when being viewed through a quartz lens". If so, that version of the spell would be a "state secret", because they could cast that spell on each coin (over a certain value) so it could be used to distinguish it from copies.

2) how much damage a targeted item can take before this spell is broken. If enough damage to a glowing coin destroys the spell, it prevents the unscrupulous from filing/shaving off the coins.

 

[Lanefan]

Long time since I've seen so much laugh in one thread!

More seriously:

The light comes from one object, but making that object into smaller objects still has the light coming from just one of them.

Casting light onto a pile of sand means you've (perhaps uselessly) lit up one random grain of sand.

Casting light onto a 50' rope or similar will light up one point somewhere along that rope - random if not specified by caster. Or maybe I'd allow it to light up a 10' section of the rope, but if that section were then cut the light would again only stay with one part.

Casting light onto a baby giant and waiting for it to grow up flat-out requires more patience than any adventuring party is capable of.

But, this leads to a messy one: casting light onto a baby giant and then hitting it with an Enlarge spell or effect, or a potion of giant growth - does the now-big giant stay lit?

Lan-"by sheer concidence listening to 'Rainbow In the Dark' as I type this"-efan

 

[Harzel]

But, this leads to a messy one: casting light onto a baby giant and then hitting it with an Enlarge spell or effect, or a potion of giant growth - does the now-big giant stay lit?

Only his big toe, or some other appropriate (or inappropriate) part.

 

[BoldItalic]

Never say "No" but make it diminishing returns.

For example, both halves shed light but the power of the magic is split between them so that each half sheds light for only 30 minutes. Then they both go out together. If you break the stick into three, it's 20 minutes. And so on.

But, hey, don't discourage clever thinking.

 

[BoldItalic]

Another idea: if you separate the two half-sticks, each half emits a hemisphere of light, directed away from the other half, and the space between them is dark. You could get some really weird shadows that way.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

That just delays the onset of the headache. Do you really want to start adjudicating the shape of the light shed by fractions of those parts when they get broken? Or if the player has been a fan of the game from the 1970's, and breaks it into 7 parts?

 

[Lanefan]

That just delays the onset of the headache. Do you really want to start adjudicating the shape of the light shed by fractions of those parts when they get broken? Or if the player has been a fan of the game from the 1970's, and breaks it into 7 parts?

And gawds help you if there's any items in the party that force a need to know where shadows are falling. My current crew has two such...

Lanefan