Mouseferatu
Hero
How do you guys read the saving throws on the 5E phantasmal killer?
First, the target makes a Wis save or is frightened.
But the text is not 100% clear if the rest of the spell also only happens if that first save is failed, or if it happens no matter what.
My take on it is that the second half goes off no matter what; otherwise, it's way too weak for a 4th-level spell. (When it was save-or-die, in earlier editions, requiring the target to fail two saves made sense; now it really doesn't.) But I can easily see how other people might read it as "the round-by-round damage doesn't even begin if that first save is successful.)
Thoughts?
First, the target makes a Wis save or is frightened.
But the text is not 100% clear if the rest of the spell also only happens if that first save is failed, or if it happens no matter what.
My take on it is that the second half goes off no matter what; otherwise, it's way too weak for a 4th-level spell. (When it was save-or-die, in earlier editions, requiring the target to fail two saves made sense; now it really doesn't.) But I can easily see how other people might read it as "the round-by-round damage doesn't even begin if that first save is successful.)
Thoughts?