Targetting limitations : Instantaneous or long-term?

[Hypersmurf]

Many spells have restrictions on what can be targetted.

"One creature". "One living creature". "One willing creature". "Three objects, no two of which can be more than 30 ft. apart".

If a target satisfies the conditions at time of casting, but subsequently conditions change so that the target no longer satisfies the conditions, does the spell end? Become suppressed until conditions are once more met? Continue regardless?

Example : Levitation. Target, one willing creature. If you Levitate Willing Bob, and halfway up Bob changes his mind, becoming Unwilling Bob, what effect does that have on the spell?

Example : Lesser Geas. Target, one living creature. If you Lesser Geas Living Fred, and Fred dies, becoming Dead Fred, he's no longer one living creature. Fortunately, he's swiftly raised, becoming Living Fred once more. Is he still affected by the Lesser Geas?

Example : Heat Metal. Target, 25 lb./level of metal, all of which must be within a 30ft. circle. If you move some of the metal outside that 30ft. circle in round 3, is it still Heated?

-Hyp.

 

[Mr Fidgit]

IMO and IMHO, etc.

ex 1) no effect on the spell. Bob let the spell take affect. it doesn't go away simply because he wants it to, and 'you' are still controling the spell, not Bob

ex2) i'd have to say no. Dead Fred wouldn't have any spells still affecting him, would he? (don't have my PH. is geas instantaneous, permanent, duration?)

ex3) yes, because it was in the effect when the spell was cast. if you did it on someone's armor and they ran away, it would still heat up

 

[Hypersmurf]

ex2) i'd have to say no. Dead Fred wouldn't have any spells still affecting him, would he? (don't have my PH. is geas instantaneous, permanent, duration?)

Duration, 1 day/level.

Obviously, the spell wouldn't affect him while he's dead... but does it terminate, or simply spin its wheels until he's alive and it can affect him again?

How about Blindness? Duration : Permanent [D]. Target : One living creature. If Blind Fred is killed and raised, is he still blind? If he's killed and becomes a wight - not a living creature - is he still blind?

-Hyp.

 

[Crothian]

There has been long discusions on if spells last through the resurection. Welcome to the gray area of DMing, I say do whatever helps the story along.

 

[Hypersmurf]

There has been long discusions on if spells last through the resurection. Welcome to the gray area of DMing, I say do whatever helps the story along.

Actually, I'm only using the living/dead idea as an example for the larger question.

Another example came up in the Maximising thread - Shillelagh affects a non-magical club. If the club becomes magical after Shillelagh is cast, what happens?

-Hyp.

 

[Mr Fidgit]

ok, that's tough.

about the wight - no undead creature needs eyes to see, so he's not blind

dead and then raised - i would say, no, the target has to be alive for the spell to function (so while he was dead, it went away, or whatever)

the geas is still bugging me - i'll have to check on that tomorrow. i'm sure someone will pop in to give you the correct answers, and proof to back them up, in the meantime!

 

[dcollins]

I'm pretty confident that in all these situations, the spell effect "sticks" to the subject once it has been triggered, regardless of their status afterwards. The "status" question is only important when the spell is being targeted... thereafter only the "duration" rules apply.

PH p. 150: "A spell's Duration line tells you how long the magical energy of the spell lasts." (Note it's not Duration plus the Target line.)

Directly on topic of #3, PH p. 151: "If the spell affects creatures directly... the result travels with the subjects for the spell's duration."