D&D 5E Tensor's Disc

[snickersnax]

Any idea why they changed the trailer distance on Tensor's Floating Disc to 20 feet for 5E?

It seems like it eliminates the ability to use it in most dungeon situations. For example: You're travelling down a 10' wide corridor trailering your TFD and come to a door in the center of the hallway. You open the door and on the other side is a 10' wide corridor that runs at a "T" to the one you were walking down. When you pass through the door and turn right or left, your TFD is going to get hung up on the door jamb and be unable to make the turn.

These kinds of situations are going to come up so often in most dungeon maps that TFD is unusable. Even if you allow the TFD to be pushed around dungeon geometry obstacles by someone else or if the immobility when you are within 20' still allows it to be pushed, it's an incredible hassle.

Insight into the change? or solutions to make TFD great again?

 

[Dausuul]

The problem with Tensor's Disc is that every time you want to move it, you have to do a bunch of vector math.

 

[Satyrn]

Why wouldn't you just consider that part of it's magic is being able to follow a reasonable path?

 

[Satyrn]

Let me add, I'm suggesting that you only count things like a closed door as the sort of obstacle that prevents the disk from following. But for things the disk can move around, like a pillar or a corner in a hallway, its magic guides it in a not-perfectly straight line.

And I see nothing in it's Basic Rules description (from D&D Beyond) that says it must move in a straight line to follow.

 

[Dausuul]

All right, for a serious reply: The spell says the disk "follows you." That doesn't have to mean it moves straight toward your current location. In fact, the usual meaning of "follow" would suggest the disk moves along the same path you took. If you go around a corner, the disk doesn't try to cut the corner; it moves to the corner and then around it, just as you did.

However, the final sentence of the spell is a potential issue: "If you move more than 100 feet from the disk (typically because it can't move around an obstacle to follow you), the spell ends." There are two ways to read the parenthetical here:

• The disk can't move around an obstacle, and this is the typical cause of the spell ending.
• The typical cause of the spell ending is when the disk encounters an obstacle that it can't move around.

I would go with the second interpretation, both because it makes more sense in the context of the previous paragraph, and because it resolves the problem you put forward. When the disk encounters an obstacle, it will try to move around it; if it can't move around it, then it stays where it is, and vanishes once you get too far away.

 

[snickersnax]

Thanks. These explanations help a lot. Still 20' so annoying. Its hard to park the disc next to a hoard to load it up in a small room or to unload in it a small room. You could have a 40' walk (there and back) just to pile treasure on or take it off. I guess 5E updated to get more exercise for wizards.

 

[Lanefan]

Thanks. These explanations help a lot. Still 20' so annoying. Its hard to park the disc next to a hoard to load it up in a small room or to unload in it a small room. You could have a 40' walk (there and back) just to pile treasure on or take it off. I guess 5E updated to get more exercise for wizards.

Which, if one wants to get pedantic, could lead to some strange questions such as:

How can something follow you when you're walking straight toward it?
Does the 20' following distance always have to be maintained? (if yes, then if the wizard turns 180 degrees and walks toward the TFD they'll meet at the 10' point; at which point the wizard will in fact count as an obstacle)
What happens if the wizard walks in a small circle - can she sneak up on her own TFD from behind?

Lan-"overloading one of these turns it into Tenser's Herniated Disc"-efan

 

[Caliban]

Which, if one wants to get pedantic, could lead to some strange questions such as:

How can something follow you when you're walking straight toward it?
Does the 20' following distance always have to be maintained? (if yes, then if the wizard turns 180 degrees and walks toward the TFD they'll meet at the 10' point; at which point the wizard will in fact count as an obstacle)
What happens if the wizard walks in a small circle - can she sneak up on her own TFD from behind?

Lan-"overloading one of these turns it into Tenser's Herniated Disc"-efan

The spell says that if you are within 20' of the disk, it doesn't move. It only starts following you if you move more than 20' away from it.

Which makes it inconvenient in a different way - once you cast it, you can't move it unless you are 20' away from it.

It's probably this way because for some reason people really liked to find creative ways of abusing the spell, back in 2e and 3e. Using it as the base for a portable ballista turret, two casters riding each other's disks as they move them around, etc.

One time in 3e my caster used it to move the paladin around the battlefield after she'd had her str reduced to the point where she couldn't move in her plate armor. (We were fighting Shadows.)

Now it's less abusable, but much more boring.

 

[Lord Twig]

The disk doesn't move if you are 20' or less from it. So you can turn around and walk towards it and it will just stop where it is.

But the whole 20' requirement before it will move is stupid. It is hardly an overpowered spell. I just allow the caster to adjust the distance between 5' and 20' at will. Why not?

I keep the 10' vertical limit, but I will allow it to move over liquids. So if the wizard swims across a stream someone could sit on the disk and get across without getting wet. Might as well make it at least somewhat useful.

 

[Lord Twig]

The spell says that if you are within 20' of the disk, it doesn't move. It only starts following you if you move more than 20' away from it.

Which makes it inconvenient in a different way - once you cast it, you can't move it unless you are 20' away from it.

It's probably this way because for some reason people really liked to find creative ways of abusing the spell, back in 2e and 3e. Using it as the base for a portable ballista turret, two casters riding each other's disks as they move them around, etc.

One time in 3e my caster used it to move the paladin around the battlefield after she'd had her str reduced to the point where she couldn't move in her plate armor. (We were fighting Shadows.)

Now it's less abusable, but much more boring.

My house rule only allows the adjustment of distance, so it could go backward or forward, but not side-to-side. Two wizards sitting on each others' disks could move, but only in a strait line. But even then, what's wrong with making the spell useful? It doesn't sound like anything you mentioned above breaks the game.