D&D 5E Using COMMAND to break a caster's concentration?

[Damuri]

Id have to take a closer look at the concentration rule and spells RAW to see casting times and durations, etc. I could see an instantaneous magic missile but not a spell that requires concentration. I wouldnt allow a caster to have 2 spells that require concentration in effect at the same time, though ICR what the rules are specifically regarding such.

Oh wow. Umm, the primary point behind concentration is to limit your ability to have more than one concentration spell active at any time.

 

[Damuri]

Yeah, this.

After some thinking on this, I'm taking back my initial instinct to allow command to break the Concentration with a word of "sleep" (or most anything else, for that matter.) The reason is that the broad tactical "purpose" of command is to deprive the target of their actions. Allowing much more than that makes it too powerful for a 1st level.

With that said, I still think "sleep" is a valid possibility for command, but the effect is something along the lines of the "grovel" option: the target gets drowsy, maybe lies down, and starts trying to snooze. But that's all.

If a caster wants to break a target's concentration, just inflict some damage or incapacitate it "for real," eg. with sleep. Or a maul.

Sleep lasts for 10 rounds. Command lasts for 1. Command someone to sleep causes them to sleep for 1 round. They can get up and attack the next round.

 

[Damuri]

We dont notice nor do we care so there is no problem regardless of you telling me there is. What we're are doing works for us. Only action economy I care about..."Spellcaster get me another beer".

I can see how this makes casters basically sit around during combat after casting their concentration spell.

It changes the rules significantly from the rules as written, but its not like casters were underpowered.
If it works for our group, that is fine and perhaps this is the much needed caster balancing that we all know the game needs.
After all PCs aren't the only ones that need concentration. The enemies have to concentrate as well.
I can see reskinning concentration as a continuous casting time with the spell taking effect after one action. You can't do anything else except perhaps move or dodge or whatever else you can do while casting.

 

[R_J_K75]

Oh wow. Umm, the primary point behind concentration is to limit your ability to have more than one concentration spell active at any time.

I can see how this makes casters basically sit around during combat after casting their concentration spell.

It changes the rules significantly from the rules as written, but its not like casters were underpowered.
If it works for our group, that is fine and perhaps this is the much needed caster balancing that we all know the game needs.
After all PCs aren't the only ones that need concentration. The enemies have to concentrate as well.
I can see reskinning concentration as a continuous casting time with the spell taking effect after one action. You can't do anything else except perhaps move or dodge or whatever else you can do while casting.

We've been trying to incorporate more RAW regarding things, including concentration but even then its sometimes easier to either just ignore it or make a judgement call. Reading the rules on pg 203 of the PHB are easy to understand but theyre actually quite numerous if you look at the below thread, which makes it difficult to remember all this in play.

Rules FAQ - How Does Concentration Work in D&D 5E?

Some spells (and, more rarely, abilities) require active concentration in order to maintain their magic effects. If you lose concentration, the effect ends. The rules outlining concentration appear in the Player’s Handbook on page 203. If a spell or ability requires concentration, it tells...

www.enworld.org

 

[Dausuul]

Jargon is useful.

We are talking about a world where simply knowing that jargon exposes you to attack.

The obvious solution is for the jargon to represent the concept using a combination of two words, each with an independent meaning, so neither word alone can be used against you this way: "Drop concentration." You get the benefits of jargon and you don't open yourself up to an easy attack by enemy spellcasters.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

We are talking about a world where simply knowing that jargon exposes you to attack.

The obvious solution is for the jargon to represent the concept using a combination of two words, each with an independent meaning, so neither word alone can be used against you this way: "Drop concentration." You get the benefits of jargon and you don't open yourself up to an easy attack by enemy spellcasters.

We're talking about a world where the vast majority of people are not spellcasters and have an interest in spellcasters being able to shut eachother down without things blowing up. You can't really choose to not know jargon. In a courtroom scenario, it can simply be explained to you. No amount of trying to be obtuse and "not get it" is going to help you. If it takes an hour to blast that understanding that the term "fusicate" means "tell the entire truth without embellishment and withholding nothing" or whatever years of practice and experience teaches the people using this methodology needs to be the wording to get the desired effect.

Hell, make a witness or defendant or whatever speak a very clear oath, make them explain the oath to the court's satisfaction, and then cast command using a term that everyone knows means "do what the oath says".

In a fight, "deconcentrate" would have a decent chance of working. Again, you can't rules lawyer your brain into not understanding something. You have extremely little control over that process.

there is no way for anyone to accomplish what you propose. It's not possible. It would require your parents, teachers, and peers all conspiring from your earliest youth to ensure that you don't understand common terms in the same way that everyone else in your society does.

 

[R_J_K75]

Howd I get wrangled back into this thread?

 

[humble minion]

Howd I get wrangled back into this thread?

Clearly, you suffered a lapse of concentration.

 

[R_J_K75]

Clearly, you suffered a lapse of concentration.

Story o...f...my...li.i forgot, what were we talking...ab...out...again? Oh yeah, the White Zone is for loading and unloading.

 

[Plaguescarred]

I'd say it's pretty hard to break concentration as only few specific things do. You can do a lot of things while keeping your concentration and it's not necessarily apparent that someone concentrate on an effect since many have long lasting durations that don't necessarily require any concentration.

You can't Command a target to "sleep" the spell will end since it can't follow the command being unable to become unconscious on command.

• Casting another spell that requires concentration is impossible to Command
• Taking damage is impossible to Command since it's directly harmful to it.
• Being killed is impossible to Command since it's directly harmful to it.

What's left in being incapacitated and i hardly see which 1-word Command could incapacitate.

One possible Command that could do it if a DM allows it is "deconcentrate/unconcentrate".