D&D 5E Warlocks and Pearls of Power, Spell Gems and the like

[CapnZapp]

What happens when a 7th level Warlock tries to use a Pearl of Power?

She only has 4th level slots, and the Pearl operates only on up to spell slots of 3rd level.

Same with the Spell Gems (described in Out of the Abyss) - a Bloodstone Gem holds a 3rd level spell, but our Warlock casts all her spells as 4th level spells.

My judgement call as DM was not to say "these items are useless to you" as I don't think that is RAI. Instead I said "your spells are downsized as appropriate", judging she could use her spell slots to cast a spell into the gem provided it could be held by a third level slot (meaning the spell can't be a level 4 spell or an upleveled low-level spell such as a four-ray Scorching Ray). If she would find a Pearl of Power it would restore one of her slots, but again, rstrict it to 3rd level spells.

Do you agree to the on-the-fly call I made. If not, do you feel I should change my ruling?

Have the designers said anything about this (Sage Advice etc)?

Thanks

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I have no idea if there's an official answer or not. But my answer would be like yours: any item which holds or restores spells of a specific level is usable by a Warlock as long as the Warlock can cast spells of at least that level. However, I would also add a caveat that, like the spells of any other class, this can only be employed once a day. A stored Warlock spell does not refresh after a short rest, in other words.

 

[Celtavian]

Your ruling seems fine given the absence of any rule guidance otherwise.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

The DMG errata document has this to say regarding the pearl of power: The first sentence is now two sentences: “While this pearl is on your person, you can use an action to speak its command word and regain one expended spell slot. If the expended slot was of 4th level or higher, the new slot is 3rd level.”

 

[CapnZapp]

The DMG errata document has this to say regarding the pearl of power: The first sentence is now two sentences: “While this pearl is on your person, you can use an action to speak its command word and regain one expended spell slot. If the expended slot was of 4th level or higher, the new slot is 3rd level.”

Thanks.

This goes a long way of clarifying the rules intent, making me much more confident in my rules call.

 

[CapnZapp]

However, I would also add a caveat that, like the spells of any other class, this can only be employed once a day. A stored Warlock spell does not refresh after a short rest, in other words.

I believe no such caveat is necessary.

While Warlock slots refresh every short rest, this wouldn't change how the Pearl or Gem worked. (A Pearl could still only be used once until next dawn. A Gem can only be refilled or "imbued" once until next dawn.)

It's not like the pearl gives the Warlock a new, third, spell slot, that takes on life of its own (starts to recharge every short rest).

A pearl can be used once per day to restore a Warlock's spell slot between short rests.
A gem can be used during the day, then imbued, then used again that same day. (But that only holds true for the first of a series of days: on the second and every subsequent day, you can imbue it and use it once)

Apologies if this wasn't what you were talking about.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I believe no such caveat is necessary.

While Warlock slots refresh every short rest, this wouldn't change how the Pearl or Gem worked. (A Pearl could still only be used once until next dawn. A Gem can only be refilled or "imbued" once until next dawn.)

It's not like the pearl gives the Warlock a new, third, spell slot, that takes on life of its own (starts to recharge every short rest).

A pearl can be used once per day to restore a Warlock's spell slot between short rests.
A gem can be used during the day, then imbued, then used again that same day. (But that only holds true for the first of a series of days: on the second and every subsequent day, you can imbue it and use it once)

Apologies if this wasn't what you were talking about.

Mostly I was just trying to be clear. I dunno what the specific text of the items reads like, but players might be tempted to think that the pearl works differently with Warlock slots/spells because Warlock spells recover with short rests. If the item text already clearly prevents such abusive interpretations, feel free to ignore my caveat. Otherwise, it seems a useful note.

 

[CapnZapp]

Sure, no problem