Weird Questions about Stone to Flesh

[MirrorsawLLJK]

1. What happens if you cast stone to flesh on a statue?
2. Why does casting stone to flesh on someone who got petrified return them to their normal state? Shouldn't their weapons and armor turn to flesh as well?

 

[BiggusGeekus]

1. What happens if you cast stone to flesh on a statue?

If I'm not mistaken, you just created a living thingamabob.

2. Why does casting stone to flesh on someone who got petrified return them to their normal state? Shouldn't their weapons and armor turn to flesh as well?

Technically, yes. Why don't people play that way? Beause it's gooey. Also, no one wants to see their nice +3 plate mail get turned into 127 pounds of pot roast because they blew a saving throw.

You might be better off thinking of the spell as "de-petrify" which was the spell's original intent.

Just as a little aside/tangent....

During a game, a medusa turned an NPC into stone. Did the players act out of concern for the NPC? Did they stare in awe at the medusa's power? No, not my players. My players wanted to know what kind of stone the NPC got changed into and were hoping for something like Itallian Marble so they could sell the statue. Sigh.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Moved to Rules.

-Hyp.
(Moderator)

 

[AuraSeer]

1. What happens if you cast stone to flesh on a statue?

You get a corpse. This is in the spell description.

2. Why does casting stone to flesh on someone who got petrified return them to their normal state? Shouldn't their weapons and armor turn to flesh as well?

The in-game explanation is that stone to flesh is smart enough to distinguish sculpted stone from petrified objects, and does the exact opposite of flesh to stone when appropriate. It's magic, it can do that.

The rules explanation is that it's necessary for game balance. If flesh to stone could destroy all a character's equipment, it would be overpowered for 6th level, since it'd be stronger than most insta-death spells. (The price for replacing a full load of gear is much higher than the cost of a true resurrection.)

 

[MarauderX]

If I'm not mistaken, you just created a living thingamabob.

I thought it didn't work on plain statues, as it is (like you said) more of a de-petrify spell.

My aside: OD&D players wanted to chase down a cockatrice and use it to petrify the BBEG at the time, just so the PC wizard could use Rock to Mud followed by Stone to Flesh as a torture technique. Icky.

 

[AuraSeer]

Technically, yes. Why don't people play that way?

Technically, no. People don't play that way because the spell description specifically says otherwise. The first sentence states that it "restores life and goods."

 

[AuraSeer]

I thought it didn't work on plain statues, as it is (like you said) more of a de-petrify spell.

It does work on plain statues, and other kinds of stone too. If you cast it on stone other than a petrified creature, you can affect a cylinder up to 3' across and up to 10' long. This is in the spell description. (Or am I somehow reading a different description than everyone else?)

 

[Saeviomagy]

If I'm not mistaken, you just created a living thingamabob.

I don't think it's living. I think it's just a hunk of unidentifiable meat.

 

[MarauderX]

It does work on plain statues, and other kinds of stone too. If you cast it on stone other than a petrified creature, you can affect a cylinder up to 3' across and up to 10' long. This is in the spell description. (Or am I somehow reading a different description than everyone else?)

Thanks AuraSeer, I don't have the description in front of me right now, but I could make something new up if you want...
I just thought it didn't work on anything that wasn't flesh at one point, but again I am a crazy old guy that made rulings like that way back in OD&D. Good to know though, and I will keep that in mind whenever the PCs come across a stone golem.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I don't think it's living. I think it's just a hunk of unidentifiable meat.

Tastes like chicken.

A statue specifically gives you "a corpse", though, rather than a statue-shaped blob of meat... which is a valid target for Create Undead. (But not, fortunately, Raise Dead.)

-Hyp.