D&D 5E Wherein we discuss spells and other magical things.

[schnee]

I'm seeing a whole bunch of well-reasoned logic, but I can't help feeling it misses the point. I personally sidestep this kind of stuff entirely.*

When it really comes down to it, our jobs as GMs are:

1) Is it FUN?

2) Is this a reasonable reading of the spell, that matches the power of other spells of the same level enough, that it's not breaking the game?

Nothing else matters.

How about:

1) If it's not egregiously bad, let it happen. Everyone laughs! Fun was had! Cool.

2) After the game, if you think about it more and it seems like it could break things, i.e. the players would be tempted to include it in their standard strategy to the exclusion of other tactics, tell them 'that was clever, but I might not allow it later because it makes this spell too powerful. If you still want it, we can house rule a new spell that acts that way at a higher level'.

Logic, physics, sense, and reason have nothing to do with it.

It's about the game. Only the game.



* Now, for the forums, arguing whether Undead violate the laws of thermodynamics is great. I'm not trying to stop the discussion - only say why it belongs here and not in the game.

 

[Oofta]

* - one variable not discussed is the weight of the occupant; terminal velocity for a sphere containing a Hobbit will be considerably less than for a sphere containing a rhino.

Does it? The sphere is sized to the occupant, so a rhino's bubble is going to be significantly larger. Of course in a fantasy campaign you have creatures (giants in particular) who's bones must be reinforced by magic or they'd break their legs if they stand up.

So, the primary question: what happens when an occupied sphere impacts something else at speed? This one, as we've seen, is open to interpretation and might have to be ruled on table by table.

And a secondary question: if the sphere ends up rolling or tumbling, what happens to the occupant? Do they always stay upright? Do they roll or tumble also; and if yes are they protected from damage or not; and are they protected from motion sickness or not?

I've spent too many words on this topic, so I will let pictures speak for me

Lan-"still wondering what happens if someone hamsters a sphere out into a lake"-efan

 

[Satyrn]