D&D 5E Wish Spell Use

[Hawk Diesel]

So I have two ways of looking at this. On the one hand, there's what the player is trying to achieve. A player understands the game mechanics, and can state that they would like a simulacrum of the Dragon in question.

But how would the character word that wish? Does the character know enough about magic to understand what a simulacrum is? And even if they did, what would they say?

"I wish for this dragon to have a twin... but the twin is really made of ice, is sentient, oh and friendly!"

Not only does that sound weird, but it also creates a lot of potential for the wish to go off in some unplanned fashion. The character could ask, "We want a clone of this dragon." But then do you get the full grown dragon exactly as it is, or an egg, or something in between?

All I'm saying is, what the player knows and wants mechanically is probably different than what the character wants/envisions, and how is the character going to word the spell?

 

[Harzel]

So I have two ways of looking at this. On the one hand, there's what the player is trying to achieve. A player understands the game mechanics, and can state that they would like a simulacrum of the Dragon in question.

But how would the character word that wish? Does the character know enough about magic to understand what a simulacrum is? And even if they did, what would they say?

"I wish for this dragon to have a twin... but the twin is really made of ice, is sentient, oh and friendly!"

Not only does that sound weird, but it also creates a lot of potential for the wish to go off in some unplanned fashion. The character could ask, "We want a clone of this dragon." But then do you get the full grown dragon exactly as it is, or an egg, or something in between?

All I'm saying is, what the player knows and wants mechanically is probably different than what the character wants/envisions, and how is the character going to word the spell?

Are these questions due to the PC wanting to cast simulacrum in general, or wanting to cast simulacrum on a dragon, which is not usually a valid target for the spell? If the PC just wants to cast a spell within its usual limitations, then requiring them to say anything other than "I cast xxx." (plus naming a target if necessary) seems, IMO, to go against the spirit of the spell description. It seems to me the spirit of that description is that duplicating the effect of an existing spell is supposed to be straightforward and low risk, whereas creating "custom" effects is hard(er) and high(er) risk.

Are you saying that even when duplicating an existing spell you would demand the player wordsmith the wish and you would play with twisting the meaning to produce unintended consequences if possible? Personally, I would not, and even in the case of an attempt to produce a "custom" effect, I would scale the risk and severity of unintended consequences with the power and scope of what was being wished for. If what is being wished for is in line with the effects of other 9th level spells, being a hard-ass about it doesn't seem like very much fun. If the PC is trying reconfigure the planes or wish entire categories of creatures out of existence, though, things are going to become much dicier. Ymmv.

 

[Fanaelialae]

The player could create a simulacrum of a humanoid or animal without needing the material components or casting time of Simulacrum.

Alternately, they could (assuming the DM allows it) use Wish to create a simulacrum of a dragon, but because it is not duplicating an 8th level or lower spell, they would suffer the effects of a non-standard wish (including the chance to never be able to cast wish again).

I might be more lenient in certain cases, such as Wish being used to cast a Fireball that deals cold damage, but in the case of duplicating a dragon I'd say you have a clearly superior varient to Simulacrum.

As an aside, I'm not a fan of the chance to never be able to cast Wish again. It's a functional restriction to prevent abuse, but it isn't very interesting. IMC, the 33% chance determines whether your warping of reality attracts the attention of powerful agents of law, who expect you to set things right.

 

[Croesus]

Context: I have a player intending to use a wish to cast simulacrum on a dragon. Simulacrum clearly states it only works on humanoids and beasts. Is this a "requirement? " In other words, can a wish version of a spell ignore the limitations inherent in a spell? Could you use a wish to cast a dominate person on a creature otherwise immune to mind affecting spells, for example.

My interpretation is that they mean components and such, but it is a wish. Is there an official ruling on this? If not, how would you rule as DM?

Your interpretation makes the most sense.

"The basic use of this spell is to duplicate any other spell of 8th level or lower. You don't need to meet any requirements in that spell, including costly components. The spell simply takes effect."

As Dausuul points out, the line specifically refers to the caster not needing to meet the spell's requirements. It also says "The spell simply takes effect", which suggests that "requirements" refers to whether or not the caster meets the requirements to be able to cast the spell. Once cast, the spell still has to adhere to the text and constraints included in the spell description.