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I’m just a librarian that collects and study designer answers.
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I’m curious about the wording of the spell Vampiric Touch and the healing it provides if for some reason the damage rolled on the dice is not the damage taken by the target, like in the case of resistance, vulnerability, or overkill. The spell says that the healing is based on the damage dealt, but there are edge cases where that wording raises some questions for me.
Suppose the damage rolled on Vampiric Touch is 18, and the target has 2 hp remaining. Does the caster heal for 18/2 = 9, or 2/2 = 1?
Suppose the damage rolled on Vampiric Touch is 18, and the target is vulnerable to necrotic damage, so it takes 36 damage. Does the caster heal 18/2 = 9, or 36/2 = 18? (I will assume the same ruling will apply to resistance)
Thanks in advance for your answers!
You would heal for 9, because you can deal damage greater than a monster’s remaining health. Now if it caused them to directly lose health, instead of deal damage, that is different. In the second case you heal for 18, because you dealt twice as much damage.
From the PHB:
“Hit points represent a combination of physical and
mental durability, the will to live, and luck. Creatures
with more hit points are more difficult to kill. Those
with fewer hit points are more fragile.
A creature’s current hit points (usually just called hit
points) can be any number from the creature’s hit point
maximum down to 0. This number changes frequently
as a creature takes damage or receives healing.
Whenever a creature takes damage, that damage is
subtracted from its hit points. The loss of hit points has
no effect on a creature’s capabilities until the creature
drops to 0 hit points.”
It does not say damage cannot exceed remaining hit points. The damage is simply subtracted from their current HP, and if it drops to 0, they die.
I seen someone had replied so I did not look at the rest of the question. To clarify;
The resistance / vulnerability the HP you gain is off of what the damage so if they are hit for 36 after the all appropriate modifiers then you would get 36/2= 18 in hp.
It’s not half the damage rolled , it’s half of what they get hit with.
Agree with Obama White, HP gain is based directly on damage dealt to creature. If you only do 2 HP of damage, regardless of the total you could have done if they had more HP’s, you only get 1 HP in healing.
If they have resistance and you only do 18 HP of damage, then you get 9 HP of healing.
Just for clarity, another way to interpret what you’re saying is that there is no difference between the damage dealt by the spell, and the damage received by the target?
In other words, one way to look at case 1 above is that the damage dealt to the target is 18, but the damage received by the target is 2. Since the damage dealt by the caster is 18, the healing should be 9. You’re saying since the damage received by the target is 2, the healing should be 1. Is that right?
Yes. For this spell, I think of it this way. 50% of the HP actually lost get magically transferred back to you.
With the Shapechange spell, if one were to change into a creature with a feature like Legendary Resistance, use it, then change into a different creature with the same feature (Legendary resistance for example) would they get a new set of 3 resistances day or does it carry over?
What if they turned into a creature with the feature, then one without, then into a different creature with the legendary resistance again, any difference?
And what about spellcasting creatures for that matter? Does it use your spellslots, or do you get to use the creatures spell slots?
You can’t use Legendary abilities of creatures you change into.
Legendary resistance is not a legendary action, Jeremy Crawford has already established that.
Good catch, it’s a trait. So if you wild shape into creature #1, you get to use creature #1’s abilities as long as you’re in that form. If you stop the wild shape and then wild shape again into the same form or another form, you get to use those abilities while in that form. I don’t however see any references to you getting to use the spells of a wild shape form. You do get to cast your druid spells, as normal using your slots, while in wild shape at higher levels.
” You transform into an average example of that creature, one without any class levels or the Spellcasting trait.”
I’m assuming the “Innate Spellcasting” trait would qualify as spellcasting. So no to that one.
The LR one will work you just can’t take the actions .
As far as rules go switching between forms that have legendary resistance to be able to get more of them, I would allow it. Being that each form would have its own resistance abilities.
And let’s be honest a 9th level spell that requires concentration should be powerful. If nothing else they can be used to choose to succeed on the saving throw to maintain concentration on your shapechange spell. Because at that high a level you would be facing things that can do a large amount of damage and one hit that would be a problem to save against.
@matthewmercer I feel I know the answer, but in the Blood Hunter Order of the Mutant, do they start the day out with mutagens or do they need to wait a short rest for them?
I’m curious about how the new college of whispers’ psychic blade feature interacts with wildshape ( claws count as natural weapons right?) Can you use psychic blades when wildshaped? Thanks!
I would say yes, there are no restrictions like there is for spell effects (VMS) for that ability.
It falls into the same category as the rage ability from the barbarian class, nothing is proventing you from doing so.
Water Walk spell 5e. When does the 60ft movement occur? At the start of the affected creature’s turn or the caster’s turn. Can an affected creature submerge in the water voluntarily or forced by a grapple? thx in advance.
The 60ft is in effect as soon as the spell is active (either on the casters turn of if the caster was holding the spell and uses a reaction to use it on someone else’s turn) .
you may submerge willingly.
As for being able to be pulled under I would say it’s reasonable to me that if something is your size than it is more likely to climb up you than pull you under.
But if it were a kraken , then ya your going under…
Another way that may be better to look at it as long as your not over your carrying capacity you can stay afloat. After that the can’t hold yourself up.
Ok thanks. But there is another problem, although the kraken makes you a grapple and submerges under water, at the beginning of the effect of the spell the grapple would be end because you move 60ft. (forced movement) again and by the exposed on page 209 PHB “The condition also ends if an effect removes the grappled creature from the reach of the grappler or grappling effect, such as when a creature is hurled away by the thunderwave spell”
Thx
This is a very interesting question. I do not think there is any rule as written that addresses this. Certainly it makes you extra “buoyant,” like a balloon, but it is not exactly forced movement. Leaving the Kraken out of it, I imagine if you were simply holding onto a rail at the bottom of a pool, you would not go up. Similar to levitation and being pushed or pulled, having no traction should make that extra easy, like dragging a balloon through the air. But there is no rule.
What you say makes sense and is logical. But it can also be seen as a forced movement because the affected creature simply moves and can not decide not to move.
I believe the assumption here is wrong. The spell does not inflict forced movement.
It specifically says it grants the ability to move. It says also that the creature must be willing to move. As such, the movement should happen on the spell target’s turn. If someone casts the spell on me and I choose to be willing to use the ability on my turn, I move 60ft per round up out of the liquid. I can choose not to be willing to use the ability as well, which also occurs on my turn unless I have a readied action but that’s not the question.
I read the last sentence as a clarification of the ability granted by the first paragraph not a totally separate ability. If you’re already in a liquid you float to the top first and then can move across as if solid ground if you choose to do so.
Carry capacity is only relevant if you’re choosing to move using your strength and you’re encumbered. Carrying capacity is irrelevant in this scenario as your movement speed upward in liquid is set to 60 ft per round regardless of encumbrance because encumbrance is based on strength and you’re being moved magically.
If i enter a dungeon, and i encounter a closed door that leads to a room with 4 creatures, do i know their position on that room if they are not hiding?
Thx in advance.
How do you know the door leads to a room? How do yo know there are creatures in the room? How do you know there are four of them?
If all you perceive is a door, that’s all you know.
If you stick your ear to the door and listen with a perception check that relies on sound, if they are actively doing something and moving around the room with a high enough check you may be able to gauge that there are creature(s) on the other side possibly left side of the door or right side of the door( no info on depth) and if they are making particular sounds and you have encountered these types of creatures before there is a chance you could recognize the type of thing that is on the other side of the door.
Ex: dm, you come to a closed door, what do you do?
Player, I want to listen at the door to see if I hear anything on the other side.
DM, ok roll be a perception hearing check.
Player, total of 19
DM, you believe that you hear something on the other side possibly more than one thing but it is too muffled to determine anything else.
15: know if there is something
20: can pick up clear sounds and possibly determine what is making the noise if previously encountered. And better idea on nuber
25: also gain better understanding of where the sounds are coming in relationship to the door.
30+:also are able to pick up any sounds of weapons and armor the creature (s) may have(sounds like chain shurt and hear the clunking of a shield)
Ok, but in fact the generic rule says that if a target don’t use the hide action, it can be perceived. I imagine that certain circumstances are at the discretion of the DM (a creature underwater, behind a door or wall, etc…)
The clear example of this is darkness spell, if a character cast darkness spell over an area, and fight over it with other targets, all the objectives could be seen between them, and none in normal circumstances would not gain DA or AD because they cancel each other unless someone has the ability to see through the magic darkness. It think that in combat we follow the normal rule…. if you’re not hiding you are perceive….. in other circunstances DM decides…. and apply the logic.
https://www.sageadvice.eu/2015/12/16/stealth-in-darkness/
In order to qualify as a target, you must have already perceived it. You can’t target something you can’t perceive. So we’re back to HOW did you perceive something? Are you trying to listen at the door? Are you trying to perceive an invisible creature?
If you walk into a room and there is an overturned table that’s 3′ tall and there is a 2’8″ halfling crouched behind it, you can’t perceive him by opening the door by sight. He doesn’t have to be hiding for you to be unable to perceive him. The onus is on the PC to pass a perception threshold not on the other pieces of the game to pass a hidden threshold.
PC’s are aware of only what they can perceive, PC don’t get to automatically be aware of everything that’s not hidden. Plus “it can be perceived” is totally different from “player X perceives it.”
I believe somewhere around page 175 in the player’s handbook it mentions passive skills. Most of the character sheets that are around have passive perception marked out specifically but all skills have a passive.
So with the exception of something or someone standing directly in your line of sight, they would have a passive stealth of 10 plus they’re modifier.
The example I gave for the check threshold is also taking into account that they would probably have AD or you having DA for having to perceive through a door. That would make the passive 10 + 5 + modifier.
That’s why my example starts at 15 and increases from there.
Also the example given of groups fighting in darkness is a little Loose as far as easy play. All the sounds in motion that you are trying to perceive are being tracked by your passive perception. So allies and foes would all sound the same as soon as people start moving. You can swing where you think something might be. But all you would know unless you were just hit in melee from that spot was movement from that Direction.
If you’re passive is really bad with perception the only way you would be able to actively attempt to strike an opponent would be to Hold Your Action to attack wait to get swung at and use your reaction to Counter Strike. Because your passive perception would be too low to be able to track movements efficiently.
But this whole combat while everyone is blind scenario is a different question entirely.
If a Drow who has darkvision 120 ft goes sorcerer and chooses the shadow origin and has “eyes of the dark” which grants darkvision 120 ft as well what happens? Is there any benefit or has a player nulled part of their class/race abilities by going this path?
The ranger Gloom stalker states that you gain darkvision if you do not have it and if you have it your range is increased. So unless the ability States you gain something if you already have darkvision then you are correct in that the race and class combination would null that ability.