Zaq
2009-04-21, 02:19 PM
An unseen servant is an invisible, mindless, shapeless force that performs simple tasks at your command. It can run and fetch things, open unstuck doors, and hold chairs, as well as clean and mend. The servant can perform only one activity at a time, but it repeats the same activity over and over again if told to do so as long as you remain within range. It can open only normal doors, drawers, lids, and the like. It has an effective Strength score of 2 (so it can lift 20 pounds or drag 100 pounds). It can trigger traps and such, but it can exert only 20 pounds of force, which is not enough to activate certain pressure plates and other devices. It can’t perform any task that requires a skill check with a DC higher than 10 or that requires a check using a skill that can’t be used untrained. Its speed is 15 feet.
The servant cannot attack in any way; it is never allowed an attack roll. It cannot be killed, but it dissipates if it takes 6 points of damage from area attacks. (It gets no saves against attacks.) If you attempt to send it beyond the spell’s range (measured from your current position), the servant ceases to exist.
Material Component
A piece of string and a bit of wood.
This is not, you will notice, an exhaustive list. So I wonder, what else can an unseen servant do? Which, if any, of these activities or commands are unreasonable for an unseen servant? Which would you allow if you phrased them differently, or perhaps limited them a bit? Why?
-Sort a jumble of swords and daggers into a pile of swords and a pile of daggers.
-Sort a pile of potions into red ones, blue ones, and ones that are neither.
-Load a crossbow, sitting at home.
-Load an unattended crossbow during a battle.
-Ready an action to load its master's crossbow on its master's turn.
-Retrieve a potion from an unattended bag of stuff.
-Retrieve a specific (and visually distinct) potion from an unattended bag of stuff.
-Retrieve a potion from a backpack or belt pouch being worn by its master (who allows this to happen).
-Retrieve a specific, visually distinct potion from a backpack or belt pouch being worn by its willing master.
-Smash an unattended glass bottle.
-Uncork and pour out an unattended glass bottle.
-Carry several different items (a selection of four or five wands, for example) next to its master, for the master to easily grab as needed. (Bonus question: in this example, what kind of action does the master take to grab the item? What if the master has Quick Draw? Does doing so provoke an AoO?)
-Use a key to open a nonmagical lock.
-Open a latched but unlocked and nonmagical chest.
-A contingent instruction with a very simple contingency, such as "Polish this armor until this door is opened, then start polishing this sword." or "Wash the dishes until they are done, then dry them."
-Scatter a bag of caltrops.
-Administer a potion to an unconscious person.
-"Pick up the dagger near my feet and put it into this bag."
-"Pick up the dagger near that (friendly) dwarf's feet and put it into this bag."
-"Pick up the dagger near that (hostile) elf's feet and put it into this bag."
-"Pick up any daggers you see on the ground and put them into this bag."
-"If there are any daggers at my feet, put them into this bag."
-Make a wall rubbing, if provided with charcoal and paper.
-Light a torch, if provided with flint and steel.
-Beat a steady, unchanging rhythm on a drum.
-Alphabetize a pile of books.
-Fold a jumbled pile of shirts.
-Fold a jumbled pile of mixed laundry.
-Search an area for recoverable or undamaged arrows.
-Search an area for recoverable or undamaged arrows in combat.
-Tie a simple knot.
-Load a pile of arrows into a pile of quivers, with the maximum number of arrows per quiver.
-Load a pile of arrows into a pile of quivers, with a specific number (less than the maximum) of arrows in each quiver.
-Follow its master on a winding and erratic route.
-Follow a person other than its master on a winding and erratic route.
-Follow a clearly marked trail (a continuous chalk line on a wall, for example) to its end.
-Follow a clearly marked trail to its end and then return the way it came.
-"Make a mark with this chalk every ten feet along this wall."
-"Make a mark with this chalk on every door along this wall."
-"Make a mark with this chalk next to every charcoal mark along this wall."
-"Fetch that (clearly visible and indicated) goblet over there and bring it here."
-"Go over to that (visible and indicated) shelf, get a goblet that looks like this (visible and indicated) one, and bring it here."
-"Search this messy and cluttered room for a goblet that looks like this one and bring it here."
-Gag a helpless prisoner's mouth, given a cloth or other gag.
-Gag a helpless prisoner's mouth on its own.
-"Mop this floor, properly re-wetting the mop with this bucket as needed."
-Hold a vampire at bay with a holy symbol.
-Copy a very simple pattern (a square vs. a triangle), given pen and ink.
I'm sure I'll think of others, but that'll get us started.
The servant cannot attack in any way; it is never allowed an attack roll. It cannot be killed, but it dissipates if it takes 6 points of damage from area attacks. (It gets no saves against attacks.) If you attempt to send it beyond the spell’s range (measured from your current position), the servant ceases to exist.
Material Component
A piece of string and a bit of wood.
This is not, you will notice, an exhaustive list. So I wonder, what else can an unseen servant do? Which, if any, of these activities or commands are unreasonable for an unseen servant? Which would you allow if you phrased them differently, or perhaps limited them a bit? Why?
-Sort a jumble of swords and daggers into a pile of swords and a pile of daggers.
-Sort a pile of potions into red ones, blue ones, and ones that are neither.
-Load a crossbow, sitting at home.
-Load an unattended crossbow during a battle.
-Ready an action to load its master's crossbow on its master's turn.
-Retrieve a potion from an unattended bag of stuff.
-Retrieve a specific (and visually distinct) potion from an unattended bag of stuff.
-Retrieve a potion from a backpack or belt pouch being worn by its master (who allows this to happen).
-Retrieve a specific, visually distinct potion from a backpack or belt pouch being worn by its willing master.
-Smash an unattended glass bottle.
-Uncork and pour out an unattended glass bottle.
-Carry several different items (a selection of four or five wands, for example) next to its master, for the master to easily grab as needed. (Bonus question: in this example, what kind of action does the master take to grab the item? What if the master has Quick Draw? Does doing so provoke an AoO?)
-Use a key to open a nonmagical lock.
-Open a latched but unlocked and nonmagical chest.
-A contingent instruction with a very simple contingency, such as "Polish this armor until this door is opened, then start polishing this sword." or "Wash the dishes until they are done, then dry them."
-Scatter a bag of caltrops.
-Administer a potion to an unconscious person.
-"Pick up the dagger near my feet and put it into this bag."
-"Pick up the dagger near that (friendly) dwarf's feet and put it into this bag."
-"Pick up the dagger near that (hostile) elf's feet and put it into this bag."
-"Pick up any daggers you see on the ground and put them into this bag."
-"If there are any daggers at my feet, put them into this bag."
-Make a wall rubbing, if provided with charcoal and paper.
-Light a torch, if provided with flint and steel.
-Beat a steady, unchanging rhythm on a drum.
-Alphabetize a pile of books.
-Fold a jumbled pile of shirts.
-Fold a jumbled pile of mixed laundry.
-Search an area for recoverable or undamaged arrows.
-Search an area for recoverable or undamaged arrows in combat.
-Tie a simple knot.
-Load a pile of arrows into a pile of quivers, with the maximum number of arrows per quiver.
-Load a pile of arrows into a pile of quivers, with a specific number (less than the maximum) of arrows in each quiver.
-Follow its master on a winding and erratic route.
-Follow a person other than its master on a winding and erratic route.
-Follow a clearly marked trail (a continuous chalk line on a wall, for example) to its end.
-Follow a clearly marked trail to its end and then return the way it came.
-"Make a mark with this chalk every ten feet along this wall."
-"Make a mark with this chalk on every door along this wall."
-"Make a mark with this chalk next to every charcoal mark along this wall."
-"Fetch that (clearly visible and indicated) goblet over there and bring it here."
-"Go over to that (visible and indicated) shelf, get a goblet that looks like this (visible and indicated) one, and bring it here."
-"Search this messy and cluttered room for a goblet that looks like this one and bring it here."
-Gag a helpless prisoner's mouth, given a cloth or other gag.
-Gag a helpless prisoner's mouth on its own.
-"Mop this floor, properly re-wetting the mop with this bucket as needed."
-Hold a vampire at bay with a holy symbol.
-Copy a very simple pattern (a square vs. a triangle), given pen and ink.
I'm sure I'll think of others, but that'll get us started.