What happens if you break a geas while inside an Antimagic Field or Dead Magic Zone?

[Clistenes]

Let say a Rashemi guy on which the Hathran have cast a Geas to not reveal the secrets of the Old Ones enters a Dead Magic Zone, spill the beans, and waits a couple days before going out?

Magic shouldn't hurt him while inside the Dead Magic Zone/Antimagic Field. And by the letter of the spell, the punishment only lasts for 24 hours, so he shouldn't suffer ill effects if he doesn't have any intention of revealing any secrets again when he comes out of the zone...

And what if the character is training with the purpose of becoming high level enough to be able to cast Limited Wish and break the Geas spell? Does training with that purpose in mind count as a trigger for the Geas?

[Inevitability]

I'd say that indeed, there's no penalty for breaking the geas somewhere it can't hurt you.

As for the training... A geas only harms you if you (attempt to) perform the prohibited action. As long as the geas doesn't specifically prohibit casting anything to remove the geas, it shouldn't be an issue. After all, if wanting for a geas to be gone is against it, almost all the spell's victims would be dead within minutes.

Also, wouldn't the geas end naturally after a few days?

[sleepyphoenixx]

It depends a lot on the wording of the geas. Both the duration and what happens.
Nothing happens while he's in an AMF/Dead Magic area, but after he leaves there could still be consequences.
Let's say for example that the wording is "do the best you can to keep (secret) secret". Even if you tell someone in an AMF/DMA the moment you step out the geas will take effect unless you try to either kill the one you told or erase his memories.


The geased creature must follow the given instructions until the geas is completed, no matter how long it takes.

If the instructions involve some open-ended task that the recipient cannot complete through his own actions the spell remains in effect for a maximum of one day per caster level. A clever recipient can subvert some instructions:
It's not "either open-ended or cannot complete through own actions", it's both.
"Do your best to keep (secret) secret" is something that he can complete through his own actions, so i'd say it lasts indefinitely/until removed.

The same applies to working to remove the geas. Not that it's likely when said geas is cast by someone with access to Circle Magic.

[SangoProduction]

It's not "either open-ended or cannot complete through own actions", it's both.
"Do your best to keep (secret) secret" is something that he can complete through his own actions, so i'd say it lasts indefinitely/until removed.

I'd argue that is very much not something that could be completed. It's like "count to infinity". You'll never be able to complete it. As you said, it'd last indefinitely, because it has no completion clause.

[sleepyphoenixx]

I'd argue that is very much not something that could be completed. It's like "count to infinity". You'll never be able to complete it. As you said, it'd last indefinitely, because it has no completion clause.

Yes, it's open-ended, but it only involves his own actions. That's the important part. If that wasn't the case it'd only last 1 day/level.

If you just ordered him to "don't let the secret spread" it would automatically involve other people who know the secret, so it involves the actions of others too.
That and the open-ended nature of the task would mean the duration isn't permanent, which is presumably something the caster doesn't want.

On the other hand if you just ordered him "don't tell anyone the secret" he could get around that by any number of ways. Revealing it in an AMF/DMA, writing it down and leaving the paper lying around, letting someone read his mind, whatever.

Geasa are tricky things. If you really want to rely on it you need to have ironclad wording that still fits the parameters of the spell, or it isn't worth the spell slot you use to cast it. The spell description explicitly mentions that:

A clever recipient can subvert some instructions:
The target only needs to obey the letter of your instructions, not the spirit.

[Melcar]

Let say a Rashemi guy on which the Hathran have cast a Geas to not reveal the secrets of the Old Ones enters a Dead Magic Zone, spill the beans, and waits a couple days before going out?

Magic shouldn't hurt him while inside the Dead Magic Zone/Antimagic Field. And by the letter of the spell, the punishment only lasts for 24 hours, so he shouldn't suffer ill effects if he doesn't have any intention of revealing any secrets again when he comes out of the zone...

And what if the character is training with the purpose of becoming high level enough to be able to cast Limited Wish and break the Geas spell? Does training with that purpose in mind count as a trigger for the Geas?

I dont think he has broken anything. When entering the dead/antimagic zone, the spell in no longer ongoing, so its not affecting you at all. I believe the spell would not register anything at all.

On a side note, there is a difference between dead and antimagic zones. Deadmagic is normally (in FR) usually just one type of magic. The weave, most times. If you are a shadow weave user or some other obscure wielder of magic, that does not "run" or is fueled by the weave, entering a dead magic zone does nothing.

[Deophaun]

Yes, it's open-ended, but it only involves his own actions. That's the important part. If that wasn't the case it'd only last 1 day/level.
No, the important part is

If the instructions involve some open-ended task that the recipient cannot complete through his own actions the spell remains in effect for a maximum of one day per caster level.
"Keep a secret" is a task that cannot be completed. Period. Whether through his own actions or otherwise, it can only ever be maintained. Even death isn't an end. This is textbook 1 day/level geas.

[Crake]

No, the important part is

"Keep a secret" is a task that cannot be completed. Period. Whether through his own actions or otherwise, it can only ever be maintained. Even death isn't an end. This is textbook 1 day/level geas.

I gotta agree with Deophaun on this one, it's the fact that it cannot be completed which is the issue. Another thing, that a lot of people seem to overlook about geas/quest, is that the recipient of the spell IS FORCED to work on the task. In this case, he could not actually tell someone the secrets, even if he wanted to (obviously with the exception of the spell being negated like in a dead magic zone). It's only if some outside influence makes him stop the quest that he starts taking the penalties.


The geased creature must follow the given instructions until the geas is completed, no matter how long it takes. [....] If the subject is prevented from obeying the lesser geas for 24 hours [....] etc

As you can see, it's only if the subject is actually prevented from working toward their task in some way that the penalties are put in place, they actually lack the ability to individually stop working on the quest (it is a compulsion after all). This is one of the things that makes half fey absolutely ridiculous by the way, because they have a standard action, no save geas that they can put on someone and literally force them to perform the action.