Prestidigitation wording question.

[Draz0000]

"You create a nonmagical trinket or an illusory image that can fit in your hand and that lasts until the end of your next turn."

While this may be pedantry on my part. When I read this it is my understanding that RAW the nonmagical trinket doesnt have to fit into my hand and can last longer than my next turn. If not it would read,

"You create a nonmagical trinket, or an illusory image, that can fit in your hand and that lasts until the end of your next turn", no?

Do I have any leg to stand on here?

[Christian]

Maybe, but it's the size of a comma, so it won't hold you up.

Under your interpretation, are you suggesting that you can create a nonmagical trinket of any size that is permanent? With a cantrip? If you can find a DM who agrees with that interpretation, please let me know so I can join his campaign and permanently wreck the game world economy.

When grammar pedantry means a rule is insane and stupid, grammar pedantry has to go.

(I'm also not entirely sure your grammar pedantry is entirely correct. But in this particular instance, I really don't care.)

[Christian]

Actually, on reflection, I don't think your grammar point is correct anyway. The correct punctuation for the rule as you're interpreting it would be:

"You create a nonmagical trinket, or an illusory image that can fit in your hand and that lasts until the end of your next turn."

That would clearly mark the compound adjective clause as applying only to the second subject. As actually phrased, the interpretation is at worst ambiguous (in which case semantic rules demand that the non-stupid reading be applied). But I think it's actually correct. Generally, when the adjective (or dependent adjective clause in this case) applies to all of the subjects, no commas are necessary. Your suggested rewrite has way too many commas.

[Christian]

Man, I actually learned things about grammar that I was never taught in school researching this crazy question.

Shortest answer I can give: that in the rule sentence signifies an essential dependent clause, no comma is required, and the clause applies to each element of the compound subject.

The PHB writers and editors avoided a whole bunch of common mistakes in wording that spell description correctly ... Now I'm going to spend the rest of the night reading theeditorsblog.net. Thanks a lot. :smallmad:

[Kalashak]

"You create a nonmagical trinket or an illusory image that can fit in your hand and that lasts until the end of your next turn."

While this may be pedantry on my part. When I read this it is my understanding that RAW the nonmagical trinket doesnt have to fit into my hand and can last longer than my next turn. If not it would read,

"You create a nonmagical trinket, or an illusory image, that can fit in your hand and that lasts until the end of your next turn", no?

Do I have any leg to stand on here?

I certainly wouldn't rule it this way, and I'm having a really hard time reading the first one and arriving at the conclusion you have.

[Nifft]

"You create a nonmagical trinket or an illusory image that can fit in your hand and that lasts until the end of your next turn."

While this may be pedantry on my part. When I read this it is my understanding that RAW the nonmagical trinket doesnt have to fit into my hand and can last longer than my next turn. If not it would read,

"You create a nonmagical trinket, or an illusory image, that can fit in your hand and that lasts until the end of your next turn", no?

Do I have any leg to stand on here?

You have no legs.

The legs (which you don't have) cannot provide sufficient structural integrity to support any form of standing.