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Myth27
2018-07-12, 06:09 PM
Hello everyone, I am not a native English speaker, I am not sure what “utility” means in this context, can you tell me?

This is an ability the cleric has in the modern magic of 5th edition:

Starting at 2nd level, you can use your channel divinity to call the city for aid. As an action, you present your holy symbol, and any city utility within 30 feet of you either works perfectly or shuts down entirely for 1 minute (your choice)

What is a city utility? Cars, trains, metro, are those utilities?

Nifft
2018-07-12, 06:18 PM
It's #3 here: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/utility



3 a : public utility
b (1) : a service (such as light, power, or water) provided by a public utility
(2) : equipment or a piece of equipment to provide such service or a comparable service


So yeah, it's basically what you think -- electricity, water, gas, sewage, that type of thing.

Whyrocknodie
2018-07-12, 06:19 PM
In this context my guess is that it means things like electricity, gas pipes, radio antenna, sewerage, communications (telephones, internet) and similar elements of infrastructure. Perhaps extending to electric tramlines and rail lines? Maybe traffic lights?

Pleh
2018-07-13, 06:51 AM
It might not apply to cars in general, because those don't typically belong to the city. If you were being followed by government vehicles, you might be able to shut off their cars for a minute.

Likewise with radio receivers and transmitters, a lot of them are privately owned rather than a public service. Any radio provided by the city could be targeted.

In general, water, electricity, and waste disposal are city utility services. Yes, traffic lights and metros and other public transportation would likely be something you could affect, but I'm not sure you could do much more than turn it on or off.

Ninja_Prawn
2018-07-13, 02:32 PM
I'm a building services engineer so, as far as I'm concerned, utilities are the things that come into a building from a public network of some kind:

Mains water
Mains electricity
Mains gas
Mains sewerage
Telecom lines
District heating pipes
Personally, I wouldn't consider anything else a 'utility'; 'amenity' or 'street furniture' would be the proper terms terms for things like tram lines, street lights, fire hydrants, rubbish collection and traffic lights.

Psyren
2018-07-15, 10:07 PM
I would definitely say street lights and fire hydrants were intended to be covered by this ability. It would surprise me greatly if they weren't specifically thinking of the Deluminator (https://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Deluminator) as an intended application of this power.

Myth27
2018-07-26, 12:56 PM
Thanks everyone, you have been very helpful


I would definitely say street lights and fire hydrants were intended to be covered by this ability. It would surprise me greatly if they weren't specifically thinking of the Deluminator (https://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Deluminator) as an intended application of this power.

I thought they were thinking about warchdogs when writing this ability

Psyren
2018-07-26, 04:34 PM
Thanks everyone, you have been very helpful



I thought they were thinking about warchdogs when writing this ability

That too. He can mess with streetlights and traffic lights IIRC.