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Thread: the area of Silence, save or no
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2010-11-15, 03:29 PM (ISO 8601)
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the area of Silence, save or no
There is a save against Silence for an unwilling creature, an attended object, or a magic item that emits sound; will negates. Unattended objects get no save. I've played in groups that say bringing a silenced rock near a spellcaster silences the spellcaster, no save. I've heard of some DMs ruling that any unwilling creature in a silenced area gets a chance at the saving throw.
I'd like to hear how Playgrounders play it, not just RAW but actual play. I have a WhisperGnome in my group, so it's going to come up a lot as she tackles spellcasters.
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2010-11-15, 03:34 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2007
Re: the area of Silence, save or no
It never came up much, but if I recall, when I played D&D, the initial casting had a save, but standing in the area did not have a save. It only has a 20ft radius, so 'walking briskly away' was typically the preferred defense for spellcasters.
If you could *get* to a spellcaster, effectively grapple him, and he didn't have a defense against the silence OR the grapple, then it was deemed perfectly acceptable for him to be gratuitously owned without a saving throw.5e D&D Mythos Classes
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Discussion Thread
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2010-11-15, 03:36 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2006
Re: the area of Silence, save or no
No save. Cast the spell on the Barbarian. Have the Barbarian move up to the caster and ready an action to follow the caster. You now have a gimped enemy caster.
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2010-11-15, 03:37 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: the area of Silence, save or no
Targeted version grants a save, area does not. Since you can generally move away from the area, it's quite fair, and yet useful.
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2010-11-15, 03:37 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2009
Re: the area of Silence, save or no
My understanding has always been that the saving throw only applied if the silence spell is cast on the caster (or any creature) itself but that silence on unattended objects and areas couldn't be saved against, you have to avoid it or dispel it.
So throwing a pebble with silence on it near to the caster would not force a save. There was some confusion when I brought it up in my group about whether an arrow with silence cast on it, shot at a caster would work. The arrow is destroyed so does that mean the silence effect is destroyed? There is also no mechanic to account for removing an arrowhead from a wound if hit although healing would presumably do so.Last edited by Ormur; 2010-11-15 at 03:39 PM.
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2010-11-15, 03:40 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2006
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- Sunnydale
Re: the area of Silence, save or no
A Silence spell doesn't allow a saving throw except when targeted at something that has the ability to save. Put it on a rock and bring it near a spellcaster and they've got several options:
- Use spells without verbal components.
- Use Silent Spell or Sudden Silent.
- Back away from the area, and target Dispel Magic against Silence.
- Back away from the area, and just stay away.
- Do something other than spellcasting.
Last edited by Curmudgeon; 2010-11-15 at 03:43 PM.
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2010-11-15, 03:40 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2009
Re: the area of Silence, save or no
No save where the target is an unattended item. The spellcaster can move out of the space, but she wouldn't get a save. I believe that's RAW. It is also how our groups have played it.
We have a player who likes to have his characters use silence as follows: Cast silence on the door frame, so baddies in the next room won't hear the scuffle. Cast silence on the surfaces of the room, so the spellcasters can't cast spells. Cast silence on burr, which is then given to a rogue to place on the spellcaster's back during a sneak attack.Check out my Arboreal Halflings and my Megaliths of Zidydrion.
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2010-11-15, 03:43 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2007
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Re: the area of Silence, save or no
It's a great readied action to disrupt casting too; no save so it's basically guaranteed to succeed.
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2010-11-15, 03:45 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2006
Re: the area of Silence, save or no
Yeah. Ready an action to cast Silence on a pebble near his feet or something.
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2010-11-15, 03:56 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: the area of Silence, save or no
Thanks, gang!
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2010-11-15, 04:04 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: the area of Silence, save or no
Making silence have a save doesn't really make spellcasters more powerful. After all, silence is cast by casters.
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2010-11-16, 04:54 AM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2006
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- Sunnydale
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2010-11-16, 05:20 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jul 2004
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- USA
Re: the area of Silence, save or no
Yep. Rogues don't like having casters anywhere near their low Will saves.
Last edited by Callista; 2010-11-16 at 05:21 AM.
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2010-11-16, 07:07 AM (ISO 8601)
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2010-11-16, 09:31 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: the area of Silence, save or no
Silence is also a potent defense against powerful high-level spells such as Blasphemy, or other spells with the sonic descriptor. You don't want to give that Balor a save when he walks into your defensively-cast Silence spell (you've probably got bigger problems then anyway).
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2010-11-16, 12:04 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2006
Re: the area of Silence, save or no
Spell-like abilities don't care about components, so Silence doesn't hinder Balors. It lets them come up to you and full-attack you without you being able to cast any Non-Silent spells however.
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2010-11-16, 12:56 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2010
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2010-11-16, 01:45 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Nov 2006
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2010-11-16, 03:32 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2010