Bless potion

[talltwin36]

When someone drinks a bless potion does it affect just them or does it affect all allies within the proscribed range of the spell?

msquared

[Zincorium]

You're always the only target when drinking a potion. Bless normally targets all allies, or at least can, but the potion feature overrides that.

[Lolzords]

You're always the only target when drinking a potion. Bless normally targets all allies, or at least can, but the potion feature overrides that.

I agree, it's like if (somehow) someone made a potion of mass cure light wounds. Even if the spell description heals one creature per caster level, it would still only work on you since you are the only one who consumed it.

[Zherog]

Bless is not a valid spell to make into a potion.

Benefit: You can create a potion of any 3rd-level or lower spell that you know and that targets one or more creatures.

Bless is an area affect, not a target spell. It would be like making a potion of fireball.

[Toliudar]

But, from the description of bless:

Area:The caster and all allies within a 50-ft. burst, centered on the caster

Therefore, "the caster" is a target of the spell. Clearly, there's no problem with potions that have an emanation out from the target, or else an oil of darkness would be, well, black paint.

Still, I would agree that a potion of bless would only affect the imbiber.

[Zherog]

That's not a target, though. For a spell to have a target, it needs to have a "target" entry in the spell description. Look at, for example, protection from arrows, protection from evil, and mage armor. All of those are valid spells for a potion, because they have a "target" entry.

Bless does not have a "target" entry in the spell, and so therefore it is not a valid spell to be made into a potion.

edit: For further evidence -- Every potion and oil on the list has a target entry in the spell description. And while the random lists are by no means complete, it does serve as an indicator of what is valid (targeted spells) and what is not (area spells, personal range spells).

[Fax Celestis]

However, one could theoretically make a potion of inflict moderate wounds under the same rules (which is a nasty trick to play on your players).

[Zherog]

Indeed. Intelligent undead creatures in my games regularly have them.

[Toliudar]

Cool - thanks, Zherog. I wasn't clear on the difference between targeting yourself and a range of personal. Subtle, but I get it. Well articulated.

Actually, Fax, potions of inflict might be great for an all-undead campaign.

[Roderick_BR]

Funny, I could swear there was a bless potion in DMG 3.0

[Emperor Tippy]

You can get Oil of Bless though. A 1 time use activated wondrous item of bless. Its activation is being drunk.

[Lolzords]

Bless is not a valid spell to make into a potion.



Bless is an area affect, not a target spell. It would be like making a potion of fireball.

I dunno, you could make a potion of bless. Instead of drinking it you throw it on the floor and a mushroom cloud of bless comes out.

Same thing with potion of fireball, the second the container breaks.. BOOM!

[Emperor Tippy]

I dunno, you could make a potion of bless. Instead of drinking it you throw it on the floor and a mushroom cloud of bless comes out.

Same thing with potion of fireball, the second the container breaks.. BOOM!

Those would be Oils. Not potions.

[Zherog]

Those would be Oils. Not potions.

And oils follow the same rules for potions, which makes both bless and fireball invalid spells to use.

If you really wanted that sort of item, you would need to make a wondrous item. For example, look at the necklace of fireballs for an example.

You can get Oil of Bless though. A 1 time use activated wondrous item of bless. Its activation is being drunk.

Again (or is it still ), no you can't. An oil follows all the same rules as a potion, except you rub it on the target rather than drinking it. Really good examples of spells to make into an oil are bless weapon and magic weapon.

[Iron_Mouse]

Funny, I could swear there was a bless potion in DMG 3.0

*Checks*
Nope, there isn't.

[Emperor Tippy]

And oils follow the same rules for potions, which makes both bless and fireball invalid spells to use.

If you really wanted that sort of item, you would need to make a wondrous item. For example, look at the necklace of fireballs for an example.

Yeah. I never realized that they covered Oil's under the potion creation rules. I just always figured that they used the wondrous item guidelines.

Again (or is it still ), no you can't. An oil follows all the same rules as a potion, except you rub it on the target rather than drinking it. Really good examples of spells to make into an oil are bless weapon and magic weapon.

See above.

You just make a use activated wondrous item that activates when you drink it. You then proceed to call it a potion of Bless.

Problem solved. And it only costs 50 GP.

[Zherog]

You just make a use activated wondrous item that activates when you drink it. You then proceed to call it a potion of Bless.

Problem solved. And it only costs 50 GP.

If you wanna follow WotC's own conventions, you'll call it an elixir of bless.

In 3.0, everything that's now called an elixir was a potion - the rules weren't quite as stringent as they are now. When they converted over to 3.5, they took those items off the potion list - because you couldn't make them as a potion - and dropped them onto the wondrous item list.

So there's definitely a precedent for it right in the core rules.

[Lolzords]

And oils follow the same rules for potions, which makes both bless and fireball invalid spells to use.

Hmm, I don't see a reason why you can't have a fireball potion (or oil) and just lob it at someone. The second the container breaks, a fireball goes off from where it landed.

[Zherog]

Hmm, I don't see a reason why you can't have a fireball potion (or oil) and just lob it at someone. The second the container breaks, a fireball goes off from where it landed.

Great. A wonderful wondrous item (akin to the necklace of fireballs). But it's not a potion.

A potion must be a spell of 3rd level or lower that requires a target and is not a personal range spell. Fireball only meets one of those three criteria, therefore it's not a valid target to be made into a potion.

It's completely valid as a spell to use in a wondrous item, though.

[Indon]

Hmm... Potion of Fireball...

Next campaign I run, I might have some surprises for my players...

[Zherog]

But... Fireball can't be made into a potion; only an elixir.

[Indon]

It doesn't matter what I call it; it only matters that they drink it.

[Tack122]

Make a potion of fireball (I don't care if its against the RaW!) put it the hallway leading up to a clever dragons horde on the bodies of some well decomposed adventurers. Label it "Potion of energy resistance (Fire)" easily readable for any character in the group.Maybe have 5-6 there, and of course, the dragon in question should make good use of fire breath weapons and similar things. Perhaps have the lair be in the middle of a volcano too.

So drink the potions. Blow up. Go forward to the dragon weakened.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

A potion must be a spell of 3rd level or lower that requires a target and is not a personal range spell.

Don't forget that a potion is activated by being drunk, and an oil is activated by being rubbed over the target. Neither is activated by having the container broken.