Simple RAW for 5e V: The Disadvantage Strikes Back

[PhoenixPhyre]

Q408: Do characters under the influence of hypnotic pattern retain any memory from their time being charmed?

For example, if a thief stole their jewelled necklace, would the person remember the theft (but was just incapable of responding) or is the spell a total memory ‘blackspot’?

A408 incapacitated does not affect sensory perception or memory, at least by default. You are not unconscious -- you can even speak. You just can't take actions or move (with this particular spell, that's not a property of incapacitated). Thus, I see no reason it should make anyone forget anything.

[Chaos Jackal]

A408 incapacitated does not affect sensory perception or memory, at least by default. You are not unconscious -- you can even speak. You just can't take actions or move (with this particular spell, that's not a property of incapacitated). Thus, I see no reason it should make anyone forget anything.

A 408 Dispute This isn't hold person. The incapacitation doesn't come from you being fully aware of what is going on but incapable of moving your body, it comes from you being into a stupor (per the spell's words) that you aren't snapping out of unless you get slapped or shaken back into reality. You aren't unconscious or blind or deaf, sure, but you are distracted in the manner of "hand moves in front of my face and I don't notice". I see no reason why you'd retain memory of things you never noticed because you were in a stupor.

I will note that the dispute is not grounded on any particular rule, however, so if neither answer satisfies you, I suggest you start a thread.

[Ferris]

A 408 Dispute This isn't hold person. The incapacitation doesn't come from you being fully aware of what is going on but incapable of moving your body, it comes from you being into a stupor (per the spell's words) that you aren't snapping out of unless you get slapped or shaken back into reality. You aren't unconscious or blind or deaf, sure, but you are distracted in the manner of "hand moves in front of my face and I don't notice". I see no reason why you'd retain memory of things you never noticed because you were in a stupor.

I will note that the dispute is not grounded on any particular rule, however, so if neither answer satisfies you, I suggest you start a thread.

Thanks - that is pretty much what I thought too.

[Hairfish]

A 408 Dispute This isn't hold person. The incapacitation doesn't come from you being fully aware of what is going on but incapable of moving your body, it comes from you being into a stupor (per the spell's words) that you aren't snapping out of unless you get slapped or shaken back into reality. You aren't unconscious or blind or deaf, sure, but you are distracted in the manner of "hand moves in front of my face and I don't notice". I see no reason why you'd retain memory of things you never noticed because you were in a stupor.

I will note that the dispute is not grounded on any particular rule, however, so if neither answer satisfies you, I suggest you start a thread.

RAW doesn't involve giving powers to spells/abilities that it doesn't explicitly state they have, doing so is DM fiat. There's already a condition for making targets unaware of their surroundings: unconscious. Hypnotic Pattern doesn't inflict it.

[da newt]

Q409: The Warlock invocation GHOSTLY GAZE allows you to see through solid objects - does this allow you to see through fog and other heavily obscured areas? I assume yes as you can see through stuff.

How about magical darkness like Hunger of Hadar, Shadow of Moil, and Darkness? These spells don't specify what it is that blocks sight, just that they 'do.' Is this a case of 'don't think about it, just read the spell and it does what it does - no how is needed, logic will only make it confusing. Sure, you can see through solid stone or lead or rocks or creatures, but magical darkness isn't solid - it just can't be seen through without devil's sight."

[Psyren]

A409: As written it's only solid objects, which fog cloud and other spell effects aren't, but check with your DM.

[No brains]

Q 410
Can a Gynosphinx (or another creature with a similar legendary action) use their Cast a Spell legendary action to bypass the normal casting time or action requirements of a spell on their list? For example, casting Legend Lore with one legendary action or casting Shield without using a reaction against an attack that would hit the Sphinx?

[Hairfish]

Q 410
Can a Gynosphinx (or another creature with a similar legendary action) use their Cast a Spell legendary action to bypass the normal casting time or action requirements of a spell on their list? For example, casting Legend Lore with one legendary action or casting Shield without using a reaction against an attack that would hit the Sphinx?

A 410
No. A legendary action may only be used at the end of another creature's turn and gives no additional benefits (such as reduced casting times) unless it specifically says they do.

[Emongnome777]

Q411

Do you roll once for damage when you cast Chain Lightning or do you roll damage separately for each target?

Thanks,

Chain Lightning

You create a bolt of lightning that arcs toward a target of your choice that you can see within range. Three bolts then leap from that target to as many as three other targets, each of which must be within 30 feet of the first target. A target can be a creature or an object and can be targeted by only one of the bolts.

A target must make a Dexterity saving throw. The target takes 10d8 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 7th level or higher, one additional bolt leaps from the first target to another target for each slot level above 6th.

[Hairfish]

Q411

Do you roll once for damage when you cast Chain Lightning or do you roll damage separately for each target?

A411

PHB, p. 196:
If a spell or other effect deals damage to more than one target at the same time, roll the damage once for all of them. For example, when a wizard casts fireball or a cleric casts flame strike, the spell’s damage is rolled once for all creatures caught in the blast.

[da newt]

Q412:

If a PC casts CONTINGENCY on themselves to evoke GREATER INVISIBILITY when they say "pumpernickel"
(1) does it cost any action to say "pumpernickel" during combat?
(2) do they have to keep concentration on the GI spell as if they had cast it normally?

[Chaos Jackal]

Q412:

If a PC casts CONTINGENCY on themselves to evoke GREATER INVISIBILITY when they say "pumpernickel"
(1) does it cost any action to say "pumpernickel" during combat?
(2) do they have to keep concentration on the GI spell as if they had cast it normally?

A 412
1) No. There is no action required for talking (well, as long as you don't give a full pep talk or something) and contingency triggers aren't mentioned as being action-based.
2) Yes. You're still the one who cast the contingent spell, so once it takes effect, all of its rules apply, including concentration. The only thing that changes is that it only targets you if it would normally have additional targets, per contingency's effect.

[Oramac]

Q413:

RE: Twilight Cleric's Channel Divinity: Twilight Sanctuary.

Am I reading this correctly, that there is no cap on how many times I can use the benefit? So if my whole party is within 30 ft of me, I can give all of them 1d6+level THP at the end of each of their turns for the duration?

[Psyren]

A413: Correct, this is what makes the feature so powerful - you become a highly-efficient THP battery. Not only that, but there is no limit on the Charm/Frighten removal either (though a given recipient can only get one of these benefits on a given round.)

[Ferris]

Q414: Changing the colour of a surface with prestidigitation for an hour - could this be applied to a full suit of armour by repeated casting?

Seems like you could have camouflage, gold or jet black plate, for instance. Or does the surface have to be flat?

[Dualight]

A414: Only if the DM rules the armour consists of no more that 3 objects, since prestidigitation can have no more than three non instantaneous effects going at the same time. That said, the shape of the object does not matter, as far as teh spell is concerned.

[Myth27]

Q415

When using battle master manuevers
tactical assessment, commanding presence and ambush, can you choose to use them after you see the dice roll or before?

[Gurgeh]

A415
You must decide whether to use these manouevres before you roll the d20, you can't add them on after the fact.

[da newt]

Q416:

If a creature leaves the melee range of a familiar, does the familiar get an opportunity attack?

If the Familiar is a pact of the Chain Warlock's Imp does that change things (they can attack IF you take the attack action and forgo one of your attacks)?

Does your chain pact familiar require the investment of the chain master to gain the opp attack ability?

[Psyren]

A416a: Regular familiars can't make attacks at all, so that precludes opportunity attacks.

A416b/c: Chain familiars inherit the restriction above, however they are allowed to break the rules when it comes to a specific kind of attack made with their reaction. This is still not an opportunity attack, so they can't make those either.

[Hairfish]

Q416:

If a creature leaves the melee range of a familiar, does the familiar get an opportunity attack?

If the Familiar is a pact of the Chain Warlock's Imp does that change things (they can attack IF you take the attack action and forgo one of your attacks)?

Does your chain pact familiar require the investment of the chain master to gain the opp attack ability?

A416:

Per the text of Find Familiar, familiars cannot make attacks, so they cannot make opportunity attacks.

Chain/Investment warlocks gain the ability to allow their familiar to make an attack under very specific circumstances. This does not grant the familiar the ability to make attacks under other circumstances, such as those that would allow opportunity attacks from normal creatures.

[Beni-Kujaku]

A 410 Discussion : Contrary to a Legendary Action that would say "cast a spell that takes 1 action to cast" (for an example of those, see the Lord of Blades from Eberron:RftLW), the Gynosphinx's LA allows it to cast any spell. A LA is not a regular Action, if it says it does something, then it does it, including casting any spell the Gynosphinx has access to, including Shield or Legend Lore. In effect, it changes the casting time from a spell from whatever it was to "1 Legendary Action".

[Shomeking]

Q417

After you break Polymorph with the first dart of Magic Missle, do the other 2 still hit? Does it count as the same creature?

[Hairfish]

Q417

After you break Polymorph with the first dart of Magic Missle, do the other 2 still hit? Does it count as the same creature?

A417

I'll use the example of a dwarf that has been Polymorphed into a bear in the hopes of making the answer easier to understand.

Magic Missile's spell description explicitly states that all the darts strike their target(s) simultaneously, so there is no "first dart". The darts all hit the bear, damage is rolled, any damage beyond the amount needed to reduce the bear to 0 hp carries over to the dwarf.

I'm not entirely sure what you're asking with the second question.

If you're asking if the morphed dwarf has their bear form reduced to 0 hp by the first shot of an Eldritch Blast counts as the dwarf or the bear for the second shot, then they would be the dwarf.

If you're asking if the second shot would miss the dwarf entirely because it's a different "creature" than the bear, then it would not miss the dwarf. "Creature" in this case is a specific game term and both the bear and the dwarf are the same creature.

[Arkhios]

Q418

When you use Wild Shape, do you retain your own AC that you have from your equipment (e.g. a hide armor, shield), and the assumed beast form's dexterity, or do you use the AC of the assumed beast form as seen in its stat block, or some other combination (what, exactly)? How much does the (quote) "Worn equipment functions as normal" (/quote)?

[Psyren]

Q418

When you use Wild Shape, do you retain your own AC that you have from your equipment (e.g. a hide armor, shield), and the assumed beast form's dexterity, or do you use the AC of the assumed beast form as seen in its stat block, or some other combination (what, exactly)? How much does the (quote) "Worn equipment functions as normal" (/quote)?

A418: Before you get to "worn equipment functions as normal," you first have to clear this clause: "The DM decides whether it is practical for the new form to wear a piece of equipment, based on the creature’s shape and size. Your equipment doesn’t change size or shape to match the new form, and any equipment that the new form can’t wear must either fall to the ground or merge with it."

Most wild shape forms don't have the same shape as a humanoid, and a fair number that you would be interested in for combat (e.g. most bears) don't have the same size either. Your DM is the final arbiter, but the most common approach is usually to say that humanoid armor needs to merge or drop.

If your DM rules that your armor is able to stay on your wildshape form - say, you're wearing Hide and turn into a gorilla? - then you get to choose how your AC is calculated, per Sage Advice.. You would want to look at the natural armor AC of the creature, vs its AC if you combined its Dex modifier with your worn armor (again, only if the DM allows worn armor in wild shape), vs any other calculation method you might have like Barkskin, and generally speaking pick the highest available since there's no real advantage to going lower.

[Ferris]

Q419
Can a Divine Soul Sorcadin who has prepared Aid as one of his Paladin spells still use the metamagic Extended spell (to provide 16 hours of temporary HP)?

Or does metamagic only work on his Sorcerer spells?

[Psyren]

A419: Metamagic you know works on any spell you can cast; you can even use it on racial spells. Yes, you can extend Aid to be 16 hours regardless of which class you got it from.