Ask the Sage: Quick Rules Questions volume 7 (DnD 5e)

[Goblin Man]

Dear Sage,

I'm struggling with getting an overview/understanding which spells I can cast during a battle when holding a shield (with holy symbol) and a weapon in the other hand.

I'm unsure what the free interaction with an object in tandem with my action helps in this context?: When do I have to drop the weapon? when can I sheathe/stow it first?

Of course, I'm looking for a general understanding or a link to a comprehensive list or helpful online tool... but I currently play (here on this website) only a Half-Orc Life Cleric (lvl2) and a Hobgoblin Light Cleric (lvl1).

They don't have the warcaster feat yet. Also no component pouch but only(!) a holy symbol on the shield.

Currently my two clerics can cast the following spells and my best bet how the spell component affects the casting/weapon is indicated next to them. Is this about right?:

-Healing Word, Fairy Fire
V-- no problem

-Guidance, Sacred Flame, Cure Wounds, Guiding Bolt, Till the Dead:
VS -- free hand needed, so stow weapon before casting. So I can't do opportunity attacks until drawing the weapon again on my turn but at least I don't have to drop the weapon to the ground, right?

Burning Hands:
VS-- two hands needed in a special way according to spell description. So I can't cast it while holding a shield.

-Bless, Sanctuary, Bane:
VSM -- don't need free hand because holy symbol on shield

-Resistance:
VSM -- description says I need to touch a creature. Can I do this when holding shield and spear?

PS: I'm aware that I likely won't cast Guidance/Resistance during a battle.

I think I understand that
-I need a whole action to doff a shield
-the holy symbol (shield) replaces material components (M) if they aren't consumed/costly
-I can use the shield to 'perform' the somatic component (S) only if the spell also has a material component (M). Otherwise I need a free hand. (Or the warcaster feat).

[Gaijin]

In an exchange with Jeremy Crawford, the following was established.

Jeremy Crawford "The intent is that the shield hand can be used for a somatic component if the holy shield is used to cast the spell. ~Twitter

Thus, if your spell allows you to use the Shield as an spell-casting focus, it also satisfies the somatic component. [Giddeon Strongbow raises his shield aloft (somatic) and it glows with divine light (material), shedding waves of healing energy upon the party.]

---

As for the specific spell description of burning hands, as a DM, I wouldn't personally get too caught up in the details. Somatic components are somatic components, and everyone discovers their own way of casting spells. The important thing to preserve is that somatic components require the hand performing the somatic components to be unrestrained.

Though yes, technically the description of the spell requires two free hands to cast.

---

As for sheathing a weapon: Yes, the Cleric can sheath a weapon as an Object Interaction to cast a spell such as Guiding Bolt.

Note: They will not be able to take attacks of opportunity with the weapon until they draw the weapon again.

---

Edit: Sorry for the messy response.

For spells like Resistance, "touching" can be considered part of the somatic component, so you can certainly use your shield to touch your target, so long as the spell also calls for a material component, enabling use of the holy symbol shield.

Warcaster makes this much less of a headache.

[Goblin Man]

Honestly I was wondering quite some time if Jeremy Crawford talks only about VSM spells or also VS spells until I realized that the holy shield/symbol is only used to cast the spell if it has a material (component), otherwise a holy symbol can't be used to cast the spell. I wasn't clear about that too.

Regarding Burning Hands, ya, I will ask my DM!

I have to apologise for the messy question. But it is/was a big mess in my head. (It will get even more complicated when I multiclass to Wizard after reaching level 2 ... )

Thanks a lot.

[TADHG]

7Here's a question: one of the party members has a familiar. Which isn't an animal, but a fiend. As DM, the effect needed to Plane Shift the entire party [those within a certain area of the door when the spell glyph was triggered.] Does the familiar get transported as well, assuming it was perched on the wizard's shoulder, or does it return to its home? I honestly am not sure. If I had to call it, I'd say that the wizard needs to cast this spell again. But I'd rather get a ruling... so it's not just me saying it.

Maybe Plane Shift isn't meant to work that way, but it's the McGuffin moving the story to a new place, so I kinda wanted the whole party.

[jj_wolven]

The familiar would get transported to the same place as everyone else. The spell only specified 'creature', nothing I could see set fiend or any other type apart.

-me

[TADHG]

This is the quoted portion: "IF the target is a Huge or smaller creature, it must succeed on a Strength contest...or be pulled up to 20 feet"

How do I work that out in gameplay? Each combatant rolls d20 and adds strength bonus? And then 5' for every point difference up to 20'? Or do I use the raw stats, and simply compare those? The creature has an 18 STR score, and a +4 bonus.

[Imveros]

That looks like a typo to me.

I'd say it's supposed to be a strength save and if they fail against the ability DC then they get pulled

[TADHG]

I've got another dumb question.

A character's or creature's Passive Perception score is used as a DC when determining Stealth (or Hide) checks? That has not yet come up, but it could. Hungry monsters wouldn't constantly be rolling Perception checks every time a mouse scurried by. Or even when characters are simply walking around in the labyrinthine passages found in a dungeon or other adventuring area. It would only be used if a character attempted to sneak by a monster, or a monster tried to sneak by them. (By the way, none of them are rogues, so I have doubts that any of them chose that particular proficiency.)

[Menzo]

In 5e, that is correct. It is used as the DC of characters' Stealth or Hide checks. I don't know about Pathfinder.

If the characters are just casually strolling around and chatting, then there would have to be environmental or situational reasons why creatures wouldn't realise they're there.

[jj_wolven]

Originally Posted by TADHG

This is the quoted portion: "IF the target is a Huge or smaller creature, it must succeed on a Strength contest...or be pulled up to 20 feet"

How do I work that out in gameplay? Each combatant rolls d20 and adds strength bonus? And then 5' for every point difference up to 20'? Or do I use the raw stats, and simply compare those? The creature has an 18 STR score, and a +4 bonus.

Is this still about the plane shift spell?
I don't see that in there.

-me

[TADHG]

Originally Posted by jj_wolven

Is this still about the plane shift spell?
I don't see that in there.

-me

No, this is about the merrow's Harpoon attack. Though I'm playing in Ravnica, a merrow seems somehow appropriate to the Simic Combine...and I might have it as an encounter. Then again, maybe the Simic Combine has the merrow imprisoned, and he wouldn't have access to the harpoon attack to begin with. Hmm...

[Astra]

Originally Posted by TADHG

This is the quoted portion: "IF the target is a Huge or smaller creature, it must succeed on a Strength contest...or be pulled up to 20 feet"

How do I work that out in gameplay? Each combatant rolls d20 and adds strength bonus? And then 5' for every point difference up to 20'? Or do I use the raw stats, and simply compare those? The creature has an 18 STR score, and a +4 bonus.

Pretty sure the way to resolve this is for each creature to roll 1d20 + STR mod, and if the target fails the check they get pulled 20 feet unless they are closer to the Merrow in which case they just get pulled right to the Merrow.

So for example if you are 40 feet away and the Merrow rolls 17 but you roll a 20, you are not pulled. If the Merrow rolls a 17 and you roll a 16, you get pulled 20 feet towards it. If you are 10 feet away, the Merrow rolls a 17 and you roll a 3, then you only get pulled 10 feet.

[Ziether]

As Astra states, "up to X feet" without further explanation usually means that the maximum value is the given number, with a target less than X feet away not getting pulled past the creature, and a target more than X feet away not getting pulled all the way to adjacent.

[TADHG]

As I read the rules in the Player's Handbook, am I correct in understanding that the 20th level warlock can only cast 4 spells, not including invocations (or do they include those as well), before needing a short rest?

I'm considering a build for Rhiannon, Goddess of Horses, and thought of as a witch, and I wanted to try various class combinations.

I did builds as warlock, druid, and cleric/wizard (13/7). The last is a nature domain cleric, but I wanted to give even that build some way of transforming into a horse. (or centaur or unicorn, if CR allows), so I need Polymorph, a 4th level wizard spell.

The builds concentrate on enchantment and nature. I was listening to the Fleetwood Mac song while brainstorming it.

[Wynamoinen]

A 20th level warlock can cast 4 spells using spell slots, per short rest. Beyond that, they'd get a Mystic Arcanum spell at levels 11, 13, 15, and 17. That's 4 additional spells, beyond your slots, per long rest. Then you add any invocations you have on top of that. Some of those use spell slots and some don't. Some are limited per rest and some are not.

Plus if you're a 20th level warlock you can refresh your slots once per long rest, from the "Eldritch Master" class feature, effectively granting up to 8 slots for one of your daily short-rest intervals.

A 13/7 warlock cleric would have three Pact Spell slots per short rest, plus two daily Mystic Arcanum spells, plus whatever are your invocations (and no Warlock-level-20 refresh). A 20th level character with 13 warlock levels can only use 13th-level warlock abilities.

A hard part of building and playing a multiclass warlock is keeping your warlock Pact Magic slots completely separate from the spell slots that come from ANY other class (which all have the "Spellcasting" ability, rather than "Pact Magic"). A 13/7 Bard/cleric would have 9th level spell slots but no 9th level spells known (p 164 & 165 of the PHB) since both classes have Spellcasting. A 13/7 warlock/cleric has the Pact Magic three 5th level slots, and the standard list of 7th level cleric spellcasting slots (4/3/3/1).