Who is targeted when Scrying's target is ambiguous?
$begingroup$
The 5th level spell Scrying allows you to attempt to magically spy on a creature. The caster doesn't even need to have met the creature to attempt this.
What happens when the target the caster has in mind could be multiple creatures?
As an example, a PC attempts to Scry a vigilante they have heard tales of. Unknown to them, this vigilante is actually 3 different people alternating shifts as the vigilante. Who does the spell end up targeting? Any of the people are a valid target for the spell, but which one attempts the saving throw to resist?
dnd-5e spells targeting divination
asked 1 hour ago
VigilVigil
5,6502469
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
The 5th level spell Scrying allows you to attempt to magically spy on a creature. The caster doesn't even need to have met the creature to attempt this.
What happens when the target the caster has in mind could be multiple creatures?
As an example, a PC attempts to Scry a vigilante they have heard tales of. Unknown to them, this vigilante is actually 3 different people alternating shifts as the vigilante. Who does the spell end up targeting? Any of the people are a valid target for the spell, but which one attempts the saving throw to resist?
dnd-5e spells targeting divination
asked 1 hour ago
VigilVigil
5,6502469
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
The 5th level spell Scrying allows you to attempt to magically spy on a creature. The caster doesn't even need to have met the creature to attempt this.
What happens when the target the caster has in mind could be multiple creatures?
As an example, a PC attempts to Scry a vigilante they have heard tales of. Unknown to them, this vigilante is actually 3 different people alternating shifts as the vigilante. Who does the spell end up targeting? Any of the people are a valid target for the spell, but which one attempts the saving throw to resist?
dnd-5e spells targeting divination
asked 1 hour ago
VigilVigil
5,6502469
$endgroup$
The 5th level spell Scrying allows you to attempt to magically spy on a creature. The caster doesn't even need to have met the creature to attempt this.
What happens when the target the caster has in mind could be multiple creatures?
As an example, a PC attempts to Scry a vigilante they have heard tales of. Unknown to them, this vigilante is actually 3 different people alternating shifts as the vigilante. Who does the spell end up targeting? Any of the people are a valid target for the spell, but which one attempts the saving throw to resist?
dnd-5e spells targeting divination
dnd-5e spells targeting divination
asked 1 hour ago
VigilVigil
5,6502469
asked 1 hour ago
VigilVigil
5,6502469
asked 1 hour ago
VigilVigil
5,6502469
asked 1 hour ago
VigilVigil
5,6502469
asked 1 hour ago
VigilVigil
5,6502469
5,6502469
add a comment |
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
This could potentially go both ways.
The description for Scrying includes (emphasis mine):
You can see and hear a particular creature you choose...
As a DM, I would interpret this as particular = specific, so in this case your NPC/persona wouldn't be a valid target. This could lead to some mystery for the PC, as they try to figure out why they can't scry this "individual."
Alternatively, you said the people in question rotate duty as this persona, so you could have the spell choose whomever is on duty as that particular person for that day.
Another option is to roll a die for whom the spell picks. There are 3 people, so roll a D6 and see who you get. This could get especially interesting if the spell picks someone NOT on duty as this persona, when the PCs know the vigilante is busy somewhere else.
Yet another option is as PJRZ mentioned below, where the PC has to describe how they know of this vigilante, and whichever person did what the PC describes is the target of the spell.
answered 1 hour ago
G. MoylanG. Moylan
727116
New contributor
G. Moylan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
I like this because there is no 'RAW' answer to this that I can find, and it spells out the GM's interpretations nicely.
$endgroup$
– MarkTO
47 mins ago
1
$begingroup$
The scrying spell allows targeting a creature "you have heard of", so another option is to ask the player to describe how they heard of them. The first thing they say ("that vigilante who beat up the corrupt mayor last night")...that's the guy they get. If they cast scrying again using a different description, they could end up with a different person (a clue that the vigilante is not one person!)
$endgroup$
– PJRZ
26 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Invalid Target (group instead of individual)
The DM could rule that the vigilante is actually a group of people and is not a valid target. In this case caster is unwittingly trying to targeting a group of individuals. A group is not a valid target for scrying. In this case, the guidance in Xanathar's is that nothing happens to the target and the spell slot is expended. From the caster's point of view, it appears as though the target saved.
Valid Target (shared single identity)
If the DM has reason to rule that the vigilante is a valid target, e.g. because it is a single identity, then there are a few options they might go with.
The current user of the identity
If one of the persons behind the mask is currently using that identity as their own, then scrying should target them. They are currently the vigilante.
Particular Tales
If the caster is basing their target from a particular tale or set of tales, the target would be the person behind the mask in those stories.
Equal Number of Tales
If the caster is basing their target from tales that are equally distributed between the persons behind the mask, randomly select from one.
answered 1 hour ago
GrosscolGrosscol
8,8371963
$endgroup$
add a comment |
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2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
This could potentially go both ways.
The description for Scrying includes (emphasis mine):
You can see and hear a particular creature you choose...
As a DM, I would interpret this as particular = specific, so in this case your NPC/persona wouldn't be a valid target. This could lead to some mystery for the PC, as they try to figure out why they can't scry this "individual."
Alternatively, you said the people in question rotate duty as this persona, so you could have the spell choose whomever is on duty as that particular person for that day.
Another option is to roll a die for whom the spell picks. There are 3 people, so roll a D6 and see who you get. This could get especially interesting if the spell picks someone NOT on duty as this persona, when the PCs know the vigilante is busy somewhere else.
Yet another option is as PJRZ mentioned below, where the PC has to describe how they know of this vigilante, and whichever person did what the PC describes is the target of the spell.
answered 1 hour ago
G. MoylanG. Moylan
727116
New contributor
G. Moylan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
I like this because there is no 'RAW' answer to this that I can find, and it spells out the GM's interpretations nicely.
$endgroup$
– MarkTO
47 mins ago
1
$begingroup$
The scrying spell allows targeting a creature "you have heard of", so another option is to ask the player to describe how they heard of them. The first thing they say ("that vigilante who beat up the corrupt mayor last night")...that's the guy they get. If they cast scrying again using a different description, they could end up with a different person (a clue that the vigilante is not one person!)
$endgroup$
– PJRZ
26 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
This could potentially go both ways.
The description for Scrying includes (emphasis mine):
You can see and hear a particular creature you choose...
As a DM, I would interpret this as particular = specific, so in this case your NPC/persona wouldn't be a valid target. This could lead to some mystery for the PC, as they try to figure out why they can't scry this "individual."
Alternatively, you said the people in question rotate duty as this persona, so you could have the spell choose whomever is on duty as that particular person for that day.
Another option is to roll a die for whom the spell picks. There are 3 people, so roll a D6 and see who you get. This could get especially interesting if the spell picks someone NOT on duty as this persona, when the PCs know the vigilante is busy somewhere else.
Yet another option is as PJRZ mentioned below, where the PC has to describe how they know of this vigilante, and whichever person did what the PC describes is the target of the spell.
answered 1 hour ago
G. MoylanG. Moylan
727116
New contributor
G. Moylan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
I like this because there is no 'RAW' answer to this that I can find, and it spells out the GM's interpretations nicely.
$endgroup$
– MarkTO
47 mins ago
1
$begingroup$
The scrying spell allows targeting a creature "you have heard of", so another option is to ask the player to describe how they heard of them. The first thing they say ("that vigilante who beat up the corrupt mayor last night")...that's the guy they get. If they cast scrying again using a different description, they could end up with a different person (a clue that the vigilante is not one person!)
$endgroup$
– PJRZ
26 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
This could potentially go both ways.
The description for Scrying includes (emphasis mine):
You can see and hear a particular creature you choose...
As a DM, I would interpret this as particular = specific, so in this case your NPC/persona wouldn't be a valid target. This could lead to some mystery for the PC, as they try to figure out why they can't scry this "individual."
Alternatively, you said the people in question rotate duty as this persona, so you could have the spell choose whomever is on duty as that particular person for that day.
Another option is to roll a die for whom the spell picks. There are 3 people, so roll a D6 and see who you get. This could get especially interesting if the spell picks someone NOT on duty as this persona, when the PCs know the vigilante is busy somewhere else.
Yet another option is as PJRZ mentioned below, where the PC has to describe how they know of this vigilante, and whichever person did what the PC describes is the target of the spell.
answered 1 hour ago
G. MoylanG. Moylan
727116
New contributor
G. Moylan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$endgroup$
This could potentially go both ways.
The description for Scrying includes (emphasis mine):
You can see and hear a particular creature you choose...
As a DM, I would interpret this as particular = specific, so in this case your NPC/persona wouldn't be a valid target. This could lead to some mystery for the PC, as they try to figure out why they can't scry this "individual."
Alternatively, you said the people in question rotate duty as this persona, so you could have the spell choose whomever is on duty as that particular person for that day.
Another option is to roll a die for whom the spell picks. There are 3 people, so roll a D6 and see who you get. This could get especially interesting if the spell picks someone NOT on duty as this persona, when the PCs know the vigilante is busy somewhere else.
Yet another option is as PJRZ mentioned below, where the PC has to describe how they know of this vigilante, and whichever person did what the PC describes is the target of the spell.
answered 1 hour ago
G. MoylanG. Moylan
727116
New contributor
G. Moylan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 16 mins ago
answered 1 hour ago
G. MoylanG. Moylan
727116
New contributor
G. Moylan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 1 hour ago
G. MoylanG. Moylan
727116
answered 1 hour ago
G. MoylanG. Moylan
727116
727116
New contributor
G. Moylan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
G. Moylan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
G. Moylan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$begingroup$
I like this because there is no 'RAW' answer to this that I can find, and it spells out the GM's interpretations nicely.
$endgroup$
– MarkTO
47 mins ago
1
$begingroup$
The scrying spell allows targeting a creature "you have heard of", so another option is to ask the player to describe how they heard of them. The first thing they say ("that vigilante who beat up the corrupt mayor last night")...that's the guy they get. If they cast scrying again using a different description, they could end up with a different person (a clue that the vigilante is not one person!)
$endgroup$
– PJRZ
26 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I like this because there is no 'RAW' answer to this that I can find, and it spells out the GM's interpretations nicely.
$endgroup$
– MarkTO
47 mins ago
1
$begingroup$
The scrying spell allows targeting a creature "you have heard of", so another option is to ask the player to describe how they heard of them. The first thing they say ("that vigilante who beat up the corrupt mayor last night")...that's the guy they get. If they cast scrying again using a different description, they could end up with a different person (a clue that the vigilante is not one person!)
$endgroup$
– PJRZ
26 mins ago
$begingroup$
I like this because there is no 'RAW' answer to this that I can find, and it spells out the GM's interpretations nicely.
$endgroup$
– MarkTO
47 mins ago
$begingroup$
I like this because there is no 'RAW' answer to this that I can find, and it spells out the GM's interpretations nicely.
$endgroup$
– MarkTO
47 mins ago
1
1
$begingroup$
The scrying spell allows targeting a creature "you have heard of", so another option is to ask the player to describe how they heard of them. The first thing they say ("that vigilante who beat up the corrupt mayor last night")...that's the guy they get. If they cast scrying again using a different description, they could end up with a different person (a clue that the vigilante is not one person!)
$endgroup$
– PJRZ
26 mins ago
$begingroup$
The scrying spell allows targeting a creature "you have heard of", so another option is to ask the player to describe how they heard of them. The first thing they say ("that vigilante who beat up the corrupt mayor last night")...that's the guy they get. If they cast scrying again using a different description, they could end up with a different person (a clue that the vigilante is not one person!)
$endgroup$
– PJRZ
26 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Invalid Target (group instead of individual)
The DM could rule that the vigilante is actually a group of people and is not a valid target. In this case caster is unwittingly trying to targeting a group of individuals. A group is not a valid target for scrying. In this case, the guidance in Xanathar's is that nothing happens to the target and the spell slot is expended. From the caster's point of view, it appears as though the target saved.
Valid Target (shared single identity)
If the DM has reason to rule that the vigilante is a valid target, e.g. because it is a single identity, then there are a few options they might go with.
The current user of the identity
If one of the persons behind the mask is currently using that identity as their own, then scrying should target them. They are currently the vigilante.
Particular Tales
If the caster is basing their target from a particular tale or set of tales, the target would be the person behind the mask in those stories.
Equal Number of Tales
If the caster is basing their target from tales that are equally distributed between the persons behind the mask, randomly select from one.
answered 1 hour ago
GrosscolGrosscol
8,8371963
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Invalid Target (group instead of individual)
The DM could rule that the vigilante is actually a group of people and is not a valid target. In this case caster is unwittingly trying to targeting a group of individuals. A group is not a valid target for scrying. In this case, the guidance in Xanathar's is that nothing happens to the target and the spell slot is expended. From the caster's point of view, it appears as though the target saved.
Valid Target (shared single identity)
If the DM has reason to rule that the vigilante is a valid target, e.g. because it is a single identity, then there are a few options they might go with.
The current user of the identity
If one of the persons behind the mask is currently using that identity as their own, then scrying should target them. They are currently the vigilante.
Particular Tales
If the caster is basing their target from a particular tale or set of tales, the target would be the person behind the mask in those stories.
Equal Number of Tales
If the caster is basing their target from tales that are equally distributed between the persons behind the mask, randomly select from one.
answered 1 hour ago
GrosscolGrosscol
8,8371963
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Invalid Target (group instead of individual)
The DM could rule that the vigilante is actually a group of people and is not a valid target. In this case caster is unwittingly trying to targeting a group of individuals. A group is not a valid target for scrying. In this case, the guidance in Xanathar's is that nothing happens to the target and the spell slot is expended. From the caster's point of view, it appears as though the target saved.
Valid Target (shared single identity)
If the DM has reason to rule that the vigilante is a valid target, e.g. because it is a single identity, then there are a few options they might go with.
The current user of the identity
If one of the persons behind the mask is currently using that identity as their own, then scrying should target them. They are currently the vigilante.
Particular Tales
If the caster is basing their target from a particular tale or set of tales, the target would be the person behind the mask in those stories.
Equal Number of Tales
If the caster is basing their target from tales that are equally distributed between the persons behind the mask, randomly select from one.
answered 1 hour ago
GrosscolGrosscol
8,8371963
$endgroup$
Invalid Target (group instead of individual)
The DM could rule that the vigilante is actually a group of people and is not a valid target. In this case caster is unwittingly trying to targeting a group of individuals. A group is not a valid target for scrying. In this case, the guidance in Xanathar's is that nothing happens to the target and the spell slot is expended. From the caster's point of view, it appears as though the target saved.
Valid Target (shared single identity)
If the DM has reason to rule that the vigilante is a valid target, e.g. because it is a single identity, then there are a few options they might go with.
The current user of the identity
If one of the persons behind the mask is currently using that identity as their own, then scrying should target them. They are currently the vigilante.
Particular Tales
If the caster is basing their target from a particular tale or set of tales, the target would be the person behind the mask in those stories.
Equal Number of Tales
If the caster is basing their target from tales that are equally distributed between the persons behind the mask, randomly select from one.
answered 1 hour ago
GrosscolGrosscol
8,8371963
answered 1 hour ago
GrosscolGrosscol
8,8371963
answered 1 hour ago
GrosscolGrosscol
8,8371963
answered 1 hour ago
GrosscolGrosscol
8,8371963
8,8371963
add a comment |
add a comment |
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