Getting ready to play a nautical themed campaign and thinking of taking Unseen Servant at 1st level for my Warlock.
Previously i have only really used this spell as a ritual and only for housework and serving type functions. It is a bit difficult to figure how to use this more tactically, as it does not have a whole host of stats to treat it like a creature. Here are the kinds of things I envision doing with it and some of the questions surrounding it:
1. Using it as another hand at sea - In a storm have it running around securing lines, bailing water, maybe even manning the tillar (steer into the waves until I tell you otherwise). Now what happens when a huge wave hits us and we need to make a dexterity save to avoid be thrown overboard. What is his save, does he automatically pass?
2. Using it on an enemy ship to sow confusion and discord - As the Pirates close with us, once they are within 60 feet cast it on the Pirate ship, then have it untie the sails, throw water on the gunpowder, untie grappling lines and unhook the boarding planks and throw them over. Do the Pirates know where it is, do they know enough to attack it, can I make it hide to avoid attack for a while and if I do what is its stealth?
3. Man the guns! - It takes 3 actions to fire a cannon; load, aim, fire. Can I have the Unseen Servant doing the loading and if I do is it a bonus action every round or if I tell him to load after every time it is fired is it just one bonus action and he just keeps doing that.
Since this is on a Warlock I will be burning a spell slot to use it, so I don't think these kinds of things would be OP.
Pretty much all of these would be a DM ruling. If it were me:
1. I’d maybe treat it as a dex of 10. It not insubstantial, so I’d have it make the save to not be washed overboard.
2. I’d let you try and mess with the other ship. Though some of those seems like multiple actions (get some water, throw water on the gunpowder; unhook boarding planks, throw them over) As far as hiding, it doesn’t say it can hide, only that it can interact with an object. But then you have the general rule that any creature can hide, but then it’s not a creature, it’s a force. Ugh. I guess I’d treat it as any other invisible creature trying to hide (again a 10 dex).
3. I’d certainly let you use it like this. But I’d say it takes your bonus action each time.
I used an unseen servant in a recent spelljammer campaign as a warlock. Lots of fun. Having a servant doing the various deck chores was constant fun. We captured a nasty vessel that had been horribly fouled and the poor servant had to clean it all.
Of note: Warlocks do not have ritual casting so you will need to burn a slot on it until you reach level 3 for tome pact.
Currently planning to make use of an Unseen Servant as a lure:
Our tome warlock can cast Silent Image at will, and we captured a spy who has a scheduled meeting with our villain, so...
Took the cloak the spy is supposed to wear to the meeting. Ritual cast Unseen Servant. Go to the meet location. Cast a Silent Image of the spy in the clothes (but not cloak) they are supposed to wear. Have the Unseen Servant "hold" the cloak as a head and shoulders, fitting it to the edges of the Image, for verisimilitude, and to give a solid form to the figure in case of things like Blindsight etc.
Unseen Servants aren't a thing that is invisible, unlike, say, the result of most Divination spells. It is explicitly "shapeless," so it doesn't really have a shape to be seen with See Invisible, or Blindsight, or equivalent. But that doesn't likely make it invulnerable to attack - if it were, there wouldn't be rules about Armour Class. Attacks can hit it by targeting the space it is in (as when attacking anything the attacker cannot see) - in which case choosing a 5' space, and missing automatically if targeting the wrong space or attacking with disadvantage if targeting the right one - or through area of effect spells. There is a Strength listed so we know what its Strength Saving Throw penalty would be, but since the rest is "typical human" aside from being "mindless" (thus immune to things like charm or fear), Dex saves and the like would be presumably at +/- 0. Being formless, I doubt it would be able to be knocked over the side by a wave, mind. But if it takes any bludgeoning damage from the crashing water, or from explosions, or fireballs, or... well, with only one hit point even "half damage from a success" would take it out. So it is more likely to take area of effect damage and be snuffed out, than to be successfully attacked once the opposing crew realize what is happening.
Loading a cannon is, in honesty, more complex than something viably done by "untrained human servant," if you want to avoid horrific misfires. Add bagged powder, ram home, wadding, ram home, ball, ram home, prick the bag, pour fuse, check fuse. Doing any of these poorly will mess up your day. You would be better off having the Unseen Servant hold the slow match and do the firing once skilled creatures have done the loading and aiming. "Each time I signal you with a thumbs up, touch the lit end of the slow match to the touch-hole." Less there for the unskilled Servant to catastrophically mess up.
Unseen Servant is hugely underrated for all but the combat-heaviest campaigns. I run this on autopilot as much or a little less than Guidance.
All the things you said are perfectly reasonable.
It can distract, provide cover, take one hit for you (DM call), effectively give you 4 arms. Extra actions in combat, sets off traps, slight combat control or protects egress/ingress (DM rule), administers potions. Great great spell that's often free.
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Getting ready to play a nautical themed campaign and thinking of taking Unseen Servant at 1st level for my Warlock.
Previously i have only really used this spell as a ritual and only for housework and serving type functions. It is a bit difficult to figure how to use this more tactically, as it does not have a whole host of stats to treat it like a creature. Here are the kinds of things I envision doing with it and some of the questions surrounding it:
1. Using it as another hand at sea - In a storm have it running around securing lines, bailing water, maybe even manning the tillar (steer into the waves until I tell you otherwise). Now what happens when a huge wave hits us and we need to make a dexterity save to avoid be thrown overboard. What is his save, does he automatically pass?
2. Using it on an enemy ship to sow confusion and discord - As the Pirates close with us, once they are within 60 feet cast it on the Pirate ship, then have it untie the sails, throw water on the gunpowder, untie grappling lines and unhook the boarding planks and throw them over. Do the Pirates know where it is, do they know enough to attack it, can I make it hide to avoid attack for a while and if I do what is its stealth?
3. Man the guns! - It takes 3 actions to fire a cannon; load, aim, fire. Can I have the Unseen Servant doing the loading and if I do is it a bonus action every round or if I tell him to load after every time it is fired is it just one bonus action and he just keeps doing that.
Since this is on a Warlock I will be burning a spell slot to use it, so I don't think these kinds of things would be OP.
Pretty much all of these would be a DM ruling. If it were me:
1. I’d maybe treat it as a dex of 10. It not insubstantial, so I’d have it make the save to not be washed overboard.
2. I’d let you try and mess with the other ship. Though some of those seems like multiple actions (get some water, throw water on the gunpowder; unhook boarding planks, throw them over) As far as hiding, it doesn’t say it can hide, only that it can interact with an object. But then you have the general rule that any creature can hide, but then it’s not a creature, it’s a force. Ugh. I guess I’d treat it as any other invisible creature trying to hide (again a 10 dex).
3. I’d certainly let you use it like this. But I’d say it takes your bonus action each time.
I used an unseen servant in a recent spelljammer campaign as a warlock. Lots of fun. Having a servant doing the various deck chores was constant fun. We captured a nasty vessel that had been horribly fouled and the poor servant had to clean it all.
Of note: Warlocks do not have ritual casting so you will need to burn a slot on it until you reach level 3 for tome pact.
Currently planning to make use of an Unseen Servant as a lure:
Our tome warlock can cast Silent Image at will, and we captured a spy who has a scheduled meeting with our villain, so...
Took the cloak the spy is supposed to wear to the meeting. Ritual cast Unseen Servant. Go to the meet location. Cast a Silent Image of the spy in the clothes (but not cloak) they are supposed to wear. Have the Unseen Servant "hold" the cloak as a head and shoulders, fitting it to the edges of the Image, for verisimilitude, and to give a solid form to the figure in case of things like Blindsight etc.
Unseen Servants aren't a thing that is invisible, unlike, say, the result of most Divination spells. It is explicitly "shapeless," so it doesn't really have a shape to be seen with See Invisible, or Blindsight, or equivalent. But that doesn't likely make it invulnerable to attack - if it were, there wouldn't be rules about Armour Class. Attacks can hit it by targeting the space it is in (as when attacking anything the attacker cannot see) - in which case choosing a 5' space, and missing automatically if targeting the wrong space or attacking with disadvantage if targeting the right one - or through area of effect spells. There is a Strength listed so we know what its Strength Saving Throw penalty would be, but since the rest is "typical human" aside from being "mindless" (thus immune to things like charm or fear), Dex saves and the like would be presumably at +/- 0. Being formless, I doubt it would be able to be knocked over the side by a wave, mind. But if it takes any bludgeoning damage from the crashing water, or from explosions, or fireballs, or... well, with only one hit point even "half damage from a success" would take it out. So it is more likely to take area of effect damage and be snuffed out, than to be successfully attacked once the opposing crew realize what is happening.
Loading a cannon is, in honesty, more complex than something viably done by "untrained human servant," if you want to avoid horrific misfires. Add bagged powder, ram home, wadding, ram home, ball, ram home, prick the bag, pour fuse, check fuse. Doing any of these poorly will mess up your day. You would be better off having the Unseen Servant hold the slow match and do the firing once skilled creatures have done the loading and aiming. "Each time I signal you with a thumbs up, touch the lit end of the slow match to the touch-hole." Less there for the unskilled Servant to catastrophically mess up.
Unseen Servant is hugely underrated for all but the combat-heaviest campaigns. I run this on autopilot as much or a little less than Guidance.
All the things you said are perfectly reasonable.
It can distract, provide cover, take one hit for you (DM call), effectively give you 4 arms. Extra actions in combat, sets off traps, slight combat control or protects egress/ingress (DM rule), administers potions. Great great spell that's often free.