In D&D 5e Time Travel,if you have a character that can 'accelerate' through time (ie: In a Star Trek Episode (forgot which one) there was a race that existed in "Accelerated Time" where anything they do is accelerated and happens more lsowly in normal time) and that character put Sovereign Glue on a seat, then that character returns to normal time, would the application of the glue happen immediately when the character returns to normal time, or would it be delayed by the ammount of time [say 10 minutes] that character was in accelerated time. In other words would there be a delay of 10 minutes before the glue appears on the seat? It's a bit confusing how the accelerated time works. Take it this is a HomeBrew time spell not shown in the time travel book. From what I understand from the character, this spell is a combination of "time Stop" and Forward "Time Travel". The explanation is kinda weird.

Absolutely NO ONE here will be able to help if we have no idea what the spell says or even where you found it.

The campaign is a HomeBrew, characters were allowed to use existing spells to create unique spells for their characters. The character in question is what she calls a "Time Angel" similar to a "Time Lord" but with serious restrictions. I am not the DM I am only an assistant DM, I am a player, but more or less a 'stand in' that is needed at certain times. This question came up when the "Time Angel" wanted to bond an enemy to their seat, but with a delay. She wants to use Sovereign Glue which has a 1 minute set time. She wanted to go 10 minutes forward using what is called "Accelerated Time" which allows her to move at 10X normal speed. As explained above, she wants to accelerate forward, put the glue on the enemy's seat, then return to the normal time which only 1 minute has passed. She was hoping that in order to prevent the enemy from detecting the glue, the 10 minute delay would cause the glue to appear on the seat as the enemy is sitting in that seat, thus bonding that enemy to the seat as a way to capture that enemy witout any way for them to detect the trap since it only happens 10 minutes from normal time. In theory it should work being as how 10 minutes from normal time has not occured yet, thus giving that 10 minute delay. It would all depend on when the enemy sits down in the seat of course. The whole idea is to prevent any detection of the glue until it appears. The enemy is able to detect the glue normaly as it has been used before and they have figured out a way of detecting it, this method would prevent the detection during the 10 minute delay, but it would be detectable after the 10 minutes have passed, of course the enemy would be stuck already after the 10 minutes.

If this homebrew spell only effects her then it wouldn't effect the glue. She is moving faster through time, not the environment she is in, and the moment she lays the glue on something that isn't her, then it would flow through normal time.

unless the DM says otherwise, because what the DM says usually goes. It would help if we had the text of the spell.

That would take some typing as I don't have access to the character sheets. But what you say makes sense given the properties of sovereign glue, I've discussed that point with the DM, but she still feels that anything the character is using also follows her through time, from my understanding of this specific spell, it really isn't time travel, it's more of a time manipulation spell, it allows her to move 10x faster through time and return back to her original starting point.  It's just like that ST episode where these beings were 'accelerated' where time passes faster than those in the normal universe. Kirk demonstrates this by recording a message for Spok and puts it into the 'player' for spok to find at a later time with the message in tact, Kirk has already traveled past the point where Spok finds the recording. This is how this manipulation spell works. You can perform an action while in accelerated time using anything you take with you. The spell lasts only as long as you specify when you cast it, say for 10 minutes. When you return to the normal time stream, the action you did 10 minutes in the future, has not happened yet because normal time hasn't reached that 10 minute point yet. Confusing ,I know, but the DM has allowed her to use this Custom Spell so we're stuck with it, it's just confusing on how it actually works. The DM is considering letting this 'Angel" go ahead and use the spell in this way but pending further exploration of the spell and subject to change in the future. I kinda agree with that . I'm like you, because of the fact that magic can't affect sovereign glue, I say she can't do it, but as you said, it's up to the DM. If I were the DM, I would rule no on the matter myself. But I'm only the assistant DM ,all I can do is advise the DM and only take over the game when she is unable to. Thanks for the input though. I'll let you know how she rules on this tomorrow, that is when the next game session is.The campaign is a rather complex game, the players are actually expert players and even some of them above my knowledge. The setting jumps forward and backwards through time at random intervals. We are in the middle of a "time war" and things are getting really messy. Magic is still highly used, but the magical world has merged with the technological world, this really throws a "wrench" into the works. It has been a rather nasty war so far, many ,many innocent lives have been lost. We were thinking of opening this campaign up on Discord to the public, but not sure if we could find enough players that could handle the constant jumps to new realms both in the 'real' world and in future and past worlds as well. Characters would have to be very complex combining magic with technology. Not the easiest thing to do. Right now we're still a private game, but may try making it public if it continues to be as good as it has been so far.

What we need to help you is the spell.

You've spent a lot of time and text trying to communicate how you envisage the spell working, but you don't need us to parse how you envisage the spell working - you already know that. The problem you're having is that how you envisage the spell working is different to how the DM envisages it, and the player may have third view. The issue is that you need to know is how the player will understand the spell to work and whether that's the fair way to run it.

In other words, how does the pre-agreed description dictate how to run the spell? You can envisage Fireball however you like, but the fair way to run it is according to the text - it's reasonable to expect the players to know that and choose the spell accordingly, and it's reasonable for the players to expect the DM to adhere to that wording. 

If you want us to be able to help you understand how the spell should work, we need the actual writing of the spell. Not how you think it works, but how it's worded.

Quote from Linklite >>

The problem you're having is that how you envisage the spell working is different to how the DM envisages it,

 
I would take this a step further.  This is a homebrew spell and they are the dungeon master. Ultimately approval of the homebrew rules and arbitration of their implementation is their decision, not yours, even if you are in some kind of assistant role. Generally speaking, if the DM has said homebrew works a certain way, that is how it works. It is certainly not the purview of random strangers on the internet.

The one time a player really should step in on that issue is if the homebrew is overpowered compared to the rest of the group or is otherwise causing in-game problems that start to warp everyone’s fun.  That is when homebrew becomes a problem for other players and when other players.  We here on the interwebs cannot answer that question for you either. Personally, everything you have said sounds broken to me - in a lot of ways it seems like a far more powerful Time Stop, and Time Stop is already a ninth level spell.  This is the kind of thing so outside the rules it feels like it was poorly designed by someone who only was looking at rule of cool with a lack of understanding of game balance and mechanics.  This would absolutely not fly at my tables or any table I play at.

But you are not playing at my table.  You are playing at yours. If this level of bonkers ability is the standard, and if players are mostly having fun with it (though it seems you are not), maybe it is fine.  Only you can really answer that question. 

So you have time to give a summary of "Wink of an Eye"  From 1968 but you can't provide the spell text, and expect us to go off something that might not even be an accurate depiction of the spell's mechanics?

Can you see why we can't answer your question?

Quote from GnollitAll78450 >>

So you have time to give a summary of "Wink of an Eye"  From 1968 but you can't provide the spell text, and expect us to go off something that might not even be an accurate depiction of the spell's mechanics?

Can you see why we can't answer your question?

Thank s for the assist on the show.  Even the synopsis says this concept is not good.

"the setup for 'Wink of an Eye' is interesting enough at first blush — a race of beings who move through time at a rate so fast that they're all but undetectable. Unfortunately, it's upon the second and subsequent blushes that the concept begins to fall apart."

What maybe some help for the originator is this HG Wells story from 124 years ago.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Accelerator

I understand completely what you are saying. I have expressed my concerns about the spell (for which I have no access to) and how it is played. However the DM has the final say, wether I or anyone else likes it or not, but FYI, she has ruled that the spell can work, but.... she also ruled that due to the player's limitted abilitites (she has to answer to a higher power called the Time Council) and has ruled that the council has forbidden the use of the spell in this way as it for one defies the first law of time "You cannot alter the past or present or interfere with the normal course of time" sort of a "Prime Directive" of time travel. Plus it also goes against the "Non Maliciousness" rule for all Time Angels, that states that a Time Angel cannot use her magic to perform malicious acts against any other being." Doing what she wanted to do with the spell would count as a malicious act, so the DM has stated the Time Council has ruled that she cannot perform the spell in this way. So bassicaly the DM ruled against the spell being used for such purposes. This is the first time we've played a campaign with a time traveler, and the time travel edition of DnD isn't very specific. The DM had to kind of make her own rules for such things. Up til now, things worked out fine, but when that player wanted to use a somewhat questionable spell, things kind of got mixed up and actually held the game up for a while until the DM ruled it the way she did which I myself would have done in the start. A spell like that just seems too powerful for my liking. This player is only a 6th time caster and I feel a spell like this should be up there around 10th level. But I'm not the DM and she allowed the spell to work, but not in the way the player wanted it too. Time Travel is a very interesting concept for DnD but it is plagued with problems. I actually thought about playing one myself, but, it's just too "buggy" for my taste. Anyway, I agree 100% with all of you, I only wanted to get some insight on the use of this spell, and I fully understand that a definitive answer can't be given without specific details and wording of the spell itself. All I wanted was some insight on using such a spell for such a specific purpose.

So, she created a spell, but now won’t let people use it? Sounds like a spell and lore that are kind of collapsing under their own weight, so the DM is using what amounts deus ex machina to prop it back up. I mean, the time code saying you can’t alter the present, how could that possibly work? Setting ansife the concept of “present” is very fungible when you get in to time travel, every thing one ever does alters the present in some way or another. And not allowing malicious acts against any other being kind of eliminates the entire combat pillar of the game for that character — one who’s engaged in a time “war, “no less.  Of course, maybe they signed up for that, if so, that’s cool.

I think the real issue happens a step back from the spell. Time travel stories are inherently paradoxical. Theres lots of different contrivances to fix the paradox (you create a separate, new timeline being one of the most common). But in the end they get incredibly complicated with who did what to whom and when they did it, and can we go back before that to fix it, but then it wouldn’t have happened, so there would have been no need to go back in the first place. I think they pretty much always end up sounding cooler in concept than they are in practice.

That's the problem with time travel, it creates paradoxes. I don't understand the not changing the present thing either, but that is how it is worded. As for her not being to do any malicious acts goes back to her purpose as far as I can tell. She is only sent here as an observer, however she is allowed to some extent to interact in the war which started with a rogue Time Angel, she can use her magic or as they are called "powers" to assist or protect, she cannot take it upon herself to purposely harm or kill another sentient being. She can use her magic to 'dissable" a foe, but not cause any serious or crippling harm to them. It is encoded into her DNA (all time angels are genetically conditioned) that she cannot kill for any reason. She has to be very careful what she does to ensure her actions do not cause death or permanent harm. That is what makes her character interesting to play. Easier put, she cannot change time events in any way, time must pass in its natural way. She can only travel back in time to 'observe' she is forbidden to travel forward in time for any reason. Say we needed to know how someone died, she could travel back in time to a specific point and observe how that person was killed then relate that information back to us, but she cannot alter the situation, the person would still have to die reguardless. She can only help solve the mystery of how they died and we could take steps to prevent future deaths. Bassicaly just a forensic tool. Like I said, I don't have her sheet to see exactly how her magic can be used. I do know she can defend others and herself using magic, she just can't permanently hurt anyone. She has been useful though in the past, so it's not all bad. I like the 'accelerated Time" thing, it could be handy if you wanted to travel long distances in a really short amount of time ,especially if you haven't been there before and can't use a teleportation spell to get there.  Traveling at 10x the normal speed of time would be very helpful in an emergency. Too bad normals don't have the physiology to allow her to take them with her into this accelerated time state. She would have to travel alone. It would actually kill a normal person due to the acceleration of the aging process. You would age much faster in that state of time.  There was a  lot of thought put into her character as to not make her too powerful, she is only level 6 which is where most of the players are at this point, only a couple are below 6th level but are catching up. My own character is only level 4 human (non magical) fighter (knight) and royal advisor to the sovereign Queen of the Empire. Funny thing is, I'm married to a 5th level High Elf, I don't even speak elvish. 

So .... if I'm understanding all this, it's basically the scene from The Incredibles where Dash puts a thumbtack on his teachers chair. It's cheating the action economy, doing a lot of things in one round that a normal, none-time-cheating character would need several rounds to accomplish. 

But the GM's logic seems faulty. Say I have 10 rounds. I put clue on something. The glue dries in ... oh, say 5 rounds. When my spell ends after 10 rounds, the glue has been dry for 5 if I applied it on round 1. If I apply it on round 9, it still has 4 rounds to dry. On the other hand, if it dries instantly - it also dries instantly in accelerated time. So ... instant glue applied on round 4 instantly dries on round 4. 

Yeah, the mechanics of the accelerated time spell is kind of messed up. I have constantly pointed out flaws in it and have actually asked the DM to not allow the player to use it. You're right, it is kind of cheating by allowing her to do more in one round than normal characters. But the player argues that it is all about time travel. She is actually time traveling using accelerated time because she is moving through time at 10x the normal speed. The Argument about the glue is the facts about sovereign glue, this stuff is magical, and according to the information about it, is that it doesn't actually "dry up" until the two objects (in this case a person sitting in the seat) come in contact with each other, it is then that 1 minute after that the glue sets and forms a permanent bond which can only be removed by the three things stated in the information, that is 'universal solvent','oil of etherealness',or a 'wish spell'.  From my research on the stuff, it does not "set" when it is applied, only after the intended objects make contact.  But again, the DM has ruled that the accelerated time spell is legal, but with restrictions, and everyone has accepted that. The player is a time traveler, so some basics don't apply, things change when you time travel. The only reason why the DM allowed the spell is because it is "time travel" and if you are moving through time that fast, then yes you are using more "rounds" than a normal player. The DM has revised the spell stating that exact thing, when using the spell, she uses up 10 rounds in that one instant. When she returns to normal time however, she must roll a d10 to determine how many rounds have actually passed since she enacted the spell. Also, the spell has a failure rate of d10 , you must roll a 5 or higher for the spell to work, anything lower than that and it fails. This can also be complicated by enviromental factors such as storms and other natural events. The DM has to rule during events such as that. Say you enact the spell and it works, ok, now you are moving at a rate of ,let's just say the DM rules you can only move 5x the normal speed of time, due to an electrical storm in the area, now you begin the spell and you cannot be seen or heard or otherwise noticed by normal people, (there is a way to detect her using magic though) while she is in this state of time, she immediately begins using up rounds of play, during this time the player must state how long she remains in this state, it takes 1 turn to arrive at the destination (where the seat is located), so that is 1 round (she is moving 5x faster than anyone else) , then she must use another round to apply the glue to the seat, that makes 2 rounds used so far, next she must return back to her starting point (where she left from), that's now 3 rounds used, then she must use another round to cast the spell that cancels the accelerated time spell and returns her back to normal time, that's 4 rounds, and she must wait another round for recovery, (it takes a lot of energy to cast the spell and requires a long rest to recover after using it), that makes the final 5 rounds used to complete the task she wanted to do,but in reality, only 1 round has past for everyone else ,so if she reutrned back to her starting point, only one round was used up, but she must still wait the 1 round of rest before continuing.I know, confusing....but that is just the nature of time travel, it really throws a 'wrench' into the works. I studied the spell thouroughly to understand how it works. It is not a spell you want to use lightly, it takes a lot of energy, and can only be used once per round, after you recover from using it. So if you are going to travel 10x (the max) normal speed of time, you won't be able to do much for 10 rounds. This is the limitation the DM has put on it to prevent "cheating" problems. You may be able to do more in 1 round than normal people, but you pay for it in the long run, so it isn't something you want to use foolishly. However since the "Time Council" has ruled it as a violation of the Time Directive, it is a mute point anyway, she can't perform the action she wanted to do anyway. The "Time Council" is run by the DM and what the council rules, all time angels must obey without question or face serious reprocussions. Time travel in our universe is highly controlled because it is a dangerous thing to mess with, so a lot of restrictions are put in place, everyone was aware of this way before the campaign started and they all agreed on it as long as the DM regulated it.  The player is aware that this 'new spell' is a custom one and has a few rough edges, and her and the DM try to work with it as best they can, if it becomes too complicated or causes too much trouble, the DM has the right to rule that it can no longer be used, and she can just rule that the council has forbidden its use, so it isn't a problem for anyone. Ok, I'm done now, just trying to explain my understanding of the spell (which the Player and the DM has actualy given me a copy of) as I read it. Time travel is weird.

Boy they are really working overtime to jam Dr. Who into a D&D campaign. 
I realize we can only really get one side of this on the internet, but it’s sounding like a real main character situation, or at least that a disproportionate amount of effort is being spent on one character. That can be fine if it doesn’t really bother anyone else, but it seems like at least one person is bothered. You might check in with the other players and see how they feel.

If they also have issues with this all, approach the DM as a group and air your concerns. If it’s just you, then it might just be more of a play style issue. In that case, you might gracefully bow out and find a different group that suits you better.

This ... I propably shouldn't be saying this ... but this sounds dumb to me. 

If one player get's to simply disregard the action economy, the rest of the players need to quite simply walk away. 

If I'm understanding this correctly it sounds like an extremely boosted version of Time Stop.

Everyone was informed about the spell(s) this character has, and we were fine with it. I'm not really that concerned, it doesn't bother me too much, it was only the way she wanted to use the spell that concerned me. I spoke to the others about it, and they understand that this is 'homebrew' and creating a non-existant spell, can be difficult in its own way. I read the spell and it does have some rather questionable aspects to it, but I understand what she is trying to do and so does everyone else. As I said, time travel can be quite a 'monster' to work with. And yes, she has taken some of the aspects of Dr.Who and applied it to D&D, which I think is what is causing the confusion. Dr. Who has its own RPG and combining the two, well, that's a whole nother ball game. As I said, the DM has told everyone, that if this spell does cause a problem in the future, she will just envoke the Time Council and forbid the player to even use the spell anymore. Problem solved. It does sound a little dumb to me too, but I think she meant well and wasn't trying to be the main character, in fact she even said she has no intention of doing so, her character role is simply an observer and when needed, an assistant. but, she is limitted as to what actions she can take. Anything she does MUST NOT interfere or alter the natural course of time, and she is not allowed to share any technology that is higher than the norm of the time. This goes back to the #1 Time Law which forbids interference, think of it as the Prime Directive of Time Travel. So she is not 'all powerful'. It's been interesting at times having her onboard, just this one time raised a few questions, no harm has been done to the game itself, and no grievences have been put forth by any of the players. The Time Travel supplement to D&D isn't very helpful when trying to compile your own spells, in fact I've read it myself, and it is extremely basic about how time travel works, you kinda have to add your own rendition of things if you want to create new spells from the ones listed. You really can't combine regular magic with Time Magic, it just won't mix. I actually tried to run a game once with a time traveler (NPC), and it just didn't work, the game fell appart very quickly. I have to give our DM credit for getting it to last this long. (going on 6 months now. We're in chapter 5 of the story). I sure couldn't do it. Way too much work and it gets out of hand rather quickly. You have to have patience and have players who are willing to stick with it even when there are questionable things happening. It all comes down to how the players feel and how well they communicate with the DM. Time Travel in D&D can work, it just takes someone who is willing to go the extra mile to make it work.

The more you try and justify that this clearly broken spell is seen as acceptable to your playgroup, the more red flags I see, and the more I expect that your group has fundamental misunderstandings of balance and game design.

For example, even after being told this feels more powerful than an existing, already fairly powerful 9th level spell (something characters do not get until 17th class level) you said that maybe the spell feels like it could be more fair at 10th class level.

I do not mention this to be rude - as I already said, your table, your group, your way of having fun. But, even if everyone is presently having fun - maybe especially if everyone is having fun - your campaign has a metaphorical cancer that is very likely to kill it from the inside.

A major part of RPGs is progression - as you level up, you get more exciting and new toys and get to face more exciting and new threats.  You are low level characters (some have not even gotten out of that first tier of play!) in a relatively new campaign (six months may be long to you, but many long-form campaigns last multiple years).  At this relatively new point, you’re throwing around at least one better-than-ninth-level spell - and I expect a whole bunch of other broken spells (you mentioned multiple players for to make their own spells - I would be curious to know what those spells do as I expect more poorly designed content).

What does that mean?  As you level up, you all are going to go into a death spiral for the campaign - new features will not feel as exciting as the broken content you already have and that leads to one of two things.  First, players get bored and the game fizzles out.. or second, the game becomes unsustainable, relying on increasingly powerful homebrew to one-up the already broken content, or the DM having to rule by fiat (as they’re already doing) to artificially limit content that should never have been made in the first place.

I am not sure how to fix that problem you all seem to be hurtling toward, but it is a problem you and your DM should be aware of, so your DM can try to course correct - perhaps even drastically. 

(As a general forum politeness aside, I also would recommend you use paragraph blocks when posting.  No one wants to read digital walls of text - breaking up the post into line-separated paragraphs is a common internet courtesy to one’s readers.)