There’s always something that will make any trick like that into a trap instead of an automatic success. As long as the DM uses balanced encounters, something will overcome any “unbeatable” combination sooner or later, and it will surprise the DM as much as the players.
“The contingent spell takes effect immediately after the circumstance is met for the first time, whether or not you want it to, and then contingency ends.”
So this trick would work once. I’m also not sure how the spell knows if the attack would kill you until it’s already reduced your hit points to zero (instead of reducing them to, say, one). And then it makes it a little hard for your party to heal you before you potentially lose your death saves.
The sphere would pop up and immediately disappear. It is concentration. Can't concentrate when you are unconscious.
If you had it pop when you were below 5hp for example ("near unconsciousness") and you happened to have a hit that took you below 5hp and above 0hp then it would be fine. Any other concentration spells would be voided though. It would take a bit of luck to get exactly those conditions.
Nothing can pass in or out of the sphere - so all you could do was heal up and reload or something. You are burning two high level spells to give yourself (effectively) death ward, a 4th level spell. Slightly better as you can cast ahead of time and get the spell slots back (contingency has a 10 day duration) - but that would only be once during an adventure and can only be on yourself (compared to death ward). Chances are good that as soon as the sphere drops you may well die again anyway, so no big deal IMO.
EDIT: The *would become zero* thing I couldn't allow. The spell can't see the future. It triggers when something happens, not when something maybe would happen.
Contingency doesn't quite work like this. Contingency can't predict the future and activate to prevent that future, it has to activate in response to something. In this case, it will react to you taking enough damage to be dropped to 0 HP, but since is doesn't prevent that damage, you are still knocked unconscious.
If you phrase it "if I am targeted by an attack that would knock me out," then contingency will A) react before knowing whether or not the attack would hit, and B) not react if there is a damage range where the attack may or may not drop you to 0 (like if you have 5 HP and the attack does 1d6+3 damage).
You would have to phrase it "if I am targeted by an attack (or in an area of effect) that might knock me out." It may get triggered unnecessarily, but never let's you get KO'ed.
I saw this on Reddit, and wanted to know what you guys think of it.
Setup: You cast Contingency, setting the condition as "If my hit point total would become 0, Otiluke's Resilient Sphere activates."
Basically, you become unkillable, as the Contingency activates whenever something is about to kill you.
What are your thoughts? Is this RAW? Is it RAI? Would you allow it at your table?
Edit: Just realized that I'm not playing MTG anymore, so there aren't any 'win combos'. Sorry about the title.
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I don't think it's anywhere near as abusive as it looks, so I'd allow it, but I'm not sure your character would know to use that wording.
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Feel like any wizard with a 20 in Intelligence should be able make an in-character equivalent of my wording.
"Halt your wagging and wag your halters, for I am mastercryomancer!"
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There’s always something that will make any trick like that into a trap instead of an automatic success. As long as the DM uses balanced encounters, something will overcome any “unbeatable” combination sooner or later, and it will surprise the DM as much as the players.
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I agree. But what is that in-character equivalent? "If I would be knocked out," maybe?
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
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“The contingent spell takes effect immediately after the circumstance is met for the first time, whether or not you want it to, and then contingency ends.”
So this trick would work once. I’m also not sure how the spell knows if the attack would kill you until it’s already reduced your hit points to zero (instead of reducing them to, say, one). And then it makes it a little hard for your party to heal you before you potentially lose your death saves.
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The sphere would pop up and immediately disappear. It is concentration. Can't concentrate when you are unconscious.
If you had it pop when you were below 5hp for example ("near unconsciousness") and you happened to have a hit that took you below 5hp and above 0hp then it would be fine. Any other concentration spells would be voided though. It would take a bit of luck to get exactly those conditions.
Nothing can pass in or out of the sphere - so all you could do was heal up and reload or something. You are burning two high level spells to give yourself (effectively) death ward, a 4th level spell. Slightly better as you can cast ahead of time and get the spell slots back (contingency has a 10 day duration) - but that would only be once during an adventure and can only be on yourself (compared to death ward). Chances are good that as soon as the sphere drops you may well die again anyway, so no big deal IMO.
EDIT: The *would become zero* thing I couldn't allow. The spell can't see the future. It triggers when something happens, not when something maybe would happen.
Yeah, that would work.
It takes affect when you would fall unconscious, not when you actually do.
"Halt your wagging and wag your halters, for I am mastercryomancer!"
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My edit didn't take for some reason.
Contingency is an if/then system. It doesn't tell the future.
It is fall unconscious or not. Not maybe would fall unconscious.
Contingency doesn't quite work like this. Contingency can't predict the future and activate to prevent that future, it has to activate in response to something. In this case, it will react to you taking enough damage to be dropped to 0 HP, but since is doesn't prevent that damage, you are still knocked unconscious.
If you phrase it "if I am targeted by an attack that would knock me out," then contingency will A) react before knowing whether or not the attack would hit, and B) not react if there is a damage range where the attack may or may not drop you to 0 (like if you have 5 HP and the attack does 1d6+3 damage).
You would have to phrase it "if I am targeted by an attack (or in an area of effect) that might knock me out." It may get triggered unnecessarily, but never let's you get KO'ed.