I am creating an invisible box. You can feel it and hold it, but nothing appears in your hand. Due to length of time requirements, I found it necessary to use the wish spell to stay RAW (I think).
So, when the players use identify, what do they learn? Is it just that it was conjuration magic?
Or, is there another way to make it invisible without a DM ruling?
My hope is that as the characters level up (currently lvl2), they will be able to start trying dispel to reveal the box, which has a puzzle on the lid that needs to be solved to unlock. The intent here is that around the time they reach 5th or 6th level, they will b able to open it and find the next piece of the puzzle.
This is not a main quest, but will become one when we're through the current campaign.
I am creating an invisible box. You can feel it and hold it, but nothing appears in your hand. Due to length of time requirements, I found it necessary to use the wish spell to stay RAW (I think).
So, when the players use identify, what do they learn? Is it just that it was conjuration magic?
Or, is there another way to make it invisible without a DM ruling?
You're the DM, aren't you? There's nothing wrong with just saying "it's invisible". RAW is that the DM can do what they want, and in particular they are not bound only to the spells, monsters, and items written in the book.
If they identify it, they learn what the spell says they do. If the box itself is magic, they learn that. If it's being made invisible by a spell, they learn what the spell is, presumably "a variation on invisibility".
My hope is that as the characters level up (currently lvl2), they will be able to start trying dispel to reveal the box, which has a puzzle on the lid that needs to be solved to unlock. The intent here is that around the time they reach 5th or 6th level, they will b able to open it and find the next piece of the puzzle.
This is not a main quest, but will become one when we're through the current campaign.
Several things not directly related to your question:
See invisibility is a second level spell, which they get in one level
Players are prone to forgetting about things that aren't immediately relevant
If you're trying to hinge major plot on the players doing something specific, you need to have backup mechanisms, because they won't.
Or, is there another way to make it invisible without a DM ruling?
It's a custom magic item, and like all magic item creation, not possible without a DM ruling (note that, since it doesn't match an existing spell, it's not possible to create with wish without a DM ruling either). However, there is no reason to decide it's exceptionally hard to create.
The identify spell will reveal the item's functions. From the description, the item's function is "it's an invisible locked box", which won't be terribly helpful to the PCs.
Be aware that the likely result is that the PCs will put the invisible box in a bag and forget they have it.
Thank you. What a thoughtful response. I don't remember 'see invisibility', so thank you for pointing that out.
I have a physical item for my in house game. I gave them the empty outer cardboard box and said "For the purposes of this story, this box contains an item of the same shape as you hold, and has definite weight to it. You just are unable to see that you are holding anything.
I did that knowing I could just rule it, but I like staying within RAW when I can. You can't just have kobolds running around breathing fire... or can you...
I also intend on dropping pieces that fit the story along the way. It will turn into a quest for a long lost <item>
Here's a picture of the box. It seams fairly well made, considering the quality of any of today's products
I did that knowing I could just rule it, but I like staying within RAW when I can. You can't just have kobolds running around breathing fire... or can you...
I did that knowing I could just rule it, but I like staying within RAW when I can. You can't just have kobolds running around breathing fire... or can you...
RAW says that new spells can be invented. There’s even guidelines for creating new spells in the DMG. You can always just say that someone created a spell based off of invisibility but for an object you touch instead of a creature. But honestly you really don’t even really need to do that.
Think about it. Someone (or rather many someones) created flying carpets and flying brooms. Right? Is there a spell that makes a carpet fly? No, not really. The animate objects spell can technically do it but not at those speeds. That spell only gives an object a flying speed of 30 ft. A broom flys at 50 feet and only the smallest and slowest carpet flys at 30 ft and the rest all go faster. Plus animate objects lets the objects attack and act on their own in some ways. Those magic items can’t do any of that. So whoever made those flying magic items probably used the fly spell when enchanting them. There’s no reason some enterprising spellcaster couldn’t do something similar and use invisibility to enchant an object like your box. Make sense?
And yes a DM can just make a kobold breath fire if they want to. One of my friends who’s also a DM has it so that in his world kobolds and dragonborn are related to each other the same way that goblins and hobgoblins are related. At that point a kobold with a breath weapon isn’t a far stretch at all.
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I am creating an invisible box. You can feel it and hold it, but nothing appears in your hand. Due to length of time requirements, I found it necessary to use the wish spell to stay RAW (I think).
So, when the players use identify, what do they learn? Is it just that it was conjuration magic?
Or, is there another way to make it invisible without a DM ruling?
My hope is that as the characters level up (currently lvl2), they will be able to start trying dispel to reveal the box, which has a puzzle on the lid that needs to be solved to unlock.
The intent here is that around the time they reach 5th or 6th level, they will b able to open it and find the next piece of the puzzle.
This is not a main quest, but will become one when we're through the current campaign.
You're the DM, aren't you? There's nothing wrong with just saying "it's invisible". RAW is that the DM can do what they want, and in particular they are not bound only to the spells, monsters, and items written in the book.
If they identify it, they learn what the spell says they do. If the box itself is magic, they learn that. If it's being made invisible by a spell, they learn what the spell is, presumably "a variation on invisibility".
Several things not directly related to your question:
See invisibility is a second level spell, which they get in one level
Players are prone to forgetting about things that aren't immediately relevant
If you're trying to hinge major plot on the players doing something specific, you need to have backup mechanisms, because they won't.
It's a custom magic item, and like all magic item creation, not possible without a DM ruling (note that, since it doesn't match an existing spell, it's not possible to create with wish without a DM ruling either). However, there is no reason to decide it's exceptionally hard to create.
The identify spell will reveal the item's functions. From the description, the item's function is "it's an invisible locked box", which won't be terribly helpful to the PCs.
Be aware that the likely result is that the PCs will put the invisible box in a bag and forget they have it.
Thank you. What a thoughtful response. I don't remember 'see invisibility', so thank you for pointing that out.
I have a physical item for my in house game. I gave them the empty outer cardboard box and said "For the purposes of this story, this box contains an item of the same shape as you hold, and has definite weight to it. You just are unable to see that you are holding anything.
I did that knowing I could just rule it, but I like staying within RAW when I can. You can't just have kobolds running around breathing fire... or can you...
I also intend on dropping pieces that fit the story along the way. It will turn into a quest for a long lost <item>
Here's a picture of the box. It seams fairly well made, considering the quality of any of today's products
PXL_20240416_225936099.jpg
Make it a half-dragon. Or give a kobold scale sorcerer the dragon's breath spell.
RAW says that new spells can be invented. There’s even guidelines for creating new spells in the DMG. You can always just say that someone created a spell based off of invisibility but for an object you touch instead of a creature. But honestly you really don’t even really need to do that.
Think about it. Someone (or rather many someones) created flying carpets and flying brooms. Right? Is there a spell that makes a carpet fly? No, not really. The animate objects spell can technically do it but not at those speeds. That spell only gives an object a flying speed of 30 ft. A broom flys at 50 feet and only the smallest and slowest carpet flys at 30 ft and the rest all go faster. Plus animate objects lets the objects attack and act on their own in some ways. Those magic items can’t do any of that. So whoever made those flying magic items probably used the fly spell when enchanting them. There’s no reason some enterprising spellcaster couldn’t do something similar and use invisibility to enchant an object like your box. Make sense?
And yes a DM can just make a kobold breath fire if they want to. One of my friends who’s also a DM has it so that in his world kobolds and dragonborn are related to each other the same way that goblins and hobgoblins are related. At that point a kobold with a breath weapon isn’t a far stretch at all.