I think a lot of "overpowered spells" are usually a result of the rules not being applied properly. I think if you find something problematic, read the spell descriptions a few times, and google to see if other DMs are complaining about the same thing (healing spirit, I am looking at you). Banning something should be done only with full knowledge of what exactly you are banning.
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Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
If you're having problems with players triggering traps from a distance, might I suggest some alarm traps? Sure, the party might confuse the enemy by being misleading about their location, but it can still put the enemy on alert, have them organize a search party, etc.
From a game perspective, it sounds like the spell was conveniently misunderstood by the player. If the players are new, it helps to read the spell outloud the first few times it's cast. Also, as a new DM, its challenging to know all of the players abilities, and looking them up mid-game every time can slow things down. If a spell or ability seems to OP, its usually because of a misinterpretation or the challenges are all very vanilla and that ability is perfect for that same challenge.
From a human perspective, you have to ask yourself how this misinterpretation affected the game. Did your players find it amazing that they were able to bypass certain encounters? Did the other players feel left out? Perhaps one of the players felt like his or her role was useless never got a chance to shine.
I would have a quick chat with your players and tell them that you made a mistake in understanding the spell. If the players say that they liked how it worked, then maybe they dont want as many traps. Otherwise, tell them how it actually works and get any rules arguments out of the way before the game starts
If a spell ever seems too good to be true like that, rather then banning it, re-read the spell description. There's always the chance (as happened here) that the player doesn't fully understand what the spell does, what its limitations are, or maybe is partially confusing it with another spell (find familiar, in this case) entirely.
If a spell ever seems too good to be true like that, rather then banning it, re-read the spell description. There's always the chance (as happened here) that the player doesn't fully understand what the spell does, what its limitations are, or maybe is partially confusing it with another spell (find familiar, in this case) entirely.
This !
Also, in the same veins, when players slice too easily through some "supposedly dangerous foes", re-read the monster's description... some abilities may look not-that-important... but can change the course of the fight...
Healing Spirit got stealth updated since Jeremy Crawford can't admit he makes mistakes. Take a look at the description now. They nerfed it hard!
You're right, they seriously kicked it in the jimmy.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
I think you gave unseen servant much more capability than is present in the spell.
"This spell creates an invisible, mindless, shapeless force that performs simple tasks at your command until the spell ends. The servant springs into existence in an unoccupied space on the ground within range. It has AC 10, 1 hit point, and a Strength of 2, and it can't attack. If it drops to 0 hit points, the spell ends. Once on each of your turns as a bonus action, you can mentally command the servant to move up to 15 feet and interact with an object. The servant can perform simple tasks that a human servant could do, such as fetching things, cleaning, mending, folding clothes, lighting fires, serving food, and pouring wine, Once you give the command, the servant performs the task to the best of its ability until it completes the task, then waits for your next command. If you command the servant to perform a task that would move it more than 60 feet away from you, the spell ends."
It is invisible, mindless and shapeless force. On each of your turns as a bonus action you can command it to move up to 15' and interact with an object. It is mindless. It does not know what objects are. You can't tell it to go looking for a trap, it doesn't know what that is. If YOU see a trap you can tell it to go trigger it. You can tell the unseen servant to go knock over a specific lamp. You can't tell it to wander into a room, find a lamp and knock it over. It doesn't know what a lamp is. If you know where an object is, you can send it to fetch it. If it isn't where you left it, the unseen servant is mindless so it has no way to think of how to search for something. You also have no way of knowing whether the servant found what it was looking for until it returns. It has no way to communicate what it encountered. An unseen servant has no memory, no deductive abilities, you tell it exactly what to do and it does it as long as whatever the instructions are don't require thought. It can't solve problems. Picture it as a robot to which you give simple mental commands. The spell also ends if it is ever more than 60' from the caster.
Allowing the unseen servant to explore a dungeon, find traps and report back to the party is far beyond the capability of an unseen servant.
However, a lot of this type of exploration can be done by familiars. The player can see through the familiar's eyes as an action. Some of the pact of the chain warlock familiars can be invisible. However, in these cases there is some cost in time and gp if the familiar is lost so there is a bit of a risk/reward element. So, the general ability to explore by proxy is in the game, it just doesn't work with an unseen servant.
I think a lot of "overpowered spells" are usually a result of the rules not being applied properly. I think if you find something problematic, read the spell descriptions a few times, and google to see if other DMs are complaining about the same thing (healing spirit, I am looking at you). Banning something should be done only with full knowledge of what exactly you are banning.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
Healing Spirit got stealth updated since Jeremy Crawford can't admit he makes mistakes. Take a look at the description now. They nerfed it hard!
Yeah, they did that about a month ago.
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If you're having problems with players triggering traps from a distance, might I suggest some alarm traps? Sure, the party might confuse the enemy by being misleading about their location, but it can still put the enemy on alert, have them organize a search party, etc.
From a game perspective, it sounds like the spell was conveniently misunderstood by the player. If the players are new, it helps to read the spell outloud the first few times it's cast. Also, as a new DM, its challenging to know all of the players abilities, and looking them up mid-game every time can slow things down. If a spell or ability seems to OP, its usually because of a misinterpretation or the challenges are all very vanilla and that ability is perfect for that same challenge.
From a human perspective, you have to ask yourself how this misinterpretation affected the game. Did your players find it amazing that they were able to bypass certain encounters? Did the other players feel left out? Perhaps one of the players felt like his or her role was useless never got a chance to shine.
I would have a quick chat with your players and tell them that you made a mistake in understanding the spell. If the players say that they liked how it worked, then maybe they dont want as many traps. Otherwise, tell them how it actually works and get any rules arguments out of the way before the game starts
If a spell ever seems too good to be true like that, rather then banning it, re-read the spell description. There's always the chance (as happened here) that the player doesn't fully understand what the spell does, what its limitations are, or maybe is partially confusing it with another spell (find familiar, in this case) entirely.
This !
Also, in the same veins, when players slice too easily through some "supposedly dangerous foes", re-read the monster's description... some abilities may look not-that-important... but can change the course of the fight...
You're right, they seriously kicked it in the jimmy.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
I think you gave unseen servant much more capability than is present in the spell.
"This spell creates an invisible, mindless, shapeless force that performs simple tasks at your command until the spell ends. The servant springs into existence in an unoccupied space on the ground within range. It has AC 10, 1 hit point, and a Strength of 2, and it can't attack. If it drops to 0 hit points, the spell ends. Once on each of your turns as a bonus action, you can mentally command the servant to move up to 15 feet and interact with an object. The servant can perform simple tasks that a human servant could do, such as fetching things, cleaning, mending, folding clothes, lighting fires, serving food, and pouring wine, Once you give the command, the servant performs the task to the best of its ability until it completes the task, then waits for your next command. If you command the servant to perform a task that would move it more than 60 feet away from you, the spell ends."
It is invisible, mindless and shapeless force. On each of your turns as a bonus action you can command it to move up to 15' and interact with an object. It is mindless. It does not know what objects are. You can't tell it to go looking for a trap, it doesn't know what that is. If YOU see a trap you can tell it to go trigger it. You can tell the unseen servant to go knock over a specific lamp. You can't tell it to wander into a room, find a lamp and knock it over. It doesn't know what a lamp is. If you know where an object is, you can send it to fetch it. If it isn't where you left it, the unseen servant is mindless so it has no way to think of how to search for something. You also have no way of knowing whether the servant found what it was looking for until it returns. It has no way to communicate what it encountered. An unseen servant has no memory, no deductive abilities, you tell it exactly what to do and it does it as long as whatever the instructions are don't require thought. It can't solve problems. Picture it as a robot to which you give simple mental commands. The spell also ends if it is ever more than 60' from the caster.
Allowing the unseen servant to explore a dungeon, find traps and report back to the party is far beyond the capability of an unseen servant.
However, a lot of this type of exploration can be done by familiars. The player can see through the familiar's eyes as an action. Some of the pact of the chain warlock familiars can be invisible. However, in these cases there is some cost in time and gp if the familiar is lost so there is a bit of a risk/reward element. So, the general ability to explore by proxy is in the game, it just doesn't work with an unseen servant.