Are the attacks generated from a Faithful Hound spell magical? In other words, is the hound itself a spell, like a Goodberry berry, or not? I found a JC tweet claiming that Animate Dead skeletons are not spells (it comes up for Necromancer Grim Harvest), but his reasoning was based on duration, and it has the same duration as Goodberry, so I don't know what to make of that. Goodberries must be spells because when a goodberry heals you Life Clerics add to the healing - that's RAW, in the SAC - and the Life Cleric ability to do that only reacts to a spell healing you, which by definition means the instantaneous berries qualify as a spell, even though they can't be dispelled. Does Detect Magic work on them? Does Identify work on them? I would think the answer is no and yes, in that order.
I also found a tweet from JC declaring that damage from a conjuredcreature is determined by its statblock, but my question is about attacks, not damage, and I am very skeptical the answer actually relies on a) having a statblock, b) being a creature, or c) being conjured (as opposed to any other spell school).
Hmm, considering the spell never gives the hound any stats, I would say that it is a magical effect that acts like a hound. This would make it a spell, it's damage spell damage (magical), it would be detected by detect magic, and is an invalid target for identify.
The Animate Dead spell only makes the skeletons, the skeletons are not inherently magical, this is why the spell is "Instantaneous" - spell is done, the skeletons remain - they cannot be dispelled. So they are not magical beings. Now, if the spell used a statblock and had a duration - you can argue it is only magical if stated in the statblock.
The "hound" of Faithful Hound, is not actually a hound, nor is it even a creature. It's a bit of magic, shaped like a hound, that does 4d8 piercing damage. Since it is a spell, it is magical damage. This is why it doesn't list a statblock.
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Hmm, considering the spell never gives the hound any stats, I would say that it is a magical effect that acts like a hound. This would make it a spell, it's damage spell damage (magical), it would be detected by detect magic, and is an invalid target for identify.
Interesting - so you think it's a spell because it's not a creature?
I agree with DxJxC and Cybermind. The spell never refers to the hound as a creature, omits information that would be essential if it were a creature (HP, type, ability scores, proficiency bonus) and gives it behavior that's highly unusual for a creature (it can't be harmed).
It's a rather elaborate spell effect that replicates some of the usefulness of a real guard dog, but it's not a creature. Contrast that with Phantom Steed which conjures a magical horse-like thing but tells you to treat it as a riding horse with some minor changes.
Hmm, considering the spell never gives the hound any stats, I would say that it is a magical effect that acts like a hound. This would make it a spell, it's damage spell damage (magical), it would be detected by detect magic, and is an invalid target for identify.
Interesting - so you think it's a spell because it's not a creature?
Basically yeah. We know it is a spell (because it is) and the spell description does not say that the hound is anything other than the direct spell effect (like a creature), so any damage it deals is spell damage. Contrast to even temporary summoning spells that actually do give the creatures stat blocks, so any damage they do is indirectly cause by that spell rather than directly (spell makes creature, creature deals damage)
Objects being spells but creatures not being spells does make goodberry consistent with animate dead, that's certainly true. And I strongly agree, I think the hound is an object, not a creature.
Objects being spells but creatures not being spells does make goodberry consistent with animate dead, that's certainly true. And I strongly agree, I think the hound is an object, not a creature.
I don't think the hound is really an object either - it's just a magical effect which exists invisibly in a location. It can be dispelled like any other lingering spell effect (like a Wall of Fire).
I also don't think the goodberry objects are actually "spells" any more than the skeletons are. The berries are some sort of semi-mundane object with a bit of stored spell energy infused into them in the form of delicious goodness. The healing comes from the spell because that's where the amount of healing is listed, rather than in a separate object description. The damage from a skeleton doesn't come from the spell, it comes from the stat block of a skeleton.
I would allow a dispel Magic targeted at a Goodberry to render it no more helpful than a regular blueberry, but I don't know who is going around using dispel magic on single berries...
Personally I disagree with the Life Cleric/Goodberry SA, and I instead allow a Life Cleric to summon 3+ extra berries but each still heal 1hp - but that's just my house ruling.
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Are the attacks generated from a Faithful Hound spell magical? In other words, is the hound itself a spell, like a Goodberry berry, or not? I found a JC tweet claiming that Animate Dead skeletons are not spells (it comes up for Necromancer Grim Harvest), but his reasoning was based on duration, and it has the same duration as Goodberry, so I don't know what to make of that. Goodberries must be spells because when a goodberry heals you Life Clerics add to the healing - that's RAW, in the SAC - and the Life Cleric ability to do that only reacts to a spell healing you, which by definition means the instantaneous berries qualify as a spell, even though they can't be dispelled. Does Detect Magic work on them? Does Identify work on them? I would think the answer is no and yes, in that order.
I also found a tweet from JC declaring that damage from a conjured creature is determined by its statblock, but my question is about attacks, not damage, and I am very skeptical the answer actually relies on a) having a statblock, b) being a creature, or c) being conjured (as opposed to any other spell school).
Hmm, considering the spell never gives the hound any stats, I would say that it is a magical effect that acts like a hound. This would make it a spell, it's damage spell damage (magical), it would be detected by detect magic, and is an invalid target for identify.
The Animate Dead spell only makes the skeletons, the skeletons are not inherently magical, this is why the spell is "Instantaneous" - spell is done, the skeletons remain - they cannot be dispelled. So they are not magical beings. Now, if the spell used a statblock and had a duration - you can argue it is only magical if stated in the statblock.
The "hound" of Faithful Hound, is not actually a hound, nor is it even a creature. It's a bit of magic, shaped like a hound, that does 4d8 piercing damage. Since it is a spell, it is magical damage. This is why it doesn't list a statblock.
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Interesting - so you think it's a spell because it's not a creature?
I agree with DxJxC and Cybermind. The spell never refers to the hound as a creature, omits information that would be essential if it were a creature (HP, type, ability scores, proficiency bonus) and gives it behavior that's highly unusual for a creature (it can't be harmed).
It's a rather elaborate spell effect that replicates some of the usefulness of a real guard dog, but it's not a creature. Contrast that with Phantom Steed which conjures a magical horse-like thing but tells you to treat it as a riding horse with some minor changes.
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Basically yeah. We know it is a spell (because it is) and the spell description does not say that the hound is anything other than the direct spell effect (like a creature), so any damage it deals is spell damage. Contrast to even temporary summoning spells that actually do give the creatures stat blocks, so any damage they do is indirectly cause by that spell rather than directly (spell makes creature, creature deals damage)
General rule is that spells with a duration can be Detected and Identified during the duration only.
"Instantaneous" can not be Detected or Identified because the magic is gone by the time you cast the spells.
Objects being spells but creatures not being spells does make goodberry consistent with animate dead, that's certainly true. And I strongly agree, I think the hound is an object, not a creature.
I don't think the hound is really an object either - it's just a magical effect which exists invisibly in a location. It can be dispelled like any other lingering spell effect (like a Wall of Fire).
I also don't think the goodberry objects are actually "spells" any more than the skeletons are. The berries are some sort of semi-mundane object with a bit of stored spell energy infused into them in the form of delicious goodness. The healing comes from the spell because that's where the amount of healing is listed, rather than in a separate object description. The damage from a skeleton doesn't come from the spell, it comes from the stat block of a skeleton.
I would allow a dispel Magic targeted at a Goodberry to render it no more helpful than a regular blueberry, but I don't know who is going around using dispel magic on single berries...
Personally I disagree with the Life Cleric/Goodberry SA, and I instead allow a Life Cleric to summon 3+ extra berries but each still heal 1hp - but that's just my house ruling.