It seems like people are all across the board on this issue and I'd really like to know one way or the other.
A Ranger has an HHH and the Wizard in the party casts Rope Trick or Mordankainen's Magnificent Mansion. The party enters. Are they all sucked into the Astral Plane or does nothing happen?
The DMG states on all three items that placing them inside one another"or similar item" the catastrophe ensues. Is it merely a container with an extra dimensional space that causes the chaos, or is it the one EDS crossing the threshold of another EDS?
I'm inclined to say nothing happens since the Rope Trick and MMM are not "items" but rather magical effects. I've had rigorous debate with people who have said both things.
The descriptions specify that the destruction only applies to putting one item inside another. This is clearly to avoid stacking up carrying containers inside each other, entering other extradimensional spaces has no effect.
Having said that, one of my favorite traps in a previous edition was an enlarged Bag of Holding covering the exit to a pipe that the party had to climb through. Get to the end of the pipe with one of those items on you and boom. Otherwise you have a bit of cloth over the end that could easily be cut, resulting in boom. To get past safely you had to not be carrying one of those items and slowly push the bag off the end of the pipe.
That sounds a lot like a trap that you had to know the answer to before you encountered it, which I'm not a fan of. I much prefer maybe not knowing what's going on at first, but being able to learn about it as you play.
The bag says "Placing the haversack inside an extradimensional space created by a bag of holding, portable hole, or similar item instantly destroys both items and opens a gate to the Astral Plane."
Since Rope Trick and Mordankainen's Magnificent Mansion are not items, then no interaction occurs.
In my campaigns my ruling has always been the same since the 90's, what cause Astral gating is not the item, but the nature of the extradimensional space sharing itself, regardless of origin.
But i must say the wording in 5E items refers to extradimensional space created by items specifically.
Indeed, previous editions such as AD&D 2nd Edition had the following take;
Extradimensional Spaces: In most instances, placing one extadimensional space inside another open a rift to the Astral plane, casting both the items and their contents through the rift.
That sounds a lot like a trap that you had to know the answer to before you encountered it, which I'm not a fan of. I much prefer maybe not knowing what's going on at first, but being able to learn about it as you play.
It was in an entire dungeon of traps using magical items where the item would likely used up or destroyed in the process of overcoming the trap. I wouldn't use it in an ongoing campaign, but I like it for a meatgrinder oneshot.
That sounds a lot like a trap that you had to know the answer to before you encountered it, which I'm not a fan of. I much prefer maybe not knowing what's going on at first, but being able to learn about it as you play.
It was in an entire dungeon of traps using magical items where the item would likely used up or destroyed in the process of overcoming the trap. I wouldn't use it in an ongoing campaign, but I like it for a meatgrinder oneshot.
In context, that sounds a lot better than out of context.
However, I'd never hear of such nonsense. It's the magic that causes some sort of dimensional interference, and it makes no difference whether it's a spell or an item.
But I'm all fluff over crunch, so that's a very predictable point of view.
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
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It seems like people are all across the board on this issue and I'd really like to know one way or the other.
A Ranger has an HHH and the Wizard in the party casts Rope Trick or Mordankainen's Magnificent Mansion. The party enters. Are they all sucked into the Astral Plane or does nothing happen?
The DMG states on all three items that placing them inside one another "or similar item" the catastrophe ensues. Is it merely a container with an extra dimensional space that causes the chaos, or is it the one EDS crossing the threshold of another EDS?
I'm inclined to say nothing happens since the Rope Trick and MMM are not "items" but rather magical effects. I've had rigorous debate with people who have said both things.
Is a spell an item?
The descriptions specify that the destruction only applies to putting one item inside another. This is clearly to avoid stacking up carrying containers inside each other, entering other extradimensional spaces has no effect.
Having said that, one of my favorite traps in a previous edition was an enlarged Bag of Holding covering the exit to a pipe that the party had to climb through. Get to the end of the pipe with one of those items on you and boom. Otherwise you have a bit of cloth over the end that could easily be cut, resulting in boom. To get past safely you had to not be carrying one of those items and slowly push the bag off the end of the pipe.
That sounds a lot like a trap that you had to know the answer to before you encountered it, which I'm not a fan of. I much prefer maybe not knowing what's going on at first, but being able to learn about it as you play.
The bag says "Placing the haversack inside an extradimensional space created by a bag of holding, portable hole, or similar item instantly destroys both items and opens a gate to the Astral Plane."
Since Rope Trick and Mordankainen's Magnificent Mansion are not items, then no interaction occurs.
In my campaigns my ruling has always been the same since the 90's, what cause Astral gating is not the item, but the nature of the extradimensional space sharing itself, regardless of origin.
But i must say the wording in 5E items refers to extradimensional space created by items specifically.
Is that how the rule worked in older editions?
I'm not sure that I'd rely on the rules of other games for rulings in this game though.
Indeed, previous editions such as AD&D 2nd Edition had the following take;
It was in an entire dungeon of traps using magical items where the item would likely used up or destroyed in the process of overcoming the trap. I wouldn't use it in an ongoing campaign, but I like it for a meatgrinder oneshot.
In context, that sounds a lot better than out of context.
By RAW, and item is an item.
However, I'd never hear of such nonsense. It's the magic that causes some sort of dimensional interference, and it makes no difference whether it's a spell or an item.
But I'm all fluff over crunch, so that's a very predictable point of view.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.