Okay, so this is a question I had both while watching Critical Role and while it's being used in games I'm in.
With Pass Without Trace,, do you have to remain in the spell effect area to gain the benefits, or does everyone gain the benefit immediately, and then can move around freely?
This isn't exactly clear in the description of the spell
Okay, so this is a question I had both while watching Critical Role and while it's being used in games I'm in.
With Pass Without Trace,, do you have to remain in the spell effect area to gain the benefits, or does everyone gain the benefit immediately, and then can move around freely?
This isn't exactly clear in the description of the spell
I'm not 100% certain what you're asking, so I'll cover everything:
Matt Mercer's focus in CR is entertainment, not following the RAW - like any DM he will house-rule on the fly and usually won't explicitly state he's doing so. You should generally avoid using CR as a source of understanding the RAW, although it might be useful for inspiring you to homebrew.
Pass Without Trace, like any spell, is subject to DM interpretation, but here's how it's generally interpreted:
The effect of the spell emanates from you for the duration of the spell, so it moves with the caster: the caster need not remain in any particular location to gain the benefits.
Because it emanates from the caster, would-be beneficiaries must remain within the spell's area of effect to benefit, which is a 30' radius sphere.
The spell offers no rules support for when the "choosing" of beneficiaries happens. I have not discovered a consensus answer to this, and have experienced all of the following:
Caster must choose at cast time and can't make choices later.
Caster must choose at cast time and can issue new choices at any point during their turn (same timing as talking).
Caster must choose at cast time and can issue new choices at any point (same timing as dropping concentration).
The alternative interpretation I believe you're referring to is having the spell "go off" at cast time, meaning 2.3.1 applies but 2.1 and 2.2 do not: anyone buffed by the spell simply keeps the buff and the 30' only matters at cast time. Because this is also consistent with the RAW, you should not be surprised if your DM chooses it - it's just less common, in my experience, than the interpretation I laid out above. In terms of power level, it's equivalent to the above with 2.3.2 or 2.3.3: allowing a buffed target to wander off while keeping the buff but forcing all choices at cast time is about as "powerful" as not letting them but letting the caster change who is buffed later (the latter is better for summoning minions with a spell, the former is better for a large adventuring party, likely with permanent minions). What matters is your DM should pick 1 interpretation and remain consistent.
How i read it, the range of the spell is Self and let you affect others as such;
"for the duration, each creature you choose within 30 feet of you has +10" which doesn't limit the effect while within this distance necessarily.
So reading it literally, for the duration, you can select an unlimited number of targets within distance and they can enjoy the benefit from anywhere thereafter.
How i read it, the range of the spell is Self and let you affect others as such;
"for the duration, each creature you choose within 30 feet of you has +10" which doesn't limit the effect while within this distance necessarily.
So reading it literally, for the duration, you can select an unlimited number of targets within distance and they can enjoy the benefit from anywhere thereafter.
Or, reading it literally, anyone more than 30 feet away from you is not a "creature you choose within 30 feet of you" and so doesn't have the +10.
This is not an aura effect though, 30 feet is not a range of the effect but the distance within which the creature must be for you to choose it to get +10 for the duration.. It's not meant that way but it's the reading i get.
This is not an aura effect though, 30 feet is not a range of the effect but the distance within which the creature must be for you to choose it to get +10 for the duration.. It's not meant that way but it's the reading i get.
What makes you think it's not an aura effect? For the duration, creatures of your choice within 30 feet have +10 to stealth. That reads precisely like an aura. Contrast this with Bless, which says "choose some creatures within range; for the duration, they have +1d4 to whatever." I don't think your interpretation is impossible, but it's not "reading it literally." A creature 60 feet away does not satisfy the literal requirements for receiving the bonus.
This is not an aura effect though, 30 feet is not a range of the effect but the distance within which the creature must be for you to choose it to get +10 for the duration.. It's not meant that way but it's the reading i get.
What makes you think it's not an aura effect? For the duration, creatures of your choice within 30 feet have +10 to stealth. That reads precisely like an aura. Contrast this with Bless, which says "choose some creatures within range; for the duration, they have +1d4 to whatever." I don't think your interpretation is impossible, but it's not "reading it literally." A creature 60 feet away does not satisfy the literal requirements for receiving the bonus.
It's not an aura because it doesn't say it is one, say like Crusader's Mantle.
The range of Bless is 30 feet, not Self, but regardless, targets don't need to stay within range to benefit from it.
Like i said, Pass Without Trace benefit targets you choose for the duration, not while within 30 feet. 30 feet is the distance to choose them. When you choose a target, it now gets +10 Stealth for the duration, that bonus doesn't end when it moves more than 30 feet away. Like Bless, essentially.
You know, I've never looked that closely at this spell before (I knew it was good, but hardly ever had a chance to use it), but yeah it is an AOE not a target spell.
This is not an aura effect though, 30 feet is not a range of the effect but the distance within which the creature must be for you to choose it to get +10 for the duration.. It's not meant that way but it's the reading i get.
What makes you think it's not an aura effect? For the duration, creatures of your choice within 30 feet have +10 to stealth. That reads precisely like an aura. Contrast this with Bless, which says "choose some creatures within range; for the duration, they have +1d4 to whatever." I don't think your interpretation is impossible, but it's not "reading it literally." A creature 60 feet away does not satisfy the literal requirements for receiving the bonus.
It's not an aura because it doesn't say it is one, say like Crusader's Mantle.
The range of Bless is 30 feet, not Self, but regardless, targets don't need to stay within range to benefit from it.
Like i said, Pass Without Trace benefit targets you choose for the duration, not while within 30 feet. 30 feet is the distance to choose them. When you choose a target, it now gets +10 Stealth for the duration, that bonus doesn't end when it moves more than 30 feet away. Like Bless, essentially.
Again, I'm not saying your reading is impossible; you don't need to convince me of anything. You're making sense. The only point I'm disputing is that you're taking the text literally. You are not. "Pass Without Trace benefit targets you choose for the duration" is not the literal text; the literal text is that it benefits targets you choose within 30 feet for the duration. That the literal reading aligns with what developers have stated is the intent of the spell is meaningful, but again, English is flexible; I have no desire to dispute your interpretation as a matter of language. It just requires that you get away from what the text literally says.
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Okay, so this is a question I had both while watching Critical Role and while it's being used in games I'm in.
With Pass Without Trace,, do you have to remain in the spell effect area to gain the benefits, or does everyone gain the benefit immediately, and then can move around freely?
This isn't exactly clear in the description of the spell
I'm not 100% certain what you're asking, so I'll cover everything:
The alternative interpretation I believe you're referring to is having the spell "go off" at cast time, meaning 2.3.1 applies but 2.1 and 2.2 do not: anyone buffed by the spell simply keeps the buff and the 30' only matters at cast time. Because this is also consistent with the RAW, you should not be surprised if your DM chooses it - it's just less common, in my experience, than the interpretation I laid out above. In terms of power level, it's equivalent to the above with 2.3.2 or 2.3.3: allowing a buffed target to wander off while keeping the buff but forcing all choices at cast time is about as "powerful" as not letting them but letting the caster change who is buffed later (the latter is better for summoning minions with a spell, the former is better for a large adventuring party, likely with permanent minions). What matters is your DM should pick 1 interpretation and remain consistent.
The wording of the spell is sufficiently different from other spells such as Bless that you can probably interpret it to mean quin's 2.3.2 or 2.3.3
In case you wonder, here's what the Dev had to say about Pass Without Trace when asked;
How i read it, the range of the spell is Self and let you affect others as such;
"for the duration, each creature you choose within 30 feet of you has +10" which doesn't limit the effect while within this distance necessarily.
So reading it literally, for the duration, you can select an unlimited number of targets within distance and they can enjoy the benefit from anywhere thereafter.
Or, reading it literally, anyone more than 30 feet away from you is not a "creature you choose within 30 feet of you" and so doesn't have the +10.
This is not an aura effect though, 30 feet is not a range of the effect but the distance within which the creature must be for you to choose it to get +10 for the duration.. It's not meant that way but it's the reading i get.
What makes you think it's not an aura effect? For the duration, creatures of your choice within 30 feet have +10 to stealth. That reads precisely like an aura. Contrast this with Bless, which says "choose some creatures within range; for the duration, they have +1d4 to whatever." I don't think your interpretation is impossible, but it's not "reading it literally." A creature 60 feet away does not satisfy the literal requirements for receiving the bonus.
It's not an aura because it doesn't say it is one, say like Crusader's Mantle.
The range of Bless is 30 feet, not Self, but regardless, targets don't need to stay within range to benefit from it.
Like i said, Pass Without Trace benefit targets you choose for the duration, not while within 30 feet. 30 feet is the distance to choose them. When you choose a target, it now gets +10 Stealth for the duration, that bonus doesn't end when it moves more than 30 feet away. Like Bless, essentially.
You know, I've never looked that closely at this spell before (I knew it was good, but hardly ever had a chance to use it), but yeah it is an AOE not a target spell.
Again, I'm not saying your reading is impossible; you don't need to convince me of anything. You're making sense. The only point I'm disputing is that you're taking the text literally. You are not. "Pass Without Trace benefit targets you choose for the duration" is not the literal text; the literal text is that it benefits targets you choose within 30 feet for the duration. That the literal reading aligns with what developers have stated is the intent of the spell is meaningful, but again, English is flexible; I have no desire to dispute your interpretation as a matter of language. It just requires that you get away from what the text literally says.