"On a hit, the target is covered in oil. If the target takes any fire damage before the oil dries (after 1 minute), the target takes an additional 5 fire damage from the burning oil. You can also pour a flask of oil on the ground to cover a 5-foot-square area, provided that the surface is level. If lit, the oil burns for 2 rounds and deals 5 fire damage to any creature that enters the area or ends its turn in the area. A creature can take this damage only once per turn."
What exactly does that mean?
Does the oil linger and only do bonus damage one time or does it do bonus damage every time? Does it burn on a creature over two turns?
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
Good question. The oil burning for two rounds looks like it comes from the part of the item that talks about the oil burning on the ground. But since there is no other guidance on how it behaves while burning on a creature, other that to say it burns the creature, I think you're ok to say it burns for two rounds there as well. Otherwise, I suppose the DM just has to guess.
On a hit, the target is covered in oil. If the target takes any fire damage before the oil dries (after 1 minute), the target takes an additional 5 fire damage from the burning oil.
If we reorganize the wording we get this:
“On a hit the target is covered in oil. If the target takes any fire damage before the oil dries the target takes an additional 5 fire damage from the burning oil, the oil takes 1 minute to dry.”
That indicates to me that the damage would happen every time the target takes fire damage within that minute. In addition, the next part of the paragraph states:
You can also pour a flask of oil on the ground to cover a 5-foot-square area, provided that the surface is level. If lit, the oil burns for 2 rounds and deals 5 fire damage to any creature that enters the area or ends its turn in the area.
From that, we can see indisputably that the oil can burn for multiple rounds. Furthermore, at the end of the paragraph it states the following:
A creature can take this damage only once per turn
So we can clearly see that the damage is intended to happen multiple times, but only once per turn.
My ruling is that the oil persists for up to 1 minute and the additional fire damage happens every time the target takes fire damage, but only once per turn. (That’s why one of my favorite tricksy combos is to have 2 flasks of oil and a flask of alchemist’s fire orbiting a staff of adornment as a melee weapon. 😉 It counts as a magical quarterstaff attack… and then *FWOOSH!!*)
since we are in the rules section, I'll ask the pedantic question. What part of RAW makes that work? why would hitting with the staff cause the oil and flask to break and spray on the target due to a melee hit with the staff?
Oh interesting. I took it to mean that if you splash someone with oil, it will not lose its potential to ignite for up to a minute, but once it ignites, it burns up in two rounds.
since we are in the rules section, I'll ask the pedantic question. What part of RAW makes that work? why would hitting with the staff cause the oil and flask to break and spray on the target due to a melee hit with the staff?
I’ll see your pedantic question and raise you one of my own. Logically speaking, if you stuck three glass flasks to the end of a big stick and hit something with it really, really hard, how would those glass flasks not break?
since we are in the rules section, I'll ask the pedantic question. What part of RAW makes that work? why would hitting with the staff cause the oil and flask to break and spray on the target due to a melee hit with the staff?
To me the flasks would remain floating above the tip of the staff of adornment when attacking with it and each of them would require a seperate action to use, (Attack action vs Use an Item)
Oh interesting. I took it to mean that if you splash someone with oil, it will not lose its potential to ignite for up to a minute, but once it ignites, it burns up in two rounds.
Interesting. I had taken it to mean that the oil on a target lasts for 1 minute, but the oil spread out all over a surface burns up in 2 rounds since the sentence that mentions it also talks about “the area.”
its my understand that its consuméd as normally long lasting damage effect gets saving throw each turn qhen no clear duration is given. But i could see people reading it differently
I was also thinking that the oil would linger for the full minute and if you successfully attacked with a torch every round that you could get that additional 5 fire damage round after round. But after thinking about it that's probably not what happens and the oil is probably just consumed after the first bonus damage instead.
As for the 2nd part -- if you spread the oil on the ground in an area that completely surrounds an enemy and then light it on fire . . . hopefully that would count as the enemy "entering" the area?? Otherwise, that entire mechanic would be pretty stupid! lol
As for the 2nd part -- if you spread the oil on the ground in an area that completely surrounds an enemy and then light it on fire . . . hopefully that would count as the enemy "entering" the area?? Otherwise, that entire mechanic would be pretty stupid! lol
If you want to splash oil on someone, they have to be within 5 feet, and it's a ranged attack, so it's always done at disadvantage. Kind of silly, but there you have it. Seems like a good reason to splash it on the ground instead and have someone light it before your target can move away, since that avoids the attack roll.
As for the 2nd part -- if you spread the oil on the ground in an area that completely surrounds an enemy and then light it on fire . . . hopefully that would count as the enemy "entering" the area?? Otherwise, that entire mechanic would be pretty stupid! lol
If you want to splash oil on someone, they have to be within 5 feet, and it's a ranged attack, so it's always done at disadvantage. Kind of silly, but there you have it. Seems like a good reason to splash it on the ground instead and have someone light it before your target can move away, since that avoids the attack roll.
No, that’s not right. You can throw it from up to 20 feet, that part is very clear. What isn’t entirely clear is the “splash it from five feet” bit, but I believe the intent is that that’s something you can just do, no attack roll required.
The entirety of my comment was about splashing, which definitely needs to be within 5 feet. I'm with you all the way on the throwing part, so I didn't even bring it up. This is really hard for me to parse. Usually when I see some ambiguity in a rule, it's easier for me to see which side they intended you to land on. In this case, it works 100% logically either way you read it.
The text: As an action, you can splash the oil in this flask onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw it up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. Make a ranged attack against a target creature or object, treating the oil as an improvised weapon.
Option 1: As an action, you can splash the oil in this flask onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw it up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. Whichever option you choose, make a ranged attack against a target creature or object, treating the oil as an improvised weapon.
Option 2: As an action, you can splash the oil in this flask onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw it up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. If you throw it, make a ranged attack against a target creature or object, treating the oil as an improvised weapon.
(bold is my edit to show the two ways I could read this)
How i read it, wether you splash it onto a creature within 5 feet or throw it up to 20 feet on a surface, you make a ranged attack against a target creature or object, treating the oil as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target is covered in oil.
Ok I went back and read this a few times and this is what I'm coming up with now:
There are 3 options for using a flask of oil as an item in battle. In every case you use an action to do so.
1) You can splash the oil onto a creature within 5 feet of you. It does not say "target creature". I think that this is an auto-success. I believe that this is meant to work like an area attack with an area of 5 feet (one adjacent grid square) but affecting only the closest creature within that 5 foot square (like, in the case that a few Tiny creatures are in there or something) -- basically picture unplugging the stopper of a flask and shaking it vigorously up and down so that the liquid sloshes out of it, spreading through the air to cover a volume above one 5-foot grid square, affecting the first creature within this area. No saving throw. The creature is covered with oil that takes 1 minute to dry if unlit and is consumed in one round if lit. A maximum of 5 fire damage can be taken in this way from this flask of oil.
2) If a creature or object is more than 5 feet away, up to a maximum of 20 feet away, the flask can be thrown at a "target" creature or object. This method requires an attack roll to hit (without proficiency bonus), at which point it shatters on a hit, causing improvised weapon 1d4 + Strength Modifier (bludgeoning?) damage upon impact and also covering the target in oil. This oil takes 1 minute to dry if unlit and is consumed in one round if lit. A maximum of 5 fire damage can be taken in this way from this flask of oil. NOTE: On an attack roll miss, the DM would have to determine what happens to the flask of oil and any resulting impact upon the environment.
3) You can pour the contents of the flask of oil onto level ground to cover a 5-foot-square area. If lit, this oil burns for 2 rounds -- presumably this is a thicker puddle of water than the thin layer that could cling to the surface of a creature when splashed and therefore burns twice as long. This burning oil "deals 5 fire damage to any creature that enters the area or ends its turn in the area. A creature can take this damage only once per turn." Thus, a maximum of 10 fire damage can be taken by any one creature in this way from this flask of oil. Awkwardly, it seems like technically a creature does not take any fire damage in this case until its own turn begins, at which point I assume that a creature already located within this area when it becomes lit is considered to be "entering" the area at the start of it's turn and will take this damage at that time. In that scenario, as long as it moves out of the area before the end of its NEXT turn, it will avoid taking the damage again. NOTE: If the area covered in oil remains unlit, the DM would have to determine what happens to a creature who enters the area -- does it slip and fall?
I think that covers everything. Note that a flask of oil costs just 1 silver piece so it's probably not meant to be super powerful in battle.
"On a hit, the target is covered in oil. If the target takes any fire damage before the oil dries (after 1 minute), the target takes an additional 5 fire damage from the burning oil. You can also pour a flask of oil on the ground to cover a 5-foot-square area, provided that the surface is level. If lit, the oil burns for 2 rounds and deals 5 fire damage to any creature that enters the area or ends its turn in the area. A creature can take this damage only once per turn."
What exactly does that mean?
Does the oil linger and only do bonus damage one time or does it do bonus damage every time? Does it burn on a creature over two turns?
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Good question. The oil burning for two rounds looks like it comes from the part of the item that talks about the oil burning on the ground. But since there is no other guidance on how it behaves while burning on a creature, other that to say it burns the creature, I think you're ok to say it burns for two rounds there as well. Otherwise, I suppose the DM just has to guess.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Well, let’s break it down.
If we reorganize the wording we get this:
“On a hit the target is covered in oil. If the target takes any fire damage before the oil dries the target takes an additional 5 fire damage from the burning oil, the oil takes 1 minute to dry.”
That indicates to me that the damage would happen every time the target takes fire damage within that minute. In addition, the next part of the paragraph states:
From that, we can see indisputably that the oil can burn for multiple rounds. Furthermore, at the end of the paragraph it states the following:
So we can clearly see that the damage is intended to happen multiple times, but only once per turn.
My ruling is that the oil persists for up to 1 minute and the additional fire damage happens every time the target takes fire damage, but only once per turn. (That’s why one of my favorite tricksy combos is to have 2 flasks of oil and a flask of alchemist’s fire orbiting a staff of adornment as a melee weapon. 😉 It counts as a magical quarterstaff attack… and then *FWOOSH!!*)
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since we are in the rules section, I'll ask the pedantic question. What part of RAW makes that work? why would hitting with the staff cause the oil and flask to break and spray on the target due to a melee hit with the staff?
Oh interesting. I took it to mean that if you splash someone with oil, it will not lose its potential to ignite for up to a minute, but once it ignites, it burns up in two rounds.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
I’ll see your pedantic question and raise you one of my own. Logically speaking, if you stuck three glass flasks to the end of a big stick and hit something with it really, really hard, how would those glass flasks not break?
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To me the flasks would remain floating above the tip of the staff of adornment when attacking with it and each of them would require a seperate action to use, (Attack action vs Use an Item)
Interesting. I had taken it to mean that the oil on a target lasts for 1 minute, but the oil spread out all over a surface burns up in 2 rounds since the sentence that mentions it also talks about “the area.”
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Heck, you may be right. That was just the way I read it. Now you have me wondering :)
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Oil that is lit on fire has the following duration;
On a target it burns once for an additional 5 fire damage.
On the ground it burns for 2 rounds and deals 5 fire damage to any creature that enters the area or ends its turn in the area.
Right but is it consumed and gone after the one hit?
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
its my understand that its consuméd as normally long lasting damage effect gets saving throw each turn qhen no clear duration is given. But i could see people reading it differently
I was also thinking that the oil would linger for the full minute and if you successfully attacked with a torch every round that you could get that additional 5 fire damage round after round. But after thinking about it that's probably not what happens and the oil is probably just consumed after the first bonus damage instead.
As for the 2nd part -- if you spread the oil on the ground in an area that completely surrounds an enemy and then light it on fire . . . hopefully that would count as the enemy "entering" the area?? Otherwise, that entire mechanic would be pretty stupid! lol
If you want to splash oil on someone, they have to be within 5 feet, and it's a ranged attack, so it's always done at disadvantage. Kind of silly, but there you have it. Seems like a good reason to splash it on the ground instead and have someone light it before your target can move away, since that avoids the attack roll.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
No, that’s not right. You can throw it from up to 20 feet, that part is very clear. What isn’t entirely clear is the “splash it from five feet” bit, but I believe the intent is that that’s something you can just do, no attack roll required.
The entirety of my comment was about splashing, which definitely needs to be within 5 feet. I'm with you all the way on the throwing part, so I didn't even bring it up. This is really hard for me to parse. Usually when I see some ambiguity in a rule, it's easier for me to see which side they intended you to land on. In this case, it works 100% logically either way you read it.
The text: As an action, you can splash the oil in this flask onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw it up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. Make a ranged attack against a target creature or object, treating the oil as an improvised weapon.
Option 1: As an action, you can splash the oil in this flask onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw it up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. Whichever option you choose, make a ranged attack against a target creature or object, treating the oil as an improvised weapon.
Option 2: As an action, you can splash the oil in this flask onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw it up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. If you throw it, make a ranged attack against a target creature or object, treating the oil as an improvised weapon.
(bold is my edit to show the two ways I could read this)
"Not all those who wander are lost"
How i read it, wether you splash it onto a creature within 5 feet or throw it up to 20 feet on a surface, you make a ranged attack against a target creature or object, treating the oil as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target is covered in oil.
I think it makes sense that if it was oil burns for 2 rounds while on the ground that is would do the same when a creature/player is covered in it.
Nishan, The Benevolent Dungeon Master
Ok I went back and read this a few times and this is what I'm coming up with now:
There are 3 options for using a flask of oil as an item in battle. In every case you use an action to do so.
1) You can splash the oil onto a creature within 5 feet of you. It does not say "target creature". I think that this is an auto-success. I believe that this is meant to work like an area attack with an area of 5 feet (one adjacent grid square) but affecting only the closest creature within that 5 foot square (like, in the case that a few Tiny creatures are in there or something) -- basically picture unplugging the stopper of a flask and shaking it vigorously up and down so that the liquid sloshes out of it, spreading through the air to cover a volume above one 5-foot grid square, affecting the first creature within this area. No saving throw. The creature is covered with oil that takes 1 minute to dry if unlit and is consumed in one round if lit. A maximum of 5 fire damage can be taken in this way from this flask of oil.
2) If a creature or object is more than 5 feet away, up to a maximum of 20 feet away, the flask can be thrown at a "target" creature or object. This method requires an attack roll to hit (without proficiency bonus), at which point it shatters on a hit, causing improvised weapon 1d4 + Strength Modifier (bludgeoning?) damage upon impact and also covering the target in oil. This oil takes 1 minute to dry if unlit and is consumed in one round if lit. A maximum of 5 fire damage can be taken in this way from this flask of oil. NOTE: On an attack roll miss, the DM would have to determine what happens to the flask of oil and any resulting impact upon the environment.
3) You can pour the contents of the flask of oil onto level ground to cover a 5-foot-square area. If lit, this oil burns for 2 rounds -- presumably this is a thicker puddle of water than the thin layer that could cling to the surface of a creature when splashed and therefore burns twice as long. This burning oil "deals 5 fire damage to any creature that enters the area or ends its turn in the area. A creature can take this damage only once per turn." Thus, a maximum of 10 fire damage can be taken by any one creature in this way from this flask of oil. Awkwardly, it seems like technically a creature does not take any fire damage in this case until its own turn begins, at which point I assume that a creature already located within this area when it becomes lit is considered to be "entering" the area at the start of it's turn and will take this damage at that time. In that scenario, as long as it moves out of the area before the end of its NEXT turn, it will avoid taking the damage again. NOTE: If the area covered in oil remains unlit, the DM would have to determine what happens to a creature who enters the area -- does it slip and fall?
I think that covers everything. Note that a flask of oil costs just 1 silver piece so it's probably not meant to be super powerful in battle.
The oil dries up after one minute on a creature, how long before it dries up on the ground?
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale