Hello, If a caster places the spike growth spell on a point that is on a moving surface -- say a ship's deck or the ground of a flying city -- do the spell's effects travel with the moving "ground" or do they stay fixed on the point at the center of the spell's radius? (Presuming the caster stays within range of the point and can maintain concentration.) I've seen a lot of disagreement about this elsewhere. Any thoughts? Thank you! T
The RAW is a bit ambiguous, so it’s a DM ruling. I think lots of people, if not most, keep it in the same spot on the ship, because that’s simpler, but there’s no rule either way, I don’t believe.
It's basically up to the DM... in general it's accepted that, if a moving vehicle is large enough to have its own battlemap, then every part of it functions as stationary ground for handling spells. But some DM's maintain that these spells only work on real, actual ground. This often leads to arguments about how the planet itself is constantly in motion, or rule of fun, or some variation...
But anyway, if you're being super strict and literal... yeah, it doesn't work on vehicles or other moving surfaces. So if your DM decides that's how it works... well, that's how it works. But I'm personally of the opinion that any decently sized vehicle can just have something like that sitting on it and treat it as stationary for the spell's effects.
Thanks, Folks, as a DM, I'd rule it moves with the moving surface -- it seems in keeping with how that particular spell is meant to function in any case. I could see it being more of an issue with a spell that creates AOE with duration around a point in space above the ground, like Hunger of Hadar, for example.
You could argue it, but honestly the same principle still applies. The game isn’t designed to accommodate a moving frame of reference. Things like Fog Cloud could make more sense, but even then I’d argue it’s worth just handwaving that under magic to keep combat moving smoothly.
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Hello, If a caster places the spike growth spell on a point that is on a moving surface -- say a ship's deck or the ground of a flying city -- do the spell's effects travel with the moving "ground" or do they stay fixed on the point at the center of the spell's radius? (Presuming the caster stays within range of the point and can maintain concentration.) I've seen a lot of disagreement about this elsewhere. Any thoughts? Thank you! T
The RAW is a bit ambiguous, so it’s a DM ruling. I think lots of people, if not most, keep it in the same spot on the ship, because that’s simpler, but there’s no rule either way, I don’t believe.
It's basically up to the DM... in general it's accepted that, if a moving vehicle is large enough to have its own battlemap, then every part of it functions as stationary ground for handling spells. But some DM's maintain that these spells only work on real, actual ground. This often leads to arguments about how the planet itself is constantly in motion, or rule of fun, or some variation...
But anyway, if you're being super strict and literal... yeah, it doesn't work on vehicles or other moving surfaces. So if your DM decides that's how it works... well, that's how it works. But I'm personally of the opinion that any decently sized vehicle can just have something like that sitting on it and treat it as stationary for the spell's effects.
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It moves with the surface; you’re placing the spikes on a specific piece of terrain, not an abstract fixed point in space.
Thanks, Folks, as a DM, I'd rule it moves with the moving surface -- it seems in keeping with how that particular spell is meant to function in any case. I could see it being more of an issue with a spell that creates AOE with duration around a point in space above the ground, like Hunger of Hadar, for example.
You could argue it, but honestly the same principle still applies. The game isn’t designed to accommodate a moving frame of reference. Things like Fog Cloud could make more sense, but even then I’d argue it’s worth just handwaving that under magic to keep combat moving smoothly.