The transformation of the ground is camouflaged to look natural. Any creature that can’t see the area when the spell is cast must take a Search action and succeed on a Wisdom (Perception or Survival) check against your spell save DC to recognize the terrain as hazardous before entering it.
It makes it sound like they can't enter it, if they have not seen the casting. Or do they just not get a save at all and walk right into it?
What this is telling you is that if a creature sees the spell being cast, they know the area is dangerous; if they don't see the spell being cast, they can figure out that it's dangerous by actively taking the Search to investigate it.
Either way, there is no saving throw against the damage dealt by moving through the area affected by this spell.
In my 31 years of playing, I've never seen an enemy make a "search" before attacking. Party members might do it, but they should know that the spell was cast. The wording just sounds wrong.
It's simply an option that the spell gives to both characters and NPCs, similar to how other spells do:
- Disguise Self: To discern that you are disguised, a creature must take the Study action to inspect your appearance and succeed on an Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC.
- Glyph of Warding or Symbol: The glyph is nearly imperceptible and requires a successful Wisdom (Perception) check against your spell save DC to notice.
- Hallucinatory Terrain: If the difference isn’t obvious by touch, a creature examining the illusion can take the Study action to make an Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC to disbelieve it. If a creature discerns that the terrain is illusory, the creature sees a vague image superimposed on the real terrain.
- Major Image: A creature that takes a Study action to examine the image can determine that it is an illusion with a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC. If a creature discerns the illusion for what it is, the creature can see through the image, and its other sensory qualities become faint to the creature.
In my 31 years of playing, I've never seen an enemy make a "search" before attacking. Party members might do it, but they should know that the spell was cast. The wording just sounds wrong.
2014 ancient and adult dragons have the Detect legendary action which is one facet of the [actions]search[/actions] action by another name—they can make a Wisdom (Perception) check. Monsters searching is how they find hidden characters for example.
In my 31 years of playing, I've never seen an enemy make a "search" before attacking. Party members might do it, but they should know that the spell was cast. The wording just sounds wrong.
Who said anything about attacking???
But if you happened to walk into the area and start taking damage it is nice to have a pre-determined way to find out why and how you can get out of there as easily as possible.
"Hmm...something about this open field doesn't feel right. I want to Search the area for any signs of a trap."
Of course you don't usually randomly search areas for no reason at all. But if you find yourself in an area with traps or are looking for/pursuing someone known for using traps then searching for traps starts being a darn good idea.
In my 31 years of playing, I've never seen an enemy make a "search" before attacking. Party members might do it, but they should know that the spell was cast. The wording just sounds wrong.
1. Enemies can cast this, too, setting a trap for the party. So the wording helps understand what happens when the PCs come upon it.
2. Because you haven’t seen something happen does not mean it hasn’t been done.
My default assumption is that it's a standard trap, if you don't detect it you walk in, but you automatically know something is there once you take damage (and can stop, tell other people to stop, etc).
My default assumption is that it's a standard trap, if you don't detect it you walk in, but you automatically know something is there once you take damage (and can stop, tell other people to stop, etc).
So, would you automatically stop after 5' movement, or make your full move as planned and take damage for every 5'?
I find the 2nd part of the spell a little vague:
The transformation of the ground is camouflaged to look natural. Any creature that can’t see the area when the spell is cast must take a Search action and succeed on a Wisdom (Perception or Survival) check against your spell save DC to recognize the terrain as hazardous before entering it.
It makes it sound like they can't enter it, if they have not seen the casting. Or do they just not get a save at all and walk right into it?
For the record, this is the description of Spike Growth, not Thorn Whip.
What this is telling you is that if a creature sees the spell being cast, they know the area is dangerous; if they don't see the spell being cast, they can figure out that it's dangerous by actively taking the Search to investigate it.
Either way, there is no saving throw against the damage dealt by moving through the area affected by this spell.
pronouns: he/she/they
First, the text quoted is from spike growth, not thorn whip.
I read it to mean the second one. If they don’t see it being cast, they just walk right into it.
ninja’d
Sorry, I don't why I mixed up the subject. I edited it.
I just don't see why anything would take a search action, when they don't see anything
They'd take a Search action if they were moving carefully and looking for traps and such.
pronouns: he/she/they
"Hmm...something about this open field doesn't feel right. I want to Search the area for any signs of a trap."
In my 31 years of playing, I've never seen an enemy make a "search" before attacking. Party members might do it, but they should know that the spell was cast. The wording just sounds wrong.
It's simply an option that the spell gives to both characters and NPCs, similar to how other spells do:
- Disguise Self: To discern that you are disguised, a creature must take the Study action to inspect your appearance and succeed on an Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC.
- Glyph of Warding or Symbol: The glyph is nearly imperceptible and requires a successful Wisdom (Perception) check against your spell save DC to notice.
- Hallucinatory Terrain: If the difference isn’t obvious by touch, a creature examining the illusion can take the Study action to make an Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC to disbelieve it. If a creature discerns that the terrain is illusory, the creature sees a vague image superimposed on the real terrain.
- Major Image: A creature that takes a Study action to examine the image can determine that it is an illusion with a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC. If a creature discerns the illusion for what it is, the creature can see through the image, and its other sensory qualities become faint to the creature.
2014 ancient and adult dragons have the Detect legendary action which is one facet of the [actions]search[/actions] action by another name—they can make a Wisdom (Perception) check. Monsters searching is how they find hidden characters for example.
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Who said anything about attacking???
But if you happened to walk into the area and start taking damage it is nice to have a pre-determined way to find out why and how you can get out of there as easily as possible.
Of course you don't usually randomly search areas for no reason at all. But if you find yourself in an area with traps or are looking for/pursuing someone known for using traps then searching for traps starts being a darn good idea.
1. Enemies can cast this, too, setting a trap for the party. So the wording helps understand what happens when the PCs come upon it.
2. Because you haven’t seen something happen does not mean it hasn’t been done.
My default assumption is that it's a standard trap, if you don't detect it you walk in, but you automatically know something is there once you take damage (and can stop, tell other people to stop, etc).
So, would you automatically stop after 5' movement, or make your full move as planned and take damage for every 5'?
Stop the first time you take damage, which is 5' movement.