A question about Produce flame

Hi there, Midgardians!

My question is: if I use Produce Flame and I throw it to a creature, does the flame disappear/the cantrip finish or does it stay until the spell is finished (10 min)?

Thanks in advance. 😊

It depends on which edition you're playing.

The 5e version of the spell ends when you attack with it, as stated in the spell description.

The 5.5e version does not say it ends when you attack with it, so it doesn't end when you attack with it.

Yea the updates to the spell are actually quite strange.

It became a bonus action instead of an action but also lost its ability to attack while casting it, so if making an attack is your main goal then it will cost you both your action and bonus action for the turn.

It gained a doubling of its attack range (from 30ft to 60ft) and its light radius (from 10ft to 20ft).

It lost the option to dismiss it as an action and thus the only way to end the spell is to cast it again (which doesn't help you much) or wait the full 10 minutes. As the spell doesn't have the "covering the object with something opaque blocks the light" clause that many other light providing spells have that seems like a strange choice. I guess hiding will be somewhat problematic while it is up.

Edit: Fixed a an error.

Oh, I see.

But what happens with the flame when I attack with it? Does it stay where the enemy is or does it come back to me?

Thanks in advance.

Quote from Thezzaruz >>

It lost the option to dismiss it as an action and thus the only way to end the spell is to cast it again (which doesn't help you much) or wait the full 10 minutes. As the spell doesn't have the "covering the object with something opaque blocks the light" clause that many other light providing spells have that seems like a strange choice. I guess hiding will be somewhat problematic while it is up.

The general rules on spellcasting in 5.5e allow you to end any ongoing spell you've cast at any time, with no action required.

Quote from JaimeVonCarstein >>

Oh, I see.

But what happens with the flame when I attack with it? Does it stay where the enemy is or does it come back to me

Thanks in advance.

Both. You're throwing fire at the enemy and you still have fire in your hand.

You hurl fire at the target. Nothing says the entire flame is thrown, so you still have fire in your hand. 

Additionally, Thezzaruz missed the rule where you can dismiss your own spells at any time, no action required, while they're ongoing as long as you aren't currently incapacitated.

Quote from wagnarokkr >>

The general rules on spellcasting in 5.5e allow you to end any ongoing spell you've cast at any time, with no action required.

 Right, they expanded the "can end concentration" rule to cover all duration spells, forgot about that as I haven't actually used that rule yet. Thanks for the save.

Thanks for your help!! ❤️

Guys, I've got another question. If I have Produce flame active, can I use that hand and grab something? I guess I can, since the spell doesn't say anything.

Thanks in advance. 😊

Quote from JaimeVonCarstein >>

Guys, I've got another question. If I have Produce flame active, can I use that hand and grab something? I guess I can, since the spell doesn't day anything.

 

Thanks in advance. 😊

Yes. Produce Flame says that "While there, the flame emits no heat and ignites nothing" and nothing about occupying the hand so go ahead.

Quote from Thezzaruz >>

Quote from JaimeVonCarstein >>

Guys, I've got another question. If I have Produce flame active, can I use that hand and grab something? I guess I can, since the spell doesn't day anything.

 

Thanks in advance. 😊

Yes. Produce Flame says that "While there, the flame emits no heat and ignites nothing" and nothing about occupying the hand so go ahead.

 

Cheers, mate! 😊

To be clear, just because the spell does not end when you make an attack with it does NOT mean that the flame "ignites" or "sets on fire" or "continuously burns round after round" any creature or object that is successfully attacked.  The attack is just an attack that does 1d8 fire damage.  Any fire-based spell that actually sets things on fire will explicitly say so.

Quote from Thezzaruz >>

Quote from wagnarokkr >>

The general rules on spellcasting in 5.5e allow you to end any ongoing spell you've cast at any time, with no action required.

 Right, they expanded the "can end concentration" rule to cover all duration spells, forgot about that as I haven't actually used that rule yet. Thanks for the save.

 Well... in your defence, the explanation was added as a 5.5e SAC entry, which differs from the similar one in the 5e SAC, so to me it's a subtle change that's easy to miss for those of us coming from 5e:

Can a spellcaster dismiss a spell after casting it?

You can dismiss a non-instantaneous spell. See the “Duration” section of chapter 7 of the Player’s Handbook for more information.

Quote from Tarod_ >>

Quote from Thezzaruz >>

Quote from wagnarokkr >>

The general rules on spellcasting in 5.5e allow you to end any ongoing spell you've cast at any time, with no action required.

 Right, they expanded the "can end concentration" rule to cover all duration spells, forgot about that as I haven't actually used that rule yet. Thanks for the save.

 Well... in your defence, the explanation was added as a 5.5e SAC entry, which differs from the similar one in the 5e SAC, so to me it's a subtle change that's easy to miss for those of us coming from 5e:

Can a spellcaster dismiss a spell after casting it?

You can dismiss a non-instantaneous spell. See the “Duration” section of chapter 7 of the Player’s Handbook for more information.

 Um, actually:

Time Span. A duration that provides a time span specifies how long the spell lasts in rounds, minutes, hours, or the like. For example, a Duration entry might say “1 minute,” meaning the spell ends after 1 minute has passed. While a time-span spell that you cast is ongoing, you can dismiss it (no action required) if you don’t have the Incapacitated condition.

This is from the PHB and BR. That SAC entry is just clarifying what's written further.

Yeah, I meant that. If the question in the SAC was kept but updated for 5.5e, maybe it's because it's a change they want to call out or emphasize there as well.

Sorry if I didn't explain myself well.