RAI/RAW Dancing Lights + Unseen Servant Combo?

Quote from Nanally_Colucci >>

So it looks like this just doesn't work at all. You cannot give the servant a command to follow. As a bonus action, you can command it to move up to 15 feet and interact with an object. That's it. The spell does not suggest in any way that you can give it a course of actions to follow autonomously.

 The relevant text would be:

Once you give the command, the servant performs the task to the best of its ability until it completes the task, then waits for your next command.

If the command requires more than one round to complete, this indicates that the servant will continue doing it autonomously

(As for the discussion of how you basically can't attack the servant with anything, the whole question does not need to be considered. Of course you can.)

Quote from jl8e >>

(As for the discussion of how you basically can't attack the servant with anything, the whole question does not need to be considered. Of course you can.)

It's in the category of "RAW is badly written, RAI is reasonably clear".

Unseen Servant has always been a weird spell to me. I was hoping for a better description in 5.5e, but no luck.

As mentioned by Pantagruel666, at least picking a location should work:

Choose a Target. Pick a target within your attack’s range: a creature, an object, or a location.

This is an unofficial ruling from the Dev:

@JeremyECrawford An unseen servant is "an invisible, mindless, shapeless force" (from the spell). It's not a creature.
@atealein If it is not a creature, nor an object but a "force" why the specifics of the AC and hit points.. since most effects in the game damage creatures or objects only?
@JeremyECrawford It’s exceptional. Spells are tricksy that way.

Quote from Tarod_>>

This is an unofficial ruling from the Dev:

 That is a very Jeremy Crawford ruling.

Quote from Pantagruel666 >>

Quote from Tarod_>>

This is an unofficial ruling from the Dev:

 That is a very Jeremy Crawford ruling.

 Right xD

Quote from Pantagruel666 >>

Quote from Tarod_>>

This is an unofficial ruling from the Dev:

 That is a very Jeremy Crawford ruling.

It's a very Crawford way of saying "we f*cked up" without actually saying it.

Quote from jl8e >>

Quote from Nanally_Colucci >>

So it looks like this just doesn't work at all. You cannot give the servant a command to follow. As a bonus action, you can command it to move up to 15 feet and interact with an object. That's it. The spell does not suggest in any way that you can give it a course of actions to follow autonomously.

 The relevant text would be:

Once you give the command, the servant performs the task to the best of its ability until it completes the task, then waits for your next command.

If the command requires more than one round to complete, this indicates that the servant will continue doing it autonomously

(As for the discussion of how you basically can't attack the servant with anything, the whole question does not need to be considered. Of course you can.)

 

 But it can't move unless you take a Bonus Action, regardless of what command you give it. This spell needs a rewrite badly.

Quote from Nanally_Colucci>>

Quote from jl8e>>

Quote from Nanally_Colucci>>

So it looks like this just doesn't work at all. You cannot give the servant a command to follow. As a bonus action, you can command it to move up to 15 feet and interact with an object. That's it. The spell does not suggest in any way that you can give it a course of actions to follow autonomously.

 The relevant text would be:

Once you give the command, the servant performs the task to the best of its ability until it completes the task, then waits for your next command.

If the command requires more than one round to complete, this indicates that the servant will continue doing it autonomously

(As for the discussion of how you basically can't attack the servant with anything, the whole question does not need to be considered. Of course you can.)

 But it can't move unless you take a Bonus Action, regardless of what command you give it.

This spell needs a rewrite badly.

 It doesn't. It's fine.

This isn't Rules as Written; this is Rules as the Most Pedantically Restrictive Reading Conceivable.

Would the game be better if the rules were written in a more formal style? Maybe, but at the least, we'd have an easier time figuring out mechanics. I have certainly criticized 5e's style choices vigorously in the past.

But this? This is an open-ended ability. You cannot write it if formal mechanical terms.

Quote from jl8e >>

 It doesn't. It's fine.

 It really does need a rewrite. Probably to make it a construct with a low but non-zero Intelligence score, thus determining what its actual ability to interpret commands is.

Quote from packman767 >>

Can unseen servant be instructed to move within the humanoid form of dancing lights for one hour, so that a player can move both of them with the same bonus action?

Basically the intended effect is to create a phantom that can hold something and walk down a hallway and distract some guards, without using any spell slots.  But it needs to be visible so it actually draws their attention.  The caster's plan is to hide in a Minor Illusion faux crate or similar and to direct this unseen servant and dancing lights form to pick up objects and steal them, while also using mage hand to steal other objects in the dark.  Basically.

Can this actually work with the rules?  Or is it impossible to chain one to the other?  I think it might be possible, but am unsure.

 Unseen Servant says it can perform simple tasks that a human can do.  Stay within a light pattern is a simple task that a human can do.  Seems legit to me.

Just cast Light on a cloak and have the Unseen Servant wear it or carry it

Honestly, I prefer this spell description from 3e:

An unseen servant is an invisible, mindless, shapeless force that performs simple tasks at your command. It can run and fetch things, open unstuck doors, and hold chairs, as well as clean and mend. The servant can perform only one activity at a time, but it repeats the same activity over and over again if told to do so as long as you remain within range. It can open only normal doors, drawers, lids, and the like. It has an effective Strength score of 2 (so it can lift 20 pounds or drag 100 pounds). It can trigger traps and such, but it can exert only 20 pounds of force, which is not enough to activate certain pressure plates and other devices. It can’t perform any task that requires a skill check with a DC higher than 10 or that requires a check using a skill that can’t be used untrained. Its speed is 15 feet.

The servant cannot attack in any way; it is never allowed an attack roll. It cannot be killed, but it dissipates if it takes 6 points of damage from area attacks. (It gets no saves against attacks.) If you attempt to send it beyond the spell’s range (measured from your current position), the servant ceases to exist.