I am running a 5E campaign where I have a player eager to use arcane lock on a variety of items. I was wondering if a door off its hinges blocking a doorway could possibly locked by arcane lock since it says "You touch a closed door, window, gate, chest, or other entryway, and it becomes locked for the duration..." On top of that, would arcane lock work on another unwilling creature's bag or coinpurse? I know I could rule either way as the DM, but I just want to know if anyone else has come across this and has their own thoughts. Thanks
I take a firm stance that spells only do what they specifically say they do - so a door not attached to hinges blocking the doorway isn't going to provide added resistance, just like engaging the mundane lock on a door in the same condition wouldn't help keep anyone out.
However, if the door were pinned to the hinges, the spell would cause the DC to remove the pins, and thus make the door passable, to increase by 10.
As for a bag or coinpurse... I'm not sure that I would personally rule the opening as being an "entryway". I am sure, however, that touching the bag or coinpurse if the owner is carrying it and is unwilling to let you touch it would require a contest of some sort (the particular abilities/skills used depending on circumstance and manner of attempt, like Dexterity (sleight of hand) vs. Wisdom (perception) to touch it without being noticed, or opposed checks of Strength (Athletics) for the basic "keep away" approach).
A door off its hinges is technically not a closed door and therefore wouldn't count.
It increases the DC by 10 to get item open. Normally the dc to get a coin purse open is 0 so with the spell it would be 10. Almost worthless to use the spell on a coin purse.
However a coin purse is not an entryway and therefore does not count for the spell.
Basically if it's something that typically has a lock and a pick DC you are good. Otherwise not so much.
That makes sense, I just considered bags and pouches only because the list includes chests which I do not consider as entryways. I'll just keep in mind the arcane lock acts like a mundane lock: only useful when latches are involved. Thanks guys!
That makes sense, I just considered bags and pouches only because the list includes chests which I do not consider as entryways. I'll just keep in mind the arcane lock acts like a mundane lock: only useful when latches are involved. Thanks guys!
Yeah a chest isn't really an entryway. So that part of my comment is in error. It seems to me the intent is that it makes it harder to open something that can be locked. Though I believe that it would apply to a door even if the door doesn't have a lock.
I would rule it doesn't really work on bags or if it does the bag has an AC of 10 to get it open. It isn't going to be game breaking if you let it work on bags, though you may want to point out to the player that it isn't going to do anything meaningful.
You can't "pick" an arcane lock. See the underlined portion below:
You touch a closed door, window, gate, chest, or other entryway, and it becomes locked for the duration. You and the creatures you designate when you cast this spell can open the object normally. You can also set a password that, when spoken within 5 feet of the object, suppresses this spell for 1 minute. Otherwise, it is impassable until it is broken or the spell is dispelled or suppressed.
You can't "pick" an arcane lock. See the underlined portion below:
You touch a closed door, window, gate, chest, or other entryway, and it becomes locked for the duration. You and the creatures you designate when you cast this spell can open the object normally. You can also set a password that, when spoken within 5 feet of the object, suppresses this spell for 1 minute. Otherwise, it is impassable until it is broken or the spell is dispelled or suppressed.
I would recommended reading the full text of the spell Arcane Lock.
The very next sentence after the one you quoted reads: "While affected by this spell, the object is more difficult to break or force open; the DC to break it or pick any locks on it increases by 10."
As someone who's building a Mammon Tiefling for a campaign, I've been thinking of how to use Arcane Lock, since that particular subrace can cast Arcane Lock once per day without needing the 25gp gold dust component.
I know it can be used to secure doors and such, but in my head I had pictured it functioning for anything that has a lock... like a padlock or manacles. But the specific wording of the spell says that the only object other than some form of entryway that qualifies for the spell is very specifically chests. I'm personally of the mindset that it makes sense for it to qualify for anything that has a locking mechanism, but by RAW it seems that you could only do that if you had a very, very generous interpretation for what qualifies as a "Chest".
In the listed examples, the chest really is an outlier. I would allow it on anything that had a lock. We assume the word "entryway" to mean an entryway for a creature. Most locks are entryways for keys. Yeah, it's a little silly, but the spell is called arcane lock after all. And what's the harm?
I am running a 5E campaign where I have a player eager to use arcane lock on a variety of items. I was wondering if a door off its hinges blocking a doorway could possibly locked by arcane lock since it says "You touch a closed door, window, gate, chest, or other entryway, and it becomes locked for the duration..." On top of that, would arcane lock work on another unwilling creature's bag or coinpurse? I know I could rule either way as the DM, but I just want to know if anyone else has come across this and has their own thoughts. Thanks
I take a firm stance that spells only do what they specifically say they do - so a door not attached to hinges blocking the doorway isn't going to provide added resistance, just like engaging the mundane lock on a door in the same condition wouldn't help keep anyone out.
However, if the door were pinned to the hinges, the spell would cause the DC to remove the pins, and thus make the door passable, to increase by 10.
As for a bag or coinpurse... I'm not sure that I would personally rule the opening as being an "entryway". I am sure, however, that touching the bag or coinpurse if the owner is carrying it and is unwilling to let you touch it would require a contest of some sort (the particular abilities/skills used depending on circumstance and manner of attempt, like Dexterity (sleight of hand) vs. Wisdom (perception) to touch it without being noticed, or opposed checks of Strength (Athletics) for the basic "keep away" approach).
A door off its hinges is technically not a closed door and therefore wouldn't count.
It increases the DC by 10 to get item open. Normally the dc to get a coin purse open is 0 so with the spell it would be 10. Almost worthless to use the spell on a coin purse.
However a coin purse is not an entryway and therefore does not count for the spell.
Basically if it's something that typically has a lock and a pick DC you are good. Otherwise not so much.
That makes sense, I just considered bags and pouches only because the list includes chests which I do not consider as entryways. I'll just keep in mind the arcane lock acts like a mundane lock: only useful when latches are involved. Thanks guys!
You can't "pick" an arcane lock. See the underlined portion below:
I would recommended reading the full text of the spell Arcane Lock.
The very next sentence after the one you quoted reads: "While affected by this spell, the object is more difficult to break or force open; the DC to break it or pick any locks on it increases by 10."
As someone who's building a Mammon Tiefling for a campaign, I've been thinking of how to use Arcane Lock, since that particular subrace can cast Arcane Lock once per day without needing the 25gp gold dust component.
I know it can be used to secure doors and such, but in my head I had pictured it functioning for anything that has a lock... like a padlock or manacles. But the specific wording of the spell says that the only object other than some form of entryway that qualifies for the spell is very specifically chests. I'm personally of the mindset that it makes sense for it to qualify for anything that has a locking mechanism, but by RAW it seems that you could only do that if you had a very, very generous interpretation for what qualifies as a "Chest".
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In the listed examples, the chest really is an outlier. I would allow it on anything that had a lock. We assume the word "entryway" to mean an entryway for a creature. Most locks are entryways for keys. Yeah, it's a little silly, but the spell is called arcane lock after all. And what's the harm?
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"Otherwise it is impassable until it is "broken" or the spell is dispelled or suppressed."
While affected by this spell, the object is more difficult to "break" or "force" open.