It says that, "At the end of each of its turns, the target repeats the saving throw. It takes 3d6 fire damage on a failed save, and the spell ends on a successful one." It then immediately states, "These magical flames can't be extinguished through nonmagical means." Wouldn't making a dex saving throw be a nonmagical way of extinguishing the flames and ending the spell???
The saving throw is more to just worm your way out of the spell's effect. Think of it like trying to escape a grapple from a fire elemental or other magically intelligent fire. It's like a "duck and weave" to throw it off, and once it is off, it goes out. That line of text it to prevent people who just go try to jump in a lake or something.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
Yes, the rules do not contradict each other - you can only stop the continuous burning by succeeding the saving throw or by magical means. It may feel a little counter-intuitive, flavor wise, but it happens. If you have to explain it in-game, you can invent something fitting. Perhaps the spell includes some sort of continuous targetting that the target evades with the Dexterity throw, and thus the flames die out, but otherwise cannot be extinguished with a blanket or water.
Thanks for the insight, that can make sense. Instead of "being on fire" I can picture it as more like "There are floating flames surrounding you" and if you are fast enough you can escape from them, causing the flames to extinguish.
The saving throw is not just a representation of a person's efforts to avoid or resist an effect, but also a representation of the variable duration of a spell.
In prior editions effects similar to this one would have the effect phrased as having a duration of something like 2d4 rounds, and the saving throw offered (if any) would reduce the damage suffered each round - but 5th edition streamlines that into a maximum duration, and ending prematurely if a saving throw is successful.
It says that, "At the end of each of its turns, the target repeats the saving throw. It takes 3d6 fire damage on a failed save, and the spell ends on a successful one." It then immediately states, "These magical flames can't be extinguished through nonmagical means." Wouldn't making a dex saving throw be a nonmagical way of extinguishing the flames and ending the spell???
The saving throw is more to just worm your way out of the spell's effect. Think of it like trying to escape a grapple from a fire elemental or other magically intelligent fire. It's like a "duck and weave" to throw it off, and once it is off, it goes out. That line of text it to prevent people who just go try to jump in a lake or something.
Yes, the rules do not contradict each other - you can only stop the continuous burning by succeeding the saving throw or by magical means. It may feel a little counter-intuitive, flavor wise, but it happens. If you have to explain it in-game, you can invent something fitting. Perhaps the spell includes some sort of continuous targetting that the target evades with the Dexterity throw, and thus the flames die out, but otherwise cannot be extinguished with a blanket or water.
...although I wonder if dousing someone under the effects of Immolation with Create or Destroy Water works or not.
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Thanks for the insight, that can make sense. Instead of "being on fire" I can picture it as more like "There are floating flames surrounding you" and if you are fast enough you can escape from them, causing the flames to extinguish.
The saving throw is not just a representation of a person's efforts to avoid or resist an effect, but also a representation of the variable duration of a spell.
In prior editions effects similar to this one would have the effect phrased as having a duration of something like 2d4 rounds, and the saving throw offered (if any) would reduce the damage suffered each round - but 5th edition streamlines that into a maximum duration, and ending prematurely if a saving throw is successful.
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