I have a wizard in the school of Abjuration and I'm not quite sure how the Arcane Ward works. If I cast alarm as a first level spell to activate it, does it start with its maximum hit points or two hit points? I know that any later castings will heal it two hit points but I can't find anything about its starting hit points for the day. Thanks.
It's right there in the 2nd and 3rd sentences of the feature; "When you cast an abjuration spell of 1st level or higher, you can simultaneously use a strand of the spell's magic to create a magical ward on yourself that lasts until you finish a long rest. The ward has hit points equal to twice your wizard level + your Intelligence modifier."
So whichever abjuration spell is the first you cast for the day (in my group, that'd usually be mage armor), it sets up the full hit points of the ward.
It starts out at full hit points = Int Mod + (Wizard level * 2), when you cast the first Abjuration spell of the day.
Every future Abjuration spell regains it hp = 2 * spell level.
Effectively wake up in the morning and cast Alarm, this will "set" it. If you take damage ritually cast Alarm during the short rest. A short rest is 60 minutes, so it can regain 12 hp.
As this discussion seems to focus on the rules of Arcane Ward based on title more than any other Topic discussion, I am going to ask a question here to try and get some answers to my confusion.
Arcane Ward
Starting at 2nd level, you can weave magic around yourself for protection. When you cast an abjuration spell of 1st level or higher, you can simultaneously use a strand of the spell’s magic to create a magical ward on yourself that lasts until you finish a long rest. The ward has a hit point maximum equal to twice your wizard level + your Intelligence modifier. Whenever you take damage, the ward takes the damage instead. If this damage reduces the ward to 0 hit points, you take any remaining damage.
While the ward has 0 hit points, it can’t absorb damage, but its magic remains. Whenever you cast an abjuration spell of 1st level or higher, the ward regains a number of hit points equal to twice the level of the spell.
Once you create the ward, you can’t create it again until you finish a long rest.
Now, the key area I am focusing on in my question is the very last sentence that I highlighted in Bold Red. As Arcane Ward is not a spell and therefore does not have concentration added to it in anyway, that I can see based on the description of the ability, does the last sentence mean a Wizard can cast Arcane Ward and then rest for 8 hours having it active while they sleep, and then recast it? It doesn't appear to have a time limit on how long it lasts, so essentially once a Wizard casts it if they have spell slots left after a battle and before they rest they can boost up the Arcane Ward and essentially sleep in "Armor" for the night while everyone else would have to doff their armor? Or rather does it work more like this: once they start "sleep" if attacked during their resting period the Arcane Ward is no longer active or available to cast until they have a complete long rest?
I only ask this because it came up during a session of play where an Elf Wizard wanted to use their last 1st and 2nd level spells for the day to boost their Arcane Ward, then take their 4 hours of reverie to regain their spell slots, and then use one slot to activate Arcane Ward.
Now, I didn't have anything except the book at the time, so I let it happen with the caveat if I find anything different then it would change for future use. I'm just looking for the communities thoughts on this one!
I believe that was to prevent someone from allowing their ward to run out of hp and then decide that the next cast they made would give it the full Int Mod + (Wizard level * 2), rather than the proper 2*(spell level).
I would personally say that the ward resets after a long rest period dissipating while you are focused on preparing your spells, this seems like something that would not be intended to allow someone to get that big initial boost of tempHP twice in a day.
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"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
I guess I should clarify my question a little better... Is the Arcane Ward active while someone is sleeping? Is the basic gist of what I am trying to find out.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
I guess I should clarify my question a little better... Is the Arcane Ward active while someone is sleeping? Is the basic gist of what I am trying to find out.
Yes. It is not a spell, does not engage with the concentration mechanics, and does not do as other class features that do not function while the character is unconscious and state that fact explicitly (see a Paladin's aura features).
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
I personally just assumed it ended at the end of a Long Rest (like Temp HP does), but reading through this threat and rechecking the rule critically... it never states the effect ends, just states you need a Long Rest before you can create a new Arcane Ward.
With this reading I guess this means it never goes away. If you go to for a Long Rest, with a full Arcane Ward, and don't have combat... it's still there the next day.
Theoretically, if the Arcane Ward hits 0 HP, you can use a new Abjuration spell to recreate it... and it would be at full HP. This is also important because if your Int goes or if you level you need to "create" for it to inherit the new max HP.
AaronOfBarbaria, is right I just missed it. The Arcane Ward lasts until you finish a long rest. The above interpretation was thinking that they forgot to give it an end.
I personally just assumed it ended at the end of a Long Rest (like Temp HP does), but reading through this threat and rechecking the rule critically... it never states the effect ends, just states you need a Long Rest before you can create a new Arcane Ward.
You've just missed it. The second sentence of the feature ends "... that lasts until you finish a long rest."
Theoretically, if the Arcane Ward hits 0 HP, you can use a new Abjuration spell to recreate it... and it would be at full HP.
That is specifically stated as not being the case by the last two portions of the feature (quoted here for reference): "While the ward has 0 hit points, it can’t absorb damage, but its magic remains. Whenever you cast an abjuration spell of 1st level or higher, the ward regains a number of hit points equal to twice the level of the spell.
Once you create the ward, you can’t create it again until you finish a long rest."
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
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I have a wizard in the school of Abjuration and I'm not quite sure how the Arcane Ward works. If I cast alarm as a first level spell to activate it, does it start with its maximum hit points or two hit points? I know that any later castings will heal it two hit points but I can't find anything about its starting hit points for the day. Thanks.
It's right there in the 2nd and 3rd sentences of the feature; "When you cast an abjuration spell of 1st level or higher, you can simultaneously use a strand of the spell's magic to create a magical ward on yourself that lasts until you finish a long rest. The ward has hit points equal to twice your wizard level + your Intelligence modifier."
So whichever abjuration spell is the first you cast for the day (in my group, that'd usually be mage armor), it sets up the full hit points of the ward.
For a deeper dive: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/class-forums/wizard/8660-arcane-ward-am-i-reading-this-correctly
AaronOfBarbaria, is right.
It starts out at full hit points = Int Mod + (Wizard level * 2), when you cast the first Abjuration spell of the day.
Every future Abjuration spell regains it hp = 2 * spell level.
Effectively wake up in the morning and cast Alarm, this will "set" it. If you take damage ritually cast Alarm during the short rest. A short rest is 60 minutes, so it can regain 12 hp.
As this discussion seems to focus on the rules of Arcane Ward based on title more than any other Topic discussion, I am going to ask a question here to try and get some answers to my confusion.
Arcane Ward
Starting at 2nd level, you can weave magic around yourself for protection. When you cast an abjuration spell of 1st level or higher, you can simultaneously use a strand of the spell’s magic to create a magical ward on yourself that lasts until you finish a long rest. The ward has a hit point maximum equal to twice your wizard level + your Intelligence modifier. Whenever you take damage, the ward takes the damage instead. If this damage reduces the ward to 0 hit points, you take any remaining damage.
While the ward has 0 hit points, it can’t absorb damage, but its magic remains. Whenever you cast an abjuration spell of 1st level or higher, the ward regains a number of hit points equal to twice the level of the spell.
Once you create the ward, you can’t create it again until you finish a long rest.
Now, the key area I am focusing on in my question is the very last sentence that I highlighted in Bold Red. As Arcane Ward is not a spell and therefore does not have concentration added to it in anyway, that I can see based on the description of the ability, does the last sentence mean a Wizard can cast Arcane Ward and then rest for 8 hours having it active while they sleep, and then recast it? It doesn't appear to have a time limit on how long it lasts, so essentially once a Wizard casts it if they have spell slots left after a battle and before they rest they can boost up the Arcane Ward and essentially sleep in "Armor" for the night while everyone else would have to doff their armor? Or rather does it work more like this: once they start "sleep" if attacked during their resting period the Arcane Ward is no longer active or available to cast until they have a complete long rest?
I only ask this because it came up during a session of play where an Elf Wizard wanted to use their last 1st and 2nd level spells for the day to boost their Arcane Ward, then take their 4 hours of reverie to regain their spell slots, and then use one slot to activate Arcane Ward.
Now, I didn't have anything except the book at the time, so I let it happen with the caveat if I find anything different then it would change for future use. I'm just looking for the communities thoughts on this one!
Thank you!
I believe that was to prevent someone from allowing their ward to run out of hp and then decide that the next cast they made would give it the full Int Mod + (Wizard level * 2), rather than the proper 2*(spell level).
I would personally say that the ward resets after a long rest period dissipating while you are focused on preparing your spells, this seems like something that would not be intended to allow someone to get that big initial boost of tempHP twice in a day.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
I guess I should clarify my question a little better... Is the Arcane Ward active while someone is sleeping? Is the basic gist of what I am trying to find out.
I would say no. This is just playtest material and is subject to change. Likely the wording will change if this gets through the initial playtest.My bad on the wrong thread.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
sure was, oops
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
I personally just assumed it ended at the end of a Long Rest (like Temp HP does), but reading through this threat and rechecking the rule critically... it never states the effect ends, just states you need a Long Rest before you can create a new Arcane Ward.With this reading I guess this means it never goes away. If you go to for a Long Rest, with a full Arcane Ward, and don't have combat... it's still there the next day.Theoretically, if the Arcane Ward hits 0 HP, you can use a new Abjuration spell to recreate it... and it would be at full HP. This is also important because if your Int goes or if you level you need to "create" for it to inherit the new max HP.AaronOfBarbaria, is right I just missed it. The Arcane Ward lasts until you finish a long rest.
The above interpretation was thinking that they forgot to give it an end.
You've just missed it. The second sentence of the feature ends "... that lasts until you finish a long rest."
That is specifically stated as not being the case by the last two portions of the feature (quoted here for reference): "While the ward has 0 hit points, it can’t absorb damage, but its magic remains. Whenever you cast an abjuration spell of 1st level or higher, the ward regains a number of hit points equal to twice the level of the spell.Once you create the ward, you can’t create it again until you finish a long rest."
Aaronofbarbaria, the hero we needed : )
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."