So if I'm in combat, and take damage (at the point I feel the need to disengage) I can turn invisible, great.
If I'm doing that in toe-to-toe combat, it seems like that is not going to work for disengagement, as the big ugly that just axed my belly is watching me fade away. How able is my current foe going to be to continue attacking me?
It's not going to hide your location automatically, but any subsequent attacks will have disadvantage. When your turn rolls around, you can try to Hide and move somewhere out of sight to lose your attackers; regardless of whether your attempt at stealth succeeds, you won't provoke opportunity attacks. Also, many spells won't be able to target you while you're invisible.
All of this is assuming your enemies can't see through invisibility.
I guess what makes it work would be not being toe-to-toe with any big ugly in the first place - I should be able to avoid melee combat for the most part, I just wasn't thinking real clearly - then I watched a YouTube on using the Spell Sniper feat with the Distant metamagic, and I was reminded that I'm shooting not slashing...
Thanks for the replies - Fade Away is officially on my to-do list now! :)
Keep in mind that any damage can trigger the ability, so you can also trigger it yourself.
Consider how some people thwart lie detectors by placing a tac in the bottom of their shoe and they press down on during the baseline questions.
You could make a bracelet with a sharp tac on the side. Depending on the GM, it could be considering a free action to manipulate one object... IE press the tac into your hand to cause one point of piercing damage.
Viola! One full round of Invisibility at the cost of a free action and 1 piercing damage!
You don’t need to disengage. Once you are invisible, you can retreat without taking an opportunity attack unless the enemy has some way of seeing you, e.g. Blindsight, Detect Invisibility etc.
The wording of the opportunity attack rule in the PHB says “You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your reach.” Ergo, if he can’t see you, he doesn’t get an opportunity attack when you move out of his reach. If it’s his turn, and you’re nearby but invisible, and he has some way of knowing you’re there (can hear you breathing, can see your footprints, someone else who can see you tells him you’re there etc.) then he can take an attack against you with disadvantage because he can’t see you. But that’s not the rule for opportunity attacks. If he can’t see you, he doesn’t get an opp attack at all.
Also, once the gnome has faded, she can function as an unseen attacker and get advantage on her next attack, correct?
Yes, because the invisibility lasts until the end of the gnome’s next turn, or until the gnome attacks. So, provided the gnome attacks before the end of her next turn, she’ll attack with advantage as an unseen attacker (assuming the target doesn’t have something like Blindsight) although she’ll lose her invisibility once she does attack.
I was considering the Gnome Fade Away for a feat for my forest gnome evoker wizard, but I'm not sure its worth it compared to some other things that could help more consistently, like Observant and Resilience. Yes the Fade Away is defensive and affords advantage on the next attack, but there are not many Wizard spells that require an attack roll. Other than the cantrips, it's just Witch Bolt, Scorching Ray, Melf's, Vampiric Touch, and a few others -- and I've got Magic Missile which nearly always hits anyway. An evoker may not need many more attack spells other than magic missile. If I were doing more melee attacks as a gnome thief, for instance, Fade Away would help more. Also, if I were an arcane trickster, it would help with the Magical Ambush feature. But for a wizard, I'm not sure this is the best Feat to acquire. And, using Fade Away would preclude other reactions in that round, such as using my Ring of Evasion or Shield -- in fact, against melee or ranged attacks, Shield really affords better protection than invisibility because +5 to my armor class against melee or ranged attacks is about as good or better than disadvantage for my opponent's melee or ranged attacks. And though Fade Away affords protection against saving throw spells too, I would first have to be injured in the same round to trigger it, and I need to have not spent my reaction already. There are just so many contingencies associated with Fade Away.
Nonetheless, I do like the character and story aspects of a gnome well versed in illusion acquiring this innate ability.
Fade Away is definitely less valuable for a wizard than for some other classes. If someone takes a swing at you, you’re more likely to use your reaction on Shield to try to avoid getting hit at all, rather than on Fade Away, to go invisible after getting hit. It would be much more useful for a rogue.
Fade away on a cleric using warding bond on a frontliner (like a cavalier) and then buffing or healing while invisible so as not to break invisibility and staying invisible seems really fun to me.
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The Gnome feat, Fade Away looks like it could be worthless or great for disengaging from combat, depending on DM interpretation.
How should this be handled in combat, and when should it work or not work? Any experience/thoughts?
Which part is confusing you? It's a pretty straightforward ability.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
Sure,
So if I'm in combat, and take damage (at the point I feel the need to disengage) I can turn invisible, great.
If I'm doing that in toe-to-toe combat, it seems like that is not going to work for disengagement, as the big ugly that just axed my belly is watching me fade away. How able is my current foe going to be to continue attacking me?
It's not going to hide your location automatically, but any subsequent attacks will have disadvantage. When your turn rolls around, you can try to Hide and move somewhere out of sight to lose your attackers; regardless of whether your attempt at stealth succeeds, you won't provoke opportunity attacks. Also, many spells won't be able to target you while you're invisible.
All of this is assuming your enemies can't see through invisibility.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
I like the fade away feat so much that I even let non-gnome illusion Wizards take it at 4th level as a feat.
I guess what makes it work would be not being toe-to-toe with any big ugly in the first place - I should be able to avoid melee combat for the most part, I just wasn't thinking real clearly - then I watched a YouTube on using the Spell Sniper feat with the Distant metamagic, and I was reminded that I'm shooting not slashing...
Thanks for the replies - Fade Away is officially on my to-do list now! :)
Keep in mind that any damage can trigger the ability, so you can also trigger it yourself.
Consider how some people thwart lie detectors by placing a tac in the bottom of their shoe and they press down on during the baseline questions.
You could make a bracelet with a sharp tac on the side. Depending on the GM, it could be considering a free action to manipulate one object... IE press the tac into your hand to cause one point of piercing damage.
Viola! One full round of Invisibility at the cost of a free action and 1 piercing damage!
You don’t need to disengage. Once you are invisible, you can retreat without taking an opportunity attack unless the enemy has some way of seeing you, e.g. Blindsight, Detect Invisibility etc.
The wording of the opportunity attack rule in the PHB says “You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your reach.” Ergo, if he can’t see you, he doesn’t get an opportunity attack when you move out of his reach. If it’s his turn, and you’re nearby but invisible, and he has some way of knowing you’re there (can hear you breathing, can see your footprints, someone else who can see you tells him you’re there etc.) then he can take an attack against you with disadvantage because he can’t see you. But that’s not the rule for opportunity attacks. If he can’t see you, he doesn’t get an opp attack at all.
Also, once the gnome has faded, she can function as an unseen attacker and get advantage on her next attack, correct?
Yes, because the invisibility lasts until the end of the gnome’s next turn, or until the gnome attacks. So, provided the gnome attacks before the end of her next turn, she’ll attack with advantage as an unseen attacker (assuming the target doesn’t have something like Blindsight) although she’ll lose her invisibility once she does attack.
I was considering the Gnome Fade Away for a feat for my forest gnome evoker wizard, but I'm not sure its worth it compared to some other things that could help more consistently, like Observant and Resilience. Yes the Fade Away is defensive and affords advantage on the next attack, but there are not many Wizard spells that require an attack roll. Other than the cantrips, it's just Witch Bolt, Scorching Ray, Melf's, Vampiric Touch, and a few others -- and I've got Magic Missile which nearly always hits anyway. An evoker may not need many more attack spells other than magic missile. If I were doing more melee attacks as a gnome thief, for instance, Fade Away would help more. Also, if I were an arcane trickster, it would help with the Magical Ambush feature. But for a wizard, I'm not sure this is the best Feat to acquire. And, using Fade Away would preclude other reactions in that round, such as using my Ring of Evasion or Shield -- in fact, against melee or ranged attacks, Shield really affords better protection than invisibility because +5 to my armor class against melee or ranged attacks is about as good or better than disadvantage for my opponent's melee or ranged attacks. And though Fade Away affords protection against saving throw spells too, I would first have to be injured in the same round to trigger it, and I need to have not spent my reaction already. There are just so many contingencies associated with Fade Away.
Nonetheless, I do like the character and story aspects of a gnome well versed in illusion acquiring this innate ability.
Hmm. I’m imagining a sewing needle. The gnome stabs his leg whenever he wants to go invisible.
Fade Away is definitely less valuable for a wizard than for some other classes. If someone takes a swing at you, you’re more likely to use your reaction on Shield to try to avoid getting hit at all, rather than on Fade Away, to go invisible after getting hit. It would be much more useful for a rogue.
Does the damage done by animals/minions you have already conjured count for dealing damage with fade away?
Fade away on a cleric using warding bond on a frontliner (like a cavalier) and then buffing or healing while invisible so as not to break invisibility and staying invisible seems really fun to me.