There's a few things that can go wrong with summoning only pixies using this spell:
1: Pixies are very fragile and typically are deafeated after being hit once.
2: If your character doesn't speak Sylvan, communicating your desires can be problematic.
3: The pixies may not have seen the beast you wish to polymorph into before.
4: The pixies are controlled by the DM, though the DM shouldn't be an enemy to the players. Even so, they may not perform optimally.
Personally, if I were DMing, I'd mix some fey creatures with pixies when the spell is cast, such as sprites, blink dogs and quicklings. This opens up a bevy of options with only 1 spell without going into cheese territory.
Maybe I'd throw in an intelligence (arcana) check to see how many of what creature a player would specifically want with a DC of 15 or 20.
Per the rules, they do need to at least obey the summoner
This is true. Pixies only understand Sylvan, so if the summoner doesn't speak it, swapping some pixies for sprites bridges the language barrier. Otherwise, how will they know what it is you want them to do?
When I mentioned not performing optimally, I meant that they might not use the 200 IQ tactics of a seasoned veteran tarrasque killer. 😉
Per the rules, they do need to at least obey the summoner
This is true. Pixies only understand Sylvan, so if the summoner doesn't speak it, swapping some pixies for sprites bridges the language barrier. Otherwise, how will they know what it is you want them to do?
When I mentioned not performing optimally, I meant that they might not use the 200 IQ tactics of a seasoned veteran tarrasque killer. 😉
The language bit is at least questionable too. Spells that require sharing a language for them to work generally say so.
Per the rules, they do need to at least obey the summoner
This is true. Pixies only understand Sylvan, so if the summoner doesn't speak it, swapping some pixies for sprites bridges the language barrier. Otherwise, how will they know what it is you want them to do?
When I mentioned not performing optimally, I meant that they might not use the 200 IQ tactics of a seasoned veteran tarrasque killer. 😉
The language bit is at least questionable too. Spells that require sharing a language for them to work generally say so.
Fair enough. The spell states that the summoned creatures obey verbal commands given by the caster. RAW, that's how it works, so it should be fine.
I'm probably thinking more along the lines of charm person or suggestion. Magical compulsion and all that.
Saying the DM has the stats basically is not saying the Dm will decide. Even in live games I've watched the DM assumed/read the spell as the player decides. So the book does a horrible job of conveying it isn't the player who decides.
I'd say for most people the default assumption is the player decides unless the rule or spell specifically States the Dm decides.
This is also probably a moot point as 8 well played blink dogs can potentially be more vicious than the 8 pixies, assuming the blink dogs are well played.
This is a strong spell in any case, but if the dm has the statistics, they have the final say on what gets summoned.
Yeah, outright banning is bad DMing. The DM can work around this in any way they like, they're more powerful than the Gods, they can do anything.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
There's a few things that can go wrong with summoning only pixies using this spell:
1: Pixies are very fragile and typically are deafeated after being hit once.
2: If your character doesn't speak Sylvan, communicating your desires can be problematic.
3: The pixies may not have seen the beast you wish to polymorph into before.
4: The pixies are controlled by the DM, though the DM shouldn't be an enemy to the players. Even so, they may not perform optimally.
Personally, if I were DMing, I'd mix some fey creatures with pixies when the spell is cast, such as sprites, blink dogs and quicklings. This opens up a bevy of options with only 1 spell without going into cheese territory.
Maybe I'd throw in an intelligence (arcana) check to see how many of what creature a player would specifically want with a DC of 15 or 20.
Per the rules, they do need to at least obey the summoner:
This is true. Pixies only understand Sylvan, so if the summoner doesn't speak it, swapping some pixies for sprites bridges the language barrier. Otherwise, how will they know what it is you want them to do?
When I mentioned not performing optimally, I meant that they might not use the 200 IQ tactics of a seasoned veteran tarrasque killer. 😉
The language bit is at least questionable too. Spells that require sharing a language for them to work generally say so.
Fair enough. The spell states that the summoned creatures obey verbal commands given by the caster. RAW, that's how it works, so it should be fine.
I'm probably thinking more along the lines of charm person or suggestion. Magical compulsion and all that.
This is a strong spell in any case, but if the dm has the statistics, they have the final say on what gets summoned.
So, for the sake of the discussion, let's just assume from here on out, your DM decides to give you:
Whatever the player requests!
If the DM decides otherwise, this conversation is over unless the DM wants to do something explicitly from this discussion. Moving on...
Agreed Jeremy Crawford says a sorc cant Twinned Spell dragons breath even though the spell follows all the conditions of Twinned Spell.
New good choice with the spell too is reflections from Tasha's. That str sapping is fantastic!!
I like this idea but I would Polymorph the enemies. Fighting a flying warhorse? Now it's a dolphin. Weeeeeeee
Why did you bump
anyways, this doesn't work; the dm chooses what you summon.
DMing:
Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Playing:
None sadly.
Optimization Guides:
Literally Too Angry to Die - A Guide to Optimizing a Barbarian