So my group put a geas on an enemy to break some chains. The enemy attacked his comrades protecting the chains as a means to do so. This wasn't much threat to that enemy. However when the party Paladin went to attack, the enemy defended itself. The party insisted that the geas prevented self defense without the gaes damage as it was acting against the order. I don't agree obviously. If it did or if they had used that as part of the order I would say that breaks the geas.
So my group put a geas on an enemy to break some chains. The enemy attacked his comrades protecting the chains as a means to do so. This wasn't much threat to that enemy. However when the party Paladin went to attack, the enemy defended itself. The party insisted that the geas prevented self defense without the gaes damage as it was acting against the order. I don't agree obviously. If it did or if they had used that as part of the order I would say that breaks the geas.
You can issue any command you choose, short of an activity that would result in certain death. Should you issue a suicidal command, the spell ends.
Ordering it to not defend itself would, I believe, constitute a suicidal command, and would cause the spell to fail. So, either the spell failed when cast because the enemy was commanded to not defend itself, or the spell worked and no such command was issued. However, I don't think attacking the enemy would necessarily break the geas. I would have ruled that the enemy could defend itself, but the geas continued even after the attack by the party, although you could argue that the order to free the party proved to be suicidal, and so the geas ends.
If it was only to go and break the chains, then the creature is fully allowed to defend itself if attacked. It would only take the psychic damage if it decided to act against the instructions, by maybe leaving the area or trying to repair/defend the chains instead of breaking them.
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So my group put a geas on an enemy to break some chains. The enemy attacked his comrades protecting the chains as a means to do so. This wasn't much threat to that enemy. However when the party Paladin went to attack, the enemy defended itself. The party insisted that the geas prevented self defense without the gaes damage as it was acting against the order. I don't agree obviously. If it did or if they had used that as part of the order I would say that breaks the geas.
Do you have a rules question?
Geas says that:
You can issue any command you choose, short of an activity that would result in certain death. Should you issue a suicidal command, the spell ends.
Ordering it to not defend itself would, I believe, constitute a suicidal command, and would cause the spell to fail. So, either the spell failed when cast because the enemy was commanded to not defend itself, or the spell worked and no such command was issued. However, I don't think attacking the enemy would necessarily break the geas. I would have ruled that the enemy could defend itself, but the geas continued even after the attack by the party, although you could argue that the order to free the party proved to be suicidal, and so the geas ends.
What was the full wording of the Geas?
If it was only to go and break the chains, then the creature is fully allowed to defend itself if attacked. It would only take the psychic damage if it decided to act against the instructions, by maybe leaving the area or trying to repair/defend the chains instead of breaking them.