I know the maths because one of my players asked about it. It's true you could say lungs aren't containers but, they can be argued as containers.

In the end I decided I was happy enough that the wording allowed for it and to let them do it, but we had a discussion around a) drowning people as a means of killing being a pretty alignment specific thing (unless you're chaotic evil this will take some justification) and b) there are both verbal and somatic components so unless you're a subtle spell Sorc people are going to know, and there will be consequences.

They agreed that was fair and, thus far, they haven't used it yet. I kind of look forward to the day they do. The world's more interesting that way.

Also, the """""containers""""" would fill with water, but then the creatures could just cough it out and it would be over. Maybe it would make them incapacitated for one round with a failed Constitution saving throw, but they wouldn't drown.

I think a lot of people are missing the "on the ground or in containers" part of this spell description

I'm sorry, but how does an Artificer a tech-based caster make food and water with only a vocalisation and some movement?

A machine that makes entirely artificial food: twinkies, hotdogs, Cheetos, pet food pellets, perhaps a frozen yogurt machine that extracts ingredients from the astral plane. The possibilities are endless, as is the horridness of the 'food'.

It has been mentioned in numerous other spells and effects that you must be able to see the targets. You cannot see the lungs of most creatures; ergo, no casting this inside their lungs. You see the creature, but it is not a fillable container.

Quote from TheIrishViking >>

I'm sorry, but how does an Artificer a tech-based caster make food and water with only a vocalisation and some movement?

Easily. With player imagination.

Plus, Artificers as a whole aren't "tech-based", they're creation-based. Base level, artificers are skilled artisans, not just tech geeks, because you can choose from any of the artisans' tools for your proficiencies. Painter's supplies and cook's utensils aren't tech.

Quote from CaptainKyrsi >>

 

Reminder that this spell costs nothing and has no material components.

THIS. This spell may not seem like it to some, but it's WAY too overpowered, and the lack of necessary components is the whole reason. That lack of parameter makes this spell effectively boundless. I'm running the Icewind module, and I find this to be an incredibly large problem for a setting based on wilderness survival. It completely eliminates all survival tension apart from shelter from the elements. In particular...

I mean, why are there even wars in Faerûn? War basically only occurs because people are scared they won't have enough, and "enough" almost always just means food. Faerûn should be utopian paradise. Even Jesus needed the material components of five loaves and two fish to cast this. This is one of those spells I might have to just outlaw from my RotF campaign, and I HATE outlawing core mechanics.

@OgreOrLummox

Numerous others, yes, but notably not this one. There is no general rule that you have to be able to see to cast a spell, or that you can only generate a spell's effects where you can see. The fact that many spells must necessarily include that caveat in fact proves that needing sight to cast it is exceptional.

The real dispute here is whether or not one can justify mechanically regarding a living creature as a "container". Sounds like DM territory to me.

Quote from Tulwen >>

Seems under powered for a 3rd level spell compared to level 1 goodberry.  It last for 24 hours, can sustain 10 people, each gaining 1 hp for eating the berry, takes care of food and water, and taste sweet.

 Honestly this is an apples-and-oranges comparison. Only druids and rangers can cast Goodberry, ignoring any feats.

Create Food and Water can be cast only by clerics, paladins, artificers, Circle of the Desert druids, and warlocks with the Genie as a patron.

So even if your criticisms were accurate, the comparison only makes sense for Circle of the Desert druids, which is an extremely niche group.

I don't understand why they bothered making Goodberry and then expect DMs to run wilderness adventures. There's no need to hunt, forage, or find water when you can eat a magic gusher.

Quote from parryduckkill >>

I mean, why are there even wars in Faerûn? War basically only occurs because people are scared they won't have enough, and "enough" almost always just means food. Faerûn should be utopian paradise. Even Jesus needed the material components of five loaves and two fish to cast this. This is one of those spells I might have to just outlaw from my RotF campaign, and I HATE outlawing core mechanics.

That question really got me thinking!

My guess is that there’s a strong social taboo about taking magic food. Partly because it’s a meal of last resort, so it would be like going to a soup kitchen or a food bank, but there would be a lot of social stigma attached to being so desperate as to need magical food.

Secondly, there would be a huge rural resistance to the widespread use of this spell. Higher level clerics would live in more densely populated areas, so if rural farmers had no way to sell their surplus, they are facing financial ruin. Similarly, cooks, chefs, restaurants, inns, taverns and festivals would all risk collapsing without a requirement for real food.

Lastly, I think there’d be political problems attached to passing your basic needs over to the temples. No matter how much they’d pretend otherwise, clerics using this ability would leverage it for power. Nobles would be pushed aside, governments would be at the whim of the clerics who could easily starve all of the society that relies on them for food. 

All of which just sounds like some interesting adventure hooks to me!

This spell is literally Moses walking through the Sinai Desert and finding Manna on the ground to feed himself and his people. I LOVE that the Circle of the Land (Desert) Druid gets this spell!

On the subject of rural resistance: the inciting event of my current campaign's villain is that she wanted to automate food production by placing this spell inside a magic item, but the local priests of Chauntea (agricultural harvest goddess) took none too kindly to this "blasphemy". Granted, she probably shouldn't have turned to necromancy for revenge...

But yes, I love the idea of this friction between the established agrarian society and the "modernizing" urban spellcasters, especially the Divine Soul Sorcerers and Genie Warlocks that gain access to this spell *without* having to claim loyalty to any sort of divinity.

I think the most useful aspect of this spell is to provide RP fodder.  Creating a large spread of food and drink seems to me more conducive to "setting the scene" than anything and could quite possibly increase the chances for a successful attempt at a charisma roll (e.g. creating food and water for guests when you greet them can perhaps help your character's ability to influence their guests' decisions when your character is trying to talk them into something).    Food for thought! (pun intended).  

this is 300 pounds of stuff (assuming water is room temp). Just dump it on someone's head.

nice, alcohol made in only 24 hours

“A Clear Path to the Target

To target something, you must have a clear path to it, so it can’t be behind total cover.

If you place an area of effect at a point that you can’t see and an obstruction, such as a wall, is between you and that point, the point of origin comes into being on the near side of that obstruction.”

 There are targeting restrictions based on line of sight and line of effect. It’s why spells have to specify that the break them, like sacred flame and fireball.

Tough luck for centaurs, I guess.

I'm about to DM a game for the first time and the world I'm creating is literaly based around this spell and aspect. Thanks to this, cities can grow exponentially. A god of civilisation, another of justice and a final one of knowledge and magic come together to create the biggest city ever. Priests and their churches will be the cornerstone of that civilisation and any food that is uneaten after that 24 hours will be compost for gardens around said churches.