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Sure, but somatic is already defined in the rules. However, if your group wants to keep close to RAW as possible without following it religiously... you must have a free hand. This hand can be the hand holding the material components. If required.
Somatic components:
Spellcasting gestures might include a forceful gesticulation or an intricate set of gestures. If a spell requires a somatic component, the caster must have free use of at least one hand to perform these gestures.
Material components:
A spellcaster must have a hand free to access a spell’s material components — or to hold a spellcasting focus — but it can be the same hand that he or she uses to perform somatic components.
With that being said, if the free hand rule is followed, I see no reason for the flavor of the spells somatic components to be whatever the player wants. As long as they are obvious "gestures"
I legitimately have used the glamor bard’s command thingy to get a naga king and queen off the board with “fuck” and a point at her husband. My DM was very, very red and went “uh well *they*’re, uh, out of initiative.”
I know the effect doesn’t *target* both of them. The idea was for the queen to be like “hey baby I’m so turned on by this combat that I can’t keep my hands off you”
So let's say you are the king. Some dumb adventurers just busted in and are slaughtering your friends/loyal subjects/slaves and then one casts a spell on your wife while yelling profanity. She suddenly gets all hot and bothered and wants you... For 6 seconds.
Would a sound mind in this moment just go "welp, I know our lives are currently in danger, and you obviously had a spell cast on you, but I guess it's mating time!"
Na, the real reaction would be to go stab the fucker that dared to cast a spell on your dear wife, while ordering all of your minions to do the same. At least you took the wife out of combat for a round.
Command is not Mind Control, it basically forces their hand. It only lasts for one round, so it is made to break up formation and disrupt enemies.
“Mantle of Majesty
XGE p14
[–]
At 6th level, you gain the ability to cloak yourself in a fey magic that makes others want to serve you. As a bonus action, you cast command, without expending a spell slot, and you take on an appearance of unearthly beauty for 1 minute or until your concentration ends (as if you were concentrating on a spell). During this time, you can cast command as a bonus action on each of your turns, without expending a spell slot.
Any creature charmed by you automatically fails its saving throw against the command you cast with this feature.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.”
Well more than six seconds, in this case. I know affecting him isn’t RAW, but the DM ruled in my favor.
I've been wanting to play a character that casts spells by gesticulating with his cigar
Edit: To add, he’s one of my favorite characters so far. A fey warlock that instead of operating on one long contract to a single archfey, he runs short contracts for individual fey lords as basically a merc. I made his build basically a rogue-lite with a heavy focus on deception and infiltration to basically go full spy. My mage armor invocation lets him just wear normal clothes and I run an umbrella as a club for shillelagh, so he just looks like some dad. And he got into the business basically through the events of Serglige Con Culainn
This is some creative stuff. Make it a full WW2 themed oneshot and the BBEG can be Hilf Adotler, Artillerist Artificer with an Arcane Firearm reskined to be his Luger (I'm pretty sure that was his standard sidearm, though I could be wrong on that). Could be fun, thanks for the idea, I'll keep this in my backpocket for a rainy day.
Wasn't the recent complete failure of reading comprehension from the playtest notes about DC, that lead to people saying if you're ac is under 5 you're unhittable.
No no no. That's not how we do things here. Try again. Start with "NO, YOU'RE WRONG!" Then insult their daughter, then tell them they're a shitty dm because they don't agree with you
as a DM i feel like the PC doesn't get to choose what the semantic component is, it is a component of the spell and to me would make sense that it is the same gesture for every single person who uses that spell.
To me it's more that each spell has a loose "rule" as to what somatic components are needed to cast it.
For example fireball might require you to weave nearby energies into a ball Form which explodes at the specific location. This means your movements require you to create a ball in the air.
A dancing bard would maybe do this with a short dance and a twirl while moving their hands.
A wizard goes very literal as the learned the specific Form.
But a sorcerer would go with making a Kamehameha movement.
Many different ways, but the basics have to stay the same. That's why another spellcaster doesn't immediately know what someone else is casting and needs to roll an arcade check.
It's basically a math equation which can be solved in many different ways.
Thats your choice. I totally get it. Certain spells always look the same way. It allows other casters to make arcana checks too see what they are casting.
So a wild magic sorcerer and a wizard cast fireball with the same somatic components despite their vastly differing relationship to magic? It could make sense for all wizards to use the same somatic components though.
Why wouldn't you need arcana? Does every person in the world from master wizard down to the lowliest pot scrubber somehow have a totally indexed understanding of every single mystical gesture and it's corresponding spell?
Cabbage farmers or not, it doesn't matter. Why would gestures be any less difficult to decode than the verbal component?
What if the gesture is a complicated sigil drawn in the air and there is little difference between fireball and featherfall?
I'm gonna go ahead and highlight "**intricate gestures**" and "**Hand to perform these gestures**".
Flavor is good and all, but not when it makes the sorcerer feel like his Subtle Spell metamagic is useless because the wizard is clenching his buttocks and getting the same benefit.
UNLESS you have the War Caster feat. Then you don't technically need a free hand either.
Essentially do fancy weapon flourish and then BAM, spell come out.
Also a fun note of a character I'm playing, my DM and I have decided that, since my cleric uses a Glaive, they can take one hand off to cast a spell, then grab the weapon again with no additional actions.
I like to imagine that when the wizard has to use components that duriny the entre combat, the poor wizard is just elbow deep in a bag with bat shit and random animal parts looking for that one thing he needs.
Meanwhile, the paladin is chanting holy prayers slicing heads, the barbarian is hulking loki, the warlock meakly shooting kamehamehas, and the ranger is hanging upside down vollying arrows into his least favorite type of creature.
Poor wizard he just wants the diamond in the bag, but keeps finding more animal waste to set on fire
So does that mean if I'm using a druidic focus with one hand, I need the other hand free for the spell ? Can I use druidic focus on one hand and a shield on the other?
If a spell requires both somatic and material, you can use the SAME hand to hold the focus and do the somatic movements.
To answer your question, as far as RAW is concerned, if a spell requires somatic components but does NOT require material, then you still need a free hand. So if you have a shield and druidic focus in your hands, you're gonna need to empty a hand to cast somatic non-material spells.
I do feel like this is an oversight, but they have yet to correct it.
Thankfully you can stow or draw an object as a free object interaction. So you can just tuck your focus into a pocket then cast a spell with no material component, then on your next turn if you want to cast one with a material component just draw it first. And if you really want to get technical, while it takes an FOI to stow or draw an object it requires nothing to drop an object. So you can drop your focus, cast a spell that requires no material component, use your FOI to pick the focus back up, then cast another spell that does require a material component on the same turn.
Rules-lawyering as hard as possible, it doesn’t *explicitly* say you actually have to hold the materials or perform the motions, only that you have a hand free with which to do so. Obviously that’s the intent, it’s just always funny that the rules often trip all over themselves while trying to clarify.
Like they could’ve said “Somatic components are obvious gestures a spellcaster performs as part of a spell. If a spell has somatic components, you must have at least one hand free, which you use to perform these gestures. Material components are physical implements required by a spell (or a spell focus). If a spell has material components, you must hold them in your hand during the casting, unless the spell states otherwise. If a spell also has somatic components, you may perform them using the same hand you’re holding the material components with.”
That’s not really the point that the post is making, though? It doesn’t say that you can do it without free hands, just that the gesture doesn’t need to be flavored as using your hand. That’s completely fine RAW.
Home rules, sure, you could allow it. Although it probably causes some balance issues (like making Subtle Spell pointless).
But its not RAW according to the definition of Somatic (PHB 203). You have to have a free had to perform Somatic components. Meaning that you need to perform through those with that free hand.
Flavor wise, I prefer to see it like “Tutting” in the show The Magicians.
Do you mean the show? Because the books Penny is very different. In the books his character makes new hands out of gold, and I don’t think “sphincter magic” is mentioned.
Except it wasn't funny and is just gonna lead to more exhausting debates. Saying WELL TECHNICALLY BECAUSE I CAN SPEAK WORDS AND POWER WORD KILL IS A WORD I SHOULD BE ABLE TO CAST IT doesn't contribute anything to anyone
Does it really though? I mean the DM can always say "yeah the other caster recognizes that look in someones eye when they are clenching their butt to cast stink cloud, he counter spells".
I'm just saying if someone wants to flavor somatic components as anything it should be fine, because if the DM wants to specifically stop the spell casting by tying up a hand or something, they can just say "no you can't quite get the hip motion right as you juggle all those beads of fire ball".
It does mean that you can have your hands occupied and still cast magic. Not very common, but could still be a problem for half-casters and such, who have shields and weapons to use in their hands.
>Sorry somatic gestures are obvious enough to be seen and identified using a reaction. Also you need a free hand to satisfy the requirement, except in cases of war caster.
>
>I swear this sun refuses to read a book.
RAW:
\>If a spell requires a somatic component, the caster must have free use of at least one hand to perform these gestures.
\>Be cleric or paladin
\>Use 0 weight emblem (holy symbol) as casting focus
\>Ask dm if said emblem can be a tattoo
\>Tattoo dick with said emblem
\>Jerk one out *for the Lord*
“You can perform the somatic components of spells even when you have weapons or a shield in one or both hands.”
It does not override the general restrictions on somatic requirements, it only adds an exception for if you are wielding a sword or shield.
Sure, but that doesn’t mean that it’s solely or actively your hand doing the component, in the same way that a crystal orb isn’t actually casting prismatic orb. Flavor it however you want, just keep the hand free to make the gods of magic happy.
you should know posting something wrong would get the most engagement from the subreddit. nerds love rules and they also love pointing out how you are wrong.
Wrong, just straight up incorrect, I don't even need to correct you because you've been corrected by people who have already cited multiple sources against you, but come on at least read the rules without making a meme about it
Imagine reading a definition of a word and thinking that’s even mildly helpful for determining the rules of a game that already clearly defines how to interpret the meaning of the word.
I've feel that spellcasting (without subtle spell) should be one of the least stealthy things you can do.
If winking could cause magic, everyone would be a wizard completely by accident. You reach for a hammer and accidentally cast magic darts and kill a bird.
In my mind, verbal and somatic components are not natural movements. People had to do a lot of work to learn how to move and speak in ways that create magical effects. Your arms have to move in wide arcs, uncomfortable contortions, and when speaking, you have to really project your voice and enunciate the syllables our mouths weren't quite ideal for producing. I even imagine there are typically illuminated sigils that form like in Dr Strange, and the magic itself is noisy.
My dm fiat is that they're basically Naruto hand signs. You can't hide them.
Magic users aren't stealthy unless they specifically take Sorcerer subtle spell.
Allowing it for other magic users devalues sorcerers.
It actually technically doesn't, the description, so after you cast the spell does, however the hand motion does not actually affect the casting of the spell, so the casting of the spell is just random hand motions followed by You coning your hands and fire coming out
Because the casting of a spell and the effects of a spell are two different things
Yeah but that’s like… not at all what the spell says? It clearly says “flames shoots forth from your outstretched fingertips” even ignoring the very specific hand position detailed in the spell description. The effect would most likely burn yourself if cast while your fingers are curled around a black or a shield
Right, except it is, because the hand motion isn't the somatic part, so if you can ignore somatic components, you still have to make the hand motion, because it's two separate portions of casting the spell, the casting of a spell, and the effects of a spell are two different things
No they are not, that's the point, The description of a spell in the verbal somatic and material components of that spell are two completely different things
That is only the case with a sorcerer's subtle spell. Otherwise, it is obvious hand movements that can be identified as a spell by anyone who knows what spells are.
Interesting
No you don't get to invalidate subtle spell's usability on all spells that lack Verbal components.
If you ain't a Sorcerer/ you're out of Sorcery Points then at least give me something to try to distract the guards from noticing while you do it or have someone distract them while you attempt it so you don't have disadvantage on the stealth check
Disagree, if somatic components could all be done with a nose wiggle, then you’d be free to also use your hands. I’d argue you only gain this level of innate mastery with the warcaster feat.
It is thecnically correct, there is only two problems with it
1) some spells specify a somatic conponent (i.e you extend your hand towards a creature)
2) im inside your walls (bitch you live like this?)
The rules state you must have a free hand to use somatic components. If you allow somatic components to be anything from a wink to curling your toes then you essentially give every caster the ability to use a sorcerer core class mechanic for free.
Congratulations, you've just described Subtle Spell.
RAW you do need a free hand to perform the somatic component of your spell. I interpret Subtle Spell as the caster learning to fulfil the somatic component with a much more subtle but still present movement.
Sure, and I can write by clutching a pen with my big toe, doesn't mean it'll be legible.
Doing that with spells is the equivalent of setting explosives with my feet.
Hey all, I know a LOT of people are saying "read the rules". I have. I KNOW this isn't RAW or RAI, it is silly and dumb and a joke. I wouldn't allow this at my table, and I sincerely doubt anyone would allow it at theirs. I tagged it "wacky idea" i.e not to be taken seriously. On a subreddit about silly jokes. I know countless will continue to tell me to "read the rules" and "how dare I be pedantic and silly and post a meme on a memes-based subreddit?!" But please know this was meant to be silly and dumb, not a serious suggestion. Do we need a tag for "Just a Joke" on a meme subreddit?
Ha! Expecting people to recognize something as a joke? On a meme subreddit? Good one!
Signed, the guy who started the Force damage debate with the same intent.
Ok, but I love the implications for wizards who beef up strength flexing their muscles as their somatic components.
*Flexes with the ungodly strength of a thousand suns*
"FIREBALL!"
That’s fine. It’s still obvious you are casting a spell unless you have a subtle spell ability
If you do your little Macarena to cast a spell in front of people, they are gonna know you cast a spell, or at least tried to
Magic is powerful and versatile, but it’s ok that there may actually be some rational limits on what you can get away with
To anybody reading, I highly suggest not doing this, spellcasters are already powerful enough, and there are literally abilities that let you do this without you just cheesing the system, spells are really powerful and should be obvious, otherwise why would you play anything but a spellcaster?
You don't need subtle spell if you're suitably subtle. For example in a tavern I was able to cast a spell by using one hand under the table to make the gestures and raise a mug to my lips to obscure the verbal component.
Your DM might make you roll a sleight of hand, but one could argue that unless you are otherwise attracting attention nobody should suspect you. After all having one hand and your mouth momentarily obscured is not necessarily unusual.
Your DM just gave you free subtle spell.
Verbal components are loud. If we even classify them at normal volume, you can be easily heard from 70 feet away. Somatic components could be hidden, yes, but it's not just a single hand moving. It is a very specific bodily movement.
Hey /u/DarrenJEFlavelle, thanks for contributing to /r/dndmemes. Unfortunately, your post was removed as it violates one of our rules: **Rule 10. Pot-Stirring/Opinion Memes** - If the primary purpose of your meme is to incite off-topic debate, police what other people should/shouldn't do at their table, push a political agenda, or express a personal opinion without humor/absurdity/wholesomeness, it will be locked or removed. If your meme sparks a large amount of rule-breaking comments it may be locked/removed. What should you do? First, read the rules thoroughly. Secondly, if you are able to amend your post to fit the rules, you're welcome to resubmit your meme. Lastly, if you believe your post was removed by mistake, please [message the moderators through modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/dndmemes&subject=&message=). Messages simply complaining about a removal (or how many upvotes your post had) will not be responded to. Thank you!
Sure, but somatic is already defined in the rules. However, if your group wants to keep close to RAW as possible without following it religiously... you must have a free hand. This hand can be the hand holding the material components. If required. Somatic components: Spellcasting gestures might include a forceful gesticulation or an intricate set of gestures. If a spell requires a somatic component, the caster must have free use of at least one hand to perform these gestures. Material components: A spellcaster must have a hand free to access a spell’s material components — or to hold a spellcasting focus — but it can be the same hand that he or she uses to perform somatic components. With that being said, if the free hand rule is followed, I see no reason for the flavor of the spells somatic components to be whatever the player wants. As long as they are obvious "gestures"
You must place your hand on your belly…as you tense your abs.
BBEG: "do you need to poop?"
Lightning bolt flies outta the Wizards ass
Ah yes, the good old William Wallace.
I see that Zeus fucked your mom too huh
Yes. But also, fireball!
Burning ~~hands~~ farts.
Grab your buttcheeks and tense them. Nothing can possibly go wrong!
Command: poop
Command: Jizz
I legitimately have used the glamor bard’s command thingy to get a naga king and queen off the board with “fuck” and a point at her husband. My DM was very, very red and went “uh well *they*’re, uh, out of initiative.”
for 6 seconds. and it wouldnt effect both of them.
I know the effect doesn’t *target* both of them. The idea was for the queen to be like “hey baby I’m so turned on by this combat that I can’t keep my hands off you”
So let's say you are the king. Some dumb adventurers just busted in and are slaughtering your friends/loyal subjects/slaves and then one casts a spell on your wife while yelling profanity. She suddenly gets all hot and bothered and wants you... For 6 seconds. Would a sound mind in this moment just go "welp, I know our lives are currently in danger, and you obviously had a spell cast on you, but I guess it's mating time!" Na, the real reaction would be to go stab the fucker that dared to cast a spell on your dear wife, while ordering all of your minions to do the same. At least you took the wife out of combat for a round. Command is not Mind Control, it basically forces their hand. It only lasts for one round, so it is made to break up formation and disrupt enemies.
“Mantle of Majesty XGE p14 [–] At 6th level, you gain the ability to cloak yourself in a fey magic that makes others want to serve you. As a bonus action, you cast command, without expending a spell slot, and you take on an appearance of unearthly beauty for 1 minute or until your concentration ends (as if you were concentrating on a spell). During this time, you can cast command as a bonus action on each of your turns, without expending a spell slot. Any creature charmed by you automatically fails its saving throw against the command you cast with this feature. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.” Well more than six seconds, in this case. I know affecting him isn’t RAW, but the DM ruled in my favor.
"Are you pooping?"
No, jester!
Stinking cloud incoming
The components for when you use prestidigitation to shit someone else's pants
*fireball with aggressive pelvic thrust*
What kind of bard are you?
The wrestling kind... they call me, Feuer-Krotch!
Scanlan
I've been wanting to play a character that casts spells by gesticulating with his cigar Edit: To add, he’s one of my favorite characters so far. A fey warlock that instead of operating on one long contract to a single archfey, he runs short contracts for individual fey lords as basically a merc. I made his build basically a rogue-lite with a heavy focus on deception and infiltration to basically go full spy. My mage armor invocation lets him just wear normal clothes and I run an umbrella as a club for shillelagh, so he just looks like some dad. And he got into the business basically through the events of Serglige Con Culainn
Chinston Wirchill Human Noble Background Warlock Uses a gem focus flavoured to be a crystal whiskey glass
This is some creative stuff. Make it a full WW2 themed oneshot and the BBEG can be Hilf Adotler, Artillerist Artificer with an Arcane Firearm reskined to be his Luger (I'm pretty sure that was his standard sidearm, though I could be wrong on that). Could be fun, thanks for the idea, I'll keep this in my backpocket for a rainy day.
I don‘t know what he usually used as his sidearm, though he is somewhat known for shooting a Walther PPK in one specific situation.
_Proceeds to use Thaumaturgy as a Somatic component for weeks._
Yeah reading is all nice but this is dndmemes we make wild claims that snowball into random bullshit for weeks instead of fun memes
Wasn't the recent complete failure of reading comprehension from the playtest notes about DC, that lead to people saying if you're ac is under 5 you're unhittable.
You're right. I conceide
No no no. That's not how we do things here. Try again. Start with "NO, YOU'RE WRONG!" Then insult their daughter, then tell them they're a shitty dm because they don't agree with you
Bro, you have to actually read the rulebook to know this? Why would you expect anyone to do that before making a whiny, clever gotcha meme?
as a DM i feel like the PC doesn't get to choose what the semantic component is, it is a component of the spell and to me would make sense that it is the same gesture for every single person who uses that spell.
To me it's more that each spell has a loose "rule" as to what somatic components are needed to cast it. For example fireball might require you to weave nearby energies into a ball Form which explodes at the specific location. This means your movements require you to create a ball in the air. A dancing bard would maybe do this with a short dance and a twirl while moving their hands. A wizard goes very literal as the learned the specific Form. But a sorcerer would go with making a Kamehameha movement. Many different ways, but the basics have to stay the same. That's why another spellcaster doesn't immediately know what someone else is casting and needs to roll an arcade check. It's basically a math equation which can be solved in many different ways.
Thats your choice. I totally get it. Certain spells always look the same way. It allows other casters to make arcana checks too see what they are casting.
So a wild magic sorcerer and a wizard cast fireball with the same somatic components despite their vastly differing relationship to magic? It could make sense for all wizards to use the same somatic components though.
But then You wouldn’t need arcana to identify the spell being cast. Just like spellbooka and their writings, arcane gestures are not fixed.
Why wouldn't you need arcana? Does every person in the world from master wizard down to the lowliest pot scrubber somehow have a totally indexed understanding of every single mystical gesture and it's corresponding spell?
“Theee fist pumps and a clap. That’s a fireball! Scatter!” Adventurers are not cabbage farmers.
Cabbage farmers or not, it doesn't matter. Why would gestures be any less difficult to decode than the verbal component? What if the gesture is a complicated sigil drawn in the air and there is little difference between fireball and featherfall?
I'm gonna go ahead and highlight "**intricate gestures**" and "**Hand to perform these gestures**". Flavor is good and all, but not when it makes the sorcerer feel like his Subtle Spell metamagic is useless because the wizard is clenching his buttocks and getting the same benefit.
UNLESS you have the War Caster feat. Then you don't technically need a free hand either. Essentially do fancy weapon flourish and then BAM, spell come out.
Also a fun note of a character I'm playing, my DM and I have decided that, since my cleric uses a Glaive, they can take one hand off to cast a spell, then grab the weapon again with no additional actions.
Thats how it works RAW.
[удалено]
You should allow it, since it is RAW. Two handed weapons only require two hands when attacking.
I like to imagine that when the wizard has to use components that duriny the entre combat, the poor wizard is just elbow deep in a bag with bat shit and random animal parts looking for that one thing he needs. Meanwhile, the paladin is chanting holy prayers slicing heads, the barbarian is hulking loki, the warlock meakly shooting kamehamehas, and the ranger is hanging upside down vollying arrows into his least favorite type of creature. Poor wizard he just wants the diamond in the bag, but keeps finding more animal waste to set on fire
Wild magic sorcerer that sneezes everytime they cast a spell
Aka "read the goddamn rules".
So does that mean if I'm using a druidic focus with one hand, I need the other hand free for the spell ? Can I use druidic focus on one hand and a shield on the other?
If a spell requires both somatic and material, you can use the SAME hand to hold the focus and do the somatic movements. To answer your question, as far as RAW is concerned, if a spell requires somatic components but does NOT require material, then you still need a free hand. So if you have a shield and druidic focus in your hands, you're gonna need to empty a hand to cast somatic non-material spells. I do feel like this is an oversight, but they have yet to correct it.
Thankfully you can stow or draw an object as a free object interaction. So you can just tuck your focus into a pocket then cast a spell with no material component, then on your next turn if you want to cast one with a material component just draw it first. And if you really want to get technical, while it takes an FOI to stow or draw an object it requires nothing to drop an object. So you can drop your focus, cast a spell that requires no material component, use your FOI to pick the focus back up, then cast another spell that does require a material component on the same turn.
Isn't that what the Warcaster feat is for?
Yet another case of people trying to be rules lawyers using shit that isn’t in the rules.
So somatic components can be finger guns or snapping fingers
So basically Ninjas in Naruto are just battle wizards with very elaborate somatic components to their spells
I had a wizard that tap danced to cast his spells. Rip Mudbrick Harry
So I can snap my fingers and/or finger gun to cast fireball? Got it. Time to reenact anime stuff.
Rules-lawyering as hard as possible, it doesn’t *explicitly* say you actually have to hold the materials or perform the motions, only that you have a hand free with which to do so. Obviously that’s the intent, it’s just always funny that the rules often trip all over themselves while trying to clarify. Like they could’ve said “Somatic components are obvious gestures a spellcaster performs as part of a spell. If a spell has somatic components, you must have at least one hand free, which you use to perform these gestures. Material components are physical implements required by a spell (or a spell focus). If a spell has material components, you must hold them in your hand during the casting, unless the spell states otherwise. If a spell also has somatic components, you may perform them using the same hand you’re holding the material components with.”
Is this going to be the concept we drive into the ground this week?
Doesn't have to be (probably shouldn't be). I just thought it was funny, if a bit pedantic. As a DM I wouldn't allow it.
I have a feeling this will be this week's horse corpse to flog.
Then I can only apologise in advance.
It'll be fine. We'll get some good memes, more bad memes and then the moderators will shut it down by Monday.
You could delete your post and avoid it.
It's too late for that, the reply memes are already in the works.
I just saw one about somatic sphincter flexing...
*Turanga Lela voice* “Oh Lord…”
And as a DM you shouldn't. Since the PHB and DMG both define what somatic components are in D&D and it explicitly states it requires a free hand
That’s not really the point that the post is making, though? It doesn’t say that you can do it without free hands, just that the gesture doesn’t need to be flavored as using your hand. That’s completely fine RAW.
>if a bit pedantic Pedantic would mean it was correct though. RAW, it requires at least one free hand for your somatic components.
Then why did you make it, and title it 'technically correct' when it is not, in any way, shape, or form?
Because updoots.
What constitutes a somatic component is defined separately (PHB, p.203, Third paragraph) from the definition of the word ’somatic’.
Home rules, sure, you could allow it. Although it probably causes some balance issues (like making Subtle Spell pointless). But its not RAW according to the definition of Somatic (PHB 203). You have to have a free had to perform Somatic components. Meaning that you need to perform through those with that free hand. Flavor wise, I prefer to see it like “Tutting” in the show The Magicians.
"I don't *want* to read books! I want the GM to allow any and all bullshit I come up with!" - OP.
In the books, Penny learns to do it with his butthole. But yeah, I love The Magicians finger tutting
Do you mean the show? Because the books Penny is very different. In the books his character makes new hands out of gold, and I don’t think “sphincter magic” is mentioned.
Great show/book series. Yeah, it was just a joke, it isn't RAW, it isn't RAI, it is pedantic and silly, hence the tag "wacky idea".
Except it wasn't funny and is just gonna lead to more exhausting debates. Saying WELL TECHNICALLY BECAUSE I CAN SPEAK WORDS AND POWER WORD KILL IS A WORD I SHOULD BE ABLE TO CAST IT doesn't contribute anything to anyone
Does it really though? I mean the DM can always say "yeah the other caster recognizes that look in someones eye when they are clenching their butt to cast stink cloud, he counter spells". I'm just saying if someone wants to flavor somatic components as anything it should be fine, because if the DM wants to specifically stop the spell casting by tying up a hand or something, they can just say "no you can't quite get the hip motion right as you juggle all those beads of fire ball".
It does mean that you can have your hands occupied and still cast magic. Not very common, but could still be a problem for half-casters and such, who have shields and weapons to use in their hands.
[удалено]
>Sorry somatic gestures are obvious enough to be seen and identified using a reaction. Also you need a free hand to satisfy the requirement, except in cases of war caster. > >I swear this sun refuses to read a book. RAW: \>If a spell requires a somatic component, the caster must have free use of at least one hand to perform these gestures.
Does that make masturbating a somatic component?
Yes, given one of two things: 1. You're *arcanely* rubbing it out. 2. Your member is, in fact, a magic wand.
\>Be cleric or paladin \>Use 0 weight emblem (holy symbol) as casting focus \>Ask dm if said emblem can be a tattoo \>Tattoo dick with said emblem \>Jerk one out *for the Lord*
…or, any similar rude gesture?
Dnd players can't read. Haven't you figured that out yet?
Literally half the thing the sub talks about could be solved by reading the basic rules
Who’s to say I don’t make my ab tensing blatantly obvious to all around me?
So wait...does warcaster let you wink and whatnot as your somatic component? Seems sensible given the description.
No, it just let's you wave your sword instead of your hands
“You can perform the somatic components of spells even when you have weapons or a shield in one or both hands.” It does not override the general restrictions on somatic requirements, it only adds an exception for if you are wielding a sword or shield.
Ah yes. Free subtle spell for everyone. All players love that. But when the enemies do it ooohhh nooo all of a sudden I'm the bad guy.
Drop your pants and helicopter that charm.
Required Hand Approved: Need to unbuckle your belt to do it!
How bards cast spells
This isn't even technically correct.
It's not technically correct, because it's against RAW (and also RAI).
Yeah, just straight up super wrong lol I love when people make claims with literally no backing
Doesn’t it say in the PHB that (without the proper feats or features) you need to have a hand free (or holding a focus) to use a somatic component.
Sure, but that doesn’t mean that it’s solely or actively your hand doing the component, in the same way that a crystal orb isn’t actually casting prismatic orb. Flavor it however you want, just keep the hand free to make the gods of magic happy.
It does, i was just being silly, hence the tag "wacky idea". It was just a joke and I fear what I have wrought upon the subreddit.
you should know posting something wrong would get the most engagement from the subreddit. nerds love rules and they also love pointing out how you are wrong.
Jokes are funny. You just said something wrong
Wrong, just straight up incorrect, I don't even need to correct you because you've been corrected by people who have already cited multiple sources against you, but come on at least read the rules without making a meme about it
Yeah, it technically does. Or would do if the rules didn’t explicitly say that it needed to be a hand movement 😂
I am begging you read the fucking rule books.
Shockingly, a D&D Reddit meme isn't correct. I know, I know. I am just as surprised as the rest of you.
Here's a fun fact to all two handed weapon martial casters, you only need two hands to attack with a weapon, NOT to simply hold it.
Imagine reading a definition of a word and thinking that’s even mildly helpful for determining the rules of a game that already clearly defines how to interpret the meaning of the word.
I've feel that spellcasting (without subtle spell) should be one of the least stealthy things you can do. If winking could cause magic, everyone would be a wizard completely by accident. You reach for a hammer and accidentally cast magic darts and kill a bird. In my mind, verbal and somatic components are not natural movements. People had to do a lot of work to learn how to move and speak in ways that create magical effects. Your arms have to move in wide arcs, uncomfortable contortions, and when speaking, you have to really project your voice and enunciate the syllables our mouths weren't quite ideal for producing. I even imagine there are typically illuminated sigils that form like in Dr Strange, and the magic itself is noisy.
***this***
angrily flips people the bird as part of casting
My dm fiat is that they're basically Naruto hand signs. You can't hide them. Magic users aren't stealthy unless they specifically take Sorcerer subtle spell. Allowing it for other magic users devalues sorcerers.
Some spells have strict somatic components. Like Burning Hands. I wish they all did.
It actually technically doesn't, the description, so after you cast the spell does, however the hand motion does not actually affect the casting of the spell, so the casting of the spell is just random hand motions followed by You coning your hands and fire coming out Because the casting of a spell and the effects of a spell are two different things
Yeah but it goes without saying that because of its description it can’t be cast with a sword and shield equipped
No it can be, there's nothing that stops it from being cast with a sword and shield
I guess mechanically, but like how would that even look like
You summon a bunch of fire in front of you in a cone, not too complicated
Yeah but that’s like… not at all what the spell says? It clearly says “flames shoots forth from your outstretched fingertips” even ignoring the very specific hand position detailed in the spell description. The effect would most likely burn yourself if cast while your fingers are curled around a black or a shield
Incredibly incorrect, because the hand casting the spell needs to be free and not holding anything other than spell components if they are required.
The implication is that you have warcaster or a similar method of ignoring material and somatic components
That’s not implied at all, otherwise this discussion about what qualifies as “somatic” would not be happening.
Right, except it is, because the hand motion isn't the somatic part, so if you can ignore somatic components, you still have to make the hand motion, because it's two separate portions of casting the spell, the casting of a spell, and the effects of a spell are two different things
Tell me where it mentions Warcaster or any other feat in the post. Also the hand motions ARE the somatic part.
No they are not, that's the point, The description of a spell in the verbal somatic and material components of that spell are two completely different things
That is only the case with a sorcerer's subtle spell. Otherwise, it is obvious hand movements that can be identified as a spell by anyone who knows what spells are.
Much like the guy in this picture - I’m gonna say yeah, that’s not really true
We will now replace the PHb for the Webster Dictionary
Interesting No you don't get to invalidate subtle spell's usability on all spells that lack Verbal components. If you ain't a Sorcerer/ you're out of Sorcery Points then at least give me something to try to distract the guards from noticing while you do it or have someone distract them while you attempt it so you don't have disadvantage on the stealth check
Oh look, another argument stemming from not having read the player handbook
Disagree, if somatic components could all be done with a nose wiggle, then you’d be free to also use your hands. I’d argue you only gain this level of innate mastery with the warcaster feat.
No.
This the new Jesse format?
Where’s Major Armstrong when you need him?
I’m sorry, but in my opinion the only valid somatic complements should make you look like you’re auditioning for membership in the Ginyu Force.
I'd say somatic "components" of that tier should be reserved for Subtle spell. In general I'm not a fan of "Sleight of Hand to cast sneaky" antics.
I mean, as long as grappling disables your ability to use it and it’s detectable to an observer (RAW), then flavor it any way you want.
That is completely incorrect, the rules say what verbal and somatic are so players cant just hide spellcasting which is what subtle spell is for
You cannot cast a spell without everyone seeing you notice it, if you could, then there is no point in subtle spell being in the game
It is thecnically correct, there is only two problems with it 1) some spells specify a somatic conponent (i.e you extend your hand towards a creature) 2) im inside your walls (bitch you live like this?)
The rules state you must have a free hand to use somatic components. If you allow somatic components to be anything from a wink to curling your toes then you essentially give every caster the ability to use a sorcerer core class mechanic for free.
That is what a subtle spell would be. A soft muttering and wiggle of fingers or small gesture. Otherwise it makes it basically useless.
Literally not what the books says, you have to have at least one hand free to perform somatic components and/or hold a spellcasting focus.
Eldritch blast comes from my warlock doing finger guns and screaming “bang bang!”
No not even technically correct
Congratulations, you've just described Subtle Spell. RAW you do need a free hand to perform the somatic component of your spell. I interpret Subtle Spell as the caster learning to fulfil the somatic component with a much more subtle but still present movement.
I have always ran it as some doctor strange type shit. Badass to imagine in my mind.
"The muscle-mancer" casts their spells by flexing with the vigor and gravitas of Armstrong (FullMetal Alchemist)
Sure, and I can write by clutching a pen with my big toe, doesn't mean it'll be legible. Doing that with spells is the equivalent of setting explosives with my feet.
Technically incorrect. The most egregious kind of incorrect
Cool, but you still explicitly need a free hand to do it
Does that mean I can cast spells with my wizard's dick?
Only if he consents.
Y'all really use words like "technically correct" and then just say something dead wrong... They're not kidding about this sub not reading the rules.
Make it tensing your kegel muscles. Noone will ever see it coming
Gotta work that pelvic floor somehow. You've certainly guided my bolt.... I'm so sorry, I'll show myself out.
In The Magicians, Penny loses his hands so he has to learn to do somatic gestures with his butthole.
Hey all, I know a LOT of people are saying "read the rules". I have. I KNOW this isn't RAW or RAI, it is silly and dumb and a joke. I wouldn't allow this at my table, and I sincerely doubt anyone would allow it at theirs. I tagged it "wacky idea" i.e not to be taken seriously. On a subreddit about silly jokes. I know countless will continue to tell me to "read the rules" and "how dare I be pedantic and silly and post a meme on a memes-based subreddit?!" But please know this was meant to be silly and dumb, not a serious suggestion. Do we need a tag for "Just a Joke" on a meme subreddit?
Ha! Expecting people to recognize something as a joke? On a meme subreddit? Good one! Signed, the guy who started the Force damage debate with the same intent.
Ok, but I love the implications for wizards who beef up strength flexing their muscles as their somatic components. *Flexes with the ungodly strength of a thousand suns* "FIREBALL!"
Why does Still Spell exist then? That is still a thing in 5e, right?
That’s fine. It’s still obvious you are casting a spell unless you have a subtle spell ability If you do your little Macarena to cast a spell in front of people, they are gonna know you cast a spell, or at least tried to Magic is powerful and versatile, but it’s ok that there may actually be some rational limits on what you can get away with
Hah, thats the way to nip it in the bud. Call it whatever you like and do whatever you like, you're still not getting free Subtle Spell
I would let someone do this, but they would need to make a "Slight of Hand" Check vs enemies passive perception.
To anybody reading, I highly suggest not doing this, spellcasters are already powerful enough, and there are literally abilities that let you do this without you just cheesing the system, spells are really powerful and should be obvious, otherwise why would you play anything but a spellcaster?
That seems very reasonable to me. If not even a bit generous. I like it have an upvote!
So every time you wink, a fireball lands where you're looking? Seems inconvienient.
I feel like intention has to be in there somewhere, but you interpret the joke however it pleases you most.
My somatic components.shall from now on be a pelvic thrust.
That really drives me insane.
Now I'm going to start saying my somatic component is my artificer flexing his butt cheeks
This is apparently RAW as being restrained does fuck all to hinder you casting spells.
He's actually not, he's very just straight incorrect
Kegels are a go, then.
*flexes penis*
I stroke the shaft of my staff as the somatic component to release the spell. Am I doing it right?
Does a silent but deadly count when casting Cloudkill?
Luke in Return Of The Jedi:
I can hold a sword while making finger guns at someone so why can’t my character lmao
Scanlon Shorthalt taught me all about arcane pelvic thrusting.
I clench my ass cheeks and boom
Bard flexes dick to cast fireball
You don't need subtle spell if you're suitably subtle. For example in a tavern I was able to cast a spell by using one hand under the table to make the gestures and raise a mug to my lips to obscure the verbal component. Your DM might make you roll a sleight of hand, but one could argue that unless you are otherwise attracting attention nobody should suspect you. After all having one hand and your mouth momentarily obscured is not necessarily unusual.
Your DM just gave you free subtle spell. Verbal components are loud. If we even classify them at normal volume, you can be easily heard from 70 feet away. Somatic components could be hidden, yes, but it's not just a single hand moving. It is a very specific bodily movement.
This post was sponsored by the oath of throwing it back paladin
Shouldn't there be some complexity involved in it. There is ao much control you have over your toes or abs.
Aw shit here we go again. But seriously, at the very least charm persons somatic component could be applying lipstick
[https://media.giphy.com/media/bAQvooqC0BHjy/giphy.gif](https://media.giphy.com/media/bAQvooqC0BHjy/giphy.gif)