Headbands, anti-magic fields, and prepared casters

[Jiggy]

Casters get bonus spells based on their casting stat.

They often wear stat-boosting headbands for more bonus slots.

If my cleric had 18 WIS and is wearing a +2 headband for a total of 20 WIS, then he has two bonus 1st-level spells prepared.

If he walks into an anti-magic field (or just takes the headband off), his WIS drops back down to 18, and he can no longer have that many spells prepared.

What happens when a prepared caster loses an ability bonus that was granting him a bonus spell slot?

Feels like he should lose a prepared spell, but which one? Were we supposed to be notating which spells were prepared with bonus slots?

Please click the FAQ button, thanks!

[Artanthos]

FAQ'd

[Claxon]

Well...I don't think I agree being exposed to antimagic field is the same as removing the item, but it doesn't explain what should happen to spell slots or other things. And of course you still have to wonder what happens to magic items suppressed by Dispel Magic, etc. So this is a complicated question.

Personally I'm of the belief that after the suppressing affect is over that everything returns to where it was before, provided you don't actually remove the item. When you remove it you run into the temporary versus permanent issue.

[Jiggy]

Hence why you should be clicking that FAQ button. :)

[James Risner]

Jiggy wrote:

Hence why you should be clicking that FAQ button. :)

This is going to be a hard thing for them to reply, because there are not many direct rules to handle this. So a FAQ would deviate from rules and venture into unwritten rules territory. I think that is probably something that they won't likely answer. I also think the problem (being in an Antimagic field) is so uncommon and is at tables of capable GMs and players that most people would figure it out on their own.

In other words, I'd rather see them answer Overrun questions or other lower level questions before this question.

[Dosgamer]

If a caster walks into an AMF then they aren't going to be casting spells until they get out of the AMF, so that is a nonissue for me (since as soon as they walk out the item works again so no harm done). Removing or losing the item would result in losing any spell slots gained at our table until they had worn it a day.

[TyrKnight]

I agree with Dosgamer and Claxon before him. You don't have access to any of your spells or spell-like or supernatural abilities in an anti-magic field. You walk out and those abilities come back in exactly the same manner they were when they left. Suppression is not the same as removing the item.

I'm going with the item is attuned to you. Remove it and it's not attuned.

[lantzkev]

If they are in it when they go to prepare new spells they don't get bonus slots, otherwise nothing.

as it's a perm ability rather than temp.

[LazarX]

Quite frankly I don't care what the devs response is but I don't expect one anyway.

You're in an anti-magic field... You're not casting spells anyway, period. So I really don't care to micromanage things to an absurd degree. So I tell people to treat their characters as if they took their bonus points granted by the item in ability damage... which is cured instantly when the Anti Magic field is no longer a factor.

Mainly because I don't want people to waste a half hour reconfiguring their character for a temporary condition.

[BigDTBone]

The same thing that happens if you take ability damage, nothing. If you leave the headband off until it comes time to get your spells back then you prepare spells with your new bonus.

[Remy Balster]

BigDTBone wrote:

The same thing that happens if you take ability damage, nothing. If you leave the headband off until it comes time to get your spells back then you prepare spells with your new bonus.

This.

Taking it off doesn't change the number of spell slots you have, it changes the number of spell slots you regain. So it won't affect your spells per day until the next day. (Or longer, if you prepare spells and haven't cast any yet)

It could, however, affect the highest level spells you are capable of casting. If your wis is 14 normally, and you have another +2 from a headband for a total of 16, you can cast up to 6th level spells. If you took the headband off, it would immediately drop to 4th level spells for the highest level spell you could cast.

[seebs]

It's not that I don't think people could figure it out, but that I have no idea whether any two groups I've seen would "figure out" the same thing.

And if they don't all come to the same answer, then they're not figuring it out, they're making it up.

[Remy Balster]

seebs wrote:

It's not that I don't think people could figure it out, but that I have no idea whether any two groups I've seen would "figure out" the same thing.

And if they don't all come to the same answer, then they're not figuring it out, they're making it up.

There are two groups of people. Both groups are tasked to solve 2+2.

Group A solves it, it is 5.
Group B solves it, it is 4.

Since groups A and B don't come to the same answer, you think neither group A or B figured it out, and that they both simply made it up?

There is a flaw in your reasoning here.

[LazarX]

Remy Balster wrote:

seebs wrote:

It's not that I don't think people could figure it out, but that I have no idea whether any two groups I've seen would "figure out" the same thing.

And if they don't all come to the same answer, then they're not figuring it out, they're making it up.

There are two groups of people. Both groups are tasked to solve 2+2.

Group A solves it, it is 5.
Group B solves it, it is 4.

Since groups A and B don't come to the same answer, you think neither group A or B figured it out, and that they both simply made it up?

There is a flaw in your reasoning here.

The flaw is presenting this as akin to a mathematical problem when it's really just a difference in GMing styles.

[Remy Balster]

LazarX wrote:

Remy Balster wrote:

seebs wrote:

It's not that I don't think people could figure it out, but that I have no idea whether any two groups I've seen would "figure out" the same thing.

And if they don't all come to the same answer, then they're not figuring it out, they're making it up.

There are two groups of people. Both groups are tasked to solve 2+2.

Group A solves it, it is 5.
Group B solves it, it is 4.

Since groups A and B don't come to the same answer, you think neither group A or B figured it out, and that they both simply made it up?

There is a flaw in your reasoning here.

The flaw is presenting this as akin to a mathematical problem when it's really just a difference in GMing styles.

Maybe you missed that Seebs was saying that because there is not a consensus, that everyone involved is full of it.

[seebs]

Not really, no.

I'm saying that the fact that "everyone can figure it out" does not mean that we have consensus, or tell us that anyone necessarily got it "right".

You could have group A get 5 and group B get 6, after all.

If everyone comes to the same answer, you don't necessarily know they're right, but for purposes of running a game, it's "right enough" because the really important part is that the rules be consistent enough that people can play together.

If people don't even come to the same answers, then it's probably worth clarifying the rules.