Hi, everyone. My character is a halfling bard and I'm thinking about getting Phantom Steed as one of my level 3 spells. My intention is to have the Phantom Steed carry me around in combat (away from melee) while keeping my full round actions to attack with my bow. My doubts are:
- I assume I don't need to do ride checks because it's a magical creation and not an actual animal, and therefore I just use free actions to direct it without the need for any checks. Am I correct?
- It has hit points and AC, but it doesn't have stats nor saving throws. What if, for example, he happens to be in the effect area of a fireball? It has no right to do a ST to halve the damage, so it just takes it all? Can it get a ST but with no modifiers? Is he inmune to effects like ability damage, fear, poison, etc...?
- According to the spells' description, it's a large "creature". Would you say it can carry two small riders around? Would each rider then occupy one square of the phantom steed's space (one in the front, the other in the back)? I don't know if there are rules about mounts carrying multiple riders...
That's all (I think!). Thanks in advance for your help!
I'm going to warn you right now there's a host of problems with this spell that go back to its original printing in previous editions. Several threads have arisen trying to deal with this spell, and (to my knowledge) none of them have any kind of conclusive answer beyond speculation. The responses I provide below should be considered possible interpretations, but are by no means authoritative.
- I assume I don't need to do ride checks because it's a magical creation and not an actual animal, and therefore I just use free actions to direct it without the need for any checks. Am I correct?
The spell gives the steed a bit, bridle, and saddle, implying their intended usage, which then implies that you need to make ride checks. The spell does not mention any kind of intelligence imparted or ability to comprehend languages (though thinking it did would not be unreasonable).
- It has hit points and AC, but it doesn't have stats nor saving throws. What if, for example, he happens to be in the effect area of a fireball? It has no right to do a ST to halve the damage, so it just takes it all? Can it get a ST but with no modifiers? Is he inmune to effects like ability damage, fear, poison, etc...?
Unclear. In my own campaigns, I run it like a construct of hit dice equal to the caster level, which is arguably on the strong side. In an example I saw earlier, another individual ran it like a standard horse save where the rules explicitly stated otherwise (hit points, dexterity, etc.), which is arguably on the weak side. Pick your poison.
- According to the spells' description, it's a large "creature". Would you say it can carry two small riders around? Would each rider then occupy one square of the phantom steed's space (one in the front, the other in the back)? I don't know if there are rules about mounts carrying multiple riders...
"It can be ridden only by you or by the one person for whom you specifically created the mount." To be entirely honest, I have actually argued in the past that anyone else on the phantom steed is not a "rider", but rather akin to extra cargo. (If I can carry X amount of equipment on the back of my phantom steed as well, why not a seated person? So if I killed them and carried their corpses it would be okay, but not if I do it while they're just unconscious?) Aside from possibly running afoul of that line of text which I've given above, there should be no problems with multiple small-sized creatures riding a large-sized one. (Bear in mind the weight restrictions for the spell, which would still apply.)
understood. It's nevertheless a very fragile conjuration, but I guess the specifics are mostly the DM's call.
Thanks!