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James Jacobs wrote "A simulacrum is not a real creature; it's a PARTIALLY real creature. It's more accurate to say it's a magical creation (this has no impact on the creature's type, though—that's set by the original creature). It's an illusion, but it's of the shadow type, which means that it's partially real as well."
With that in mind... would you allow a Wish to be used to turn a simulacrum into a "real" creature?
Can Pinocchio become a real boy? :D
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In fiction, there are multiple tiers of wishes, depending on who is performing the magic. I might rule that a sufficiently powerful entity could do it for story reasons but I would not allow just anyone with a Wish spell to completely succeed. I'd be more inclined to put that kind of power in the realm of Miracle, requiring the approval of a deity-level power. A story could certainly be built around trying to make a Simulacrum truly alive and it sounds like fun, but I'd want more than just a single casting of Wish, able to be performed from a scroll or item. If it were that simple, everyone would be doing it.
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James Jacobs wrote "A simulacrum is not a real creature; it's a PARTIALLY real creature. It's more accurate to say it's a magical creation (this has no impact on the creature's type, though—that's set by the original creature). It's an illusion, but it's of the shadow type, which means that it's partially real as well."
With that in mind... would you allow a Wish to be used to turn a simulacrum into a "real" creature?
Can Pinocchio become a real boy? :D
I'd definitely consider it. With the caveat that while they would lose their simulacrum status and now be very much real (such as not melting when KO'd), I wouldn't give them the full statistics of a creature of their kind. At least not immediately. They wouldn't be restricted anymore in advancement and at that point they could just advance normally.
For example, if we created a simulacrum of a 14th level Fighter, we'd have a 7th level Fighter that cannot advance. Making the new simulacrum "real" would allow it to advance and eventually become a 14th level fighter.
Monsters would be similar.
Sure. Maybe two wishes, first to make the body real, second to make the "soul" real.
Like bringing someone back from being destroyed by a sphere of annihilation.
If you made the simulacrum real would it turn on its master?
In literature an example of simulacrum is Frankenstein.
Be careful what you WISH for.
it is a simulacrum that is a copy of another creature i would not allow you to make it in to the Real creature. Edit: but i would allow a simulacrum to develop its own life and personallity if it existet for long enough time.
In literature an example of simulacrum is Frankenstein.
I thought Frankenstein was a Flesh Golem?
In any case I would not allow a wish to give true life to a simulacrum. Probably a personal prejudice but I don't think mortal magics, even wish, should be able to create new life from nothing.
Yes but it takes a Wish from a source more powerful than the ninth level spell. i.e. it becomes an adventure hook and you're going to quest for a more powerful being to get that wish.James Jacobs wrote "A simulacrum is not a real creature; it's a PARTIALLY real creature. It's more accurate to say it's a magical creation (this has no impact on the creature's type, though—that's set by the original creature). It's an illusion, but it's of the shadow type, which means that it's partially real as well."
With that in mind... would you allow a Wish to be used to turn a simulacrum into a "real" creature?
Can Pinocchio become a real boy? :D
are wishes rated? I ditent know that they came stronger than the level 9 spell.
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@Cap. Darling
Setting aside literature and other examples of storytelling to focus on actual game rules, one example would be the Harrow Deck of Many Things, an artifact. If you draw the Winged Serpent it grants this effect:
The character is granted a single wish. This wish functions similarly to the spell wish when it comes to affecting rules and statistics, but can also change reality in ways outside the bounds of the spell’s effects—such as rerouting a river or ending a war. The GM decides what the wish can and cannot accomplish.
Also, there is of course the spell Mythic Wish, which is clearly more powerful than the regular Wish because it has access to all of its normal powers and then some, including (but not limited to) the ability to alter the immediate future when it isn't even your turn.
@Cap. Darling
Setting aside literature and other examples of storytelling to focus on actual game rules, one example would be the Harrow Deck of Many Things, an artifact. If you draw the Winged Serpent it grants this effect:
The character is granted a single wish. This wish functions similarly to the spell wish when it comes to affecting rules and statistics, but can also change reality in ways outside the bounds of the spell’s effects—such as rerouting a river or ending a war. The GM decides what the wish can and cannot accomplish.Also, there is of course the spell Mythic Wish, which is clearly more powerful than the regular Wish because it has access to all of its normal powers and then some, including (but not limited to) the ability to alter the immediate future when it isn't even your turn.
Ok i ditent know these rules. Story telling and litterature could also make the wizard spell the strongest so it is good you left them out;)
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So, Laz, would a genie of any stripe, or glabrezu, solar, or pit fiend count?
... 'cause those are totally all acquirable by 9th level (or lower) spells...
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You mean gate, the ninth-level spell?
Everything but the Solar and Pit Fiend are accessible by greater planar ally or greater planar binding: 8th level spells.
The average djinn doesn't, but noble djinn, noble shaitans, and average marids and ifreet do. (And are all, along with a glabrezu, available to planar ally and planar binding.)
The thing is, though, the Game Mastery Guide, generally agrees: SLA-versions are "more powerful" than the spell. The trick is, of course, that the SLAs are easier to access and actually cost less. Go figure.
EDIT: Ninja'd, but I'll just say this: the only thing that harms solars is if you waste their time. If you don't (and it's easy to help them out in ways) there is literally no reason for them to twist your wishes. None. They are benevolence incarnate (which is not the same as "not capable of violence against evil").
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I would rate all of the non-mythic wishes of listed bestiary creatures as being pretty much the same. When I referenced higher-tier powers, I was talking about things like, for instance, the King of the Efreeti or the Queen of the Marids or the General of a deity's Solars. If you did a big favor for such a character and were rewarded with a wish, wouldn't you expect it to be more powerful than one from the standard example creature in the bestiary?
As an example, suppose a character wished for an oasis in the desert they were traveling through. Seems reasonable so I'd grant that wish, no problem, but it'd be a relatively small oasis, probably capable of supporting a hamlet. If the character were friends with the Queen of the Marids and she were the one granting the wish, the oasis would be much more impressive and probably capable of supporting a whole town or city.
Here's something to consider from the description of Solars:
The oldest solars predate mortality and are among the gods’ first creations. These strange solars are paragons of their kind and have little direct interaction with mortals, focusing on the protection or destruction of abstract concepts such as gravity, dark matter, entropy, and primordial evil.
This heavily implies that there are varying strengths of Solars and that not all of them appear exactly as the stat block says they do.
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This heavily implies that there are varying strengths of Solars and that not all of them appear exactly as the stat block says they do.
One of the things I miss from 3.X is the suggested "Monster HD" advancement of creatures. (Solars used to go up to 66 HD... i.e. half-a-dozen more hit dice than most 3.X gods...)
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I'd imagine that there are easier ways to create facsimiles of life. The question becomes... at what point do you consider that life "real"? I think that question becomes philosophical.
But powerful magics can approximate life in other ways. I would imagine that such a simulacrum could have their essence put into a body by necromantic means (I think through a variation of Magic Jar, to be more specific), or a body built for them through other magics (as a construct perhaps). Or perhaps a simple fiat by which you take the creature to the Plane of Shadow and cause it to become as real as any other shadow denizen?
The possibilities are endless.
I'd imagine that there are easier ways to create facsimiles of life. The question becomes... at what point do you consider that life "real"? I think that question becomes philosophical.
For Telepaths, Mind Seed is pretty cool.
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I would allow it. The sim would maintain it's current stats (that is, it would remain a half-powered version of the original), but it would gain the ability to grow more powerful and heal normally.
It may or may not gain autonomy from the spellcaster who originally cast simulacrum, depending on the wording of the wish.