Is Sustaining a spell optional for some spells?


Rules Discussion


I understand that some spells have a duration like "sustained up to one minute," meaning that the spell lasts as long as it is sustained, with a maximum duration of one minute.

If the spell has a fixed duration but the description says it can be sustained, does the spell need to be sustained to keep it up? For example, Bless has a duration of one minute. The description says, in part, "Once per round on subsequent turns, you can Sustain the spell to increase the emanation’s radius by 10 feet." If I don't Sustain it, does Bless drop or just stay at whatever radius it was when I stopped Sustaining?

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Bless has a duration of 1 minute. If you use the Sustain action, you expand the radius. If you don't, it stays as it is. It does not influence the duration.


Glamorize is an even better example of this.

The duration alone lists how long the spell will last. A duration of Sustained means that the spell needs to be sustained each round or else it will end. A fixed duration will last its fixed duration, even if there is an effect that happens if the caster chooses to spend an action on Sustain.

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