Can the Sentinel Raven given by the Raven Queen warlock patron assist party members with skill checks?
$begingroup$
I'm playing a warlock and have chosen the Raven Queen patron (from Unearthed Arcana: Warlock & Wizard). I had the idea of having my sentinel raven assist me on all skill checks, but this seems pretty powerful; thus, I am wondering if there is anything preventing me doing this according to the rules as written.
The description of the Sentinel Raven feature explicitly says "...you gain a spirit that assumes the form and game statistics of a raven," so this raven does have actual stats, and even a +3 bonus to perception. Therefore, I don't see why it couldn't aid party members with skill checks (or anyone, for that matter).
dnd-5e warlock unearthed-arcana helping
edited Dec 22 '18 at 6:33
V2Blast
20.6k359131
asked Dec 22 '18 at 4:54
MetaMeta
453413
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I'm playing a warlock and have chosen the Raven Queen patron (from Unearthed Arcana: Warlock & Wizard). I had the idea of having my sentinel raven assist me on all skill checks, but this seems pretty powerful; thus, I am wondering if there is anything preventing me doing this according to the rules as written.
The description of the Sentinel Raven feature explicitly says "...you gain a spirit that assumes the form and game statistics of a raven," so this raven does have actual stats, and even a +3 bonus to perception. Therefore, I don't see why it couldn't aid party members with skill checks (or anyone, for that matter).
dnd-5e warlock unearthed-arcana helping
edited Dec 22 '18 at 6:33
V2Blast
20.6k359131
asked Dec 22 '18 at 4:54
MetaMeta
453413
$endgroup$
1
$begingroup$
Very related: what checks can familiars help with
$endgroup$
– Gandalfmeansme
Dec 22 '18 at 6:29
1
$begingroup$
I thought that was related but wasn't sure due to this question: rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/122523/…
$endgroup$
– Meta
Dec 22 '18 at 7:30
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I'm playing a warlock and have chosen the Raven Queen patron (from Unearthed Arcana: Warlock & Wizard). I had the idea of having my sentinel raven assist me on all skill checks, but this seems pretty powerful; thus, I am wondering if there is anything preventing me doing this according to the rules as written.
The description of the Sentinel Raven feature explicitly says "...you gain a spirit that assumes the form and game statistics of a raven," so this raven does have actual stats, and even a +3 bonus to perception. Therefore, I don't see why it couldn't aid party members with skill checks (or anyone, for that matter).
dnd-5e warlock unearthed-arcana helping
edited Dec 22 '18 at 6:33
V2Blast
20.6k359131
asked Dec 22 '18 at 4:54
MetaMeta
453413
$endgroup$
I'm playing a warlock and have chosen the Raven Queen patron (from Unearthed Arcana: Warlock & Wizard). I had the idea of having my sentinel raven assist me on all skill checks, but this seems pretty powerful; thus, I am wondering if there is anything preventing me doing this according to the rules as written.
The description of the Sentinel Raven feature explicitly says "...you gain a spirit that assumes the form and game statistics of a raven," so this raven does have actual stats, and even a +3 bonus to perception. Therefore, I don't see why it couldn't aid party members with skill checks (or anyone, for that matter).
dnd-5e warlock unearthed-arcana helping
dnd-5e warlock unearthed-arcana helping
edited Dec 22 '18 at 6:33
V2Blast
20.6k359131
asked Dec 22 '18 at 4:54
MetaMeta
453413
edited Dec 22 '18 at 6:33
V2Blast
20.6k359131
asked Dec 22 '18 at 4:54
MetaMeta
453413
edited Dec 22 '18 at 6:33
V2Blast
20.6k359131
edited Dec 22 '18 at 6:33
V2Blast
20.6k359131
edited Dec 22 '18 at 6:33
V2Blast
20.6k359131
20.6k359131
asked Dec 22 '18 at 4:54
MetaMeta
453413
asked Dec 22 '18 at 4:54
MetaMeta
453413
asked Dec 22 '18 at 4:54
MetaMeta
453413
453413
1
$begingroup$
Very related: what checks can familiars help with
$endgroup$
– Gandalfmeansme
Dec 22 '18 at 6:29
1
$begingroup$
I thought that was related but wasn't sure due to this question: rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/122523/…
$endgroup$
– Meta
Dec 22 '18 at 7:30
add a comment |
1
$begingroup$
Very related: what checks can familiars help with
$endgroup$
– Gandalfmeansme
Dec 22 '18 at 6:29
1
$begingroup$
I thought that was related but wasn't sure due to this question: rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/122523/…
$endgroup$
– Meta
Dec 22 '18 at 7:30
1
1
$begingroup$
Very related: what checks can familiars help with
$endgroup$
– Gandalfmeansme
Dec 22 '18 at 6:29
$begingroup$
Very related: what checks can familiars help with
$endgroup$
– Gandalfmeansme
Dec 22 '18 at 6:29
1
1
$begingroup$
I thought that was related but wasn't sure due to this question: rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/122523/…
$endgroup$
– Meta
Dec 22 '18 at 7:30
$begingroup$
I thought that was related but wasn't sure due to this question: rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/122523/…
$endgroup$
– Meta
Dec 22 '18 at 7:30
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
A creature can't Help if it couldn't do it alone
The rules on giving assistance (and thus advantage) to skill checks are found on page 175 of the Player's Handbook, under the heading "Working Together" (bold added):
Sometimes two or more characters team up to attempt a task. The
character who’s leading the effort—or the one with the highest ability
modifier—can make an ability check with advantage, reflecting the help
provided by the other characters. In combat, this requires the Help
action (see chapter 9).
A character can only provide help if the task is one that he or she could attempt alone. For example, trying to open a lock requires proficiency with thieves’ tools, so a character who lacks that proficiency can’t help another character in that task.
Moreover, a character can help only when two
or more individuals working together would actually be productive.
Some tasks, such as threading a needle, are no easier with help.
Although both points are relevant, the one most likely to come up is the first: the raven can only give advantage to another on a check that it could conceivably succeed at alone.
There are certainly some tasks which the raven could assist you with: for example, it could use the Help action in combat and give advantage to the next attack made against a given target. However, many tasks are beyond the abilities of a raven to even attempt. They cannot reasonably be said to persuade another person, for example, as they do not have the intelligence for meaningful discourse. And they cannot possibly successfully grapple a medium or larger creature since their size differs by two categories from them.
A DM will have to make a ruling on some edge cases. For example, a raven may not be able to read tracks or trails, but might be able to help someone track a wounded foe by smelling for fresh blood or flying around you looking for your quarry and thus give you advantage on a Survival check. But in general, keep in mind that you can only be given advantage on a check if the creature helping you could possibly succeed on the check without your assistance. And at the end of the day, there are a lot of things that a bird just can't do.
edited Dec 22 '18 at 6:46
V2Blast
20.6k359131
answered Dec 22 '18 at 6:19
GandalfmeansmeGandalfmeansme
19.1k370119
$endgroup$
1
$begingroup$
I think you mean "possibly attempt" where you say "possibly succeed"-- there's no requirement the bird be able to succeed at a task, merely not be barred from attempting it. So persuasion is a good example of something it's probably barred from attempting in many campaigns, but lockpicking, for example, is something that it probably can't succeed at alone (ordinary stats, no proficiency) but certainly can attempt. +1 though
$endgroup$
– the dark wanderer
Dec 22 '18 at 7:35
2
$begingroup$
@thedarkwanderer Lockpicking is the specific example the book gives where lacking proficiency would stop you from even helping.
$endgroup$
– Darth Pseudonym
Dec 22 '18 at 16:08
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function () {
StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix) {
StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["\$", "\$"]]);
});
});
}, "mathjax-editing");
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "122"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2frpg.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f137805%2fcan-the-sentinel-raven-given-by-the-raven-queen-warlock-patron-assist-party-memb%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
A creature can't Help if it couldn't do it alone
The rules on giving assistance (and thus advantage) to skill checks are found on page 175 of the Player's Handbook, under the heading "Working Together" (bold added):
Sometimes two or more characters team up to attempt a task. The
character who’s leading the effort—or the one with the highest ability
modifier—can make an ability check with advantage, reflecting the help
provided by the other characters. In combat, this requires the Help
action (see chapter 9).
A character can only provide help if the task is one that he or she could attempt alone. For example, trying to open a lock requires proficiency with thieves’ tools, so a character who lacks that proficiency can’t help another character in that task.
Moreover, a character can help only when two
or more individuals working together would actually be productive.
Some tasks, such as threading a needle, are no easier with help.
Although both points are relevant, the one most likely to come up is the first: the raven can only give advantage to another on a check that it could conceivably succeed at alone.
There are certainly some tasks which the raven could assist you with: for example, it could use the Help action in combat and give advantage to the next attack made against a given target. However, many tasks are beyond the abilities of a raven to even attempt. They cannot reasonably be said to persuade another person, for example, as they do not have the intelligence for meaningful discourse. And they cannot possibly successfully grapple a medium or larger creature since their size differs by two categories from them.
A DM will have to make a ruling on some edge cases. For example, a raven may not be able to read tracks or trails, but might be able to help someone track a wounded foe by smelling for fresh blood or flying around you looking for your quarry and thus give you advantage on a Survival check. But in general, keep in mind that you can only be given advantage on a check if the creature helping you could possibly succeed on the check without your assistance. And at the end of the day, there are a lot of things that a bird just can't do.
edited Dec 22 '18 at 6:46
V2Blast
20.6k359131
answered Dec 22 '18 at 6:19
GandalfmeansmeGandalfmeansme
19.1k370119
$endgroup$
1
$begingroup$
I think you mean "possibly attempt" where you say "possibly succeed"-- there's no requirement the bird be able to succeed at a task, merely not be barred from attempting it. So persuasion is a good example of something it's probably barred from attempting in many campaigns, but lockpicking, for example, is something that it probably can't succeed at alone (ordinary stats, no proficiency) but certainly can attempt. +1 though
$endgroup$
– the dark wanderer
Dec 22 '18 at 7:35
2
$begingroup$
@thedarkwanderer Lockpicking is the specific example the book gives where lacking proficiency would stop you from even helping.
$endgroup$
– Darth Pseudonym
Dec 22 '18 at 16:08
add a comment |
$begingroup$
A creature can't Help if it couldn't do it alone
The rules on giving assistance (and thus advantage) to skill checks are found on page 175 of the Player's Handbook, under the heading "Working Together" (bold added):
Sometimes two or more characters team up to attempt a task. The
character who’s leading the effort—or the one with the highest ability
modifier—can make an ability check with advantage, reflecting the help
provided by the other characters. In combat, this requires the Help
action (see chapter 9).
A character can only provide help if the task is one that he or she could attempt alone. For example, trying to open a lock requires proficiency with thieves’ tools, so a character who lacks that proficiency can’t help another character in that task.
Moreover, a character can help only when two
or more individuals working together would actually be productive.
Some tasks, such as threading a needle, are no easier with help.
Although both points are relevant, the one most likely to come up is the first: the raven can only give advantage to another on a check that it could conceivably succeed at alone.
There are certainly some tasks which the raven could assist you with: for example, it could use the Help action in combat and give advantage to the next attack made against a given target. However, many tasks are beyond the abilities of a raven to even attempt. They cannot reasonably be said to persuade another person, for example, as they do not have the intelligence for meaningful discourse. And they cannot possibly successfully grapple a medium or larger creature since their size differs by two categories from them.
A DM will have to make a ruling on some edge cases. For example, a raven may not be able to read tracks or trails, but might be able to help someone track a wounded foe by smelling for fresh blood or flying around you looking for your quarry and thus give you advantage on a Survival check. But in general, keep in mind that you can only be given advantage on a check if the creature helping you could possibly succeed on the check without your assistance. And at the end of the day, there are a lot of things that a bird just can't do.
edited Dec 22 '18 at 6:46
V2Blast
20.6k359131
answered Dec 22 '18 at 6:19
GandalfmeansmeGandalfmeansme
19.1k370119
$endgroup$
1
$begingroup$
I think you mean "possibly attempt" where you say "possibly succeed"-- there's no requirement the bird be able to succeed at a task, merely not be barred from attempting it. So persuasion is a good example of something it's probably barred from attempting in many campaigns, but lockpicking, for example, is something that it probably can't succeed at alone (ordinary stats, no proficiency) but certainly can attempt. +1 though
$endgroup$
– the dark wanderer
Dec 22 '18 at 7:35
2
$begingroup$
@thedarkwanderer Lockpicking is the specific example the book gives where lacking proficiency would stop you from even helping.
$endgroup$
– Darth Pseudonym
Dec 22 '18 at 16:08
add a comment |
$begingroup$
A creature can't Help if it couldn't do it alone
The rules on giving assistance (and thus advantage) to skill checks are found on page 175 of the Player's Handbook, under the heading "Working Together" (bold added):
Sometimes two or more characters team up to attempt a task. The
character who’s leading the effort—or the one with the highest ability
modifier—can make an ability check with advantage, reflecting the help
provided by the other characters. In combat, this requires the Help
action (see chapter 9).
A character can only provide help if the task is one that he or she could attempt alone. For example, trying to open a lock requires proficiency with thieves’ tools, so a character who lacks that proficiency can’t help another character in that task.
Moreover, a character can help only when two
or more individuals working together would actually be productive.
Some tasks, such as threading a needle, are no easier with help.
Although both points are relevant, the one most likely to come up is the first: the raven can only give advantage to another on a check that it could conceivably succeed at alone.
There are certainly some tasks which the raven could assist you with: for example, it could use the Help action in combat and give advantage to the next attack made against a given target. However, many tasks are beyond the abilities of a raven to even attempt. They cannot reasonably be said to persuade another person, for example, as they do not have the intelligence for meaningful discourse. And they cannot possibly successfully grapple a medium or larger creature since their size differs by two categories from them.
A DM will have to make a ruling on some edge cases. For example, a raven may not be able to read tracks or trails, but might be able to help someone track a wounded foe by smelling for fresh blood or flying around you looking for your quarry and thus give you advantage on a Survival check. But in general, keep in mind that you can only be given advantage on a check if the creature helping you could possibly succeed on the check without your assistance. And at the end of the day, there are a lot of things that a bird just can't do.
edited Dec 22 '18 at 6:46
V2Blast
20.6k359131
answered Dec 22 '18 at 6:19
GandalfmeansmeGandalfmeansme
19.1k370119
$endgroup$
A creature can't Help if it couldn't do it alone
The rules on giving assistance (and thus advantage) to skill checks are found on page 175 of the Player's Handbook, under the heading "Working Together" (bold added):
Sometimes two or more characters team up to attempt a task. The
character who’s leading the effort—or the one with the highest ability
modifier—can make an ability check with advantage, reflecting the help
provided by the other characters. In combat, this requires the Help
action (see chapter 9).
A character can only provide help if the task is one that he or she could attempt alone. For example, trying to open a lock requires proficiency with thieves’ tools, so a character who lacks that proficiency can’t help another character in that task.
Moreover, a character can help only when two
or more individuals working together would actually be productive.
Some tasks, such as threading a needle, are no easier with help.
Although both points are relevant, the one most likely to come up is the first: the raven can only give advantage to another on a check that it could conceivably succeed at alone.
There are certainly some tasks which the raven could assist you with: for example, it could use the Help action in combat and give advantage to the next attack made against a given target. However, many tasks are beyond the abilities of a raven to even attempt. They cannot reasonably be said to persuade another person, for example, as they do not have the intelligence for meaningful discourse. And they cannot possibly successfully grapple a medium or larger creature since their size differs by two categories from them.
A DM will have to make a ruling on some edge cases. For example, a raven may not be able to read tracks or trails, but might be able to help someone track a wounded foe by smelling for fresh blood or flying around you looking for your quarry and thus give you advantage on a Survival check. But in general, keep in mind that you can only be given advantage on a check if the creature helping you could possibly succeed on the check without your assistance. And at the end of the day, there are a lot of things that a bird just can't do.
edited Dec 22 '18 at 6:46
V2Blast
20.6k359131
answered Dec 22 '18 at 6:19
GandalfmeansmeGandalfmeansme
19.1k370119
edited Dec 22 '18 at 6:46
V2Blast
20.6k359131
edited Dec 22 '18 at 6:46
V2Blast
20.6k359131
edited Dec 22 '18 at 6:46
V2Blast
20.6k359131
20.6k359131
answered Dec 22 '18 at 6:19
GandalfmeansmeGandalfmeansme
19.1k370119
answered Dec 22 '18 at 6:19
GandalfmeansmeGandalfmeansme
19.1k370119
answered Dec 22 '18 at 6:19
GandalfmeansmeGandalfmeansme
19.1k370119
19.1k370119
1
$begingroup$
I think you mean "possibly attempt" where you say "possibly succeed"-- there's no requirement the bird be able to succeed at a task, merely not be barred from attempting it. So persuasion is a good example of something it's probably barred from attempting in many campaigns, but lockpicking, for example, is something that it probably can't succeed at alone (ordinary stats, no proficiency) but certainly can attempt. +1 though
$endgroup$
– the dark wanderer
Dec 22 '18 at 7:35
2
$begingroup$
@thedarkwanderer Lockpicking is the specific example the book gives where lacking proficiency would stop you from even helping.
$endgroup$
– Darth Pseudonym
Dec 22 '18 at 16:08
add a comment |
1
$begingroup$
I think you mean "possibly attempt" where you say "possibly succeed"-- there's no requirement the bird be able to succeed at a task, merely not be barred from attempting it. So persuasion is a good example of something it's probably barred from attempting in many campaigns, but lockpicking, for example, is something that it probably can't succeed at alone (ordinary stats, no proficiency) but certainly can attempt. +1 though
$endgroup$
– the dark wanderer
Dec 22 '18 at 7:35
2
$begingroup$
@thedarkwanderer Lockpicking is the specific example the book gives where lacking proficiency would stop you from even helping.
$endgroup$
– Darth Pseudonym
Dec 22 '18 at 16:08
1
1
$begingroup$
I think you mean "possibly attempt" where you say "possibly succeed"-- there's no requirement the bird be able to succeed at a task, merely not be barred from attempting it. So persuasion is a good example of something it's probably barred from attempting in many campaigns, but lockpicking, for example, is something that it probably can't succeed at alone (ordinary stats, no proficiency) but certainly can attempt. +1 though
$endgroup$
– the dark wanderer
Dec 22 '18 at 7:35
$begingroup$
I think you mean "possibly attempt" where you say "possibly succeed"-- there's no requirement the bird be able to succeed at a task, merely not be barred from attempting it. So persuasion is a good example of something it's probably barred from attempting in many campaigns, but lockpicking, for example, is something that it probably can't succeed at alone (ordinary stats, no proficiency) but certainly can attempt. +1 though
$endgroup$
– the dark wanderer
Dec 22 '18 at 7:35
2
2
$begingroup$
@thedarkwanderer Lockpicking is the specific example the book gives where lacking proficiency would stop you from even helping.
$endgroup$
– Darth Pseudonym
Dec 22 '18 at 16:08
$begingroup$
@thedarkwanderer Lockpicking is the specific example the book gives where lacking proficiency would stop you from even helping.
$endgroup$
– Darth Pseudonym
Dec 22 '18 at 16:08
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Role-playing Games Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2frpg.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f137805%2fcan-the-sentinel-raven-given-by-the-raven-queen-warlock-patron-assist-party-memb%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
1
$begingroup$
Very related: what checks can familiars help with
$endgroup$
– Gandalfmeansme
Dec 22 '18 at 6:29
1
$begingroup$
I thought that was related but wasn't sure due to this question: rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/122523/…
$endgroup$
– Meta
Dec 22 '18 at 7:30