Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Arcade 04-30-05, 08:17 AM	Ok, it seemed to me that one of the primary uses of break enchantment was to counteract petrification. My players have a statue due to a flesh to stone spell. Can they use break enchantment to counteract it? There are 2 conflicting parts here: "Break enchantment can reverse even an instantaneous effect." "If the spell is one that cannot be dispelled by dispel magic, break enchantment works only if that spell is 5th level or lower." Appreciate any help on this.
Santrilla 04-30-05, 08:27 AM	From the SRD: Note: The effect of a spell with an instantaneous duration can’t be dispelled, because the magical effect is already over before the dispel magic can take effect. Flesh to Stone has an instantaneous duration, so can't be affected by dispel magic. However... Break enchantment can reverse even an instantaneous effect. However... If the spell is one that cannot be dispelled by dispel magic, break enchantment works only if that spell is 5th level or lower. Flesh to Stone is a 6th level spell. Sorry, but Break Enchantment won't work. EDIT: However, if your players can get hold of the spell Stone to Flesh (either through a scroll, by paying a higher-level caster, or other means), that'll do the job.
Seeker95 04-30-05, 09:17 AM	The use of flesh to stone in the examples is illustrative of concept only. It is not a good example, because that particular spell cannot be affected. But it still serves as an example of the "types" of spells that can be affected.
Shadowfax7 04-30-05, 10:18 AM	I agree that from the description of the spell, Break Enchantment would not affect Flesh to Stone. However, due to the example they use of it working on Flesh to Stone it's possible that the creators of the spell meant for it to work on Flesh to Stone also and just worded the spell description wrong. Unfound errata at this late stage of a published book for WotC is not totally unbelievable . . . On another note, House Ruling that if the spell is one that cannot be dispelled by Dispel Magic, Break Enchantment works only if that spell is 6th level or lower is not unbalancing IMO. :D
mbfu3k 04-30-05, 01:55 PM	A little off-topic, but something that has always bugged me: The creature must make a DC 15 Fortitude save to survive the process. Woe to the poor wizard who is ever petrified. This so-called "cure" leaves them with more than a 50% chance of dying out-right. Thus, we've always played that Break Enchantment can reverse Flesh to Stone (with a caster level check). We simply read the part about "one that cannot be dispelled by Dispel Magic" the way it is written in 3.0; that is, if the spell as a *special quality* of the spell cannot be affected by Dispel Magic (eg, Bestow Curse specifically says it cannot be affected by Dispel Magic), then it must be 5th level or lower. Unfortunately, that interpretation is probably why they changed it in 3.5. :(