Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Shadowfax7 04-07-04, 12:00 PM	Is this an error or an exception . . . Under the description of Break Enchantment in the 3.5 PHB (and 3.0 PHB) it has Flesh to Stone as an example of a spell that can be reversed with Break Enchantment. However, further in the description it states that Break Enchantment works on spells that can't be dispelled by Dispel Magic only if they are 5th level or lower. Well, Flesh to Stone is an instantaneous effect, thus can't be dispelled by Dispel Magic, but it is a 6th level spell. BTW, the example of Flesh to Stone is not included in the description of Break Enchantment in the SRD, probably due to limiting the flavor context of the SRD, as the SRD is not an errata document.
Seeker95 04-07-04, 02:30 PM	I think you found an editor's error. I would rule that you cannot use break enchantment to cancel flesh to stone, because it is 6th level. Its presence in the descriptive text serves only to prove an example of an instananeous spell. Unfortunately, it is a bad example.
Shadowfax7 04-07-04, 02:45 PM	That is what I was thinking . . . but wanted other opinions. It threw me off since it was listed in both the 3.0 and 3.5 PHBs and no errata was noted in either edition. :confused:
Chauncy Butterpants III 04-09-04, 01:33 AM	The group I DM just had this problem and I thought the example of Flesh to Stone was an error as well. But after much debate one of my players has come up with an explanation that makes a lot of sense. The level-limit for Break Enchantment is for spells that are not dispellable due to a specific property in the spell description, like the example given of Bestow Curse, which notes that it cannot be removed by Dispel Magic even though it would be dispellable absent that restriction. Instantaneous effects, like Flesh to Stone, are not dispellable due to their instantaneous duration (there's no spell left to dispel) not because of some other restriction in the spell description as with Bestow Curse. In other words, Break Enchantment can affect any enchantment, transmutation, or curse, even instantaneous effects like Flesh to Stone, as long as the caster-level check can be made. However, if the spell, like Bestow Curse, specifically notes that it is not subject to Dispel Magic when it otherwise would be, then Break Enchantment only works if that spell is 5th level or lower.
Shadowfax7 04-09-04, 10:55 AM	I don't have a problem with allowing Break Enchantment to reverse a Flesh to Stone spell (and note that it could reverse petrification effects from creatures, as those are NOT considered Flesh to Stone spell-like abilities) and the explanation you provided is fair, even though not fool-proof. However, FYI I asked WoTC C/S and their answer was that it is an error.
SureFoot 04-09-04, 11:06 AM	Originally posted by Shadowfax7 However, FYI I asked WoTC C/S and their answer was that it is an error. that probably means that it was NOT an error. WotC C/S is unreliable at best, complete and utter hogwash at worst (and I've seen it at its worst, I think--among other things in a single email response, they said there's no such thing as counterspelling!!)
tarkin 04-09-04, 05:35 PM	If you really think that way I suggest you purchase a G.U.R.P.S. book, Rolemaster book, or other such book, play their game, and stop annoying the people that like to play the D20 game that that WOTC published If you want to play their game, then live with their rulings.