Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zagora_01 Sep 09, 2014 21:30:02	I'm building a knight that is exceptional at battling spellcasters.   does a creature who is using a spell like ability count as a creature casting a spell for the purposes of the mage slayer feat?   Mind you. I don't have the Monster Manual   My build is Paladin (order of the ancients) with the following feats   mage slayer, sentinal and shield master
#2 lawrencehoy Sep 09, 2014 22:29:00	My guess is: no. Creatures with spell-like abilities are using innate abilities, the result is the only thing "spell-like", not the actions performed to obtain the result.
#3 2Chlorobutanal Sep 10, 2014 0:26:17	A creature with the "Innate Spellcasting" feature or "Spellcasting" feature is said by the rules to be capable of "casting" the listed spells.  Therefore, I think Mage Slayer would function.   Note, however, that this is a very rare ability on monsters published so far, mostly just used for NPC mages or priests and Yuan-ti Purebloods.   Any ability that is not listed under "Spellcasting" or "Innate Spellcasting" is not a spell, but rather just a special power- even if the name is the same as a spell (e.g.: Ethereal Jaunt for Phase Spiders or Invisibility for Imps).  I assume these could be described as analogous to "supernatural" powers from 3rd edition, and would not count as casting a spell- thus no Mage Slayer.
#4 Jay_Ibero_911 Sep 10, 2014 3:15:07	To give an example, a high elf's racial cantrip or a tiefling's racial spells would trigger mage slayer. Spell-like abilities aren't really a thing in 5e. There are however certain abilities that produce effects similar to spells, but are not actually spells, like the previously mentioned phase spider and imp.
#5 zagora_01 Sep 10, 2014 7:45:32	2Chlorobutanal wrote: