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The spell description explicitly gives the DM liberty to rule however they want, even up to ruling that the spell simply fails.

When making a wish for something outside the scope of the given examples1, the spell description (PHB, pg. 288) gives the DM total freedom to rule however they like:

D&D 5e is decisively not a "players vs. DM" game.12 Working together to create a fun and enjoyable social space is the player-DM relationship described in the game rules, as presented in the introduction to the Dungeon Master's Guide (pg. 4-5):

I have had great success with wish, both as a player and a DM, and this success depends on one thing: communication out of game between the player and the DM. As a player, when you get access to the wish spell, it is time to have a conversation about how the table wants to handle the spell. As a DM, this is the first of many conversations I will have about the spell. When a player gets access to a wish, I like to talk about what my personal limitations are as a DM and my philosophy for its use. Much like Genie3 from Aladdin, I like to establish three things:

  • Wishes should be worded as non"non-metameta" as possible, thoughthat is, they should be phrased in-character, in narrative terms, rather than in terms of game mechanics. However, I will be flexible about this, so let's talk about it.
  • Wishes that make changes to the game rules are probably just not going to happen, but let's talk about it.
  • If you are cool with me twisting wishes, I'll twist them while trying to keep things fun, if you aren't cool with twisting wishes, I'll tell you beforehand if it will work as intended.

1 The bulleted list following "Alternatively, you can create one of the following effects of your choice".

2 It should be mentioned that a "players vs DM" style of play is not "bad wrong fun", rather it is a style of play that should be agreed upon prior to starting play. The cooperative style of play is the default style for Dungeons & Dragons, as outlined in the DMG quotes, but when everyone agrees upon a "players vs DM" style of play, it can work just fine. It is when the players expect a cooperative style and the DM is competing against them that we run into conflict.

3 Rest in peace, Robin Williams

The spell description gives the DM liberty to rule however they want, even up to ruling that the spell simply fails.

When making a wish for something outside the scope of the given examples, the spell description (PHB, pg. 288) gives the DM total freedom to rule however they like:

D&D 5e is decisively not a "players vs. DM" game.1 Working together to create a fun and enjoyable social space is the player-DM relationship described in the game rules, as presented in the introduction to the Dungeon Master's Guide (pg. 4-5):

I have had great success with wish, both as a player and a DM, and this success depends on one thing: communication out of game between the player and the DM. As a player, when you get access to the wish spell, it is time to have a conversation about how the table wants to handle the spell. As a DM, this is the first of many conversations I will have about the spell. When a player gets access to a wish, I like to talk about what my personal limitations are as a DM and my philosophy for its use. Much like Genie from Aladdin, I like to establish three things:

  • Wishes should be worded as non-meta as possible, though I will be flexible about this, so let's talk about it.
  • Wishes that make changes to the game rules are probably just not going to happen, but let's talk about it.
  • If you are cool with me twisting wishes, I'll twist them while trying to keep things fun, if you aren't cool with twisting wishes, I'll tell you beforehand if it will work as intended.

1 It should be mentioned that a "players vs DM" style of play is not "bad wrong fun", rather it is a style of play that should be agreed upon prior to starting play. The cooperative style of play is the default style for Dungeons & Dragons, as outlined in the DMG quotes, but when everyone agrees upon a "players vs DM" style of play, it can work just fine. It is when the players expect a cooperative style and the DM is competing against them that we run into conflict.

The spell description explicitly gives the DM liberty to rule however they want, even up to ruling that the spell simply fails.

When making a wish for something outside the scope of the given examples1, the spell description (PHB, pg. 288) gives the DM total freedom to rule however they like:

D&D 5e is decisively not a "players vs. DM" game.2 Working together to create a fun and enjoyable social space is the player-DM relationship described in the game rules, as presented in the introduction to the Dungeon Master's Guide (pg. 4-5):

I have had great success with wish, both as a player and a DM, and this success depends on one thing: communication out of game between the player and the DM. As a player, when you get access to the wish spell, it is time to have a conversation about how the table wants to handle the spell. As a DM, this is the first of many conversations I will have about the spell. When a player gets access to a wish, I like to talk about what my personal limitations are as a DM and my philosophy for its use. Much like Genie3 from Aladdin, I like to establish three things:

  • Wishes should be worded as "non-meta" as possible, that is, they should be phrased in-character, in narrative terms, rather than in terms of game mechanics. However, I will be flexible about this, so let's talk about it.
  • Wishes that make changes to the game rules are probably just not going to happen, but let's talk about it.
  • If you are cool with me twisting wishes, I'll twist them while trying to keep things fun, if you aren't cool with twisting wishes, I'll tell you beforehand if it will work as intended.

1 The bulleted list following "Alternatively, you can create one of the following effects of your choice".

2 It should be mentioned that a "players vs DM" style of play is not "bad wrong fun", rather it is a style of play that should be agreed upon prior to starting play. The cooperative style of play is the default style for Dungeons & Dragons, as outlined in the DMG quotes, but when everyone agrees upon a "players vs DM" style of play, it can work just fine. It is when the players expect a cooperative style and the DM is competing against them that we run into conflict.

3 Rest in peace, Robin Williams

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