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For example, does the caster of the spell remove curse know if the subject rejects the spell?

It might be an unusual event, but this just happened in my game, and we couldn't find the answer.

Hey I Can Chan
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Boernii
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2 Answers2

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Yes, the caster is aware.

Casters are aware of whether or not a target has resisted a spell via a saving throw:

A creature that successfully saves against a spell that has no obvious physical effects feels a hostile force or a tingle, but cannot deduce the exact nature of the attack. Likewise, if a creature’s saving throw succeeds against a targeted spell you sense that the spell has failed.

Furthermore, all beneficial spells with the harmless tag are resisted with saving throws, not out-right:

Harmless: The spell is usually beneficial, not harmful, but a targeted creature can attempt a saving throw if it desires.

Still, consider that it is often unimportant to go into the details of the caster being unaware and confused by this decision. It may not be worth your time to explore this through roleplaying unless it serves some narrative purpose. If there is some interesting drama to be had by the target of the harmless spell keeping there motives for resisting secret, consider playing that out in the game; if it adds nothing to the game, just skip over it.

Southpaw Hare
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    Huh. I guess I'm disappointed by that advice for a house rule (which says, I think, in essence, If the DM determines that it will improve the story if a caster's targeted spell's saving throw's outcome remains unknown, the DM will conceal that outcome from the caster). In the answer's initial version, such a house rule makes sense, but with the rules actually saying that feedback is received, having the DM reject those rules outright—instead of accommodating them by claiming a unique curse or something—just makes the house rule seem like cover for the DM not knowing the actual rules. – Hey I Can Chan Oct 23 '17 at 19:55
  • @HeyICanChan It's true that that advice was originally for a different overall answer before I looked stuff up (I was researching while you were answering, so my intent was not to steal your answer BTW). However, I think it still fits. I think that this is a situation where it's very likely (not guaranteed, of course) that it just doesn't matter, in the same vein as rolling dice for unnecessary checks. – Southpaw Hare Oct 23 '17 at 20:04
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    See, that's the thing: I don't think the asker would've asked the question if the answer did not matter, so saying the asker can whimsically ignore that rule—which, I'm sorry, I view as absolutely vital for a caster's survival—is, I think, dangerous advice. (And don't worry about the so-called answer-theft—different voices are good.) – Hey I Can Chan Oct 23 '17 at 20:10
  • @HeyICanChan I have rephrased it as "it is often unimportant", with the implication that it can be, and the understanding that it probably is in this case. Do you consider that better? – Southpaw Hare Oct 23 '17 at 20:12
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    Yeah, mainly, but if I'm playing a caster, and I ask the DM, "Does the creature succeed on the saving throw against my cure light wounds spell?" and the DM says, "It doesn't matter," instead of, "You receive no feedback from your cure light wounds spell," I'ma still gonna think that's weird. – Hey I Can Chan Oct 23 '17 at 20:17
  • @HeyICanChan I'm considering it from the opposite POV. Consider a cleric casting a spell on an ally who makes some mechanical, strategic, non-roleplaying, out-of-game, combat decision to not accept a spell for whatever reason. It would then be silly for the cleric to be concerned in-character, wondering about his friend's motivations and the like. In this case, it's just a mechanical shorthand between allies, and they just want to move on. This seems like the most common case (IMO) of this rule coming up, although I admit not the most likely case for this OP in particular. – Southpaw Hare Oct 23 '17 at 20:28
  • The decision not to care in that case should really be up to the cleric, not the DM. I'm having trouble figuring out a play style where the DM actively misleading a player in order to effectively control the actions of their PC not for story, balance, character, artistic, or fun motivated reasons but just because they think proving truthful information will enable the player to waste group time if said player decides to do so is a good idea. – Please stop being evil Oct 24 '17 at 19:53
  • @thedarkwanderer I'm not suggesting anything of the sort. The GM should not mislead anyone. I'm just saying that the end result rarely matters, and it is an edgecase when it does. – Southpaw Hare Oct 24 '17 at 20:08
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A caster knows if a targeted spell's target succeeds on its saving throw

The Player's Handbook says on Succeeding on a Saving Throw says, "[I]f a creature's saving throw succeeds against a targeted spell... [the caster] sense[s] the spell has failed" (177).

The 4th-level Sor/Wiz spell remove curse [abjur] (PH 270-1) has as the entry Target: Creature or item touched, so that spell's caster knows if the subject succeeded on its saving throw.

(Note that the subject can't just outright reject the spell and is entitled to a saving throw against the spell despite the spell's harmless nature, the harmless tag on the spell's saving throw meaning only that "[t]he spell is usually beneficial, not harmful, but a targeted creature can attempt a saving throw if it desires" (PH 177).)

Hey I Can Chan
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