[RPG] Can the Crown of Madness spell be twinned

dnd-5emetamagicsorcererspells

I'm looking to build a sorcerer focused on the Twinned Spell metamagic and which spells I can use with it (e.g. Haste!).

Looking around, I came across these tweets from Jeremy Crawford stating that the dragon's breath spell cannot be twinned. From my understanding, this is because the effects of it can damage multiple people. Contrary to spells like haste, which can also damage multiple targets with the additional attack, this spell explicitly states the second set of targets.

The dragon's breath spell reads (XGtE, p. 154):

Until the spell ends, the creature can use an action to exhale energy of the chosen type in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 3d6 damage of the chosen type on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

I was wondering what other spells on my list are affected by this, and I came across crown of madness, whose description states the following (PHB, p. 229):

The charmed target must use its action before moving on each of its turns to make a melee attack against a creature other than itself that you mentally choose.

So this spell also has a second set of targets explicit in its description. This led me to this question:

Can crown of madness be twinned?

Note: While researching this, I found this similar question on RPG.SE about twinning the enemies abound spell. I think my question is different, because in crown of madness, the spellcaster chooses the other creature that is damaged – so it seems more of a direct target of the spell than in enemies abound, which simply makes the creature perceive all creatures as enemies. So I do think this is not a duplicate.

Best Answer

RAW: Yes, Crown of Madness can be Twinned

The text for Twinned Spell:

Twinned Spell

When you cast a spell that targets only one creature and doesn’t have a range of self, you can spend a number of sorcery points equal to the spell’s level to target a second creature in range with the same spell (1 sorcery point if the spell is a cantrip).

And the relevant text of Crown of Madness (emphasis added):

Crown of Madness

Range: 120 feet

One humanoid of your choice that you can see within range must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become charmed by you for the duration. While the target is charmed in this way, a twisted crown of jagged iron appears on its head, and a madness glows in its eyes.

The charmed target must use its action before moving on each of its turns to make a melee attack against a creature other than itself that you mentally choose. The target can act normally on its turn if you choose no creature or if none are within its reach.

On your subsequent turns, you must use your action to maintain control over the target, or the spell ends. Also, the target can make a Wisdom saving throw at the end of each of its turns. On a success, the spell ends.

Twinned spell requires a target of only one creature and a range that is not self. Crown of Madness fits this perfectly. Note that it refers to "the target" (singular) multiple times, but it refers to making the attack against "a creature", not "another target creature".

As mentioned in your question, Jeremy Crawford has ruled differently for a similar spell, but his tweets do not supersede Rules As Written.

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