As the title says, can the spell purify food and drink make ocean water clean and drinkable?
The spell says:
All nonmagical food and drink within a 5-foot-radius sphere centered on a point of your choice within range is purified and rendered free of poison and disease.
Some in my group say you would purify the water, therefore it is drinkable, absent of salt. But others in my group argue that salt is not inherently bad, so while the spell may remove the impurities along with other poisons/diseases from ocean water, it wouldn't remove the salt.
Someone else brought up the argument that, for example, if someone had a cup of some juice, which would have a little bit of salt, the spell wouldn't have removed the salt then. Or what if someone was cooking and accidentally spilled extra salt in it – would the spell have removed the salt then?
So would the spell make ocean water clean and drinkable (RAW)?
Best Answer
The RAW is not clear enough. Unless you are an overly technical GM or player, stick to the spirit of the spell.
I believe the spirit of the spell is to render normally dangerous or unpalatable food and drink safe for consumption.
In that regard, seawater would make you sick. Once purified it would no longer do so since the impurifications like salt, sand and micro organisms would have been magically removed.
This would also mean casting it on rotting flesh makes it safe to eat (including any diseases the maggots and insects currently feasting on it may carry), and casting it on alcohol it would become plain water since I would consider alcohol a type of poison (sluggish thought and movement, dehydration, nausea and vomiting, all signs of being poisoned).