[RPG] When a Glyph of Warding is triggered, does the caster know

dnd-5espells

Let's say an explosive glyph was set in front of a house of someone that might be attacked late in the night. Condition set that any hostile creature to the person that passes by triggers it.

So nighttime comes and sure enough a dumb assassin who doesn't check for magic or anything stumbles onto the glyph.

If I was the one who created the glyph, and I was across the town, would I know it was triggered?

I know there is the option of storing a spell like Sending in a glyph and having it communicate that way. But I was thinking that use to be more of sending someone within town a message if the trigger happens while we're far out adventuring.

Best Answer

Only if you are close enough to hear the explosion / spell effect

Otherwise, the glyph's spell efect, or explosive runes, will go off and you won't be alerted by the glyph spell itself. Since you specify "across town" the most general answer is: no, you won't hear it.

  • An exception: if you had cast a spell glyph with Thunderwave, for example, and were sleeping withing 300' of the glyph area, you'd hear the boom of Thunderwave

The mechanic you are thinking of (alert the caster) is part of the first level alarm spell.

A mental alarm alerts you with a ping in your mind if you are within 1 mile of the warded area. This ping awakens you if you are sleeping.

Glyph of Warding does not have any descriptive text like that.

Can I combine the two?

Sure, in some cases. You can set an alarm spell with a similar trigger to your glyph of warding if the glyph is triggered by a creature.

Until the spell ends, an alarm alerts you whenever a Tiny or smaller creature touches or enters the warded area. (Alarm)

For a more complicated glyph trigger, the two may not work together.

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