[RPG] When do the extra turns from Time Stop happen

dnd-5espellstime

Time Stop says "you take 1d4 + 1 turns in a row". My question is, when do the additional turns happen? Here are two scenarios I can think of.

Scenario 1

The caster casts Time Stop. This immediately ends the caster's current turn and begins the first of the additional 1d4+1 turns. If this was the first action at the beginning of the caster's turn, he effectively loses any potential movement, bonus actions, or even additional actions (if he were hasted) on the turn he cast time stop.

Scenario 2

The caster casts Time Stop, which immediately freezes all other creatures, but the caster can still complete his current turn and all associated actions. The first of the additional 1d4+1 turns begin after the current turn is complete.

Best Answer

During your action

The simplest reading of the spell text, is that you take the extra turns as part of the action which is casting the spell, similar to what you would do if you cast any other instantaneous spell. This means that once you are done taking those turns, you are simply done taking that action and you may continue with the rest of your normal turn.

This can work

And congratulations on thinking up of a creative use of a buff spell. I like this unconventional application of Haste, as I love that spell myself. Of course, you would probably get more use out of this if you buffed your allies instead. :)

Does the casting of haste fail because the target is not willing anymore? Does the target stop being a willing target and the haste spell will end? Does the spell just work as usual?
- RAI: Yes, haste does end. If you take a look at this Sage Advice, Jeremy Crawford says that a spell which requires a willing target takes the creature's will to help fuel the spell. This implies that their ongoing consent is a requirement to keep the magic alive.
Can the caster stop concentrating on the haste spell during the target's turn to make it waste 2 turns?
- Yes, as you can stop concentrating at any time without expending any resources. This includes at the start of their turn.
- If the target becomes an invalid target, the spell ends on them. Haste says: "When the spell ends, the target can’t move or take actions until after its next turn, as a wave of lethargy sweeps over it." So they cannot take an action until the end of their next turn.
- Normally, you only lose 1 turn when Haste ends. This is because it typically ends at the end of your turn (after which it has fulfilled the full 1 minute duration), or you lose concentration of it during some other creature's turn (therefore there is no current turn to lose). But let's say you cast it on yourself, and you lose concentration on it at the start of your turn, you actually become lethargic immediately, and therefore lose that current turn as well as your own next turn.
- This means, if the target becomes unwilling at the end of their turn, taking into account the answer from #1, they only lose one turn due to the spell ending on them.

Making a Target Willing Against Their Will

The most unambiguous and cheapest means to do this is Charm Person. It does not require concentration and lasts for an hour. A creature charmed by this spell regards you as a friendly acquaintance.
- Depending on the DM, the fact they are friendly to you may not be enough to call them willing targets of the haste spell. In which case, you may have to make a Persuasion check to convince them to let their speed be bolstered by your magic, as you are friendly acquaintances, after all.
A more ambiguous -- but still reasonably valid -- method of making a creature willing is the Command spell. If you give it a command to become willing, then it becomes willing for 1 round without concentration. Commands that might accomplish this would be "submit", "surrender", "yield", or "succumb".
A high level spell which can definitely do the trick is Mass Suggestion, which is Suggestion but without concentration. So you can suggest to them to "become willing to allow me to enhance your speed with my magic".
Another spell which can technically do this, but is not really useful in combat, is Geas. If you command them to "always be willing to let me enhance your speed with my magic", then they must be willing targets of haste or take 5d10 psychic damage. If they become unwilling of their own accord, they take the damage and lose a turn.

It doesn't work for a target under Suggestion, Dominate X, Friends, etc

If you made them willing by using a concentration spell such as Suggestion/Dominate X/Friends, then when you cast haste on them, your first spell will end and there is no time of overlap. This means it is questionable if they are willing in the first place, and hence they may be invalid targets of haste even before haste has been cast on them.

It is completely up to your DM to decide if they still become willing after the two spells (charm and haste) switch up.

If both spells overlap for a short period of time, they lose only 1 turn

Let's say your DM ruled that they remained to be willing targets of haste even after you lost concentration of your Suggestion/Dominate X/Friends spell. So they come under the effects of haste. However, if they immediately become unwilling targets after haste has been cast, haste ends immediately. They lose only their next turn, because it is still your turn now while you are switching the charm and haste spells.

[RPG] Can you cast 2 spells at the same time

Yes, you can cast multiple spells at the same time and have both take effect

There are no rules against this

The rules are fairly clear about what is and is not allowed with regards to when and how spells can be cast. The restrictions on spellcasting timing come down to two major rule categories:

Action economy
Concentration

As long as you have the action available to cast the spell with all the appropriate rules that all spells must follow then you can cast it. There is no rule that restricts casting with respect to ongoing casting and certainly nothing that implies that it is in any way cancelled.

Sage Advice Compendium explicitly allows it and there appears to be no mistake

You quoted it and I understand being sceptical, but there is no reason to think that this is a mistake. It contradicts no rules and it is an official rules clarification document.

If counterspell did not work this way, there would be no way to counter a counterspell to one of your own spells. And the whole point of this Sage Advice was to clarify that counterspell is intended to allow this.

However, that is not the only example of casting spells at the same time.

Spells with casting times longer than 1 action/reaction is another place where this could happen

When you cast a spell with a casting time longer than a single action or reaction, you must spend your action each turn casting the spell, and you must maintain your concentration while you do so.

Take this case for example:

Cornelius begins casting simulacrum
Cornelius casts feather fall in response to someone falling
Cornelius continues casting simulacrum
After the casting time is completed, simulacrum takes effect

In this case, you do actually kind of cast two spells at the same time. And this should work with any type of spell cast as a reaction during the casting of a spell with a duration greater than 1 action or reaction. As long as the caster maintains concentration and uses their action every turn to continue casting the long spell, they can do whatever they want.

Note that this will not work with bonus action spells because the restriction on those means that only 1 action cantrips can be cast the same turn.