Man, today I got absolutely smacked by a Banishment spell in our game. My barbarian just poofed! Gone. Left the party hanging against a nasty demon. Felt completely helpless, sitting there watching like I was just spectating a Twitch stream.
So, right after the session, I hauled out my Player’s Handbook. Needed to crack this Banishment thing wide open. Here’s how my digging went down:
The Setup
Grabbed my character sheet, some dice, and a bunch of cheap plastic minis to stand in for the party and some bad guys. Cleared off the coffee table – my usual ‘lab’. Set it up like a mini battlefield.
The First Try (Epic Fail)
I pretended the evil wizard (a toy dinosaur, don’t judge) cast Banishment on my brave fighter mini (a plastic knight). Rolled a fake saving throw… and failed it. Okay, knight mini vanished. I picked it up, stuck it in my pocket. “Gone to a harmless demiplane,” I mumbled, reading straight from the book. Easy enough.
But then… the problem hit. I pretended like the ‘wizard’ lost concentration a few fake turns later. Pulled the knight mini out of my pocket. “He reappears right where he vanished!” I slapped him down hard on the table. It felt… sudden. Jarring. Like, what if the party moved? What if the fight moved? The spot he vanished from might be empty… or right over a pit? The book didn’t say! Had to scratch my head.
The Outsider Twist
Okay, let’s mix it up. Pretended the knight mini got Banished again. Failed the save. But this time, I decided my knight was actually from, like, the fiery Plane of Zog (made up, obviously, but an ‘outer plane’). Failed saving throw? Massive difference. Book says he gets sent back to Zorg! Not just a happy little demiplane timeout. He’s gone-gone. Back home. Needed another mini to replace him? Nope. He’s not popping back after 1 minute or when the wizard drops concentration. That’s permanent relocation. Boom. That explained why the demon banishing my barbarian hurt so much – she wasn’t from here.
Key Stuff I Figured Out The Hard Way
- Saving Throw = Armor Class for Magic: That Charisma save is clutch. Fail it? You’re toast, disappearing instantly on the spot.
- Concentration is King: The guy who banished you (the dinosaur wizard in my test) HAS to keep concentrating. If he gets smacked hard enough and loses focus? Poof! You’re back early, right where you left.
- Location, Location, Location: Popping back exactly where you vanished can be super dangerous. Tried dropping the knight mini where another mini now stood? Big mess. Rules don’t handle overlaps, felt janky.
- Home Plane vs. Tourist: This is the BIGGEST gotcha. Are you native to where the fight is happening? Or are you an outsider visiting?
Local? You get a boring, timeout demiplane trip. You’ll likely be back.
Outsider? You get a one-way express ticket home. Forever. Only way back is a plane shift or similar high-level magic.
What Actually Happened To My Barbarian
Turns out my big, angry character came from another plane originally. Failed the Charisma save? Instant deportation. Not chilling in a waiting room. Sent back to her home dimension. She wasn’t just waiting out a minute; she was ripped out of the fight completely. The wizard holding concentration just meant she stayed gone for the whole minute, sealing the deal. Explains why I felt so useless! No coming back to the spot without a major spell later.
Pulling out the minis and acting it out step-by-step was the only way I finally got it straight in my head. Way clearer than just reading the paragraph twenty times!