Some opponents can become quite annoying in Dungeons & Dragons – especially when you just can’t get rid of them. A player is being celebrated by the community for his approach to tackle the problem.
What does the player suggest? User Mathota shares on Reddit his creative approach to finally get rid of immortal adversaries in Dungeons & Dragons. Especially against opponents that regenerate a lot or resurface once they are taken down, heavier artillery often needs to be deployed.
He therefore suggests doing the following:
- Cast “Flesh to Stone” on the opponent
- When petrified, cast “Transmute Rock” and turn the opponent into mush
- Then, use “Purify Food and Drink” to draw the earth out of the mush
- Simply drink the remaining water
This way, the opponent cannot regenerate or revert back. However, this solution would require that the adversary is not immune to petrification or can resist the spell in the first place.
It can certainly be discussed whether this approach is even permissible and whether the dungeon master will allow the solution. Because “Transmute Rock” only works on non-magical stone, for example. Does an enchanted enemy, who has turned into stone, count as magical? Or whether “Purify Food and Drink” could even turn mush back into water is a point that might not be accepted by everyone.
Nevertheless, around 8,300 upvotes and 333 comments (as of October 8, 2025, 11:30 AM) celebrate his idea and discuss what other solutions might exist.
With the probably most famous lich from Dungeons & Dragons, this would likely not work:
“Do you want to be possessed? Because that’s how you get possessed.”
What does the community say about his idea? The users under his thread celebrate his idea and also discuss whether they would allow it or not. They are divided in opinion, based mainly on the previously mentioned discussion, primarily whether “Transmute Rock” or “Purify Food and Drink” would even work.
In general, they agree that this approach is rather unlikely to be feasible. Other users therefore suggest slightly different methods to get rid of the annoying opponent:
- Petrify the opponent, smash them into small pieces, and distribute the pieces everywhere to make reassembly unlikely.
- Knock out the opponent, cook them, and feed them.
- Let the barbarian eat the mush, alternatively also the opponent from stone.
- Specifically turn the opponent into rock salt and sink them in the sea to dissolve.
- After petrification, use “Stone Shape” to alter the stone so that the immortal is no longer a threat and then leave them petrified.
- Instead of drinking the water at the end, simply cast “Destroy Water”.
Others see Mathota’s solution as a solution but would use this situation as a dungeon master to still enforce consequences. Again, other users simply celebrate his idea and would do the same:
- lemons_of_doubt writes: “Do you want to be possessed? Because that’s how you get possessed.”
- Sampleswift interjects: “And then the immortal villain succeeds in escaping from the drinker with waterbending…”
- Xecluriab states: “If an immortal fails the saving throw against Flesh to Stone, they deserve to be turned into urine.”
- chrisred244 jokes: “And thus, my friend, you get evil magical kidney stones.”
In general, the entire thread is to be seen with a wink, as it is highly unlikely that such a sequence can be carried out against a really powerful opponent.
Still, it can serve as inspiration, and as always, it depends on your group and the dungeon master how strictly the rules should be adhered to allow for epic or funny moments.
If you’re looking for a suitable villain to try this out and get creative, you should rather avoid some particularly powerful representatives. You can find 10 strong opponents that you should avoid with such ideas here in our list: Dungeons & Dragons: 10 powerful villains you should know
