Spell questions

TaranTheWanderer · Mar 1, 2019

I want to hammer out how these spells work. Thanks in advance:

1) Slow: Does it go through walls - no line of effect/sight. What if a door is open, can it go around corners? If it goes through walls, I assume you get cover.

Edit: to clarify, if I cast it in a room that is 15 feet wide and there are people in an adjacent room divided with a wall, are the people in the next room also affected.

2) Storm Sphere: If you don't have line of sight to a target, can you still choose an enemy to hit with the lightning? If not, does it just hit a random person, or are you unable to will the lightning at all?

A 20-foot-radius sphere of whirling air springs into existence, centered on a point you choose within range. The sphere remains for the spell's duration. Each creature in the sphere when it appears or that ends its turn there must succeed on a Strength saving throw or take 2d6 bludgeoning damage. The sphere's space is difficult terrain.

Until the spell ends, you can use a bonus action on each of your turns to cause a bolt of lightning to leap from the center of the sphere toward one creature you choose within 60 feet of the center. Make a ranged spell attack. You have advantage on the attack roll if the target is in the sphere. On a hit, the target takes 4d6 lightning damage.

Creatures within 30 feet of the sphere have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks made to listen.

DND_Reborn · Mar 1, 2019

I would think since the targets have to be creatures the caster chooses, if the caster can't see them (around a corner, under total cover, etc) then they can't be targeted. They would still take the bludgeoning damage from Storm Sphere, though. Also, the lightning only hits a target if you use your bonus action to will it, otherwise no lightning.

Swarmkeeper · Mar 1, 2019

Here are my initial thoughts:

Slow: It affects "six creatures of your choice in a 40-foot cube within range". If you don't know there is a creature on the other side of the wall, it would not affect them because you couldn't accurately choose them. If you did know they were there behind the wall, the spell does not seem to strictly prohibit that creature from being one of the chosen.

Storm Sphere: The spell calls for you to "Make a ranged spell attack." If you don't have line of sight on the creature, that would imply that they are behind total cover - and therefore cannot be targeted. However, one might argue that, even if your character does not have line of sight, as long as the center of the storm sphere has "line of sight" on the target, you can make the attack. I'd probably rule the latter.

77IM · Mar 1, 2019

PHB p.204 said:
A Clear Path to the Target
To target something, you must have a clear path to it,
so it can’t be behind total cover.

...
...
...

Areas of Effect
...

A spell’s effect expands in straight lines from the point
of origin. If no unblocked straight line extends from the
point of origin to a location within the area of effect, that
location isn’t included in the spell’s area. To block one of
these imaginary lines, an obstruction must provide total
cover, as explained in chapter 9.

To answer your specific questions: No; no; you can either choose a different target or forego taking a bonus action to shoot lightning that turn.

BluejayJunior · Mar 1, 2019

Agree with 77IM. If something has total cover, ie a wall, then it isn't affected by spells. Unless there is something in the spell that specifies that it ignores that restricition. (Not sure if there actually are any spells that ignore this, though)

5ekyu · Mar 1, 2019

Only thing i would add is this - regarding the open door.

You could cast thru an open door and center the spell AoE in that other room.
The line of effect would then go from that point to the others that can be reached without total cover.
Unless the spell requires "that you see" then all you need to do is know they are there - which is more of a hidden instead of sight - and especially if they are active and doing stuff (not hiding" they would count as a target you can choose.)

The line -of-effect from the caster to the target for AOE is not important, just the line of effect from point of AoE to target.

TaranTheWanderer · Mar 1, 2019

Thanks for the input. I was dming today and didn't have time to read the spells thoroughly.

I didn't allow the slow to affect the people on the other side of the wall even though the door was open. So, even though they were in the area (if the spell spilled in through the door), the caster could not perceive them and they, therefore, could not be targeted.

Storm of Vengeance: The storm was cast in front of a building but the area had spilled in to an open area at the front of the building. The caster was at an angle, off to the side, that she could not see in to the building. I let her use the bonus action but I rolled randomly to see who would be hit (there was allies in the building).

In future, I would allow them to attack but use the rules for invisibility(hidden). If the target is in the area effect of the spell, but the spellcaster can't see, I'd let them 1) blindly choose which square to target and; 2) if the target is in the chosen square, the spell attacks at disadvantage.

Harzel · Mar 2, 2019

TaranTheWanderer said:
I want to hammer out how these spells work. Thanks in advance:

1) Slow: Does it go through walls - no line of effect/sight. What if a door is open, can it go around corners? If it goes through walls, I assume you get cover.

Edit: to clarify, if I cast it in a room that is 15 feet wide and there are people in an adjacent room divided with a wall, are the people in the next room also affected.

2) Storm Sphere: If you don't have line of sight to a target, can you still choose an enemy to hit with the lightning? If not, does it just hit a random person, or are you unable to will the lightning at all?

@77IM has the basic answer. Just to elaborate on the issue of going around corners: since some spells (e.g. Fireball, Incendiary Cloud, Fog Cloud, Stinking Cloud) specify that their effects spread around corners, I think the assumption has to be that spells that do not have that in their description obey the general rule and do not spread around corners.