D&D 5E Wall of Force and spells

[Hussar]

Order of the Scribes subclass would work well for this. They can cast through the book.

Although I would argue that such a character isn’t really blind anymore. They are doing an end run around the blindness and gaining new “eyes” of a sort.

 

[Maxperson]

Although I would argue that such a character isn’t really blind anymore. They are doing an end run around the blindness and gaining new “eyes” of a sort.

I think the limited aspect of it, coupled with it being dispellable causes it to be a middle ground. It's not nearly as good as sight, but much better than just being blind.

 

[Raiztt]

So how does a blind character - i.e. a character blind from birth - ever become a viable caster? Or can't they?

They can't.

 

[cbwjm]

They can't.

Which does kill some character concepts though I don't think it is a huge deal. Something like a sorcerer as a blind Oracle is a cool concept, but they'd probably need so many changes to be viable that it'd be like they weren't even blind.

 

[James Gasik]

Which does kill some character concepts though I don't think it is a huge deal. Something like a sorcerer as a blind Oracle is a cool concept, but they'd probably need so many changes to be viable that it'd be like they weren't even blind.

Sort of like how Pathfinder 1e handled them; "oh you're blind, but you can see everything within x amount of feet". Or like how Daredevil's power set is "he's super-not-really-blind"!

 

[cbwjm]

Sort of like how Pathfinder 1e handled them; "oh you're blind, but you can see everything within x amount of feet". Or like how Daredevil's power set is "he's super-not-really-blind"!

Yeah, it ends up just becoming a complication that might occasionally affect them rather than any real hindrance. Like, it might come up when someone is yelling at Daredevil to cut the red wire, but otherwise not much of a hindrance.

 

[rmcoen]

Off topic: Champions ruleset: A Disadvantage that isn't disadvantageous, isn't a disadvantage; it's a Quirk. "I can't see... but I can perceive the world around me as well as a sighted person" = Not Blind.

On topic: So the end result of 7 pages seems to be: "Leave logic out, this is MAGIC and this is D&D. Total cover = no targeting. Light/sight/keywords irrelevant. Certain specific spells, due to certain specific wording [even though this is D&D, and words are inconsistently used], negate this."

Having said that, I'm surprised no one said anything about magic missile. "You create three glowing darts of magical force. Each dart hits a creature of your choice that you can see within range." I've often thought this bypasses the wall of force. The missiles appear at the creature (not target) and hit them. No traveling of intervening space...

 

[James Gasik]

Again, the argument is, you need to target Magic Missile, and by providing total cover, Wall of Force prevents that...

 

[Oofta]

Off topic: Champions ruleset: A Disadvantage that isn't disadvantageous, isn't a disadvantage; it's a Quirk. "I can't see... but I can perceive the world around me as well as a sighted person" = Not Blind.

On topic: So the end result of 7 pages seems to be: "Leave logic out, this is MAGIC and this is D&D. Total cover = no targeting. Light/sight/keywords irrelevant. Certain specific spells, due to certain specific wording [even though this is D&D, and words are inconsistently used], negate this."

Having said that, I'm surprised no one said anything about magic missile. "You create three glowing darts of magical force. Each dart hits a creature of your choice that you can see within range." I've often thought this bypasses the wall of force. The missiles appear at the creature (not target) and hit them. No traveling of intervening space...

In order to target with any spell you need to have a clear path to the target. If you do not have a clear path to the target, it will also have full cover.

 

[Lanefan]

Having said that, I'm surprised no one said anything about magic missile. "You create three glowing darts of magical force. Each dart hits a creature of your choice that you can see within range." I've often thought this bypasses the wall of force. The missiles appear at the creature (not target) and hit them. No traveling of intervening space...

That seems to be a glaring oversight in the write-up. The missiles originate from the caster.