D&D 5E Chill Touch and Cover

[Werebat]

Last night, one of my players argued that the ranged spell attack granted by the Chill Touch cantrip ignores cover, because the hand appears "next to" the target. There was a certain logic to that, but it seemed to me that if the spell's attack ignored cover, it would mention that somewhere in the spell description. Any official ruling on this? Or even just opinions?

 

[delericho]

You just couldn't choose a spell that was in Basic, could you?

My take: if it has an attack roll, cover applies normally. The Wizard's inability to see the target will impact on his ability to guide the touch to hit it.

But that's just my take - I'd be happy to be corrected.

 

[Baumi]

Spells that require an Attack Roll just work like Ranged Weapons .. they have to account for Cover and have Disadvantage in Melee. But they can also Crit.

Spells with a Save ignore Cover and Melee, but cannot crit (and are not as satisfying because the enemy rolls the die ).

 

[slaughterj]

Spells that require an Attack Roll just work like Ranged Weapons .. they have to account for Cover and have Disadvantage in Melee. But they can also Crit.

Spells with a Save ignore Cover and Melee, but cannot crit (and are not as satisfying because the enemy rolls the die ).

Spells with a save ignore cover (other than total cover of course) EXCEPT for spells with a Dex save. Per Cover in the Phb 196, 1/2 cover gives +2 to Dex saves, 3/4 cover gives +5 to Dex saves.

 

[Jaelommiss]

Spells that require an Attack Roll just work like Ranged Weapons .. they have to account for Cover and have Disadvantage in Melee. But they can also Crit.

Spells with a Save ignore Cover and Melee, but cannot crit (and are not as satisfying because the enemy rolls the die ).

Cover also applies to Dex saves unless specifically excluded, such as with the Sacred Flame cantrip. Everything else is correct.

 

[Baumi]

Interesting, a quite important detail that my groups missed so far. Thanks!

 

[the Jester]

Your player is mistaking the flavor text for rules text. It doesn't matter where the hand appears; what matters is whether the target has cover from you. You're making the attack, and nothing in the spell says "ignores cover". Also, it's a cantrip, for goodness sake.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Agree with what everyone else said. After all, I believe the spell still requires line of sight.

Also, why isn’t there a “Netflix and Chill Touch” meme yet?

 

[Shiroiken]

I never liked the visual description of a hand appearing. I like the idea of the necromancer reaching out to touch the target as if they were adjacent, and the magic draws the life force across the space between.

 

[Li Shenron]

Last night, one of my players argued that the ranged spell attack granted by the Chill Touch cantrip ignores cover, because the hand appears "next to" the target. There was a certain logic to that, but it seemed to me that if the spell's attack ignored cover, it would mention that somewhere in the spell description. Any official ruling on this? Or even just opinions?

You have two options:

- follow the rules > Chill Touch requires a ranged attack so it's subject to cover

- follow the fluff > decide by yourself if cover should or shouldn't apply

There's nothing wrong with overruling stuff based on fluff, but if you agree with your players to go this way, be prepared for a lot more cases which will spark arguments at the table.