D&D 5E AoE spells: Do you play by RAW or RAI?

[Oofta]

I don't have a problem running the spells as written, it never occured to me to do otherwise. Not sure I see the point, different spells don't need to work exactly the same.

 

[Bacon Bits]

So a spell like moonbeam, cloudkill, or spiritual guardians doesn't do damage when cast over a creature.

I can't recall the last time one of these spells was cast. Far more common at our table is Wall of Fire, which explicitly burns the turn it's created and again at the end of a creature's turn.

 

[Blue]

An issue with area of effect spells keeps coming up in our campaign and I'm wondering how many people play by rules as intended:

"Our design intent for such spells is this: a creature enters the area of effect when the creature passes into it. Creating the area of effect on the creature or moving it onto the creature doesn’t count. If the creature is still in the area at the start of its turn, it is subjected to the area’s effect."

So a spell like moonbeam, cloudkill, or spiritual guardians doesn't do damage when cast over a creature. So you might not do any damage the first round you cast it depending what you roll for initiative.

I've never seen it played that way in any of the three campaigns I've played in or in about six months of weekly Adventurers League play with numerous DMs. So I'm curious if anybody actually plays that way?

This is clear in the spell descriptions. Moonbeam, Spiritual Guardian don't do damage when cast, only at the start of foe's turns. Not sure how it's possible to read it otherwise. So RAW (from the PHB) and RAI (listed above) are in sync. Anything else isn't playing by either of them.

 

[MarkB]

The only major downside to it taking effect on later turns is the pain of having your spell do absolutely nothing because, in the time between you casting it and the first target having their turn, another opponent smacks you with some damage and you roll terribly on the Concentration check.

But that's the risk you take when using spells of this nature.

 

[el-remmen]

I don't see the problem except maybe forgetting.

 

[FrogReaver]

"When a creature enters the spell's area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there,"

The question would be whether casting moonbeam on a creature counted as entering the spells area for the first time on a turn. I've always thought yes. Why do others think no?

 

[Mistwell]

"When a creature enters the spell's area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there,"

The question would be whether casting moonbeam on a creature counted as entering the spells area for the first time on a turn. I've always thought yes. Why do others think no?

Because you enter something for the first time on a turn, you have to be outside of it first. It didn't enter. It was always there when the spell was created.

 

[Charlaquin]

"When a creature enters the spell's area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there,"

The question would be whether casting moonbeam on a creature counted as entering the spells area for the first time on a turn. I've always thought yes. Why do others think no?

Because the creature didn’t enter the spell’s area. The caster created the spell’s area in a space where the creature already was.

Running it where casting the spell counts as the creature entering the space also causes the spell to do double its normal damage per round on the turn you cast it. Under RAI, the spell can only damage any given creature up to once on that creature’s turn - either when the creature moves into the space, or when the creature starts its turn already in the space. Under the other interpretation, you cast it over a creature’s space, that creature immediately takes damage, and it takes damage again at the start of its turn. That creature has now been damaged by the spell twice since its last turn. Twice as many times as it’s supposed to have done.

 

[FrogReaver]

Because you enter something for the first time on a turn, you have to be outside of it first. It didn't enter. It was always there when the spell was created.

I would say that not being in moonbeam and then suddenly being in moonbeam isn't a case of it always being there. You may still be right that it doesn't count as entering but I don't think this is the way to explain it.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

"Enter" is an action. You have to move in order to enter something. If someone turn on a spotlight directly above your head you do not enter the beam of light, it appears and you are in it.