D&D 5E Can a spell be cast to cause non lethal damage?

[gyor]

I could see Phanrasmal Force dealing none lethal damage.

 

[tomBitonti]

Would there be a difference of using a melee attack to deliver a spell and the effect of the spell itself? If an ability changed a spell from a ranged spell to a touch or melee spell (or the reverse), should that change the lethality of the spell?

Thx!
TomB

 

[Eltab]

PC: Cast Sleep instead of Fireball; keep a rope, or a pair of handcuffs, in your backpack; be swiftly moving on the battlefield. (Or ask the Rogue to help you out?)
Use your imagination and the List(s) of Gear in the rulebook.

DM: Break out the detailed map and the minis, set everything up, and ask the PC "Where are you placing that Fireball?" Even if you normally run more Theater of the Mind style.

PC: Some types of Poison could be non-lethal (paralyzed? unconscious?); but if the poison spell is a zone attack, everybody in the zone gets it, not just the chosen lucky guy.
DM (me): I'd still prod you to explain why you never non-lethally poisoned all the other guys you cast that spell on before today. (Ask after the fight, not in the middle.) This can be a character-development opportunity!

PC: Bigby's Forceful Hand could be cast as a grappler rather than a crusher.

PC: Do you know how the Medicine rules and the Death rules work? You might be able to concoct something...
Talk to your DM about a potion or salve or something that, mechanically, allows the target to auto-save Death checks. Prepare some ahead of next time.

I'm away from books and cannot think of anything else off the top of my head.

 

[sydbar]

I'm sorry but requiring a feat to do non-lethal with a spell is a huge requirement. Feats are a very limited resource, and they're already competing with stat bumps as it is.

It works for a mage bounty hunter or pacifist mage!

 

[Caliban]

There can be a feat where you can deal non lethal damage, just like there was in 3.5. I actually made 3.5 mage that acted as a bounty hunter and took the feat that allowed you to deal non lethal damage with damage dealing spells!

I'd also allow a sorcerer to select "Nonlethal Damage" as a metamagic option (costing 1 Sorcery point, can be used when you reduce a target to 0 HP). However, metamagic options are even rarer than feats, so not sure how many would actually take this.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

The thing about feats is that they are big. A feat could give you the option to convert spell damage to non-lethal as one of its benefits, but it would need to provide another one or two benefits also.