D&D 5E Can you hear the audible version of the Alarm spell if you are more than 60 feet away?

[pukunui]

I can't speak for the 2024 version, but the 2014 version does not say that. It simply says: "An audible alarm produces the sound of a hand bell for 10 seconds within 60 feet"

It makes no claim about what can and cannot hear that sound, only that sound is created.....just like the daylight spell simply creates light.

Yes, and what I am asking is: if you believe that someone should be able to hear the sound from more than 60 feet away, then what purpose does the "within 60 feet" clause serve? Why not just say "An audible alarm produces the sound of a hand bell for 10 seconds"? Why bother mentioning the space a sound fills if it can still be heard beyond that space?

Let's look at the Thunderwave and Knock spells, both versions of which are worded more clearly:

2014 Knock: "audible from as far away as 300 feet"
2024 Knock: "audible up to 300 feet away"

2014 Thunderwave: "audible within 300 feet"
2024 Thunderwave: "audible out to 300 feet"

Perhaps it would be clearer if Alarm stated that the sound was audible out to / within 60 feet. If this ever comes up during any of my games, this is how I will rule it.

 

[Smackpixi]

It produces the sound of a handbell, at the exact loudness of a handbell, everywhere within the 60 ft radius. Outside that radius, it sounds like a distant handbell. A normal handbell produces the sound from a single origin point, dissipating from that point. Alarm dissipates from all points 60ft from its origin. DM determine how far that ring goes.

 

[Kromanjon]

It produces the sound of a handbell, at the exact loudness of a handbell, everywhere within the 60 ft radius. Outside that radius, it sounds like a distant handbell. A normal handbell produces the sound from a single origin point, dissipating from that point. Alarm dissipates from all points 60ft from its origin. DM determine how far that ring goes.

I agree with this mostly as the spell says the sound is produced within the 60 ft. radius, however I would probably say that it is at a single point withing that radius, not the same sound throughout. Preferably the sound would emanate at the point where the alarm was set off.

 

[GMMichael]

what purpose does the "within 60 feet" clause serve?

It tells the rules lawyers that someone no more than 60 feet away from the source will hear the sound no matter what. Outside that, no guarantees.

produces the sound of a handbell, at the exact loudness of a handbell,

That exact loudness varies depending on where you are listening.

 

[TiQuinn]

It makes no claim about what can and cannot hear that sound, only that sound is created.....just like the daylight spell simply creates light.

What would be the practical effect of that interpretation on the game?

Is the sound harmful? No.

I can’t think of any other way in which saying the area is filled with sound matters.

The Daylight spell is different. The area in the light is lit. The area outside the light is dark. The range defines what is lit. There are rules for the game that define what the effects are of lighted areas and unlit areas. There are no rules that I recall for how far someone can hear sound.

 

[Reynard]

I think the spell is poorly written.

Shocker.

 

[Oofta]

I think the rules are designed to be simple and easy to implement, but like most things it's up to the people playing the game to decide how it really works. On the other hand the specific wording of the alarm spell does indicate that it's not sound emanating from the point the spell was cast on, just that every creature within a 60 foot radius hears a bell. It's like a fireball where just outside the radius you are unaffected because a fireball is not a Molotov cocktail, it's magical fire in a prescribed area.

I also don't see a problem ruling that you can hear it outside the 60 foot radius at whatever distance you think a handbell could be heard. Let's say you cast this spell in a very noisy area such as a busy city center with people hawking wares shouting over each other along with the normal din of the crowd. If the alarm goes off everyone within 60 feet hears it and if you're a dozen feet outside of that it's likely to be lost in the background noise. Cast the spell in a desolate desert plain with no wind or background noise and that bell could be heard quite a ways off.

My personal ruling is that it's the same as a fireball constricted to that 60 feet because there is no literal bell being rung, it's just what people hear. The real impact and reason to write the spell this way is the difference between everyone in the area hearing the alarm or just the person casting the spell. If you start saying that this implementation is unrealistic or poorly written, than core assumptions of how D&D works are poorly written.

 

[Stalker0]

Yes, and what I am asking is: if you believe that someone should be able to hear the sound from more than 60 feet away, then what purpose does the "within 60 feet" clause serve? Why not just say "An audible alarm produces the sound of a hand bell for 10 seconds"? Why bother mentioning the space a sound fills if it can still be heard beyond that space?

Let's look at the Thunderwave and Knock spells, both versions of which are worded more clearly:

2014 Knock: "audible from as far away as 300 feet"
2024 Knock: "audible up to 300 feet away"

2014 Thunderwave: "audible within 300 feet"
2024 Thunderwave: "audible out to 300 feet"

Perhaps it would be clearer if Alarm stated that the sound was audible out to / within 60 feet. If this ever comes up during any of my games, this is how I will rule it.

I agree this is the best argument for the interpretation of "you can hear it within 60 feet and not outside that radius".

 

[pukunui]

I agree this is the best argument for the interpretation of "you can hear it within 60 feet and not outside that radius".

Thanks. I think what our disagreement earlier really boils down to is just that the Alarm spell is poorly worded and is therefore open to multiple interpretations, unlike Thunderwave and Knock.

 

[el-remmen]

I think going by what is written I'd lean towards only those within 60 feet can hear the sound and I think @Reynard's point about alerting the dungeon is a good one - though I can't help but also think, "spells are not necessarily designed with the dungeon in mind."

But thinking about the spell in terms of what I think it is supposed to accomplish or at least how it might be used: There is a silent alarm function and it only works for you, but the more traditional alarm function might be severely limited if you have to be within 60 feet of it to know it is going off. In other words, if you and your allies (or anyone who cares) can be nearby to guard the alarmed thing anyway, it is potentially not as useful, if you can go about what you are doing beyond that distance, but still hurry back if you hear it (or hope someone else who happens to hear it intervenes) it functions more like an alarm.

If you are using it to guard your campsite while you sleep, the bell would probably wake you up, but not being able to be heard too far beyond means you aren't inviting even more trouble for a visit to your camp.

I guess it comes down to if you are using the spell to guard yourself or something else.