D&D 5E Charm Person ends if caster does something harmful to target. Is hurting the target's ally harmful?

[ECMO3]

You might start seeing the caster as a friendly acquaintance, but once they start attacking your allies no matter how much you protest, your own feelings become suspicious and that would arguably become an Insight check (with a reasonable DC) to realize you've been affected by something strange, especially when you can't remember how you ever became acquaintances.

I would rule the magic overcomes that. Any time you are trying to reason through the use of magic, the magic always wins because it is by its very nature beyond the laws of science, logic and physics. You are literally altering the perceptions of the charmed guy.

Now he may not like you attacking his friends (or his baby in the example above) and he might shut the door on you or feed them a potion of healing or try to pick them up and run away from you but that does not change how the magic is altering your thoughts and actions. You can probably even grapple him to stop him in the same way you might grab your raging out of control teen if he is throwing a tantrum.

Regardless of his actions to others he is still a "friendly acquintance" (despite the fact your baby is spitted on his sword) and you can't target him with harmful affects (because you have the charmed condition.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

The issue is that the 'friendly acquittance' bit doesn't really jive 'can't attack' bit in some situations. If my 'friendly acquittance' would try to hurt someone I would try to restrain them, if they tried to hurt my partner or my dogs I would punch them!

I would regard the spell as effectively doing multiple things.

Its not that you can't attack/target the caster because you regard them as a friendly acquaintance.
Its that the spell makes you regard them as a friendly acquaintance and does not let you attack/target them as a separate effect.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

I would regard the spell as effectively doing multiple things.

Its not that you can't attack/target the caster because you regard them as a friendly acquaintance.
Its that the spell makes you regard them as a friendly acquaintance and does not let you attack/target them as a separate effect.

So how does that additional effect feel like to the target and how do they not realise that they're magically controlled?