Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Clarification about Flaming Sphere
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Retreater" data-source="post: 8713440" data-attributes="member: 42040"><p>One of my players emailed me to appeal my ruling about Flaming Sphere. Maybe I'm doing it wrong? Maybe he's wanting more than the spell should offer? Maybe this has been definitively answered by WotC (though I couldn't find it)? </p><p>I'll address the situation that made him question my handling of the spell and post the text of his email below. </p><p></p><p><strong>The game situation...</strong></p><p></p><p>The party was fighting 6 wights in a 35' x 70' room. There were 5 NPCs and 5 party members, so it was a little tight quarters. The wizard dropped a flaming sphere next to a wight (who was engaged with the party's monk and rogue) and wanted to ram the creature with it. I said that meant moving it into the wight's space, where it would stop once it made contact with a living creature. At that point, the monk and rogue would be required to move away before the end of their next turn or be subject to the 2d6 fire damage (since they would both be within 5 ft of the sphere). </p><p></p><p>You can read the player's email below, but basically he is saying the the ramming is an attack from the sphere and doesn't require moving it. </p><p></p><p>My thought is that if it were like an attack like a "minotaur ramming" or a spiritual weapon strike, it would be an attack roll - not a saving throw. The "saving throw" indicates that it is occupying the same area as the creature (not unlike a fireball or lightning bolt). </p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>The player's email...</strong></p><p>"I’d like to appeal on (<a href="https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Flaming%20Sphere#content" target="_blank">Flaming Sphere | D&D 5th Edition on Roll20 Compendium</a>) occupying the same space as a monster.</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The sphere must originate in an unoccupied space.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">This implies it has a physical-ness. If it was able to occupy the same space why must it originate in unoccupied space?</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ramming verses occupying<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ramming the sphere is more akin to minotaur ramming a player in that they don’t both occupy the same space</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ramming implies physical-ness otherwise it would only occupy</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The sphere is 5m diameter<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Unless the monster is versed in clown geometry, that’s the entire square.</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The spell loses substantial damage.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The monster is effectively protected from players who don’t want to end their turn within 5 feet or risk damage</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Not ramming means the monster needs to merely move to ignore the sphere’s damage."</li> </ul></li> </ul></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Retreater, post: 8713440, member: 42040"] One of my players emailed me to appeal my ruling about Flaming Sphere. Maybe I'm doing it wrong? Maybe he's wanting more than the spell should offer? Maybe this has been definitively answered by WotC (though I couldn't find it)? I'll address the situation that made him question my handling of the spell and post the text of his email below. [B]The game situation...[/B] The party was fighting 6 wights in a 35' x 70' room. There were 5 NPCs and 5 party members, so it was a little tight quarters. The wizard dropped a flaming sphere next to a wight (who was engaged with the party's monk and rogue) and wanted to ram the creature with it. I said that meant moving it into the wight's space, where it would stop once it made contact with a living creature. At that point, the monk and rogue would be required to move away before the end of their next turn or be subject to the 2d6 fire damage (since they would both be within 5 ft of the sphere). You can read the player's email below, but basically he is saying the the ramming is an attack from the sphere and doesn't require moving it. My thought is that if it were like an attack like a "minotaur ramming" or a spiritual weapon strike, it would be an attack roll - not a saving throw. The "saving throw" indicates that it is occupying the same area as the creature (not unlike a fireball or lightning bolt). [B]The player's email...[/B] "I’d like to appeal on ([URL='https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Flaming%20Sphere#content']Flaming Sphere | D&D 5th Edition on Roll20 Compendium[/URL]) occupying the same space as a monster. [LIST] [*]The sphere must originate in an unoccupied space. [LIST] [*]This implies it has a physical-ness. If it was able to occupy the same space why must it originate in unoccupied space? [/LIST] [*]Ramming verses occupying [LIST] [*]Ramming the sphere is more akin to minotaur ramming a player in that they don’t both occupy the same space [*]Ramming implies physical-ness otherwise it would only occupy [/LIST] [*]The sphere is 5m diameter [LIST] [*]Unless the monster is versed in clown geometry, that’s the entire square. [/LIST] [*]The spell loses substantial damage. [LIST] [*]The monster is effectively protected from players who don’t want to end their turn within 5 feet or risk damage [*]Not ramming means the monster needs to merely move to ignore the sphere’s damage." [/LIST] [/LIST] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Clarification about Flaming Sphere
Top