D&D 5E Creature Sense Through The Hut

[beaumontsebos]

Yet another question to you all regarding the power of Leomund's Tiny Hut.

The group is being chased by aberrations that have Creature Sense: ...is aware of the presence of creatures within 2 miles of it that have an Intelligence score of 4 or higher. It knows the distance and direction to each creature, as well as each creature's Intelligence score, but can't sense anything else about it. A creature protected by a mind blank spell, a nondetection spell, or similar magic can't be perceived in this manner.

Does this power extend through a Leomund's Tiny Hut? Hut: Spells and other magical effects can’t extend through the dome or be cast through it.

In the game I ruled that Creature Sense works through the Hut. The power does not say it is magical. And the Creature Sense description mentions spells that can foil it, but I would not consider Leomund's Hut to be similar.

What do you think?

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

It works. It doesn’t make you immune to divinations or other senses.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

I'd say, based on the spell description, Leomund's Tiny Hut only blocks vision going in and spells going in or out. Creature Sense, or other non-visual senses, for that matter, can still perceive that there are people inside the hut.

 

[Shiroiken]

From it's description, I'd consider Creature Sense a magical effect, so I'd probably have it be blocked. YMMV.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

From it's description, I'd consider Creature Sense a magical effect, so I'd probably have it be blocked. YMMV.

It only blocks effects through the barrier and it’s a dome so it doesn’t have a floor. Plenty of room for senses to circumnavigate. You can also scry and clairvoyance and teleport and dim door into a Tiny Hut

 

[Shiroiken]

It only blocks effects through the barrier and it’s a dome so it doesn’t have a floor. Plenty of room for senses to circumnavigate. You can also scry and clairvoyance and teleport and dim door into a Tiny Hut

While I would normally agree with you, it's been "clarified" by Crawford that it does in fact have a floor.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

not to get into it too deeply but I hardly doubt Tiny Hut is a Better spell than Private Mansion

 

[James Gasik]

While I would normally agree with you, it's been "clarified" by Crawford that it does in fact have a floor.

Which makes no sense. A hemisphere would only have a floor if it was solid- cut a hollow sphere in half and show me the floor, thanks.

 

[beaumontsebos]

So I think I'm going to stick with my initial ruling on this one. Creature Sense makes no mention of it being a magical effect. I liken it to just another "sense" that certain aberrations have.

That said, there were some comments here that went against my current interpretation of what Leomund's Hut would and would not block.

In my interpretation, anybody in the Hut would be immune from divination magic, including scry and clairvoyance. I also ruled that magical teleportation, including dimension door, can't penetrate the hut.

The key phrase I hang these rulings on is: "Spells and other magical effects can’t extend through the dome or be cast through it."

Am I wrong? If so, what's the argument against my ruling?

 

[Mannahnin]

It's not a spell or magical effect "extend(ing) through the dome or passing through it".

That phrase is a clarification of what the force field does. It blocks stuff from passing through the field/wall. A divination doesn't pass through the field. Neither does a teleporting creature. If a spell requires Line of Effect, it makes sense that the wall would block it. Neither of these kinds of magics requires Line of Effect.

Nothing in the spell description says or implies that it blocks divination or scrying. Nondetection is a 3rd level spell in its own right. Giving the hut the properties of Nondetection as an unstated addition to everything else it does seems unwarranted.