D&D 5E Does Leomund's Tiny Hut block Scrying?

[TaranTheWanderer]

"or be cast through it" would be the decider for me. No, in my games you will not be able to scry or teleport from one side to the other as extend and cast thru seem to be pretty much all inclusive enough for me.

To be devil's advocate, you can't cast through a brick wall either but you can teleport to the other side.

 

[dave2008]

The area of effect is a hemisphere. A hemisphere has a 'floor'. Crawford acknowledged that he blew it with his initial ruling, and that the hemisphere description means that it does have a floor.

Geometrically I don't think that is strictly true. A sphere is generally just the surface and thus a hemisphere would just be the surface, excluding the floor (as that would not be half a sphere).

"Like a circle in a two-dimensional space, a sphere is defined mathematically as the set of points that are all at the same distance r from a given point, but in a three-dimensional space."

The set of points is the surface, not the volume inside. Thus the hemisphere is one-half the surface of the sphere and does not have a floor, as it is not a solid.

EDIT: Thus, I would say any spell that doesn't require line of sight / effect can bypass the Tiny Hut.

 

[Leatherhead]

That depends on what you mean by "block".
Firstly, we have to consider that the spell Scrying has a range of "Self", which means the spell isn't really being cast into the Hut.
However, the Hut has a 10' radius and Scrying creates a sensor 10' away from the target of the spell.
This means, when Scrying is cast on a target inside the Hut, you see an opaque dome that the target happens to be inside of, but can otherwise look around the area.
It's also worth noting that Leomund’s Tiny Hut does not block sound.
Therefore, we can conclude that Scrying works at about 75% effectiveness against Leomund’s Tiny Hut. You can see their location, and evesdrop on the target, but cannot see the target.

 

[jgsugden]

Geometrically I don't think that is strictly true. A sphere is generally just the surface and thus a hemisphere would just be the surface, excluding the floor (as that would not be half a sphere).

Google the definition of a hemispherical shape.

"Hemispheres are all around us. In math, a hemisphere is defined as a three-dimensional shape that's half of a sphere with one flat, circular side. A sphere, on the other hand, is a nearly perfectly round three-dimensional shape.Sep 25, 2017"

https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-hemisphere-in-math-definition-example.html

 

[Harzel]

In any case in which there is an ambiguity about Tiny Hut(5e), the correct answer is the one that makes the spell less powerful.

 

[5ekyu]

To be devil's advocate, you can't cast through a brick wall either but you can teleport to the other side.

"Spells and other magical effects can’t extend through the dome or be cast through it."

if you see a way that teleporting into an area does not count as either extending the spells effect through the dome or casting thru it - then you have a different dictionary than i do.

Which is fine for your games.

i see no reason for this to be the case by RAW or by the way things tend to work in the game system.

 

[dave2008]

Google the definition of a hemispherical shape.

"Hemispheres are all around us. In math, a hemisphere is defined as a three-dimensional shape that's half of a sphere with one flat, circular side. A sphere, on the other hand, is a nearly perfectly round three-dimensional shape.Sep 25, 2017"

https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-hemisphere-in-math-definition-example.html

I did google the definition, per websters: "one of two half spheres (see SPHERE entry 1 sense 2a) formed by a plane (see PLANE entry 1 sense 2a) through the sphere's center"

The plane forms it (in that the result of cutting a sphere with a plane that runs through the center of the sphere results in two hemispheres), but is not part of the hemisphere geometrically speaking. Notice it is defined as a "half sphere." It cannot be a "half sphere" with a bottom, at least that is my understanding. It has been too long since I had a math/geometric class, but my sons are taking linear algebra and calculus 2, I can pick their brains this afternoon.

EDIT: Interesting fact. The definition of the hemisphere doesn't, IMO, include the plane; however, the area of hemisphere does (from the little research I have done). This would contradict the definition as the area would not be 1/2 the area of a sphere with the same radius. Interesting. I am inclined now to go with your PoV. But not 100% decided yet.

 

[dave2008]

Google the definition of a hemispherical shape.

"Hemispheres are all around us. In math, a hemisphere is defined as a three-dimensional shape that's half of a sphere with one flat, circular side. A sphere, on the other hand, is a nearly perfectly round three-dimensional shape.Sep 25, 2017"

https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-hemisphere-in-math-definition-example.html

I also question your definition as they describe a sphere as "...nearly perfectly round..." Mathematically / geometrically it is a perfectly round shape.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

"Spells and other magical effects can’t extend through the dome or be cast through it."

if you see a way that teleporting into an area does not count as either extending the spells effect through the dome or casting thru it - then you have a different dictionary than i do.

Which is fine for your games.

i see no reason for this to be the case by RAW or by the way things tend to work in the game system.

Well, RAW doesn't cover what the word THROUGH specifically means. I just don't interpret teleport as going through the barrier. When you teleport, you just appear inside. The same way it's perfectly legal by RAW to teleport into a cave. You don't actually go through the rock, like passwall. And by RAW spells like fireball and magic missile still can't pass through the cave wall or spells like Fog Cloud can't extend through the wall.

Once again, I'm not saying you're wrong, it's just different interpretations. The spell has been around, unchanged, since 2e and to me it's, basically, a magical dome tent. A better dome tent in that it acts as a two-way mirror and has awesome camouflage and can fit lots of people - but still, a tent. In the previous iterations, a 50mph wind could knock it down - and it was 3rd level. edit: and it still is

It's had a serious boost in power in 5e but I just don't see any reason to give it attributes that a sturdy tent or 'Hut' wouldn't have - like blocking magical travel. Private Sanctum specifically says 'nothing can teleport into or out of the warded area.' and ' Sensors created by divinations spells can't appear inside the area or pass through the barrier at its perimeter' You'd think that, if Tiny Hut prevented these things, it would have the same description. It only says 'can't extend into it or be cast through it.' It doesn't say it prevents things from appearing inside the way Private Sanctum does...and you'd think the 4th level spell would be better than the [-]2nd[/-] 3rd level spell.

I suppose it's not any better or worse than rope trick( other than the annoying climbing the rope and the duration) but I can't think of any other spells that are [-]2nd[/-] 3rd level that can:

1. prevent scrying (Private Sanctum(4th), Mind Blank(8), Non-detection(3) and;
2. prevent physical movement through (force cage 7th), Wall of force (5th), any of the Wall spells - except all these don't allow ally movement like Tiny hut does and;
3. Prevent extra dimensional travel (Forbiddence 6th, Private Sanctum 4th, Hallow 5th, Force cage(7th - on a failed save only) And you'll still die of exposure inside the area of these spells.

So, yeah, that's just my reasoning for not giving a magical tent that much power.

Edit: I keep saying it's 2nd but it's actually 3rd. My mistake.

 

[Ristamar]

https://twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/933437785075097600

I'd surmise the Hut is similar to the Indigo layer of a Prismatic Sphere but opaque. Spells that have a range of "Self" (no Dimension Door) should work from the outside as long as they don't require line of sight (no Misty Step).

Scry and Teleport are perfectly viable, though.