Hemispherical Wall Of Force Legal?

[DragonOfIntellect]

I saw a few people mention using a Hemispherical Wall Of Force to trap enemies, and I was wondering if this is actually legal. The Wall spells specify in the descriptions the type of walls you can create, and it says in the Wall Of Force description that it should be a vertical wall. I always thought that was the way it worked because allowing otherwise would make Wall Of Force rather overpowered, or at least it would seem so to me.

Being able to cut yourself or your enemies completely off from any combat, unless they have teleportation or disintegration magic, seems too much for a fifth level spell. Still, if it is legal, I wouldn't mind using it myself. My question is simply, are Hemiespherical Walls Of Force legal, or prohibited by the rules?

 

[Eraslin]

From my 3.0 PHB:

Wall of Force

Effect: Wall whose area is up to one 10-ft square/level or a sphere or hemisphere with a radius of up to 1ft/level.

-Eraslin

 

[DragonOfIntellect]

From my 3.5 PHB:

Effect: Wall whose area is up to one 10 ft square/level.

So the hemispherical reference was removed from the 3.5 PHB description, indicating that the spell no longer functions as it did in 3.0.

 

[Sledge]

Wall of Force
Evocation [Force]
Level: Sor/Wiz 5
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect: Wall whose area is up to one 10-ft. square/level
Duration: 1 round /level (D)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
A wall of force spell creates an invisible wall of force. The wall cannot move, it is immune to damage of all kinds, and it is unaffected by most spells, including dispel magic. However, disintegrate immediately destroys it, as does a rod of cancellation, a sphere of annihilation, or a mage?s disjunction spell. Breath weapons and spells cannot pass through the wall in either direction, although dimension door, teleport, and similar effects can bypass the barrier. It blocks ethereal creatures as well as material ones (though ethereal creatures can usually get around the wall by floating under or over it through material floors and ceilings). Gaze attacks can operate through a wall of force.
The caster can form the wall into a flat, vertical plane whose area is up to one 10- foot square per level. The wall must be continuous and unbroken when formed. If its surface is broken by any object or creature, the spell fails.
Wall of force can be made permanent with a permanency spell.
Material Component: A pinch of powder made from a clear gem.

 

[Sledge]

As you can see they took that out in 3.5 Probably because players were using it to trap instead of protect.

 

[DragonOfIntellect]

So, in 3.5E, it does not allow for Hemispherical castings? That's good to know, I think it would be fairly overpowered as a fifth level spell otherwise.

 

[CalrinAlshaw]

I suggest keeping the original hemispherical version, but make that part self-only.

 

[Liquidsabre]

Not a bad suggestion that CalrinAlshaw.

 

[Wolffenjugend]

I suggest keeping the original hemispherical version, but make that part self-only.

But that still leaves the possibility of running up to the BBEG and casting it to trap him in the hemisphere with you. And if the party does this as a group, the BBEG will find himself cut off from his allies and trapped inside a hemisphere with an entire party of adventurers.

 

[DragonOfIntellect]

Not to mention it would still have the ability to completely remove yourself and your party from any combat that's going badly, heal up, and then finish your opponents. The numerous offensive and defensive uses of the spell if it is allowed to be used as a hemisphere are incrediblly powerful, really.