Line Spells / Lightning Bolt

[Oofta]

Lightning bolt is 5' wide. In a 10' corridor there's no problems doing it down the middle with 2 1/2 feet on either side of it. 2.5' is not enough room for a medium or small sized creature (unless they were possibly already squeezing) so it would hit ones on both sides..

I don't assume a lightning bolt is literally 5 ft wide any more than I assume all medium creatures are 5 ft wide. Well, I had a rotund half-orc once that may have been close to 5 ft wide but he was the exception.

Squares are an abstraction ... so do what makes sense for your table but I'm not going to double the number of creatures that can be targeted by a line spell simply because of how minis are positioned on a grid.

 

[S'mon]

I don't assume a lightning bolt is literally 5 ft wide any more than I assume all medium creatures are 5 ft wide.

Yup.

 

[CleverNickName]

I had this come up in one of my games recently: the sorcerer wanted to send a lightning bolt between two adjacent creatures. I ruled that the player would have to choose one target or the other, otherwise the lightning bolt would pass between both targets and miss them both. The player was grumpy, but the game went on.

 

[MarkB]

Why are you assuming that is for a line with a 5' width?

What is the top diagram for then? A line with a 2.5' width?

They're both for the 5' wide line. They're illustrating that you can choose to fire it down the edge between two rows of squares, to maximise the number of targets, or down the middle of a row of squares, if you need to minimise collateral damage (i.e. if there are allies to either side of an opponent).

 

[Blue]

I've allowed this scenario as well, but inform the player "splitting" the edge along the gridlines will allow enough space (that 2.5 feet on each side), that any medium or smaller target will get advantage on their save. Likewise with cone-effects, things on the far edge might get advantage on those saves. But, that's just how we do it.

Sure, each table will do it their own way. Perfectly reasonable. That's why we have a DM, to make adjudications in cases like that.

I've also had the "I stand on the right-hand side and aim at the left door" to a front-line PC on the left while still getting all of the foes towards the middle. (And missing one near the back on the left, oh well.)

Another clever AoE usage from a player was to center a fireball up in the air (they were in the open) so only a smaller part of it was at ground level.

My caveat with granting advantage would be to be consistent - you see the same thing where only half the square is covered often in other area of effects, especially a large radius. Line already is one of the harder-to-use-well shapes, don't penalize just it and not others. (Not saying you are at all, just making a generic comment.)

 

[Blue]

I don't assume a lightning bolt is literally 5 ft wide any more than I assume all medium creatures are 5 ft wide.

Well, for the lighting bolt you would be wrong. It's clearly laid out in the first sentence of the spell description as 100 feet long and 5 feet wide.

If you need more, the section on area of effect for spells (PHB 204-205) specifically calls out lines having width. They aren't laser-like.

Squares are an abstraction ... so do what makes sense for your table but I'm not going to double the number of creatures that can be targeted by a line spell simply because of how minis are positioned on a grid.

Squares aren't even in the base game, they are a variant. Who cares about them? I don't, that's why I don't "snap to grid" areas of effect.

 

[abirdcall]

They're both for the 5' wide line. They're illustrating that you can choose to fire it down the edge between two rows of squares, to maximise the number of targets, or down the middle of a row of squares, if you need to minimise collateral damage (i.e. if there are allies to either side of an opponent).

I can't find anywhere that it says that.

I don't see why we would treat a 5' line as a 10' one, etc.

Just treat a 5' line as a 5' line.

 

[Oofta]

Well, for the lighting bolt you would be wrong. It's clearly laid out in the first sentence of the spell description as 100 feet long and 5 feet wide.

If you need more, the section on area of effect for spells (PHB 204-205) specifically calls out lines having width. They aren't laser-like.



Squares aren't even in the base game, they are a variant. Who cares about them? I don't, that's why I don't "snap to grid" areas of effect.

Bah. I reject your imaginary lightning bold and substitute my own reality!

Medium creatures are also defined as being 5ft by 5ft cubes. Unless you're in a weird variation of Minecraft world, I suspect that's not meant to be taken literally.

 

[Blue]

I had this come up in one of my games recently: the sorcerer wanted to send a lightning bolt between two adjacent creatures. I ruled that the player would have to choose one target or the other, otherwise the lightning bolt would pass between both targets and miss them both. The player was grumpy, but the game went on.

As a player I'd be grumpy as well because the rules are pretty clear on this:

PHB pg 205, under Spellcasting / Areas of Effect.

LINE
A line extends from its point of origin in a straight path up to its length and covers an area defined by its width.

PHB pg 255, under Lightning Bolt

A stroke of lightning forming a line 100 feet long and 5 feet wide blasts out from you in a direction you choose.

(Bolding mine in both cases.)

It's made very clear it's actually 5 feet wide, there's no way for it to pass between two adjacent creatures and miss both.

 

[WhosDaDungeonMaster]

They're both for the 5' wide line. They're illustrating that you can choose to fire it down the edge between two rows of squares, to maximise the number of targets, or down the middle of a row of squares, if you need to minimise collateral damage (i.e. if there are allies to either side of an opponent).

I guess that is a matter of interpretation then. I see the one on the bottom left showing, clearly, a 10' wide effect. But I suppose it could go either way, since it doesn't state anywhere whether it represents a 5' wide line or 10' wide line.