D&D 5E Wall of Force and spells

[Maxperson]

OK, that's fair.

But when there's nobody else around except the one guy hiding behind a boulder, and the caster can see the boulder and thus knows where that person is, I'd think a Command should work.

Command is not an area of effect spell, though, so you can't just toss the spell out and catch the guy behind the boulder in the spell effect like you would a fireball. Even if the guy can hear the words being spoken, the magic still needs to be directed specifically at him. An "I can see the guy standing there, so I'm laying the magical compulsion on his person that will be triggered by the words that I speak." sort of thing. If you can't see him, even if he's the only one behind the boulder, you can't see where to place the compulsion magic in order for the command you speak to have effect.

 

[Lanefan]

Nope not anymore. 5e threw that out, realizing that it was creating heavy legalese books, rules lawyer players…and even with all that rules work dms we’re still having to make calls anyway.

5e embraced that dm rulings is the heart of dnd, and decided to use it rather than try to remove it

I get that, and endorse the underlying philosophy; but I'd still rather see the written rules reflect the rulings a reasonable DM is likely to make.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Make your dome small enough and lack of breathable air will become a concern before long for anyone caught within...assuming its connection with the floor or ground is airtight.

And if it's not airtight then at least some sound can get through, though probably not very clearly.

Just cast Bonfire first, then put the dome over them....

 

[ECMO3]

Guess it depends on how well it blocks sound. If you can talk to people in the the hemisphere, then I'd allow thunder damage to penetrative the wall.

Sound is caused by variations in pressure that cause vibrations in your eardrum. This is a physical effect and stopped by Wall of Force.

So I would not allow command.

Dissonant Whispers is a bit more ambiguous since you "whisper" it and one person in range can "hear" it. That makes it debatable whether or not this is sound, since someone at range could not "hear" a whisper in the middle of a battle and people closer would be able to "hear" it if it was sound.

 

[Oofta]

Sound is caused by variations in pressure that cause vibrations in your eardrum. This is a physical effect and stopped by Wall of Force.

So I would not allow command.

Dissonant Whispers is a bit more ambiguous since you "whisper" it and one person in range can "hear" it. That makes it debatable whether or not this is sound, since someone at range could not "hear" a whisper in the middle of a battle and people closer would be able to "hear" it if it was sound.

Or just do what I do and follow the rules of the game. If a spell has a range other than "self" (or special, I suppose for older prints) it can't penetrate the wall. Easy, peasy, lemon squeezie. As a bonus the players never have to ask what spells work and what don't and there are never any arguments at the table about what spells work. Just like with every game I've ever played in 5E with any DM when wall of force was used.

 

[cbwjm]

Sound is caused by variations in pressure that cause vibrations in your eardrum. This is a physical effect and stopped by Wall of Force.

So I would not allow command.

Dissonant Whispers is a bit more ambiguous since you "whisper" it and one person in range can "hear" it. That makes it debatable whether or not this is sound, since someone at range could not "hear" a whisper in the middle of a battle and people closer would be able to "hear" it if it was sound.

In that case, I also wouldn't let people talk to each other on either side of the wall, they'll have to mime everything.

 

[Hussar]

I get that, and endorse the underlying philosophy; but I'd still rather see the written rules reflect the rulings a reasonable DM is likely to make.

Frankly this is why I make force effects opaque. You have to see targets to target them. Nice simple rule change that fixes all the most common issues.

A blind caster cannot target with Command. It specifically states you have to see the target. There is no ambiguity.

 

[Hussar]

In that case, I also wouldn't let people talk to each other on either side of the wall, they'll have to mime everything.

How far down the rabbit hole do we go? If nothing can penetrate the wall then it should be black and completely dark inside the dome. After all, photons are a thing and are blocked by solid objects. Doesn’t matter if the wall is invisible- light cannot pass.

 

[Lanefan]

Frankly this is why I make force effects opaque. You have to see targets to target them. Nice simple rule change that fixes all the most common issues.

A blind caster cannot target with Command. It specifically states you have to see the target. There is no ambiguity.

Reading some of the points in this thread leads me to believe a blind caster can't in fact do very much at all. I'm not sure that's the intent, as otherwise spells like Blindness, Darkness, and so forth suddenly become a lot more powerful than they're probably supposed to be.

 

[Lanefan]

How far down the rabbit hole do we go? If nothing can penetrate the wall then it should be black and completely dark inside the dome.

Unless those within have a light source, of course...