D&D 5E Wall of Force and spells

[TaranTheWanderer]

Just because light waves happen to go through it does not mean it is a clear path. Transparent does not negate it being an obstacle, full cover has nothing to do with what you can or cannot see.

As per the rules, you cannot target someone with a spell if they have total cover - full stop - whether you can see them perfectly fine or not.

The question then becomes 'what counts as cover'.

I didn't read through all the posts so maybe someone pointed this out but the spell description specifically says that,

'Nothing can physically pass through the wall'.

I'm actually now more convinced than ever that non-physical spells can pass through. I feel that this can be read as an example of the 'specific over the general'. The spell description is describing an exception to the general rule by stipulating that the wall only bars the physical and not other spells that might need direct line of effect - like charm person, for example. For non-physical spells, they are not considered to have full cover.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

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.

They can't. And why you can use minor illusion to create a 5X5 box to stand in so that spellcasters can't use target(creature) spells on you.

 

[ECMO3]

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.

Nothing physical. Light is not physical, sound is physical.

 

[Oofta]

I didn't read through all the posts so maybe someone pointed this out but the spell description specifically says that,

'Nothing can physically pass through the wall'.

I'm actually now more convinced than ever that non-physical spells can pass through. I feel that this can be read as an example of the 'specific over the general'. The spell description is describing an exception to the general rule by stipulating that the wall only bars the physical and not other spells that might need direct line of effect - like charm person, for example. For non-physical spells, they are not considered to have full cover.

I'm not going to bother quoting everything, but you have to have a clear path to the target. For some spells the target is self, for spells with a range the wall of force is an obstacle that completely blocks the line of effect. The rules are pretty clear, casting a spell with range is no different from making a ranged weapon attack. If you can't hit the target with an arrow, you can't target it with a spell.

 

[Hussar]

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.

No that is absolutely the intent. Blind casters can’t cast a very large swath of spells. A caster in a dark room is basically limited to aoe spells or personal effects.

 

[Hussar]

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

But that light would be invisible from the outside.

 

[Hussar]

Nothing physical. Light is not physical, sound is physical.

There is an entire branch of science that would like a word.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

I'm not going to bother quoting everything, but you have to have a clear path to the target.

Except when an ability stipulates an exception. That's my point. I can totally see a DM interpreting it that way.

 

[Lanefan]

No that is absolutely the intent. Blind casters can’t cast a very large swath of spells. A caster in a dark room is basically limited to aoe spells or personal effects.

So how does a blind character - i.e. a character blind from birth - ever become a viable caster? Or can't they?

 

[Hussar]

So how does a blind character - i.e. a character blind from birth - ever become a viable caster? Or can't they?

You can still cast spells but not targeted ones.

That’s like asking how does a blind character become a viable archer.