D&D 5E Wall of Force

[DM-Rocco]

What kind of spells can get through a Waff of Force? I know that you have to have line of sight to cast a spell and I know that spells don't go through a Wall of Force. I've seen game play on Gungeaon Dude were they Dimensioned Doored out of a Wall of Force, so how is that possible?

I heard the January 19th pod cast regarding spell targeting but it wasn't clear about everything. So a Fireball would be stopped by a Wall of Force, but what about a Charm Person Spell? Is there magical energy that needs to connect in a straight path in order for Charm person to work and thus gets blocked by a Wall of Force, or does it work because it isn't a line of effect? How would you beable to Dimension Door around a wall if other spells are stopped? What have you done in your campaigns?

 

[toucanbuzz]

Just like it says: nothing can physically pass through. There's a host of spells that manifest based on a range that are completely unaffected by a wall of force (and to avoid any confusion, spells don't have a physical form when cast, so they don't "pass through" anything). So, the simple act of casting a spell isn't blocked by a Wall of Force, though once you're done, the effects might be, depending on the spell.

Ranged spells that manifest at a ranged location can't be blocked, such as charm person. Same thing with dimension door. However, some spells by description are blocked if they create something physical in your location that then travels to another location, such as Scorching Ray, which says you "hurl" fire at your opponents up to the range. Once the fire itself hits the wall, it cannot physically pass through. Same thing with fireball, which says it creates a streak from "your finger" that goes to a location in range. Once it hits the wall, the spell would fail (illegal targeting rules). Same thing with cone spells as they start in your square and go forward (unless and until blocked).

 

[Oofta]

Not sure you're going to get a consensus on this, because I would rule differently than @toucanbuzz. You have to have a clear path to it, which includes the point of origination for an area effect spell. The fluff of the spell doesn't matter.

From the PHB:

A Clear Path to the Target​

To target something, you must have a clear path to it​

Some spells such as teleportation type spells can get you past the wall because the target is the creature being teleported, not the destination.

 

[DM-Rocco]

Not sure you're going to get a consensus on this, because I would rule differently than @toucanbuzz. You have to have a clear path to it, which includes the point of origination for an area effect spell. The fluff of the spell doesn't matter.

From the PHB:

A Clear Path to the Target​

To target something, you must have a clear path to it​

Some spells such as teleportation type spells can get you past the wall because the target is the creature being teleported, not the destination.

Jeremy Crawford talked about this in his podcast. The Wall of Force is Invisible so you have line of sight, but because there is a barrier, the Wall of Force, a Fireball for example would detonate at the Wall. So there is a difference between Line of Sight and a Clear Path, and I get that. What he didn't talk about was things like Charm Person or Teleport and how they differ.

 

[LordEntrails]

Charm person and teleportation (like misty step) rely upon sight, not clear path.

 

[Oofta]

Charm person and teleportation (like misty step) rely upon sight, not clear path.

You still have to have a clear line. Misty step, like other teleportation spells, has a target of the creature (self) being teleported.

That's my story, I'm sticking to it until we have an official sage advice column saying otherwise.

 

[Stoutstien]

Definitely seen it ruled a bunch of different ways. As long as the ruling is constant all's good.
I go with wall of force blocks paths path and not sight so chilling touch would work but scorching Ray wouldn't.

 

[DM-Rocco]

Okay, I found this link to a Jeremy Crawford Twitter thingy. If I am reading this correctly, you can teleport to the other side of a Wall of Force because you are the target and you only need to have line of sight to the destination, but casting a spell requires both line of sight and a clear path so Charm Person wouldn't.

I may be reading it wrong and really I still don't get even with that thread, how you can move from one location to another if you don't have a clear path.

Targeting spells/clear path, can I target across Wall of Force?

D&D Sage Advice ·

www.sageadvice.eu

 

[Oofta]

Okay, I found this link to a Jeremy Crawford Twitter thingy. If I am reading this correctly, you can teleport to the other side of a Wall of Force because you are the target and you only need to have line of sight to the destination, but casting a spell requires both line of sight and a clear path so Charm Person wouldn't.

I may be reading it wrong and really I still don't get even with that thread, how you can move from one location to another if you don't have a clear path.

Targeting spells/clear path, can I target across Wall of Force?

D&D Sage Advice ·

www.sageadvice.eu

The target of misty step is "self"

 

[Oofta]

Definitely seen it ruled a bunch of different ways. As long as the ruling is constant all's good.
I go with wall of force blocks paths path and not sight so chilling touch would work but scorching Ray wouldn't.

The rules in 5E don't repeat themselves. Therefore, the chill touch spell still needs to meet the requirements of a targeted spell which includes "To target something, you must have a clear path to it".

I also think it's too much work to have to read through the spell description fluff to determine whether it works or not. For example, I always thought of chill touch as a ghostly ray much like a low power disintegration.

So personally I would have a hard time being consistent basing rulings on fluff. I don't want to have to read through the description of every spell to see if it works.