D&D 5E Wherein we discuss spells and other magical things.

[Dannyalcatraz]

One has to assume visual illusions would still be effective, though, if for no other reason than if the sphere is also in effect giving the occupant immunity to illusions that's a bit much.

Lanefan

The ORS explicitly says spell effects can't affect the ORS's occupant. So yeah, he's immune to illusion effects...for up to 1 minute.

A knowledgeable illusionist confronting a foe in an ORS would likely cast towards the end of that time, possibly aiming behind the occupant's direction of focus- i.e., behind him. Then, when the sphere drops, the occupant will be wondering where those ogres came from, but might not suspect they're not real.

 

[Lanefan]

The ORS explicitly says spell effects can't affect the ORS's occupant. So yeah, he's immune to illusion effects...for up to 1 minute.

Which gives the sphere an extra, unintended use: as a limited true-sight device. Not sure I'm cool with this at all.

A knowledgeable illusionist confronting a foe in an ORS would likely cast towards the end of that time, possibly aiming behind the occupant's direction of focus- i.e., behind him. Then, when the sphere drops, the occupant will be wondering where those ogres came from, but might not suspect they're not real.

Sure. But in the sort of dungeon where permanent illusions are much of the hazard this spell becomes a win button.

So let's try another one: Wall of Fog (or whatever it's called these days). It's magically generated but the resulting fog is real. Can the sphere occupant see through it? Ditto for Darkness?

What about Solid Fog, or Web - can a sphere occupant move freely through these?

If these answers are consistently 'yes' then I think your version of this spell is a bit broken.

Lan-"hamsters for the win!"-efan

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

It's powerful, but not an instawin. It only lasts up to a minute, and can only encapsulate one occupant. So while one guy is being "all safe" what's happening to his allies? They might need a little more support from the caster than "Hey guys, that thing's not real!"

If the magically generated fog is real, then it's actually bits of water clinging to tiny particles in the air, so while there won't be fog inside the ORS, there will be one outside it, like a nice day in London.

As for Solid Fog or Web, nothing in the ORS description says that it grants free movement. In fact, the spell says it can be grabbed and moved by those outside it. So the SF bars the ORS's progress wherever it stands, and the Web may have a chance to ensnare and impede it (the occupant would remain unaffected).*

Darkness? That's a tougher one- I'd need to read the spell. Link to current version, anyone?






* The last time I was in a group that used this spell in play, many years ago, the ORS occupants tried to go down a hall in which stony hands thrust iron spears at them. They didn't penetrate, but there were so many, the ORS was jammed in place. Retreating out of that passage was damn difficult...

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Found Darkness:
https://www.dnd-spells.com/spell/darkness

It's an evocation, not illusion spell. It doesn't make someone think an area is dark, the area is dark.

So the ORS inhabitant in an area affected by Darkness would:

1) not be able to see through the magical darkness
2) not be able to see within the ORS without a light source since no light would be penetrating the Darkness to the ORS
3) not need a magical light to illuminate the ORS's interior, since the darkness within would not be magical
4) not be able to dispel the Darkness with a Light spell

 

[steeldragons]

One has to assume visual illusions would still be effective, though, if for no other reason than if the sphere is also in effect giving the occupant immunity to illusions that's a bit much.

Lanefan

I'm afraid (and it pains me greatly ;P ) that I have to partially side with DannyAlcatraz on this one. The spell description seems quite clear that "spell effects" do not cross the energy threshold of the RS barrier.

So, while, yes, I would agree from inside the sphere you can still see visual illusions, they may not (necessarily) effect you and that would be a case-by-case basis. [EDIT to add: 1) As with pretty much every scenario, illusions are best handled on an individual case-by-case basis. 2) I would also add to the previous statement, "you can still see visual illusions ...that can not directly harm you." Ergo, you could see a Simple Illusion, you could see a Phantasmal construct, but a Phantasmal Killer, for example, would not be able to harm you./EDIT]

Casting a phantasmal force of an ogre that's coming over and slamming their fists on your sphere, or a horde of hobgoblins bearing down on you with weapons, yes, you'd see them. Yes, you would believe (or not, not sure on the saves for this off the top of my head) those holographic constructs that you could see.

Something like Hypnotic Pattern (or any other enchantment spell for that matter), you'd see the rainbowy lights swirling around, but the "magical energies" that have to "reach you" and effect your mind to instill the hypnotic state/effect can not get to you. So, no HypnoPat effect in an RS. It would be as effective as Color Spray slamming against the force-field (since that's essentially what it is) of the sphere. You'd see the spray of prismatic lighting effects and sparkles and such blasting against the sphere...but the magic that stuns or overwhelms your senses can't actually reach you.

This brings up "hearing" as well. If NO [damaging] energy is passing through the sphere...does that (and I would posit that it does) include sounds waves? Can someone inside the sphere HEAR what's happening outside the sphere? Can they talk to their fellows? In the case of things like Bardic Inspiration/Song of Rest, Satyr pipes or Harpy songs...what happens?

 

[Oofta]

This brings up "hearing" as well. If NO [damaging] energy is passing through the sphere...does that (and I would posit that it does) include sounds waves? Can someone inside the sphere HEAR what's happening outside the sphere? Can they talk to their fellows? In the case of things like Bardic Inspiration/Song of Rest, Satyr pipes or Harpy songs...what happens?

If you believe that no energy of any type can pass through the sphere (I don't) the occupant could not hear anything from outside the sphere.

If they can hear (I'd go with muffled sounds) I still don't think anything like a Harpy song would have any effect. IMHO the sound of the harpy's voice is simply the carrier of the magic, and would have have no more effect than if you heard the song while in an anti-magic zone.

As far as illusion, I think the occupant would still see the illusion. Illusions (unless otherwise specified) are created at a point in space, much like a hologram. That's why a wizard with the school of illusion can create objects out of their illusion with Illusory Reality, and why there is no mention of illusions not being effective against mindless creatures such as constructs.

As always, that's completely a DM's call because illusions are never really defined anywhere.

 

[Oofta]

Assuming that we're looking at this spell in terms of a physics thought experiment, Otiluke's Resilient Sphere states: Nothing-not physical objects energy or other spell effects-can pass through the barrier.

I think it's pretty clear that energy or other spell effects is clearly talking about spell energy such as necrotic, cold, and so on.

However if you interpret it as cannot transfer any energy to it's occupant, then you cannot transfer kinetic energy to it's occupant. If you cannot transfer kinetic energy to it's occupant, the occupants velocity cannot be changed. Since the occupant's velocity cannot be changed, no outside force can move the occupant or the sphere.

Unfortunately we know that isn't the case since the globe can be picked up and moved by other creatures.

Option 1 - Weightless Occupant:
If the sphere and the occupant have no mass (are both weightless). This then becomes a non-issue because in order to transfer kinetic energy you must be accelerating a mass. If you have no mass, if you hamster ball off the edge of a cliff you would simply float, blown about by the breeze until the spell ends. It would even be difficult to throw the sphere - think of throwing a balloon with neutral buoyancy. The wind may take it away, and because the spell says so the occupant can move the sphere.

As a thought experiment, that works and is completely in sync with the spell and Newtonian physics (except for the magic of the occupant moving the sphere). It does mean the occupant may have a bad day once the spell wears off if there's a strong wind.

Option 2 - Occupant is Not Weightless:
On the other hand if you say that the occupant still has mass, then kinetic energy can be be transferred to the occupant because they can be moved. The occupant can be affected by gravity therefore the occupant can gain velocity by falling off a cliff. The sphere itself is weightless, but the occupant will be pushing the sphere down as they fall.

When the sphere hits the ground, the sphere does not transfer any energy to the occupant. The kinetic energy was already transferred to the occupant when they started moving and has been transformed into their velocity. The occupant does transfer their momentum to the sphere when they hit the wall of the sphere. Because of conservation of momentum the sphere transfers that momentum to the ground. The occupant's brain sloshing around in their skull is the result of that sudden change in velocity, not some new source of energy "transferred" to the occupant, nor any effect external to the sphere.

Conclusion:
I kind of like the no mass balloon myself. It means a large creature could not roll around crushing people and solves the no damage to the occupant. However, if you don't rule that way, if the occupant still has mass then it is logical that they would take damage from landing after falling off a cliff.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Personally, I wouldn't let them see even shimmery outlines of visual illusions or whispers of audible ones. Those effects simply wouldn't get past the ORS. That means they wouldn't see illusory critters before they ambushed the party, nor would they hear any warnings delivered by an auditory illusion spell. All they'd experience is that their allies are reacting to things they can't perceive.

 

[Cognomen's Cassowary]

Or does it just bounce?

The sphere is moving toward the planet, which in turn means the planet is (relatively) moving toward the sphere. Planet is bigger than sphere. Impact, as would happen with two very different sized pool balls, shifts planet the tiniest imaginable amount. Planet shifts sphere a whole bunch.

Lanefan

Whether or not the sphere could bounce would depend on its properties. A bouncing ball deforms when it impacts, turning kinetic energy into potential energy and then, when it returns to its original shape, releasing it into kinetic energy with a different velocity, sort of like a spring with infinite axes. The more the ball can deform without breaking, the more it will bounce, which is why rubber balls bounce more than rocks. In the case of the spell, it is not specific about whether the sphere can deform, though it cannot be damaged. A DM could reasonably interpret the intent to be that the physical world cannot alter the sphere in any way, which would mean that it could not deform and would not bounce, beyond a tiny amount of energy returned to it by the rebounding ground.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

In addition, when you hit the ground, there is no direct transfer of energy from the sphere to the occupant. At the instant of impact, the sphere's velocity becomes zero. That's all. The fact that the occupant's velocity is still thirty mph (or whatever their speed is) is not affected by the sphere coming to a dead stop.

When the sphere stops the occupant still has significant velocity which will be reduced to zero by the sphere a moment after the sphere's velocity becomes zero. Depending on their velocity at the time of the sudden deceleration, the damage could be significant.

In terms of a potentially-damaging acceleration change on the occupant, there is no practical difference between a rapidly-falling sphere hitting the ground and a stone giant teeing-off the sphere with its greatclub.