Spells that hurt a living creature but doesnt damage a dead creature.

[R.Shackleford]

What we have here, is a failure to comunicate.

I thought 5e was about simplicity, common english, and less fiddly.

I was wrong.

Apparently if a spell says creature then it doesn't effect objects. Fun times.

So what are your favorite spells that affect creatures but not objects?

The first one that comes to mind is Acid Splash. Always picked this one up on my sorcerer. Not the most powerful spell but I liked to use it to mark stones and metal as a way to say "we have been here" so I didn't have to pick up Presdigitation.

I would also use it to get rid of bodies during a short rest.

Nope. By the ruling, you can acid splash a creature but not a corpse... Unless the corpse is undead lol.

So whatcha all got?

[smcmike]

This is an interesting topic, but your stance on it seems awfully combative.

Limiting some spell targets to creatures rather than objects does not strike me as particularly fiddly - it seems like an attempt to duck fiddliness.

For example, your use of acid splash seems a bit wild to me. How many hit points does a corpse have, exactly, and how long does it take acid splash to eat through it? It's not like acid splash provides a big vat to dissolve things in - to me it sounds like you are trying to dissolve a corpse using a squirt gun full of acid. That would take forever! Also, it would leave quite a mess behind.

In other words, when you are disposing of corpses, you are well outside of the combat rules, and into the area of "talk to your DM." That being said, I'm all for acid splash being used to mark things.

[Grey Watcher]

What we have here, is a failure to comunicate.

I thought 5e was about simplicity, common english, and less fiddly.

I was wrong.

Apparently if a spell says creature then it doesn't effect objects. Fun times.

So what are your favorite spells that affect creatures but not objects?

The first one that comes to mind is Acid Splash. Always picked this one up on my sorcerer. Not the most powerful spell but I liked to use it to mark stones and metal as a way to say "we have been here" so I didn't have to pick up Presdigitation.

I would also use it to get rid of bodies during a short rest.

Nope. By the ruling, you can acid splash a creature but not a corpse... Unless the corpse is undead lol.

So whatcha all got?


This is an interesting topic, but your stance on it seems awfully combative.

Limiting some spell targets to creatures rather than objects does not strike me as particularly fiddly - it seems like an attempt to duck fiddliness.

For example, your use of acid splash seems a bit wild to me. How many hit points does a corpse have, exactly, and how long does it take acid splash to eat through it? It's not like acid splash provides a big vat to dissolve things in - to me it sounds like you are trying to dissolve a corpse using a squirt gun full of acid. That would take forever! Also, it would leave quite a mess behind.

In other words, when you are disposing of corpses, you are well outside of the combat rules, and into the area of "talk to your DM." That being said, I'm all for acid splash being used to mark things.

I do think the "rulings, not rules" design ethos is meant to be the solution here (no pun intended). The spell was designed and is described with combat uses in mind; if you want an off-label use fornthe spell, that's something for you and your DM to work out.

(I also agree that Acid Splash would take a lot longer than an hour to wear away a human corpse. Disfiguring it beyond nonmagical identification maybe, but at best you're going to melt/burn the skin off.)

Anyway, one thing I think is weird is that, as written, Wind Walk doesn't let you use the Dodge or Disengage actions.

[RickAllison]

EB with Repelling Blast can't knock be planet out of orbit!!!

Ray of Frost cannot be used to make my iced tea.

Can I use Shocking Grasp to defibrillate I someone is flat-lining?

Feather Fall can't protect my giant objects!

Interestingly, Acid Arrow works just fine for targeting objects, as it only has targets without specifying creatures (at least in the SRD).

[Sianthus]

EB with Repelling Blast can't knock be planet out of orbit!!!

Huh. I've been playing it wrong then.

[R.Shackleford]

Huh. I've been playing it wrong then.

Repelling Blast is broken and inconsistent with the game. EB is fine on its own... But RB should say "large or smaller" or probabaly "medium or smaller"

[Vogonjeltz]

What we have here, is a failure to comunicate.

I thought 5e was about simplicity, common english, and less fiddly.

I was wrong.

Apparently if a spell says creature then it doesn't effect objects. Fun times.

So what are your favorite spells that affect creatures but not objects?

The first one that comes to mind is Acid Splash. Always picked this one up on my sorcerer. Not the most powerful spell but I liked to use it to mark stones and metal as a way to say "we have been here" so I didn't have to pick up Presdigitation.

I would also use it to get rid of bodies during a short rest.

Nope. By the ruling, you can acid splash a creature but not a corpse... Unless the corpse is undead lol.

So whatcha all got?

This isn't a ruling, it's a rule in the PHB:

PHB, Part 3, Chapter 10 Spellcasting, page 204 under the heading of Targets:
"A typical spell requires you to pick one or more targets to be affected by the spell's magic. A spell's description tells you whether the spell targets creatures, objects[/], or [b]a point of origin for an area of effect (described below)."


For only targeting creatures, I like Antipathy/Sympathy; Disintegrate is appropriate for destroying bodies, if that's the purpose; and if you want a cantrip that targets objects, Firebolt is always available.

[JumboWheat01]

Repelling Blast is broken and inconsistent with the game. EB is fine on its own... But RB should say "large or smaller" or probabaly "medium or smaller"

It should say "can only be affected once per action" or something along those lines (unless it does, I don't recall seeing that so in my book.) Being hit by four beams and ALL of them knocking one target back is a bit... much.