wall of force

[JobsforFun]

I recently got the wall of force spell on my wizard the other day and I was wondering how big is the wall exactly? I know the spell mentions you can make it into a sphere with a 10ft radius. It also mentions it can cover a flat surface "or you can shape a flat surface made up of ten 10-foot-by-10-foot panels."

Also what are some creative ways to use wall of force during fights? I have already used it during a fight to protect myself for healing but how should I use it against enemies so that it is effective?

Edit: I see now it says the wall is 1/4 thick
Also can spells pass through the wall? I know things like arrows, boulders etc can't.

[RickAllison]

We were facing off against a really tall, animated suit of armor with laser beams and a very dangerous sword. I used Wall of Force to create a sort of figure-8 just above his knees and parallel to the floor. He couldn't use his laser beams or strike with his sword, so we only had to worry about his kicks which were significantly less lethal. The animating force ended up abandoning the body to try and capture one of ours, and succeeded in getting my wizard. Unfortunately for the Force, its command was to bring my allies down and I was a Minotaur who was this rather good at wrestling. So he "brought his allies down" by wrestling them.

Basically, the physiology of your opponent can be used to bind them in unusual ways. Anywhere there is a serious bottleneck in a large creature (a neck if they have a significant crest like a dragon, a tail like an ankylosaurus, wings), you can use Wall of Force to bind them in place, reduce their offensive potential, and still allow attacking. Gives one more reason to pay attention when your DM is describing how awesome his creation looks, you may just find a weakness!

[JobsforFun]

We were facing off against a really tall, animated suit of armor with laser beams and a very dangerous sword. I used Wall of Force to create a sort of figure-8 just above his knees and parallel to the floor. He couldn't use his laser beams or strike with his sword, so we only had to worry about his kicks which were significantly less lethal. The animating force ended up abandoning the body to try and capture one of ours, and succeeded in getting my wizard. Unfortunately for the Force, its command was to bring my allies down and I was a Minotaur who was this rather good at wrestling. So he "brought his allies down" by wrestling them.

Basically, the physiology of your opponent can be used to bind them in unusual ways. Anywhere there is a serious bottleneck in a large creature (a neck if they have a significant crest like a dragon, a tail like an ankylosaurus, wings), you can use Wall of Force to bind them in place, reduce their offensive potential, and still allow attacking. Gives one more reason to pay attention when your DM is describing how awesome his creation looks, you may just find a weakness!

Can spells pass through it? that is my main question

[Vaz]

No.


Nothing can physically pass through the wall.

/letters

[RulesJD]

Can spells pass through it? that is my main question

Be warned young padawan, for you have entered a dangerous place.

The exact workings of Wall of Force are only second in debate ferocity next to the trash heap that is any debate about how stealth works.

As a general rule, no, spells cannot pass through a WoF. DM discrection from that general rule onwards.

Some fun tricks with WoF you might not have thought of yet:

1. WoF specifically lets the caster decide which side of the wall a creature is shunted to when the wall intercepts their space. That means you can hamster ball a creature that would otherwise fit inside a WoF (like a Dragon or Giant that is technically Huge size but longer/taller than the WoF)

2. A WoF can be floating in midair.

3. A WoF can be a half-dome (like an upside down bowl). Combine with Rule #2 for creating very small gaps to shoot out from, but almost impossible to shoot back inside.

[JobsforFun]

Be warned young padawan, for you have entered a dangerous place.

The exact workings of Wall of Force are only second in debate ferocity next to the trash heap that is any debate about how stealth works.

As a general rule, no, spells cannot pass through a WoF. DM discrection from that general rule onwards.

Some fun tricks with WoF you might not have thought of yet:

1. WoF specifically lets the caster decide which side of the wall a creature is shunted to when the wall intercepts their space. That means you can hamster ball a creature that would otherwise fit inside a WoF (like a Dragon or Giant that is technically Huge size but longer/taller than the WoF)

2. A WoF can be floating in midair.

3. A WoF can be a half-dome (like an upside down bowl). Combine with Rule #2 for creating very small gaps to shoot out from, but almost impossible to shoot back inside.
my god you evil master mind, as long as the caster doesn't have disintegrate they're held prisoner! nice to know spells cannot go through it, one of my players who is a cleric said spells can since it says "physical" and spells are not physical but I disagreed with it.

[cZak]

Versus large+ critters
I've used to create a horizontal ceiling about 8' above the ground. Provides a potential 100 sqft area of obstruction/ cover.
Easy for our medium humanoid PC's to maneuver around, not so much for the bad guys.

Not sure recollect'n properly, but I don't believe the description requires a continuous plane (wall) anymore. Just that it be contiguous.
Alternate each ten foot section from horizontal to vertical, and you have a potential maze of cover with chokepoints.
Great for the stand in front Melee'r to mow down hordes, the Striker to move in & out, and the Squish's to cower behind


Re 'What may Pass'
Not meaning to derail. I'll have to search for past discussions....
I'd always assumed nothing.
However, the Wall does not block Line o Sight. So can a spell effect, with a range, originate beyond the Wall..?
Obviously things like Fireball (the bead originates from the Caster & travels to the destination) would not.
But Sacred flame? Banishment? Etc..?

[SharkForce]

my god you evil master mind, as long as the caster doesn't have disintegrate they're held prisoner! nice to know spells cannot go through it, one of my players who is a cleric said spells can since it says "physical" and spells are not physical but I disagreed with it.

spells are generally physical effects, and require line of effect. the exception is often teleport spells and effects... many of which are limited by sight, so for added fun block vision somehow :)


Versus large+ critters
I've used to create a horizontal ceiling about 8' above the ground. Provides a potential 100 sqft area of obstruction/ cover.
Easy for our medium humanoid PC's to maneuver around, not so much for the bad guys.

Not sure recollect'n properly, but I don't believe the description requires a continuous plane (wall) anymore. Just that it be contiguous.
Alternate each ten foot section from horizontal to vertical, and you have a potential maze of cover with chokepoints.
Great for the stand in front Melee'r to mow down hordes, the Striker to move in & out, and the Squish's to cower behind


Re 'What may Pass'
Not meaning to derail. I'll have to search for past discussions....
I'd always assumed nothing.
However, the Wall does not block Line o Sight. So can a spell effect, with a range, originate beyond the Wall..?
Obviously things like Fireball (the bead originates from the Caster & travels to the destination) would not.
But Sacred flame? Banishment? Etc..?

nope. as a general rule, spells require line of effect unless otherwise specified.

[Demonslayer666]

spells are generally physical effects, and require line of effect. the exception is often teleport spells and effects... many of which are limited by sight, so for added fun block vision somehow :)

nope. as a general rule, spells require line of effect unless otherwise specified.

Where does this general rule come from? The DMG somewhere?

[SharkForce]

Where does this general rule come from? The DMG somewhere?

from the PHB page 203, in the targeting section.

or, if you'd prefer, https://www.5thsrd.org/spellcasting/casting_a_spell/ and scroll down to the "targets" section, specifically the "a clear path to the target" section.

[RulesJD]

from the PHB page 203, in the targeting section.

or, if you'd prefer, https://www.5thsrd.org/spellcasting/casting_a_spell/ and scroll down to the "targets" section, specifically the "a clear path to the target" section.

And so it begins...


Bear in mind that I agree with you, but don't be surprised when this discussion goes off the rails.

[KnotaGuru]

Another question is, can the wall be moved? Having the wall shaped like a wall resting on a solid surface makes sense to say "no". But what if you create a free-floating sphere shaped wall (like a bubble)? If you and your allies are inside can you move it like a hamster ball? Or if the bad guys are trapped inside can you push the bubble over a chasm, cease concentration, and watch those bad guys fall to their death? Does gravity affect the bubble or does it remain where it was cast?
Can the wall be attached to a movable object? Can you have the wall adhere to a pole like an umbrella allowing you to run around the battlefield protected from overhead attacks?

[MrStabby]

Another question is, can the wall be moved? Having the wall shaped like a wall resting on a solid surface makes sense to say "no". But what if you create a free-floating sphere shaped wall (like a bubble)? If you and your allies are inside can you move it like a hamster ball? Or if the bad guys are trapped inside can you push the bubble over a chasm, cease concentration, and watch those bad guys fall to their death? Does gravity affect the bubble or does it remain where it was cast?
Can the wall be attached to a movable object? Can you have the wall adhere to a pole like an umbrella allowing you to run around the battlefield protected from overhead attacks?

And if the wall can't move then string it across the deck of a ship and sweep everyone behind it off into the water? I guess some of this comes down to frame of reference - move with respect to what?

[RulesJD]

Another question is, can the wall be moved? Having the wall shaped like a wall resting on a solid surface makes sense to say "no". But what if you create a free-floating sphere shaped wall (like a bubble)? If you and your allies are inside can you move it like a hamster ball? Or if the bad guys are trapped inside can you push the bubble over a chasm, cease concentration, and watch those bad guys fall to their death? Does gravity affect the bubble or does it remain where it was cast?
Can the wall be attached to a movable object? Can you have the wall adhere to a pole like an umbrella allowing you to run around the battlefield protected from overhead attacks?

Generally speaking, no the WoF cannot be moved.

Otto's Resilient Sphere specifically calls out as being able to move. As such, because WoF doesn't, typical D&D rules interpretation means that it cannot.

[KnotaGuru]

I just had a fun use with WoF. I cast it as a dome over the BBEG so he was trapped inside all alone. Then another caster had his earth elemental burrow underneath, pop up inside the dome, and commence the beat down (Thunderdome!). The BBEG had mostly poison attacks so he was useless against the elemental. This allowed the rest of the party to focus on another threat.

[coredump]

I recently got the wall of force spell on my wizard the other day and I was wondering how big is the wall exactly? I know the spell mentions you can make it into a sphere with a 10ft radius. It also mentions it can cover a flat surface "or you can shape a flat surface made up of ten 10-foot-by-10-foot panels."

Also what are some creative ways to use wall of force during fights? I have already used it during a fight to protect myself for healing but how should I use it against enemies so that it is effective?

Edit: I see now it says the wall is 1/4 thick
Also can spells pass through the wall? I know things like arrows, boulders etc can't.

Most common usage, as with most Wall spells, is to split the enemy into 2 parts, so you can defeat them in turn.

[Vaz]

One of my favourite spells in 3.5 was the wall of incarnum. Back then there weren't as many concentration spells, and you could have up multiple spells that in 5e would be considered concentration.

Anyway, wall of incarnum was fantastic. It forced a Wisdom Save on the target, and if they failed they couldn't pass through. But if they did pass through, then it would damage their wisdom, and reduce their Wisdom save even further - this then opened them up to a wisdom targeting spell such as Dominate (which isn't as crap as it is in 5e) and would allow the party to just beat down on those few who would make it through the wall with one of their strongest looking ones suddenly beating in their face.