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View Full Version : Can I actually cast Meteor Swarm inside?


MarkVIIIMarc
2019-10-17, 11:23 PM
This seems like a DM dependent thing. The spell makes no mention of having to be outside of have a path to the heavens or whatever. It just seems questionable to have it go off in a dungeon.

What is the consensus on this?

9th-level evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 1 mile
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
Blazing orbs of fire plummet to the ground at four different points you can see within range. Each creature in a 40-foot-radius sphere centered on each point you choose must make a Dexterity saving throw. The sphere spreads around corners. A creature takes 20d6 fire damage and 20d6 bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature in the area of more than one fiery burst is affected only once.
The spell damages objects in the area and ignites flammable objects that aren’t being worn or carried.
sithlordnergal
2019-10-17, 11:32 PM
Yes, you are able to cast it inside, and you're meant to be able to. If you couldn't, there would be something in the text stating that you can't, like how you can't cast Call Lightning in a room that doesn't have a 105 foot tall or more ceiling.
firelistener
2019-10-18, 02:27 AM
If it helps, remember that the spell is evocation instead of conjuration. The caster creates the meteors from nothing, complete with the fiery energy and motion the possess, rather than summoning them from outer space. They come into existence the same way a fireball or lightning spell does.
Dimers
2019-10-18, 07:10 AM
The orbs can plummet to the ground from where you created them, which is one inch up.

What caught my eye was that the spell appears to require ground -- the meteors can't burst in the air. That's a bit limiting, eh? A ninth-level spell that can't be used to combat a flying creature ...
Damon_Tor
2019-10-18, 07:16 PM
The orbs can plummet to the ground from where you created them, which is one inch up.

What caught my eye was that the spell appears to require ground -- the meteors can't burst in the air. That's a bit limiting, eh? A ninth-level spell that can't be used to combat a flying creature ...

And the problem with the word "ground" is that its most common definition in the English language is "the surface of a planet". So based on that, yes, you could use it inside a structure and the "meteors" would crash through to the "ground floor" without issue, but using it in the underdark or any other "under ground" would, by definition, be impossible.
Dimers
2019-10-18, 08:24 PM
Your argument is well-grounded. I won't say more; I've ground my axe enough.

:smallcool: