Simple RAW for 5e 4: Smackdown v. RAW

[Desamir]

Q527 Super easy one here--am I correct in reading that the official Artificer (specifically the Battle Smith) does not have access to the SCAG melee cantrips? Is it the only arcane gish that doesn't?

[WaroftheCrans]

A526 Magical is not an antonym of physical in general: a magical longsword is very much as physical as a mundane one, for example. What the antonym is would more appropriately describe "incorporeal" or "intangible", albeit many creatures and effects that behave incorporeally in D&D would also be blocked by the wall, due to the Etheral plane part. "With no physical component", so to speak.
Snip
AoEs in particular would come into existence on "this side" of an obstruction should one attempt cast them at a point beyond an unseen obstruction.
Snip
This should give you enough RAW context to draw your own conclusions, whatever might them be (while avoiding entering the territory that is "cover" and "concealed" as an argument.

Re: Q526
I also don't particularly care about getting into the covered/concealed debate, partially because I wasn't fully aware of it.

So I'm going to disregard my example of Chromatic Orb, as that would get into the cover/concealed issue.

But the real question here was whether that "bright streak" from Fireball is intangible or incorporeal, and can therefore target a point within sight past the wall.

Although I didn't know about the cover portion of that (and I think I disagree with it, but don't want to get into it), I know that magical is not the antonym of physical, and that spells like Ice Knife can't pass through under any circumstance.
Its spells like Fireball where it's not quite clear if they are corporeal (before detonation), or effects like Prismatic Spray (Light, in an aoe) that I'd like to know about.

I also didn't quite understand what you meant by the AoE section of the answer.

[WaroftheCrans]

Q527 Super easy one here--am I correct in reading that the official Artificer (specifically the Battle Smith) does not have access to the SCAG melee cantrips? Is it the only arcane gish that doesn't?

A527
Of the 5 arcane caster lists, the Artificer list and the Bard list do not include Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade. Anecdotally, those two also gain access to Cure Wounds, which is decidedly not arcane.

Bards can access those cantrips per Magic Secrets, but they do not naturally have access to them.

[ThePolarBear]

Re: Q526

[...]

I also didn't quite understand what you meant by the AoE section of the answer.

Re: A526 Any example goes in the Cover/concealed issue more or less clearly. There's a "definition", RAW, of what cover is. There is a rule about not being able to target anything that is behind total cover. Unless a spell makes the specific exception of ignoring cover, it would need to work with those two "rules". Fireball doesn't make an exception and has a description that could, at least under a single reading, work with the possible exception provided by Wall of Force.

This however is a RAW thread. Light can pass through Wall of Force, and thus Wall of Force doesn't provide an obstruction to it. This is clear. What the "streak" that Fireball mentions is made of is up to the air, but Fireball itself doesn't make an exception on the general rules: it doesn't go through common walls, for example.

Personally for me that streak is a streak of fire - it fits the theme more than a "laser beam", to exagerate a bit.

Notice that the rule for total cover applies to pretty much every spell equally. No spell that hasn't an exception can target through total cover as a general proposition.

---

The AoE section of the answer is to provide what would happen if you cast a spell in a place where there is an obstruction in the way - even if that obstruction happens to be transparent.

However: i would say that it isn't as simple as an issue as one might think. I don't think it belongs here anymore.

[Mr Adventurer]

Q528

Does the Ranger's Primeval Awareness sense all of the creature types listed, or do you pick one to try and sense?

Q529

It looks like Rangers don't have a Spellcasting Focus feature, and so must use material spell components and carry components pouches if they want to cast spells that have them - is this correct?

[WaroftheCrans]

Q529

It looks like Rangers don't have a Spellcasting Focus feature, and so must use material spell components and carry components pouches if they want to cast spells that have them - is this correct?

A529

Rangers do not get access to a spellcasting focus, and must use a component pouch. However, a component pouch operates very similarly to a spellcasting focus in the sense that it provides any components that do not have a gold point value listed. You never have to refill a component pouch. Essentially, the only difference is that you have to have a hand free to reach into a component pouch.

[WaroftheCrans]

Q528

Does the Ranger's Primeval Awareness sense all of the creature types listed, or do you pick one to try and sense?

A528

Beginning at 3rd level, you can use your action and expend one ranger spell slot to focus your awareness on the region around you. For 1 minute per level of the spell slot you expend, you can sense whether the following types of creatures are present within 1 mile of you (or within up to 6 miles if you are in your favored terrain): aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead. This feature doesn’t reveal the creatures’ location or number

PHB 92

You can sense all of the types of creatures. The passage says and, if you had to choose it would be or.

[Grey Watcher]

Q530: Can the Lucky feat be used to override a Halfling's Luck reroll?

That is, if Bingo Smallburrows rolls a 1 on his Stealth check and uses his Halfing Luck to reroll it and gets a 2, could he then use his Lucky feat to try yet again? Halfling Luck says "you must use the new roll", but given that "specific supersedes general", I don't know which of the two is considered more specific in this case.

[Mr Adventurer]

Q531

Where in the rule books does it talk about the expected ratio of rests in an adventuring day and the consequences of playing with more or fewer?

[Chaos Jackal]

A 531

Page 84 of the DMG lists expected encounters and rests. I am not aware of any advice on what is expected to happen with more or fewer. The closest thing I can think of are the rest variants in page 267 of the DMG, which include potential differences in a day should you make rests take longer or be shorter. Most of that applies to rests being more or less in total, since that's what the variants effectively do.

[da newt]

Q532

Foolish RAW question:

If someone is under the effect of FOG CLOUD, then they are effectively BLINDED. One of BLINDED's effects is auto fail ability checks based on sight. Initiative is a DEX ability check. IF combat starts (roll initiative) while someone is in FOG CLOUD, do they auto fail (1) their initiative?

[E’Tallitnics]

Q530: Can the Lucky feat be used to override a Halfling's Luck reroll?

That is, if Bingo Smallburrows rolls a 1 on his Stealth check and uses his Halfing Luck to reroll it and gets a 2, could he then use his Lucky feat to try yet again? Halfling Luck says "you must use the new roll", but given that "specific supersedes general", I don't know which of the two is considered more specific in this case.

A530: Yes, Bingo can use the Lucky feat to roll another 1d20 and either use the 2 or the roll from the feat.

[E’Tallitnics]

Q532

Foolish RAW question:

If someone is under the effect of FOG CLOUD, then they are effectively BLINDED. One of BLINDED's effects is auto fail ability checks based on sight. Initiative is a DEX ability check. IF combat starts (roll initiative) while someone is in FOG CLOUD, do they auto fail (1) their initiative?

A532: No they don't. Keep in mind that spells are exceptions to the rules and they tell you exactly what they do. If Fog Cloud affected initiative rolls the description would mention this fact.

Further note that, game-wise, there's no way for a character to fail their initiative check. They might have disadvantage on it, but they can't fail it or they wouldn't have a place in the order of combat that an initiative roll determines.

[E’Tallitnics]

A 531

Page 84 of the DMG lists expected encounters and rests. I am not aware of any advice on what is expected to happen with more or fewer. The closest thing I can think of are the rest variants in page 267 of the DMG, which include potential differences in a day should you make rests take longer or be shorter. Most of that applies to rests being more or less in total, since that's what the variants effectively do.

R531: A party that has more rests is allowed to regain features that recharge during them, thereby making the party more powerful than expected throughout their adventuring day.

[Dmdork]

Q533 Druid casts conjure animals and summons 8 wolves. The enemy cleric casts dispel magic. How dispel magic work for the cleric? Let's say 4 wolves over here, but other four wolves are....over there...do I direct the spell at the wolves? The Druid? What if Druid is invisible?

[E’Tallitnics]

Q533 Druid casts conjure animals and summons 8 wolves. The enemy cleric casts dispel magic. How dispel magic work for the cleric? Let's say 4 wolves over here, but other four wolves are....over there...do I direct the spell at the wolves? The Druid? What if Druid is invisible?

A533: Dispel Magic targets a creature, object or magical effect. In your example you would cast it on 1 wolf to dispel that creature. The caster concentrating on Conjure Animals doesn't have a 'magical effect' on them, the magic is each individual creature that was conjured.

[E’Tallitnics]

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS THREAD HAS BEEN REPLACED:

https://forums.giantitp.com/showthre...e-Strikes-Back

Please post new questions in the new thread. Thank you!

[Dmdork]

A533: Dispel Magic targets a creature, object or magical effect. In your example you would cast it on 1 wolf to dispel that creature. The caster concentrating on Conjure Animals doesn't have a 'magical effect' on them, the magic is each individual creature that was conjured.

Ok, so what about mirror image? I would cast it on one of the duplicates? I dont see much of a difference between those two examples.

[Dmdork]

Q534 I cast sanctuary. It says of I cast a spell that effects an enemy creature, then sanctuary drops.
I cast spirit guardians but not near an enemy. Have I still 'casted a spell that effects an enemy creature'?

[E’Tallitnics]

Ok, so what about mirror image? I would cast it on one of the duplicates? I dont see much of a difference between those two examples.

R533: The difference is that Mirror Image is a magical effect that's on the caster and Conjure Animals is magic that creates 1 or more creatures.

If you were to cast Dispel magic on a duplicate nothing would happen and the spell slot would be wasted. The same would happen if you cast it upon the caster of Conjure Animals since the magic is the creature(s) conjured.

[E’Tallitnics]

Q534 I cast sanctuary. It says of I cast a spell that effects an enemy creature, then sanctuary drops.
I cast spirit guardians but not near an enemy. Have I still 'casted a spell that effects an enemy creature'?

Due to its length this thread has re-spawned and restarted here: https://forums.giantitp.com/showthre...e-Strikes-Back

Please re-ask your question there.