I'm in a great campaign right now where I play a Light Cleric, and lately I've had a ruling question come up with my DM over the use of Warding Flare.
My character's been put into situations where she, for example, gets manacled while her companions are fighting or is trying to stop an attack on a companion who's been outed while they were undercover, and in those situations my DM hasn't been sure if you can use Warding Flare when, like in the first situation, your hands are tied, or like in the second, if you can just use it without an enemy noticing it coming from you or if you have to make a Stealth or Slight of Hand check. I've looked into it, and nothing in the Player's Handbook or any other source explicitly states that using Warding Flare requires any components (verbal/somatic) that would make it so that you couldn't use it if you were tied up somehow or if using it made it very clear where it came from.
The wording is pretty ambiguous; "you can interpose divine light between yourself and an attacking enemy. When you are attacked by a creature within 30 feet of you that you can see, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll, causing light to flare before the attacker before it hits or misses." It makes it seem like the light just kind of springs out from the heavens or something, without any gesture or vocalization from the user. Since it's a Cleric ability and not a spell, and doesn't require a save of any kind, I'm really not sure how it works mechanically. It might work like Hellish Rebuke, but that specifically states that you point your finger at the target and this doesn't. My question is essentially, does using Warding Flare require verbal/somatic components? If anyone has any leads on this, it'd be greatly appreciated. I'm sure this is just a DM specific thing, but I'd love to know if this has come up for anyone else and what other DM's might have to say about it!
This doesn't quite answer your question. But the wording specifically says when "you" are attacked and it puts the barrier between "yourself and an attacking enemy", so you wouldn't be able to use it to protect an ally who is being attacked, no matter the ruling on how it works.
That said, exactly how it works is wide open to interpretation. The rule I'd generally go with is, if the book doesn't say something is required, then it is not required. So since it doesn't say anything about needing any sort of verbal or somatic component, then it doesn't. However, it does seem like a reasonable thing to say you need to do some kind of something to make it work besides just thinking it. So I think your DM's ruling is pretty reasonable, as long as they remain consistent with it in the future both for you and for any NPCs/enemies that you encounter.
I would rule that the divine power doesn't need you to actually do anything to make it manifest so yes you can do it if you're tied up, BUT the effect itself is noticeable. It's a flare of light, it's very visible and unless you are somehow surrounded by mirrors on a bright day, no one's going to think it's anything but a supernatural manifestation.
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Canto alla vita alla sua bellezza ad ogni sua ferita ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
I am also currently playing a light cleric! According to the rules as written, Warding Flare does not require any verbal, somatic, or material components, and the target gets no saving throw against it. You simply will it to happen and it happens. As long as you are aware of the attack (i.e.: conscious, can see or otherwise perceive the incoming attack) it happens. You could be shackled, gagged, and hanging by your ankles over a campfire... as long as you're conscious and you see the attack coming, you can impose disadvantage. Granted, at level one you can only use this ability to protect yourself, not others. And since it does generate a bright flash of light between you and the attacker, any attacker with an intelligence above 1 will probably figure out that you did it.
When you reach level 6 you'll get the class ability "Improved Flare" which functions exactly the same way, but allows you to impose disadvantage to an attack roll against any other creature within 30 feet of you. Also, since Improved Flare interposes the bright flash of light between the attacker and their target, which may be up to 30 feet away from you, it may be more difficult in that situation for the enemy to determine exactly who caused the flare to happen.
For reference, the RAW: "Also at 1st level, you can interpose divine light between yourself and an attacking enemy. When you are attacked by a creature within 30 feet of you that you can see, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll, causing light to flare before the attacker before it hits or misses. An attacker that can't be blinded is immune to this feature. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest."
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Tayn of Darkwood. Lvl 10 human Life Cleric of Lathander. Retired.
Ikram Sahir ibn Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad, Second Son of the House of Ra'ad, Defender of the Burning Sands. Lvl 9 Brass Dragonborn Sorcerer + Greater Fire Elemental Devil.
Viktor Gavriil. Lvl 20 White Dragonborn Grave Cleric, of Kurgan the God of Death.
Anzio Faro. Lvl 5 Prot. Aasimar Light Cleric.
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Hi folks,
I'm in a great campaign right now where I play a Light Cleric, and lately I've had a ruling question come up with my DM over the use of Warding Flare.
My character's been put into situations where she, for example, gets manacled while her companions are fighting or is trying to stop an attack on a companion who's been outed while they were undercover, and in those situations my DM hasn't been sure if you can use Warding Flare when, like in the first situation, your hands are tied, or like in the second, if you can just use it without an enemy noticing it coming from you or if you have to make a Stealth or Slight of Hand check. I've looked into it, and nothing in the Player's Handbook or any other source explicitly states that using Warding Flare requires any components (verbal/somatic) that would make it so that you couldn't use it if you were tied up somehow or if using it made it very clear where it came from.
The wording is pretty ambiguous; "you can interpose divine light between yourself and an attacking enemy. When you are attacked by a creature within 30 feet of you that you can see,
you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll, causing light to flare before the attacker before it hits or misses." It makes it seem like the light just kind of springs out from the heavens or something, without any gesture or vocalization from the user. Since it's a Cleric ability and not a spell, and doesn't require a save of any kind, I'm really not sure how it works mechanically. It might work like Hellish Rebuke, but that specifically states that you point your finger at the target and this doesn't. My question is essentially, does using Warding Flare require verbal/somatic components? If anyone has any leads on this, it'd be greatly appreciated. I'm sure this is just a DM specific thing, but I'd love to know if this has come up for anyone else and what other DM's might have to say about it!
This doesn't quite answer your question. But the wording specifically says when "you" are attacked and it puts the barrier between "yourself and an attacking enemy", so you wouldn't be able to use it to protect an ally who is being attacked, no matter the ruling on how it works.
That said, exactly how it works is wide open to interpretation. The rule I'd generally go with is, if the book doesn't say something is required, then it is not required. So since it doesn't say anything about needing any sort of verbal or somatic component, then it doesn't. However, it does seem like a reasonable thing to say you need to do some kind of something to make it work besides just thinking it. So I think your DM's ruling is pretty reasonable, as long as they remain consistent with it in the future both for you and for any NPCs/enemies that you encounter.
I would rule that the divine power doesn't need you to actually do anything to make it manifest so yes you can do it if you're tied up, BUT the effect itself is noticeable. It's a flare of light, it's very visible and unless you are somehow surrounded by mirrors on a bright day, no one's going to think it's anything but a supernatural manifestation.
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
I am also currently playing a light cleric! According to the rules as written, Warding Flare does not require any verbal, somatic, or material components, and the target gets no saving throw against it. You simply will it to happen and it happens. As long as you are aware of the attack (i.e.: conscious, can see or otherwise perceive the incoming attack) it happens. You could be shackled, gagged, and hanging by your ankles over a campfire... as long as you're conscious and you see the attack coming, you can impose disadvantage. Granted, at level one you can only use this ability to protect yourself, not others. And since it does generate a bright flash of light between you and the attacker, any attacker with an intelligence above 1 will probably figure out that you did it.
When you reach level 6 you'll get the class ability "Improved Flare" which functions exactly the same way, but allows you to impose disadvantage to an attack roll against any other creature within 30 feet of you. Also, since Improved Flare interposes the bright flash of light between the attacker and their target, which may be up to 30 feet away from you, it may be more difficult in that situation for the enemy to determine exactly who caused the flare to happen.
For reference, the RAW: "Also at 1st level, you can interpose divine light between yourself and an attacking enemy. When you are attacked by a creature within 30 feet of you that you can see, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll, causing light to flare before the attacker before it hits or misses. An attacker that can't be blinded is immune to this feature. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest."
Tayn of Darkwood. Lvl 10 human Life Cleric of Lathander. Retired.
Ikram Sahir ibn Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad, Second Son of the House of Ra'ad, Defender of the Burning Sands. Lvl 9 Brass Dragonborn Sorcerer + Greater Fire Elemental Devil.
Viktor Gavriil. Lvl 20 White Dragonborn Grave Cleric, of Kurgan the God of Death.
Anzio Faro. Lvl 5 Prot. Aasimar Light Cleric.