In the book it's Range 150 feet. On D&D Beyond, it's Range/Area 150 feet (20-foot radius). That's the difference. D&D Beyond added areas to spells with AoE's in the range block for convenience.
Hopefully you'll reread what you've just said here and realize that it's exactly what I've been saying. Some spells already have AoEs. Wherever that occurs, D&D Beyond simply added the note about the AoE into the spell parameters for convenience. Yes, exactly.
And in Tasha's booming blade says "Range: Self (5-foot radius)." There is nothing that indicates the second part is an AoE. By the book, whether a spell is an AoE is always indicated in the effect block.
So first, we have to sit through an argument that is basically like watching a guy say: "The sky on Earth is lime green! There is no evidence otherwise." (Shows a picture of a bright blue sky. Then shows a video of a bright blue sky. He points at them.) "See! Look! Just like I said. I conclude that the sky on Earth is lime green!"
And now we are hearing an argument that goes something like:
Customer: "Hey, I want to book a flight from New York to Chicago. How far is it between those two places?"
Ticket Agent: "Oh, that's 5-foot-radius."
Yeah, this thread is deteriorating rapidly. It's as if saying things that are more and more preposterous is some sort of strategy to make it hard for others to maintain a rational conversation about the topic.
Look, the parameter thing has been discussed and resolved about 15 times now. The information about an Area of Effect is always found in the text for the spell effect. It's also sometimes written as a note in parentheses in the Range parameter. It just is. We can all flip open a book and see it there. Arguing against that is like arguing that the earth is flat. It's an easily observable fact.
Once again, all you have to do is look at the errata for the spell. Are you seriously arguing that the current version of the spell has a range of 5 feet and is attacking a creature within range? Well, guess what the previous version of the spell actually said! That version of the spell said: "Range: 5 feet" and in the spell effect: "make a melee attack with it against one creature within range".
THIS SPELL WAS CHANGED!
Now the spell says: "Range: self (5-foot-radius)" and in the spell effect: "make a melee attack with it against one creature within 5 feet of you".
After all of these thread pages and posts of people explaining the rules of the game to you, are people still seriously going to sit here and say that these two versions of the spell are exactly the same?? We are seriously going to watch people say that with a straight face? As if the spell wasn't changed at all? What sort of Twilight Zone world is this? The words on the page have changed! They are highlighted and quoted above for reference . . . again!
Because it's an obvious one. In the book it's Range 150 feet. On D&D Beyond, it's Range/Area 150 feet (20-foot radius). That's the difference. D&D Beyond added areas to spells with AoE's in the range block for convenience.
I'm not going to wade back through all those pages to figure out how you got here, but from the outside it looks like you're lost in the weeds on this argument
fireball's listed range simply isn't relevant to a discussion of Self (X) spells and whether they should be interpreted as AoEs, because it isn't a Self (X) spell
Making the claim that the Ranges on DDB aren't "RAW" is silly when the listed Range for the actual spell you're talking about -- booming blade -- is identical between DDB and Tasha's
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Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Look, the parameter thing has been discussed and resolved about 15 times now. The information about an Area of Effect is always found in the text for the spell effect. It's also sometimes written as a note in parentheses in the Range parameter. It just is. We can all flip open a book and see it there. Arguing against that is like arguing that the earth is flat. It's an easily observable fact.
And with that, I think we're done.
1. The information about an Area of Effect is always found in the text for the spell effect (See above).
2. Booming Blade does not have an Area of Effect found in its spell effect.
Hopefully you'll reread what you've just said here and realize that it's exactly what I've been saying. Some spells already have AoEs. Wherever that occurs, D&D Beyond simply added the note about the AoE into the spell parameters for convenience. Yes, exactly.
Booming blade never describes an area of effect, just a self (5' radius) in which you "make a melee attack with it against one creature within 5 feet of you." No area is ever described in the spell at all.
So, you say the spell never describes an area of effect, then you immediately quote BOTH of the places where the AoE for the spell is described. Then you conclude that no area is ever described. Yep, that's a new one.
Let's compare with Fireball: "Each creature in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on that point must make a Dexterity saving throw." Is this even an AoE spell? How do you know?
I know this was a question for WolfOfTheBees. I just wanted to say that, at least for me, the answer is obvious:
Fireball is an AoE spell: Each creature in a 20-foot-radius sphere
Booming Blade is not an AoE spell, because it doesn't mention an Area of Effect, only a range (which is important for the attack's range). Also, the word area is not used in the spell entry.
These are the Areas of Effect in DnD (emphasis mine). These are not mentioned in Booming Blade.
Spells such as burning hands and cone of cold cover an area, allowing them to affect multiple creatures at once.
A spell's description specifies its area of effect, which typically has one of five different shapes: cone, cube, cylinder, line, or sphere.
I know this was a question for WolfOfTheBees. I just wanted to say that, at least for me, the answer is obvious:
Fireball is an AoE spell: Each creature in a 20-foot-radius sphere
Booming Blade is not an AoE spell, because it doesn't mention an Area of Effect, only a range (which is important for the attack's range). Also, the word area is not used in the spell entry.
Nope, the text of Booming Blade describes the same shape that occurs in the text for Fireball -- just with a different point of origin.
The only place where the current version of Booming Blade refers to a range within the text for the effect is: "You brandish the weapon used in the spell’s casting". You know, because the range of the spell is self. As indicated by the words: "Range: self".
The errata specifically changed the wording for the spell so that the attack target is no longer within range.
Every single spell in the game which targets a creature within range uses the phrase "within range". This is because the actual range is always listed in the spell parameter, and also because there are Feats and Features which can change the range of a spell. So, it's always referred to in the relative sense, never in an absolute hard-coded way.
The area of effect that is created by a spell is always given in the text for the spell effect with an explicit size and shape that is hard-coded in its size. Even if the range of the spell changes, the Area of Effect that is created by the casting of the spell remains the same.
The spell was specifically and deliberately and explicitly changed FROM "within range" TO "within 5 feet of you". This wording intentionally describes a sphere with a radius of 5 feet that is centered on you (as it must be since the range of the spell is self). Again, this is consistent with how every spell in the game is written.
Or is the question 'why is a thing that is not a sphere a sphere too?' Remember, booming blade doesn't use that word. You are using an example that fits your view, not a relevant one.
You can't come up with more than one way to describe the size and shape of a sphere? The word sphere doesn't have to be used. The spell is only required to specify the area, by including its size and shape. When someone says that a thing has to be within an area that is within 5 feet of you -- do you automatically believe that they are referring to a dodecahedron? Or a trapezoid? Or a torus? No, that thing must be within the sphere that has a radius of 5 feet and is centered on you. It's that simple.
In fact, this is why I think booming blade is right up the alley of what the new emanation will cover: it is a spell that doesn't create a shape per se, it only affects creatures within a distance of the caster, like most of the other "self (xyz)" spells.
This may very well be true, and maybe that will be a fine improvement for spells like this. But in the 2014 rules we do not have such a mechanic. We only have 3 valid options for spell targeting. Directly targeting a creature, directly targeting an object or targeting a point of origin for an area of effect. When the range of the spell is "self", you are either trying to affect the spellcaster, or you are creating an Area of Effect whose point of origin is at the spellcaster's location. Those are currently the only options. In the case of Booming Blade, it's the latter, because the spell describes the possibility of affecting creatures that are outside of the range.
QUICK EDIT: I haven't actually read up on the new emanation mechanic, but just judging from the word itself and in the context of spellcasting I believe that it will still function like a spell that targets self. In other words, in the way that the clear path rule describes casting a spell from the source to the target, you would still be casting the spell ON yourself. But the spell effect would be radiating outwards from you in a specific manner that is described by the spell effect, instead of radiating outwards indiscriminately to fill a specific size and shape. The target of such spells "should" still be the spellcaster, although it's quite possible that they'll butcher that concept in the process.
2. Booming Blade does not have an Area of Effect found in its spell effect.
Wrong.
Really?
You brandish the weapon used in the spell’s casting and make a melee attack with it against one creature within 5 feet of you. On a hit, the target suffers the weapon attack’s normal effects and then becomes sheathed in booming energy until the start of your next turn. If the target willingly moves 5 feet or more before then, the target takes 1d8 thunder damage, and the spell ends.
2. Booming Blade does not have an Area of Effect found in its spell effect.
Wrong.
Really?
You brandish the weapon used in the spell’s casting and make a melee attack with it against one creature within 5 feet of you. On a hit, the target suffers the weapon attack’s normal effects and then becomes sheathed in booming energy until the start of your next turn. If the target willingly moves 5 feet or more before then, the target takes 1d8 thunder damage, and the spell ends.
Where is the AoE in the spell effect?
The AoE is fully specified by the combination of "Range: self" and "within 5 feet of you". You are the point of origin and the AoE extends outwards exactly 5 feet in every direction.
2. Booming Blade does not have an Area of Effect found in its spell effect.
Wrong.
Really?
You brandish the weapon used in the spell’s casting and make a melee attack with it against one creature within 5 feet of you. On a hit, the target suffers the weapon attack’s normal effects and then becomes sheathed in booming energy until the start of your next turn. If the target willingly moves 5 feet or more before then, the target takes 1d8 thunder damage, and the spell ends.
Where is the AoE in the spell effect?
The AoE is fully specified by the combination of "Range: self" and "within 5 feet of you". You are the point of origin and the AoE extends outwards exactly 5 feet in every direction.
That is not how AoE is indicated in spell effects.
A spell’s description specifies its area of effect, which typically has one of five different shapes: cone, cube, cylinder, line, or sphere.
AoE is indicated by a shape in the effect... Thus indicated its Area of Effect.
If there are spells that use a particular range that are clearly spheres and some that are clearly not, then there has to be some way to distinguish or the conclusion that you cannot distinguish. If you are saying that you must be able to distinguish, then it has to be by something in the spell itself -- since that is what is different for ones that are clearly not spheres.
I didn't really follow all of that but I'll just say that in this game specifying a particular hard-coded distance away from a specific point in space is pretty much the definition for the radius of a sphere. The range of a spell is a different concept which has to do with the maximum distance the spell can "travel" between the source and its target, and when a range of a spell is "self" that means that the spell doesn't go anywhere, it is cast on the spellcaster or to a point at the spellcaster's location. Two different concepts, clearly differentiated by the wording that exists within this spell's description in two different places.
That is not how AoE is indicated in spell effects.
A spell’s description specifies its area of effect, which typically has one of five different shapes: cone, cube, cylinder, line, or sphere.
AoE is indicated by a shape in the effect... Thus indicated its Area of Effect.
This text is absolutely NOT creating some sort of requirement about exactly how a spell must be written to "count" as being an AoE spell. That's ridiculous. This is just explaining that a typical AoE will usually (but not always) come in one of those forms that is listed. It tells you that the spell's description (parameters + spell effect) will describe what the AoE is for that spell.
The convention that is actually used in the game is that a spell that directly targets a spell within range will use the phrase "within range", and an Area for the spell will use exact numbers for its size. In the case of Booming Blade, this information also aligns exactly with the Area information that's given in the spell parameters even though noting the Area in the parameters is not a requirement. They were making this redundanly explicit in this case.
So ok, if we still have people here that fail to acknowledge that the spell was changed via errata then we're at an impasse as you are just ignoring obvious fact. If you really want the spell to directly target a creature within a range of 5 feet then just use the old version of the spell, I don't know what else to tell you.
And "within x feet of you" isn't a text that necessarily means there's an AoE. The spell's description must explicitly define an area and the effects within that area. Booming Blade only specifies effects on the target, not the area.
And no one is ignoring the errata. It was fully explained by the developers that the change was to place the point of origin at the caster, but not the target. It continues to work with war caster per the originators of that errata. That is what you are ignoring.
Booming Blade only specifies effects on the target, not the area.
False. The effect on the affected creature is specified as "suffers the weapon attack’s normal effects and then becomes sheathed in booming energy". This description has nothing to do with the AoE for the spell and nothing to do with the target of the spell. It is the consequence that is specified for this spell of how a creature is affected that is located within the defined Area -- which is explicitly NOT within the range of this spell. Again, the creature is located within a defined Area, not within the range of the spell. Again, the creature is located within a defined Area, not within the range of the spell.
You keep on bringing up the same thing even after the rules of the game have been explained to you. If you are interested in the rules, they have been provided for you. But you can run your game however you want -- nothing is stopping you from doing that.
The effect on the affected creature is specified as "suffers the weapon attack’s normal effects and then becomes sheathed in booming energy". This description has nothing to do with the AoE for the spell and nothing to do with the target of the spell.
Booming Blade only specifies effects on the target, not the area.
And no one is ignoring the errata. It was fully explained by the developers that the change was to place the point of origin at the caster, but not the target. It continues to work with war caster per the originators of that errata. That is what you are ignoring.
All of this is false for multiple reasons. And regardless of whatever you think you are interpreting from some developer's comments, this is just not what the rules say, it's not what the rules mean, and this is not how the rules work. This has already been fully explained in excruciating detail probably 15 - 20 times now so I don't feel like writing up another explanation to correct the same falsehoods right now yet again.
The effect on the affected creature is specified as "suffers the weapon attack’s normal effects and then becomes sheathed in booming energy". This description has nothing to do with the AoE for the spell and nothing to do with the target of the spell.
2. Booming Blade does not have an Area of Effect found in its spell effect.
Wrong.
I said it's not, you said wrong. So where is the AoE found in the spell effect?
The AoE for Booming Blade is fully defined by the description which says that it can affect "one creature within 5 feet of you." An exact size and shape and location are all provided by this text. In addition, this works alongside the other important information in the spell description which specifies that this spell follows this parameter: "Range: self (5-foot-radius)". This means that the spell effect is explicitly talking about the possibility of affecting a creature that is located outside the range of the spell. We know from the general rules for spellcasting that there are exactly 3 categories of spell targets in the game that are valid. Because the affected creature can be located outside of the range of the spell, then even just by process of elimination this means that the target MUST be an AoE, since that is the only scenario which remains consistent with the general rules for spellcasting. But of course, besides the fact that it must be so, the text explicitly provides an exact size, shape and location for the AoE. I'm sorry that you don't like the wording of the flavor-text or the lack thereof, so we don't get a pretty mental picture of some sort of magically glowing sphere in space with this spell -- none of that is a requirement. All that we need is the size and shape and location of the AoE that is created by the spell, and we have that.
Now -- before we move on, I would highly encourage you and whoever else might still be participating in this topic to scroll back up and review my Post #229 for this topic. I posed a few questions for the group in that Post that were not meant to be rhetorical questions. If possible, I would ask you all to make a serious attempt to provide some answers to those questions in a sensible manner -- I think that it might be a helpful way for each of us to understand the other's interpretation. If you actually are having a lot of trouble coming up with answers that make any sense, then perhaps it might be time to examine whether or not you are using the correct interpretation of the rules.
In addition, this works alongside the other important information in the spell description which specifies that this spell follows this parameter: "Range: self (5-foot-radius)". This means that the spell effect is explicitly talking about the possibility of affecting a creature that is located outside the range of the spell.
You argue this means the spell can affect a creature outside the range of the spell. However, the 5 feet is within the range parameter. Furthermore, D&D Beyond's "Range/Area" notation is not an official rule; it's a presentation for clarity. This point lacks support from official sources.
Booming Blade only specifies effects on the target, not the area.
And no one is ignoring the errata. It was fully explained by the developers that the change was to place the point of origin at the caster, but not the target. It continues to work with war caster per the originators of that errata. That is what you are ignoring.
All of this is false for multiple reasons. And regardless of whatever you think you are interpreting from some developer's comments, this is just not what the rules say, it's not what the rules mean, and this is not how the rules work. This has already been fully explained in excruciating detail probably 15 - 20 times now so I don't feel like writing up another explanation to correct the same falsehoods right now yet again.
Whatever your opinion, stop pretending like we are “ignoring the errata” when it has been addressed with sources. We're not ignoring anything.
The AoE for Booming Blade is fully defined by the description which says that it can affect "one creature within 5 feet of you." An exact size and shape and location are all provided by this text.
You claim the AoE for Booming Blade is fully defined by "one creature within 5 feet of you." If that's the Area, then what's the Effect? An AoE without an Effect is just an area. You've already stated the booming energy “has nothing to do with the AoE for the spell,” so what is the Effect in your interpretation?
However, the 5 feet is within the range parameter. Furthermore, D&D Beyond's "Range/Area" notation is not an official rule; it's a presentation for clarity. This point lacks support from official sources.
The reference to the 5-foot-radius in the Range block is a note about the Area of Effect for the spell. Within 5 feet of the spellcaster is outside of the range for the spell, which is "self".
Whatever your opinion, stop pretending like we are “ignoring the errata” when it has been addressed with sources. We're not ignoring anything.
There's no "pretending" involved whatsoever. Ignoring the errata is exactly what you are doing. When someone repeatedly points out to you that the spell has been changed:
FROM "Range: 5 feet" and "within range"
TO "Range: self (5-foot-radius)" and "within 5 feet of you"
and then you proceed to claim that the spell directly targets a creature within a range of 5 feet . . . then you are absolutely 100% ignoring the errata.
You claim the AoE for Booming Blade is fully defined by "one creature within 5 feet of you." If that's the Area, then what's the Effect? An AoE without an Effect is just an area. You've already stated the booming energy “has nothing to do with the AoE for the spell,” so what is the Effect in your interpretation?
That's correct. The booming energy is what lingers on the affected creature after it has already been affected by the Area of Effect. The Effect that exists within the Area of Effect is the magical effect that fills up the sphere (created by the casting of the spell) that has the power to affect any one creature within it that is successfully attacked and hit by a particular weapon in the manner described. This magical effect and the impact from this weapon interact in such a way that they cause the creature who was hit to become sheathed in booming energy for a short while.
Now -- before we move on, I would highly encourage you and whoever else might still be participating in this topic to scroll back up and review my Post #229 for this topic. I posed a few questions for the group in that Post that were not meant to be rhetorical questions. If possible, I would ask you all to make a serious attempt to provide some answers to those questions in a sensible manner -- I think that it might be a helpful way for each of us to understand the other's interpretation. If you actually are having a lot of trouble coming up with answers that make any sense, then perhaps it might be time to examine whether or not you are using the correct interpretation of the rules.
However, the 5 feet is within the range parameter. Furthermore, D&D Beyond's "Range/Area" notation is not an official rule; it's a presentation for clarity. This point lacks support from official sources.
The reference to the 5-foot-radius in the Range block is a note about the Area of Effect for the spell. Within 5 feet of the spellcaster is outside of the range for the spell, which is "self".
Cite... a... rule to support that claim. You haven't cited anything to say that must be an area for an AoE. I will ignore this until you back it up.
TO "Range: self (5-foot-radius)" and "within 5 feet of you" and then you proceed to claim that the spell directly targets a creature within a range of 5 feet . . . then you are absolutely 100% ignoring the errata.
Except we cited rulings from the Devs addressing the errata. Your satisfaction with the answer is not required to say we addressed it.
The Effect that exists within the Area of Effect is the magical effect that fills up the sphere (created by the casting of the spell) that has the power to affect any one creature within it that is successfully attacked and hit by a particular weapon in the manner described.
None of that is in the effect description... you cannot claim an AoE is in the effect description and then make up an effect that isn't there. Your head cannon is not RAW. Remember, you said "Booming Blade does not have an Area of Effect found in its spell effect" is wrong. Made up effects that aren't written down don't count. Point out something RAW in the effect or concede.
If simply having a range makes something an AoE, then handaxes are an AoE weapon.
If this isn't the case, then it means the range alone isn't enough to make something an AoE.
Booming Blade lists a range of 5 ft originating from the self. As the spell's description explicitly states, the target of the spell is a creature, and part of casting the spell is attacking the target of the spell with a weapon. The range is just a description of how far away it can hit. For it to qualify as an AoE, it would have to be able to affect more than one target in that range at the same time (without modifiers such as Twinned Spell).
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And in Tasha's booming blade says "Range: Self (5-foot radius)." There is nothing that indicates the second part is an AoE. By the book, whether a spell is an AoE is always indicated in the effect block.
So first, we have to sit through an argument that is basically like watching a guy say: "The sky on Earth is lime green! There is no evidence otherwise." (Shows a picture of a bright blue sky. Then shows a video of a bright blue sky. He points at them.) "See! Look! Just like I said. I conclude that the sky on Earth is lime green!"
And now we are hearing an argument that goes something like:
Customer: "Hey, I want to book a flight from New York to Chicago. How far is it between those two places?"
Ticket Agent: "Oh, that's 5-foot-radius."
Yeah, this thread is deteriorating rapidly. It's as if saying things that are more and more preposterous is some sort of strategy to make it hard for others to maintain a rational conversation about the topic.
Look, the parameter thing has been discussed and resolved about 15 times now. The information about an Area of Effect is always found in the text for the spell effect. It's also sometimes written as a note in parentheses in the Range parameter. It just is. We can all flip open a book and see it there. Arguing against that is like arguing that the earth is flat. It's an easily observable fact.
Once again, all you have to do is look at the errata for the spell. Are you seriously arguing that the current version of the spell has a range of 5 feet and is attacking a creature within range? Well, guess what the previous version of the spell actually said! That version of the spell said: "Range: 5 feet" and in the spell effect: "make a melee attack with it against one creature within range".
THIS SPELL WAS CHANGED!
Now the spell says: "Range: self (5-foot-radius)" and in the spell effect: "make a melee attack with it against one creature within 5 feet of you".
After all of these thread pages and posts of people explaining the rules of the game to you, are people still seriously going to sit here and say that these two versions of the spell are exactly the same?? We are seriously going to watch people say that with a straight face? As if the spell wasn't changed at all? What sort of Twilight Zone world is this? The words on the page have changed! They are highlighted and quoted above for reference . . . again!
I'm not going to wade back through all those pages to figure out how you got here, but from the outside it looks like you're lost in the weeds on this argument
fireball's listed range simply isn't relevant to a discussion of Self (X) spells and whether they should be interpreted as AoEs, because it isn't a Self (X) spell
Making the claim that the Ranges on DDB aren't "RAW" is silly when the listed Range for the actual spell you're talking about -- booming blade -- is identical between DDB and Tasha's
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
And with that, I think we're done.
1. The information about an Area of Effect is always found in the text for the spell effect (See above).
2. Booming Blade does not have an Area of Effect found in its spell effect.
3. Therefore Booming Blade does not have an AoE.
QED.
I know this was a question for WolfOfTheBees. I just wanted to say that, at least for me, the answer is obvious:
These are the Areas of Effect in DnD (emphasis mine). These are not mentioned in Booming Blade.
Wrong.
Nope, the text of Booming Blade describes the same shape that occurs in the text for Fireball -- just with a different point of origin.
The only place where the current version of Booming Blade refers to a range within the text for the effect is: "You brandish the weapon used in the spell’s casting". You know, because the range of the spell is self. As indicated by the words: "Range: self".
The errata specifically changed the wording for the spell so that the attack target is no longer within range.
Every single spell in the game which targets a creature within range uses the phrase "within range". This is because the actual range is always listed in the spell parameter, and also because there are Feats and Features which can change the range of a spell. So, it's always referred to in the relative sense, never in an absolute hard-coded way.
The area of effect that is created by a spell is always given in the text for the spell effect with an explicit size and shape that is hard-coded in its size. Even if the range of the spell changes, the Area of Effect that is created by the casting of the spell remains the same.
The spell was specifically and deliberately and explicitly changed FROM "within range" TO "within 5 feet of you". This wording intentionally describes a sphere with a radius of 5 feet that is centered on you (as it must be since the range of the spell is self). Again, this is consistent with how every spell in the game is written.
You can't come up with more than one way to describe the size and shape of a sphere? The word sphere doesn't have to be used. The spell is only required to specify the area, by including its size and shape. When someone says that a thing has to be within an area that is within 5 feet of you -- do you automatically believe that they are referring to a dodecahedron? Or a trapezoid? Or a torus? No, that thing must be within the sphere that has a radius of 5 feet and is centered on you. It's that simple.
This may very well be true, and maybe that will be a fine improvement for spells like this. But in the 2014 rules we do not have such a mechanic. We only have 3 valid options for spell targeting. Directly targeting a creature, directly targeting an object or targeting a point of origin for an area of effect. When the range of the spell is "self", you are either trying to affect the spellcaster, or you are creating an Area of Effect whose point of origin is at the spellcaster's location. Those are currently the only options. In the case of Booming Blade, it's the latter, because the spell describes the possibility of affecting creatures that are outside of the range.
QUICK EDIT: I haven't actually read up on the new emanation mechanic, but just judging from the word itself and in the context of spellcasting I believe that it will still function like a spell that targets self. In other words, in the way that the clear path rule describes casting a spell from the source to the target, you would still be casting the spell ON yourself. But the spell effect would be radiating outwards from you in a specific manner that is described by the spell effect, instead of radiating outwards indiscriminately to fill a specific size and shape. The target of such spells "should" still be the spellcaster, although it's quite possible that they'll butcher that concept in the process.
Really?
Where is the AoE in the spell effect?
The AoE is fully specified by the combination of "Range: self" and "within 5 feet of you". You are the point of origin and the AoE extends outwards exactly 5 feet in every direction.
That is not how AoE is indicated in spell effects.
AoE is indicated by a shape in the effect... Thus indicated its Area of Effect.
I didn't really follow all of that but I'll just say that in this game specifying a particular hard-coded distance away from a specific point in space is pretty much the definition for the radius of a sphere. The range of a spell is a different concept which has to do with the maximum distance the spell can "travel" between the source and its target, and when a range of a spell is "self" that means that the spell doesn't go anywhere, it is cast on the spellcaster or to a point at the spellcaster's location. Two different concepts, clearly differentiated by the wording that exists within this spell's description in two different places.
This text is absolutely NOT creating some sort of requirement about exactly how a spell must be written to "count" as being an AoE spell. That's ridiculous. This is just explaining that a typical AoE will usually (but not always) come in one of those forms that is listed. It tells you that the spell's description (parameters + spell effect) will describe what the AoE is for that spell.
The convention that is actually used in the game is that a spell that directly targets a spell within range will use the phrase "within range", and an Area for the spell will use exact numbers for its size. In the case of Booming Blade, this information also aligns exactly with the Area information that's given in the spell parameters even though noting the Area in the parameters is not a requirement. They were making this redundanly explicit in this case.
So ok, if we still have people here that fail to acknowledge that the spell was changed via errata then we're at an impasse as you are just ignoring obvious fact. If you really want the spell to directly target a creature within a range of 5 feet then just use the old version of the spell, I don't know what else to tell you.
And "within x feet of you" isn't a text that necessarily means there's an AoE. The spell's description must explicitly define an area and the effects within that area. Booming Blade only specifies effects on the target, not the area.
And no one is ignoring the errata. It was fully explained by the developers that the change was to place the point of origin at the caster, but not the target. It continues to work with war caster per the originators of that errata. That is what you are ignoring.
False. The effect on the affected creature is specified as "suffers the weapon attack’s normal effects and then becomes sheathed in booming energy". This description has nothing to do with the AoE for the spell and nothing to do with the target of the spell. It is the consequence that is specified for this spell of how a creature is affected that is located within the defined Area -- which is explicitly NOT within the range of this spell. Again, the creature is located within a defined Area, not within the range of the spell. Again, the creature is located within a defined Area, not within the range of the spell.
You keep on bringing up the same thing even after the rules of the game have been explained to you. If you are interested in the rules, they have been provided for you. But you can run your game however you want -- nothing is stopping you from doing that.
Ok...
I said it's not, you said wrong. So where is the AoE found in the spell effect?
All of this is false for multiple reasons. And regardless of whatever you think you are interpreting from some developer's comments, this is just not what the rules say, it's not what the rules mean, and this is not how the rules work. This has already been fully explained in excruciating detail probably 15 - 20 times now so I don't feel like writing up another explanation to correct the same falsehoods right now yet again.
The AoE for Booming Blade is fully defined by the description which says that it can affect "one creature within 5 feet of you." An exact size and shape and location are all provided by this text. In addition, this works alongside the other important information in the spell description which specifies that this spell follows this parameter: "Range: self (5-foot-radius)". This means that the spell effect is explicitly talking about the possibility of affecting a creature that is located outside the range of the spell. We know from the general rules for spellcasting that there are exactly 3 categories of spell targets in the game that are valid. Because the affected creature can be located outside of the range of the spell, then even just by process of elimination this means that the target MUST be an AoE, since that is the only scenario which remains consistent with the general rules for spellcasting. But of course, besides the fact that it must be so, the text explicitly provides an exact size, shape and location for the AoE. I'm sorry that you don't like the wording of the flavor-text or the lack thereof, so we don't get a pretty mental picture of some sort of magically glowing sphere in space with this spell -- none of that is a requirement. All that we need is the size and shape and location of the AoE that is created by the spell, and we have that.
Now -- before we move on, I would highly encourage you and whoever else might still be participating in this topic to scroll back up and review my Post #229 for this topic. I posed a few questions for the group in that Post that were not meant to be rhetorical questions. If possible, I would ask you all to make a serious attempt to provide some answers to those questions in a sensible manner -- I think that it might be a helpful way for each of us to understand the other's interpretation. If you actually are having a lot of trouble coming up with answers that make any sense, then perhaps it might be time to examine whether or not you are using the correct interpretation of the rules.
You argue this means the spell can affect a creature outside the range of the spell. However, the 5 feet is within the range parameter. Furthermore, D&D Beyond's "Range/Area" notation is not an official rule; it's a presentation for clarity. This point lacks support from official sources.
Whatever your opinion, stop pretending like we are “ignoring the errata” when it has been addressed with sources. We're not ignoring anything.
You claim the AoE for Booming Blade is fully defined by "one creature within 5 feet of you." If that's the Area, then what's the Effect? An AoE without an Effect is just an area. You've already stated the booming energy “has nothing to do with the AoE for the spell,” so what is the Effect in your interpretation?
The reference to the 5-foot-radius in the Range block is a note about the Area of Effect for the spell. Within 5 feet of the spellcaster is outside of the range for the spell, which is "self".
There's no "pretending" involved whatsoever. Ignoring the errata is exactly what you are doing. When someone repeatedly points out to you that the spell has been changed:
FROM "Range: 5 feet" and "within range"
TO "Range: self (5-foot-radius)" and "within 5 feet of you"
and then you proceed to claim that the spell directly targets a creature within a range of 5 feet . . . then you are absolutely 100% ignoring the errata.
That's correct. The booming energy is what lingers on the affected creature after it has already been affected by the Area of Effect. The Effect that exists within the Area of Effect is the magical effect that fills up the sphere (created by the casting of the spell) that has the power to affect any one creature within it that is successfully attacked and hit by a particular weapon in the manner described. This magical effect and the impact from this weapon interact in such a way that they cause the creature who was hit to become sheathed in booming energy for a short while.
Now -- before we move on, I would highly encourage you and whoever else might still be participating in this topic to scroll back up and review my Post #229 for this topic. I posed a few questions for the group in that Post that were not meant to be rhetorical questions. If possible, I would ask you all to make a serious attempt to provide some answers to those questions in a sensible manner -- I think that it might be a helpful way for each of us to understand the other's interpretation. If you actually are having a lot of trouble coming up with answers that make any sense, then perhaps it might be time to examine whether or not you are using the correct interpretation of the rules.
Cite... a... rule to support that claim. You haven't cited anything to say that must be an area for an AoE. I will ignore this until you back it up.
Except we cited rulings from the Devs addressing the errata. Your satisfaction with the answer is not required to say we addressed it.
None of that is in the effect description... you cannot claim an AoE is in the effect description and then make up an effect that isn't there. Your head cannon is not RAW. Remember, you said "Booming Blade does not have an Area of Effect found in its spell effect" is wrong. Made up effects that aren't written down don't count. Point out something RAW in the effect or concede.
Oh, we are not moving onto that until you address these problems. These are core issues and you need to reconcile them before we talk about that.
If simply having a range makes something an AoE, then handaxes are an AoE weapon.
If this isn't the case, then it means the range alone isn't enough to make something an AoE.
Booming Blade lists a range of 5 ft originating from the self. As the spell's description explicitly states, the target of the spell is a creature, and part of casting the spell is attacking the target of the spell with a weapon. The range is just a description of how far away it can hit. For it to qualify as an AoE, it would have to be able to affect more than one target in that range at the same time (without modifiers such as Twinned Spell).