Simple, just like the title states. A google search of the topic shows people have differing opinions on this. Can an Ethereal creature pass through Leomund's Tiny Hut? Specifically, a Night Hag using Nightmare Haunting? The spell reads that creatures cannot pass through, but doesn't specify in what form.
I feel as if it were an exception for the Ethereal Plane, the spell's description would have said so. So, I am inclined to think that Leomund's Tiny Hut wouldn't let pass creature on the Ethereal Plane.
DMG p.48 says "solid objects on the overlapped plane don't hamper the movement of a creature in the Border Ethereal The exceptions are certain magical effects (including anything made of magical force)". Tiny Huts says: "A 10-foot-radius immobile dome of force springs into existence around and above you".
Well, that makes the answer pretty clear, thanks! But then there's the tired old argument...does the hut have a floor? I've heard people asking "can you dig under the hut?" which I always dismissed as something that most monsters wouldn't bother with or wouldn't be intelligent enough to attempt, but in the case of an ethereal creature, who could pass through the ground with no effort, could they go under?
This would be good to get an official ruling on, because of ahofford's point about if the hut has a floor. If so, then it blocks ethereal creatures unless they were already inside the dome when you cast the spell. If not, it is functionally useless.
Ohhhh, I didn't even think about an ethereal creature already being inside the dome when you cast it, that's a good one! Still doesn't answer the question about the floor, but does provide a logical way to get an ethereal creature inside, assuming the PCs have no way to see ethereal creatures!
I assume the dome is really just the top half of a sphere or that it has a floor to prevent tunneling in. Leomund was no fool of a wizard to design such a fallible spell as you would imply.
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"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
If I recall correctly there was some conversation about a similar spell, and similar question about digging under it. I can't remember the spell name, but I do know that it was a force spell, and there was a link to Sage advice saying that the spell had a floor to it, describing it as a hemisphere with a floor. With that being said, I would be willing to assume that the hut would have a floor as well.
"A 10-foot-radius immobile dome of force springs into existence around and above you..."
It goes into detail but omits "beneath you". Also see https://www.yourdictionary.com/dome for what a dome technically is. I'm not trying to be facetious, I looked it up myself just to be sure. It only includes the top, or cover.
Welcome to the forums FtAshes! (I commend you on your first post, and hope you'll make many more : )
You make a good point, but note that the spell's range also says it's a "10-foot radius hemisphere", which is what the Sage used to justify his ruling (because hemispheres do have floors). Really though, DM's can decide anyway they like. I know which way I'll decide because:
In previous editions, the hemispherical interior was completely protected by a spherical shell: "Half the sphere projects above the ground, and the lower hemisphere passes through the ground"... "The interior of the hut is a hemisphere".
5e reworded the spell, but I see no indication that the writers now intended it to be vulnerable to burrowing, shoveling or flooding.
The context of the spell seems to go against such a vulnerability
Leomund was no fool of a wizard.
My players would almost certainly view me as a jerk if I ever actually used such a vulnerability (say, by digging slightly underneath the edge... enough to stick a finger through and blast them with a spell).
That last one is probably the biggest deal; players will likely expect the spell will protect them. But ymmv
Since this seems to be the most relevant discussion of this spell and it hasn't been mentioned here, I'll mention that you can still cast Dispel Magic on the dome itself to end it.
It also seems that even though the hut has a floor, most topics I've found about this spell fail to mention that since inhabitants of the hut "move freely" through the hut, they also probably have no way of preventing themselves from falling through the bottom if the "real" floor the hut is cast over were to be removed out from under them, for example with Mold Earth, Transmute Rock, or maybe just some particularly industrious digging. If they happen to get the caster of the hut to fall out, the whole thing will end.
Just because objects CAN move freely if they were in the hut, does not mean they will. I don't think the ground would drop out if you excavated all around it. There would just be a hemisphere of soil or rock stuck inside the dome. Even if you want to say it falls out on its own, there is nothing forcing the people inside to just fall through the bottom. If they want to move through it they CAN move through it.
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"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Just because objects CAN move freely if they were in the hut, does not mean they will. I don't think the ground would drop out if you excavated all around it. There would just be a hemisphere of soil or rock stuck inside the dome. Even if you want to say it falls out on its own, there is nothing forcing the people inside to just fall through the bottom. If they want to move through it they CAN move through it.
Yeah, that's a totally valid interpretation. It depends on whether you decide the word "can" explicitly gives the creatures inside some kind of agency over the hut's behavior, or just describes how the hut treats anything inside it. I could certainly agree to your argument for the former, since otherwise the word "can" seems a bit superfluous and could (should?) be omitted from the description. I just kind of prefer the latter because I like the simplicity of saying "stuff inside moves through the dome, stuff outside doesn't".
I would interpret "can" as being synonymous with "may" in this usage. You can, or may, push an object from within the Hut to outside it, but it will not do so without intent. I would allow a spear to be leaned against the inside wall for instance, or a character to lean up against for that matter.
What is not stated is if the permission to pass through works in both directions. Can you leave and then reenter? I am going to guess that no, you cannot.
Yes (unless you are the caster). The spell says: "Creatures and objects within the dome when you cast this spell can move through it freely". Conditional directionality is not indicated.
Simple, just like the title states. A google search of the topic shows people have differing opinions on this. Can an Ethereal creature pass through Leomund's Tiny Hut? Specifically, a Night Hag using Nightmare Haunting? The spell reads that creatures cannot pass through, but doesn't specify in what form.
I feel as if it were an exception for the Ethereal Plane, the spell's description would have said so. So, I am inclined to think that Leomund's Tiny Hut wouldn't let pass creature on the Ethereal Plane.
That's how I ruled it on the spot, but seeing how the players never even knew what they were avoiding, I am free to change my mind moving forward.
DMG p.48 says "solid objects on the overlapped plane don't hamper the movement of a creature in the Border Ethereal The exceptions are certain magical effects (including anything made of magical force)". Tiny Huts says: "A 10-foot-radius immobile dome of force springs into existence around and above you".
Well, that makes the answer pretty clear, thanks! But then there's the tired old argument...does the hut have a floor? I've heard people asking "can you dig under the hut?" which I always dismissed as something that most monsters wouldn't bother with or wouldn't be intelligent enough to attempt, but in the case of an ethereal creature, who could pass through the ground with no effort, could they go under?
This would be good to get an official ruling on, because of ahofford's point about if the hut has a floor. If so, then it blocks ethereal creatures unless they were already inside the dome when you cast the spell. If not, it is functionally useless.
Ohhhh, I didn't even think about an ethereal creature already being inside the dome when you cast it, that's a good one! Still doesn't answer the question about the floor, but does provide a logical way to get an ethereal creature inside, assuming the PCs have no way to see ethereal creatures!
I assume the dome is really just the top half of a sphere or that it has a floor to prevent tunneling in. Leomund was no fool of a wizard to design such a fallible spell as you would imply.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
If I recall correctly there was some conversation about a similar spell, and similar question about digging under it. I can't remember the spell name, but I do know that it was a force spell, and there was a link to Sage advice saying that the spell had a floor to it, describing it as a hemisphere with a floor. With that being said, I would be willing to assume that the hut would have a floor as well.
Yup
There, that's the tweet I was thinking of! Thank you :)
I found this answer from Jeremy Crawford.
https://twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/805828810889248768
EDIT: https://twitter.com/jeremyecrawford/status/823774362293542912
Sorry to disappoint you.It does have a floor, sorry for the confusion
Tiny hut DOES NOT have a floor
"A 10-foot-radius immobile dome of force springs into existence around and above you..."
It goes into detail but omits "beneath you". Also see https://www.yourdictionary.com/dome for what a dome technically is. I'm not trying to be facetious, I looked it up myself just to be sure. It only includes the top, or cover.
Welcome to the forums FtAshes! (I commend you on your first post, and hope you'll make many more : )
You make a good point, but note that the spell's range also says it's a "10-foot radius hemisphere", which is what the Sage used to justify his ruling (because hemispheres do have floors). Really though, DM's can decide anyway they like. I know which way I'll decide because:
That last one is probably the biggest deal; players will likely expect the spell will protect them. But ymmv
It has a floor, yo.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Since this seems to be the most relevant discussion of this spell and it hasn't been mentioned here, I'll mention that you can still cast Dispel Magic on the dome itself to end it.
It also seems that even though the hut has a floor, most topics I've found about this spell fail to mention that since inhabitants of the hut "move freely" through the hut, they also probably have no way of preventing themselves from falling through the bottom if the "real" floor the hut is cast over were to be removed out from under them, for example with Mold Earth, Transmute Rock, or maybe just some particularly industrious digging. If they happen to get the caster of the hut to fall out, the whole thing will end.
Just because objects CAN move freely if they were in the hut, does not mean they will. I don't think the ground would drop out if you excavated all around it. There would just be a hemisphere of soil or rock stuck inside the dome. Even if you want to say it falls out on its own, there is nothing forcing the people inside to just fall through the bottom. If they want to move through it they CAN move through it.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
Yeah, that's a totally valid interpretation. It depends on whether you decide the word "can" explicitly gives the creatures inside some kind of agency over the hut's behavior, or just describes how the hut treats anything inside it. I could certainly agree to your argument for the former, since otherwise the word "can" seems a bit superfluous and could (should?) be omitted from the description. I just kind of prefer the latter because I like the simplicity of saying "stuff inside moves through the dome, stuff outside doesn't".
I would interpret "can" as being synonymous with "may" in this usage. You can, or may, push an object from within the Hut to outside it, but it will not do so without intent. I would allow a spear to be leaned against the inside wall for instance, or a character to lean up against for that matter.
What is not stated is if the permission to pass through works in both directions. Can you leave and then reenter? I am going to guess that no, you cannot.
Yes (unless you are the caster). The spell says: "Creatures and objects within the dome when you cast this spell can move through it freely". Conditional directionality is not indicated.