I was creating a Homebrew Magic Item that when placed on a surface, will exude Magical Darkness, and I was trying to decide if I should use a Sphere or an Emanationfor the area of effect.
Reading the description for both, I am stumped on the difference.
Emanation states: "an area of effect that extends in straight lines from a creature or an object in all directions" Sphere states: "an area of effect that extends in straight lines from a point of origin outward in all directions"
Is the difference really just the point of origin? They both have the same description for how it extends outwards, but one states it starts "from a creature or an object", and the other states starting "from a point".
Thoughts?
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Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty. Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers; Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas. Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
There are two key differences between an emanation and a sphere
The origin is not included in an emanation
If the origin is not a point, the emanation is larger by the size of the origin (e.g. a 5' radius sphere is 10' across; a 5' emanation targeting a Large creature is 20' across)
The main difference is that an Emanation is centered on a creature or object and moves when that creature or object moves. This is really important; it's the whole reason Emanations exist.
Spheres don't move after they're cast unless the spell explicitly says they do.
The main difference is that an Emanation is centered on a creature or object and moves when that creature or object moves. This is really important; it's the whole reason Emanations exist.
Spheres don't move after they're cast unless the spell explicitly says they do.
The other difference is the creature or object at the center is not affected by the emanation, unless the creator wants it to. An example of an emanation is an aura spell.
Spheres don't move after they're cast unless the spell explicitly says they do.
Spheres don't normally move because points in space don't normally move. If it were possible to specify a moving point as the target for a sphere, the sphere would move (most relevant case: if you cast a sphere spell on board a moving vehicle, what does it do in your campaign?)
Spheres don't move after they're cast unless the spell explicitly says they do.
Spheres don't normally move because points in space don't normally move. If it were possible to specify a moving point as the target for a sphere, the sphere would move (most relevant case: if you cast a sphere spell on board a moving vehicle, what does it do in your campaign?)
Well, there are Sphere spells that do say they move (Cloudkill comes to mind) but if they don’t say that they move, they remain fixed at the point of origin. A “moving point” isn’t really a thing.
Well, there are Sphere spells that do say they move (Cloudkill comes to mind) but if they don’t say that they move, they remain fixed at the point of origin. A “moving point” isn’t really a thing.
A point in space that exists over a period of time is really a four-dimensional line, but I created a separate thread for this...
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Greetings D&D Beyond and Community,
I was creating a Homebrew Magic Item that when placed on a surface, will exude Magical Darkness, and I was trying to decide if I should use a Sphere or an Emanationfor the area of effect.
Reading the description for both, I am stumped on the difference.
Emanation states: "an area of effect that extends in straight lines from a creature or an object in all directions"
Sphere states: "an area of effect that extends in straight lines from a point of origin outward in all directions"
Is the difference really just the point of origin?
They both have the same description for how it extends outwards, but one states it starts "from a creature or an object", and the other states starting "from a point".
Thoughts?
Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty.
Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers;
Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas.
Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
There are two key differences between an emanation and a sphere
The main difference is that an Emanation is centered on a creature or object and moves when that creature or object moves. This is really important; it's the whole reason Emanations exist.
Spheres don't move after they're cast unless the spell explicitly says they do.
pronouns: he/she/they
Using the sizes Pantagruel666 gave, this is how we represent both Areas of Effect when playing on a grid:
The other difference is the creature or object at the center is not affected by the emanation, unless the creator wants it to. An example of an emanation is an aura spell.
Spheres don't normally move because points in space don't normally move. If it were possible to specify a moving point as the target for a sphere, the sphere would move (most relevant case: if you cast a sphere spell on board a moving vehicle, what does it do in your campaign?)
Well, there are Sphere spells that do say they move (Cloudkill comes to mind) but if they don’t say that they move, they remain fixed at the point of origin. A “moving point” isn’t really a thing.
pronouns: he/she/they
A point in space that exists over a period of time is really a four-dimensional line, but I created a separate thread for this...