My DM and me had a disagreement on how firewall works. I cast a firewall on a group of centaurs kind of like the diagram below (x= centaur, ------- is wall):
x x x x x (5 feet from wall)
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When I did this the centaurs rolled a dex saving through and the damage was given out. HOWEVER on the centaurs turn they ran straight through the firewall and took no damage according to my DM. This is where the disagreement is. I thought once they entered the wall after the initial damage they also had to roll 5d8? He states that since they were already damaged that turn by the firewall appearing it did not have an effect afterwards. Who is right?
I'm assuming you're talking about Wall of Fire because there's no spell called Firewall.
Wall of Fire can't deal damage twice in a row unless a creature ends its turn inside it. If you cast it on top of a creature they won't take damage at the start of their turn.
When it is cast to creatures in the wall'sarea. The way this is worded makes me think it means the 1' wide wall must overlap with the creature, not the 10' fiery area on one side.
When a creature enters the wall's area for the first time on a turn. Again, I take this to mean the 1' wall, not the 10' area on one side.
When a creature ends its turn within 10' of the fiery side.
So a creature can take damage twice in a round from it is if it is cast on them or they move (or are forced to move) through it and then end their turn within 10' of the wall. They can take additional damage (from the "enters the wall's area" clause) on other creatures' turns if they are forced into the space of the wall (but they will not take the "ends its turn within" damage more than once per round).
If you didn't cast the wall on the centaurs, then they shouldn't have taken damage when the spell was cast. If they were 5' away, then they weren't in it. When they entered it for the first time, they then should have taken damage. If they didn't end their turn within 10' of the fiery side, they won't take damage again.
So, your DM made a tiny mistake (making them take damage early) rather than a larger mistake (making them take extra damage).
Edit: To reflect reminder from DxJxC about turns vs rounds.
What Wolf said. The fact that the centaurs took damage when the wall appeared was the mistake (you both made).
Though it should be noted that a turn does not mean a round. So when you cast the spell and when the centaurs ran through it were 2 different turns. But the only way a creature can take damage from the spell twice per round or turn is by touching the wall then ending their turn on the hot side.
So errors all around, but the centaurs are only supposed to take damage once in the given example.
Note that even if you had cast the wall on the centaur's space, they would take the initial casting damage but wouldn't have entered the wall on their turn and still wouldn't have ended within 10' of the fiery side so would have only taken damage once.
What everyone has said, about your situation, is correct. Wall of Fire will not ever cause a creature to be damaged more than once in the same turn. A creature can only be damaged by being within 10 ft of the wall when they end their turn there. Passing straight through the wall from >15 away causes only the damage for passing through the wall itself.
As Wolf said, a creature can only be damaged twice (or more) in the same round by:
Ending their turn within 10ft of the wall--take 5d8 fire damage
Being forced to move in/through the wall by another player/creature's ability--take 5d8 fire damage
Moving with a reaction as part of the player's Ready action or ability would also trigger more damage
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You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
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Hello,
My DM and me had a disagreement on how firewall works. I cast a firewall on a group of centaurs kind of like the diagram below (x= centaur, ------- is wall):
x x x x x (5 feet from wall)
--------------
When I did this the centaurs rolled a dex saving through and the damage was given out. HOWEVER on the centaurs turn they ran straight through the firewall and took no damage according to my DM. This is where the disagreement is. I thought once they entered the wall after the initial damage they also had to roll 5d8? He states that since they were already damaged that turn by the firewall appearing it did not have an effect afterwards. Who is right?
I'm assuming you're talking about Wall of Fire because there's no spell called Firewall.
Wall of Fire can't deal damage twice in a row unless a creature ends its turn inside it. If you cast it on top of a creature they won't take damage at the start of their turn.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
Wall of Fire deals damage:
So a creature can take damage twice in a
round from it is if it is cast on them or they move (or are forced to move) through it and then end their turn within 10' of the wall. They can take additional damage (from the "enters the wall's area" clause) on other creatures' turns if they are forced into the space of the wall (but they will not take the "ends its turn within" damage more than once per round).If you didn't cast the wall on the centaurs, then they shouldn't have taken damage when the spell was cast. If they were 5' away, then they weren't in it. When they entered it for the first time, they then should have taken damage. If they didn't end their turn within 10' of the fiery side, they won't take damage again.
So, your DM made a tiny mistake (making them take damage early) rather than a larger mistake (making them take extra damage).
Edit: To reflect reminder from DxJxC about turns vs rounds.
What Wolf said. The fact that the centaurs took damage when the wall appeared was the mistake (you both made).
Though it should be noted that a turn does not mean a round. So when you cast the spell and when the centaurs ran through it were 2 different turns. But the only way a creature can take damage from the spell twice per round or turn is by touching the wall then ending their turn on the hot side.
So errors all around, but the centaurs are only supposed to take damage once in the given example.
Note that even if you had cast the wall on the centaur's space, they would take the initial casting damage but wouldn't have entered the wall on their turn and still wouldn't have ended within 10' of the fiery side so would have only taken damage once.
What everyone has said, about your situation, is correct. Wall of Fire will not ever cause a creature to be damaged more than once in the same turn. A creature can only be damaged by being within 10 ft of the wall when they end their turn there. Passing straight through the wall from >15 away causes only the damage for passing through the wall itself.
As Wolf said, a creature can only be damaged twice (or more) in the same round by:
You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.