Playing the module of Tamoachan, the PJs entered the room of the Nereid and the Giant eel. Then the druid casted Water walk, and they started crossing the pool. At this point the Giant eel attacked with his lighting jolt.
He question is: Are the PJs in the water and so can they be affected at 15 feet, or are they considered to be outside and the range is just 5 feet?
Being on water is not being in water; RAW the 15-foot jolt should not apply. I think it would be reasonable in theory to allow it to apply if you give the players advantage on the save, or resistance against the damage, and ensure that the square they are in is within the 15-feet (i.e., eel is only 10 feet deep). But also, if the players were smart enough to spend resources on water walk, punishing them by subjecting them to attacks that don’t RAW affect them, and which will require them to drop the spell and dive underwater to fight an enemy they can’t reach from the surface... that doesn’t feel good to me.
Being on water is not being in water; RAW the 15-foot jolt should not apply. I think it would be reasonable in theory to allow it to apply if you give the players advantage on the save, or resistance against the damage, and ensure that the square they are in is within the 15-feet (i.e., eel is only 10 feet deep). But also, if the players were smart enough to spend resources on water walk, punishing them by subjecting them to attacks that don’t RAW affect them, and which will require them to drop the spell and dive underwater to fight an enemy they can’t reach from the surface... that doesn’t feel good to me.
I was looking at it from the physics perspective, but your interpretation is very valid from a game perspective. The problem is that the giant eel's attack is not that precise. Is something floating on the water "out of it" or "in it" ?
A floating creature is at least partially submerged unless they are so buoyant as to not be (and I don't think there is a sentient styrofoam out there), but water walk's description would seem to indicate that they are touching the water, but not submerged to any degree in it (the "solid ground" descriptor. So a floating creature I would fully agree would be subject to the 15 foot range, but I would argue that water-walking creatures are not floating by traditional physics so I would rule the eel has to get within 5 feet.
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Playing the module of Tamoachan, the PJs entered the room of the Nereid and the Giant eel. Then the druid casted Water walk, and they started crossing the pool. At this point the Giant eel attacked with his lighting jolt.
He question is: Are the PJs in the water and so can they be affected at 15 feet, or are they considered to be outside and the range is just 5 feet?
Thank You.
Being on water is not being in water; RAW the 15-foot jolt should not apply. I think it would be reasonable in theory to allow it to apply if you give the players advantage on the save, or resistance against the damage, and ensure that the square they are in is within the 15-feet (i.e., eel is only 10 feet deep). But also, if the players were smart enough to spend resources on water walk, punishing them by subjecting them to attacks that don’t RAW affect them, and which will require them to drop the spell and dive underwater to fight an enemy they can’t reach from the surface... that doesn’t feel good to me.
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
A floating creature is at least partially submerged unless they are so buoyant as to not be (and I don't think there is a sentient styrofoam out there), but water walk's description would seem to indicate that they are touching the water, but not submerged to any degree in it (the "solid ground" descriptor. So a floating creature I would fully agree would be subject to the 15 foot range, but I would argue that water-walking creatures are not floating by traditional physics so I would rule the eel has to get within 5 feet.