I am probably missing something simple here but I am struggling to find information and understand what the possibilities and limitations are for the Dawn spell. The spell description is here so you don't have to go look:
The light of dawn shines down on a location you specify within range. Until the spell ends, a 30-foot-radius, 40-foot-high cylinder of bright light glimmers there. This light is sunlight. When the cylinder appears, each creature in it must make a Constitution saving throw, taking 4d10 radiant damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature must also make this saving throw whenever it ends its turn in the cylinder. If you’re within 60 feet of the cylinder, you can move it up to 60 feet as a bonus action on your turn.
From the description, you don't have to see the location to cast the spell. You can then move it if you are within range of the spell. It does not say that you have to see where it is moving. Does that mean that you can be standing outside of a building, cast the spell and then move it inside? Does it literally shine down? If that is the case, then it could be moved floor to floor as well (only hitting one floor at at time since it would be blocked by each floor) in a multi level structure. All this is assuming that you know the layout or have been inside so you can place it accordingly or at least in the ballpark. Also, it doesn't go around corners so inside it would be limited by the room it was in and things like tables or a bed etc. Correct?
The party I am DMing for is trying to liberate a small keep that was taken by a group of bandits. They scouted and then dug tunnels underneath the keep within about 10 feet of the surface. They then had a telepathic bond for the entire party while the sorcerer polymorphed into a hawk and flew around the keep as a spotter. The cleric cast Dawn from below the surface and then moved it up with the assistance of the sorcerer. The cleric proceeded to move it all around for the minute and then cast it again to repeat the same thing. With the way they dug the tunnels, they were able to move within 60 feet of most locations within the keep walls.
I could not find anything in the spell description that would directly counter what they were doing but after some thought, I wondered about the 10 feet of dirt in between the caster and the spell. Many spells can't go through 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
What do you think? I spent about 20 minutes online looking at various things but could not find anything that addressed this directly.
Here is the [SageAdvice] for the topic, however the wording of the spell is a little ambiguous.
Unlike Fireball and Call Lightning, Dawn does not ask the caster to specify a "point" from which the effect would radiate. It simply occupies a defined space.
Regardless of RAW, being able to sweep such a massive AOE through a structure without restriction seems far too powerful, so I would suggest houseruling ruling it to share the language of Moonbeam:
"A silvery beam of pale light shines down in a 5-foot-radius, 40-foot-high cylinder centered on a point within range. Until the spell ends, dim light fills the cylinder...."
"The light of dawn shines down on a location you specify within range. Until the spell ends, a 30-foot-radius.40-foot-high cylinder of bright light glimmers, centered upon a point within range..."
This designates a point from which all else is calculated, regardless of flavor text.
Second, I would suggest imposing the requirement that the effected area be "non-zero" at all times during the spell's duration. This means that the "point" can't be within a wall, which would result in 100% obstruction. The size of the opening from one room to the next is irrelevant, so long as there is a continuous line of effect.
The complication with this stipulation is that it is conceivably possible to snuff out the spell by "filling" the point with debris, so there would need to be a little bit of handwaving one way or the other.
Moved to Rules & Game Mechanics.
I am probably missing something simple here but I am struggling to find information and understand what the possibilities and limitations are for the Dawn spell. The spell description is here so you don't have to go look:
The light of dawn shines down on a location you specify within range. Until the spell ends, a 30-foot-radius, 40-foot-high cylinder of bright light glimmers there. This light is sunlight. When the cylinder appears, each creature in it must make a Constitution saving throw, taking 4d10 radiant damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature must also make this saving throw whenever it ends its turn in the cylinder. If you’re within 60 feet of the cylinder, you can move it up to 60 feet as a bonus action on your turn.
From the description, you don't have to see the location to cast the spell. You can then move it if you are within range of the spell. It does not say that you have to see where it is moving. Does that mean that you can be standing outside of a building, cast the spell and then move it inside? Does it literally shine down? If that is the case, then it could be moved floor to floor as well (only hitting one floor at at time since it would be blocked by each floor) in a multi level structure. All this is assuming that you know the layout or have been inside so you can place it accordingly or at least in the ballpark. Also, it doesn't go around corners so inside it would be limited by the room it was in and things like tables or a bed etc. Correct?
The party I am DMing for is trying to liberate a small keep that was taken by a group of bandits. They scouted and then dug tunnels underneath the keep within about 10 feet of the surface. They then had a telepathic bond for the entire party while the sorcerer polymorphed into a hawk and flew around the keep as a spotter. The cleric cast Dawn from below the surface and then moved it up with the assistance of the sorcerer. The cleric proceeded to move it all around for the minute and then cast it again to repeat the same thing. With the way they dug the tunnels, they were able to move within 60 feet of most locations within the keep walls.
I could not find anything in the spell description that would directly counter what they were doing but after some thought, I wondered about the 10 feet of dirt in between the caster and the spell. Many spells can't go through 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
What do you think? I spent about 20 minutes online looking at various things but could not find anything that addressed this directly.
Here is the [SageAdvice] for the topic, however the wording of the spell is a little ambiguous.
Unlike Fireball and Call Lightning, Dawn does not ask the caster to specify a "point" from which the effect would radiate. It simply occupies a defined space.
Regardless of RAW, being able to sweep such a massive AOE through a structure without restriction seems far too powerful, so I would suggest houseruling ruling it to share the language of Moonbeam:
This designates a point from which all else is calculated, regardless of flavor text.
Second, I would suggest imposing the requirement that the effected area be "non-zero" at all times during the spell's duration. This means that the "point" can't be within a wall, which would result in 100% obstruction. The size of the opening from one room to the next is irrelevant, so long as there is a continuous line of effect.
The complication with this stipulation is that it is conceivably possible to snuff out the spell by "filling" the point with debris, so there would need to be a little bit of handwaving one way or the other.