In this scenario, the caster is on one side of a door with a window in it. The caster can see the room on the other side of the door appears empty, but cannot see the floor.
Can the caster use Misty Step to teleport to the other side or do they need to fully see the space? Do they need to see that it is unoccupied?
A space is unoccupied if no creatures are in it and it isn’t completely filled by objects.
So I'd say that if the caster doesn't see, for example, a creature in that space on the other side of the door, they can technically cast the spell. But if it turns out the space is occupied, then:
If the destination space of your teleportation is occupied by another creature or blocked by a solid obstacle, you instead appear in the nearest unoccupied space of your choice.
The description of a teleportation effect tells you if you must see the teleportation’s destination.
Teleportation spells aren't block by cover the way something like Firebolt is because most teleport spells have a range of Self. You have to meet the criteria for the destination such as "a space you can see within X of you", but you aren't casting to the destination and so a physical obstruction won't block the spell so long as you meet all the listed requirements for selecting a destination.
That answers the "through a window" part, but there is still the other half of the original question: Can you misty step into the air, or do you need to see something to land on. My understanding is that teleporting into the air without knowing what's below is fine (as far as rules go at least...), but it does make me wonder how you can see something that is just empty space.
IMO, you can cast Misty Step into the air or even underwater, as long as it's "an unoccupied space you can see". What happens next? That's part of the adventure.
The way total cover applies to a spell is contingent on that spell having a target or an area of effect, as described in the “A Clear Path to a Target” section in PHB chapter 7 and the Area of Effect glossary entry. Misty Step has neither, so cover doesn’t have any reason to block it. That’s all well and good for teleportation effects, however that logic leads to some questionable outcomes when applied more generally. As far as I can tell, by the RAW you can use the various Summon spells to affect a location within range that you can see, but might not be able to reach, like behind a Wall of Force or a location you can only see via your familiar. For that matter, are the Wall spells even considered AoEs by the glossary definition? I’m not sure. Tread carefully.
IMO, you can cast Misty Step into the air or even underwater, as long as it's "an unoccupied space you can see". What happens next? That's part of the adventure.
EDIT: fixed grammar.
Hmmm ... but is an area filled with water actually an unoccupied space? :)
"An object is a nonliving, distinct thing. Composite things, like buildings, comprise more than one object" ... is water a non-living distinct thing? Or even a composite thing? :)
Personally, I'd allow Misty Step underwater but I know DMs whom I suspect might rule otherwise.
Hmmm ... but is an area filled with water actually an unoccupied space? :)
"An object is a nonliving, distinct thing. Composite things, like buildings, comprise more than one object" ... is water a non-living distinct thing? Or even a composite thing? :)
Personally, I'd allow Misty Step underwater but I know DMs whom I suspect might rule otherwise.
In general, if water would be considered an object, so would gases.
IMO, you can cast Misty Step into the air or even underwater, as long as it's "an unoccupied space you can see". What happens next? That's part of the adventure.
EDIT: fixed grammar.
Hmmm ... but is an area filled with water actually an unoccupied space? :)
"An object is a nonliving, distinct thing. Composite things, like buildings, comprise more than one object" ... is water a non-living distinct thing? Or even a composite thing? :)
Personally, I'd allow Misty Step underwater but I know DMs whom I suspect might rule otherwise.
A character or creature with no special abilities can occupy the space. For the game's mechanics, I think that makes it unoccupied.
IMO, you can cast Misty Step into the air or even underwater, as long as it's "an unoccupied space you can see". What happens next? That's part of the adventure.
EDIT: fixed grammar.
Hmmm ... but is an area filled with water actually an unoccupied space? :)
"An object is a nonliving, distinct thing. Composite things, like buildings, comprise more than one object" ... is water a non-living distinct thing? Or even a composite thing? :)
Personally, I'd allow Misty Step underwater but I know DMs whom I suspect might rule otherwise.
My opinion is similar to Smite's or jl8e's. I mean, if you can swim in the water, why not use a teleport spell?
Also, when fighting underwater, it could be a good way to move your character.
IMO, you can cast Misty Step into the air or even underwater, as long as it's "an unoccupied space you can see". What happens next? That's part of the adventure.
EDIT: fixed grammar.
Hmmm ... but is an area filled with water actually an unoccupied space? :)
"An object is a nonliving, distinct thing. Composite things, like buildings, comprise more than one object" ... is water a non-living distinct thing? Or even a composite thing? :)
Personally, I'd allow Misty Step underwater but I know DMs whom I suspect might rule otherwise.
An object is a nonliving, distinct thing. Composite things, like buildings, comprise more than one object. See also “Breaking Objects.”
Air and water are not distinct things—distinct in this context means discrete, for example you can have an apple or two bricks. You cannot have a water or two airs. You can have a glass of water, but the glass is the object that is discrete.
So no, air and water do not occupy the space and therefore you can misty step through them
I don't think water count as Occupied Space since it's not an object and you can enter in it afterall. The same space completely filled with solid ice for example would count though.
An ocean, the atmosphere, a cloud, or a lake. These are all arguably distinct non–living things and therefore objects under the rules, but they aren’t solid objects which definitely exclude teleportation and should probably be the only objects that count for occupied spaces more generally. Note that a creature doesn’t have to be solid to block teleportation to the space it occupies, so you can’t teleport into a creature’s space even if it’s hollow, oozy, gaseous, or incorporeal.
Air is still space, hence the air above your house is still space you own. I would say you can misty step into Air, but like mentioned- that’s part of the risk- you could misty step then seeing yourself falling 120ft and taking all those d6 damage, You would think twice before doing that again.
Right. I don't have a question about if it is unoccupied. Does the door with a (small) window block visibility of the space?
That really is a question for you as DM to answer. But as a guide I'd consider two questions. Firstly, can you see through the window, i.e is glass pane clear enough to allow vision through it? If yes then it shouldn't pose a problem for Misty Step. And secondly, is the size of the window large enough to allow vision through it, i.e if it was just a hole in the door would it be big enough to see through? If yes then again it shouldn't pose a problem for the spell.
Can the caster use Misty Step to teleport to the other side or do they need to fully see the space? Do they need to see that it is unoccupied?
This will also be a bit of DM fiat tbh. I would certainly allow Misty Step to go from one side of a room to the other even if there is a table with chairs blocking the view of some parts of the target space but I would probably not allow it around a corner (or similar) where you could only see a tiny sliver of the target space.
Can the caster use Misty Step to teleport to the other side or do they need to fully see the space? Do they need to see that it is unoccupied?
This is kind of an interesting question because technically it is a requirement of the targeting (just as seeing the space is). But this is a world where invisible things can exist and that makes it problematic, and I don't think that needing truesight to be able to teleport makes for a fun game. Luckily the rules for teleportation that Tarod posted above tells us how to handle such a situation.
Can the caster use Misty Step to teleport to the other side or do they need to fully see the space? Do they need to see that it is unoccupied?
This is kind of an interesting question because technically it is a requirement of the targeting (just as seeing the space is). But this is a world where invisible things can exist and that makes it problematic, and I don't think that needing truesight to be able to teleport makes for a fun game. Luckily the rules for teleportation that Tarod posted above tells us how to handle such a situation.
Yeah, that was pretty much the question. Say you have a 7 foot tall door with a one foot window 4 feet above the ground, do you need to be able to see that there isn't a 2.5 foot halfling on the other side?
IMO, you can cast Misty Step into the air or even underwater, as long as it's "an unoccupied space you can see". What happens next? That's part of the adventure.
EDIT: fixed grammar.
Hmmm ... but is an area filled with water actually an unoccupied space? :)
"An object is a nonliving, distinct thing. Composite things, like buildings, comprise more than one object" ... is water a non-living distinct thing? Or even a composite thing? :)
Personally, I'd allow Misty Step underwater but I know DMs whom I suspect might rule otherwise.
An object is a nonliving, distinct thing. Composite things, like buildings, comprise more than one object. See also “Breaking Objects.”
Air and water are not distinct things—distinct in this context means discrete, for example you can have an apple or two bricks. You cannot have a water or two airs. You can have a glass of water, but the glass is the object that is discrete.
So no, air and water do not occupy the space and therefore you can misty step through them
Question on this: would frozen water (ice) count as occupying the space? It is solid, but if it is very clear (as clear as water) and you could see through it, it fulfills the definition of "unoccupied" as you have described them.
Ice is not a distinct thing. You cannot have an ice. You can have a block of ice or a cube of ice, but "ice" itself wouldn't be a distinct object.
So could you Misty Step through ice? Could you Misty Step into ice?
Can the caster use Misty Step to teleport to the other side or do they need to fully see the space? Do they need to see that it is unoccupied?
This is kind of an interesting question because technically it is a requirement of the targeting (just as seeing the space is). But this is a world where invisible things can exist and that makes it problematic, and I don't think that needing truesight to be able to teleport makes for a fun game. Luckily the rules for teleportation that Tarod posted above tells us how to handle such a situation.
Yeah, that was pretty much the question. Say you have a 7 foot tall door with a one foot window 4 feet above the ground, do you need to be able to see that there isn't a 2.5 foot halfling on the other side?
Based on the rules, I'd say it's not needed. For the caster, according to their senses, it counts as an "unoccupied space you can see".
After casting the spell, if an Invisible creature (like in the good example provided by Thezzaruz) is there, or that halfling you didn't notice, I'd apply the rules for Teleportation.
In this scenario, the caster is on one side of a door with a window in it. The caster can see the room on the other side of the door appears empty, but cannot see the floor.
Can the caster use Misty Step to teleport to the other side or do they need to fully see the space? Do they need to see that it is unoccupied?
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
According to the Rules Glossary:
And:
So I'd say that if the caster doesn't see, for example, a creature in that space on the other side of the door, they can technically cast the spell. But if it turns out the space is occupied, then:
EDIT: for clarity.
Right. I don't have a question about if it is unoccupied. Does the door with a (small) window block visibility of the space?
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
No it doesn't block it if one can see through and thus should allow Misty Step in the space if it can see it, and it is unoccupied.
Teleportation spells aren't block by cover the way something like Firebolt is because most teleport spells have a range of Self. You have to meet the criteria for the destination such as "a space you can see within X of you", but you aren't casting to the destination and so a physical obstruction won't block the spell so long as you meet all the listed requirements for selecting a destination.
That answers the "through a window" part, but there is still the other half of the original question: Can you misty step into the air, or do you need to see something to land on. My understanding is that teleporting into the air without knowing what's below is fine (as far as rules go at least...), but it does make me wonder how you can see something that is just empty space.
IMO, you can cast Misty Step into the air or even underwater, as long as it's "an unoccupied space you can see". What happens next? That's part of the adventure.
EDIT: fixed grammar.
The way total cover applies to a spell is contingent on that spell having a target or an area of effect, as described in the “A Clear Path to a Target” section in PHB chapter 7 and the Area of Effect glossary entry. Misty Step has neither, so cover doesn’t have any reason to block it. That’s all well and good for teleportation effects, however that logic leads to some questionable outcomes when applied more generally. As far as I can tell, by the RAW you can use the various Summon spells to affect a location within range that you can see, but might not be able to reach, like behind a Wall of Force or a location you can only see via your familiar. For that matter, are the Wall spells even considered AoEs by the glossary definition? I’m not sure. Tread carefully.
Hmmm ... but is an area filled with water actually an unoccupied space? :)
"An object is a nonliving, distinct thing. Composite things, like buildings, comprise more than one object" ... is water a non-living distinct thing? Or even a composite thing? :)
Personally, I'd allow Misty Step underwater but I know DMs whom I suspect might rule otherwise.
In general, if water would be considered an object, so would gases.
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
A character or creature with no special abilities can occupy the space. For the game's mechanics, I think that makes it unoccupied.
My opinion is similar to Smite's or jl8e's. I mean, if you can swim in the water, why not use a teleport spell?
Also, when fighting underwater, it could be a good way to move your character.
Air and water are neither creatures nor objects
Air and water are not distinct things—distinct in this context means discrete, for example you can have an apple or two bricks. You cannot have a water or two airs. You can have a glass of water, but the glass is the object that is discrete.
So no, air and water do not occupy the space and therefore you can misty step through them
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I don't think water count as Occupied Space since it's not an object and you can enter in it afterall. The same space completely filled with solid ice for example would count though.
An ocean, the atmosphere, a cloud, or a lake. These are all arguably distinct non–living things and therefore objects under the rules, but they aren’t solid objects which definitely exclude teleportation and should probably be the only objects that count for occupied spaces more generally. Note that a creature doesn’t have to be solid to block teleportation to the space it occupies, so you can’t teleport into a creature’s space even if it’s hollow, oozy, gaseous, or incorporeal.
Air is still space, hence the air above your house is still space you own. I would say you can misty step into Air, but like mentioned- that’s part of the risk- you could misty step then seeing yourself falling 120ft and taking all those d6 damage, You would think twice before doing that again.
Not sure if you got the answer you needed so I'll add my take too.
That really is a question for you as DM to answer. But as a guide I'd consider two questions. Firstly, can you see through the window, i.e is glass pane clear enough to allow vision through it? If yes then it shouldn't pose a problem for Misty Step. And secondly, is the size of the window large enough to allow vision through it, i.e if it was just a hole in the door would it be big enough to see through? If yes then again it shouldn't pose a problem for the spell.
This will also be a bit of DM fiat tbh. I would certainly allow Misty Step to go from one side of a room to the other even if there is a table with chairs blocking the view of some parts of the target space but I would probably not allow it around a corner (or similar) where you could only see a tiny sliver of the target space.
This is kind of an interesting question because technically it is a requirement of the targeting (just as seeing the space is). But this is a world where invisible things can exist and that makes it problematic, and I don't think that needing truesight to be able to teleport makes for a fun game. Luckily the rules for teleportation that Tarod posted above tells us how to handle such a situation.
The session was a few nights ago and the exact scenario I was prepping for didn't occur.
Yeah, that was pretty much the question. Say you have a 7 foot tall door with a one foot window 4 feet above the ground, do you need to be able to see that there isn't a 2.5 foot halfling on the other side?
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
Question on this: would frozen water (ice) count as occupying the space? It is solid, but if it is very clear (as clear as water) and you could see through it, it fulfills the definition of "unoccupied" as you have described them.
Ice is not a distinct thing. You cannot have an ice. You can have a block of ice or a cube of ice, but "ice" itself wouldn't be a distinct object.
So could you Misty Step through ice? Could you Misty Step into ice?
Based on the rules, I'd say it's not needed. For the caster, according to their senses, it counts as an "unoccupied space you can see".
After casting the spell, if an Invisible creature (like in the good example provided by Thezzaruz) is there, or that halfling you didn't notice, I'd apply the rules for Teleportation.