I know Forcecage and the combos with it are quite popular but I'm curious about the combination of these two spells.
Relevant points are here: Forcecage
A prison in the shape of a box can be up to 10 feet on a side, creating a solid barrier that prevents any matter from passing through it and blocking any spells cast into or out from the area.
And Sacred Flame
Flame-like radiance descends on a creature that you can see within range. The target must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 1d8 radiant damage. The target gains no benefit from cover for this saving throw.
The wording of Sacred Flame requires to "see" someone, so it's not a spell that goes from one location to another, like fireball, and it also ignores cover. This means the Forcecage cannot block Sacred Flame on the basis of it being a solid barrier.
However, the wording of Forcecage is that it's blocking any spells cast into the area. So, can someone cast a spell like Sacred Flame inside a Forcecage or not?
There is a tweet by Jeremy Crawford stating "A solid obstacle, regardless of material, can provide total cover. A closed window counts.", which means the invisible force cage still provides total cover, but that doesn't change Sacred Flame since it ignores cover anyway.
A forcecage doesn't simply provide cover, it prevents any matter from passing through it and blocking any spells cast into or out from the area, including sacred flame.
A forcecage doesn't simply provide cover, it prevents any matter from passing through it and blocking any spells cast into or out from the area, including sacred flame.
Thanks. That's how I was interpreting it but I had to make sure. I was reading on various places about casting spells inside the box using spells that require only line of sight, those not using a projectile and/or attack roll, but the wording of the spell prevents anything from being cast into it.
The key to this interaction is the rest of the sentence you partially bolded.
The target gains no benefit from coverfor this saving throw.
cover, if utilized appropriately, has many mechanical interactions in the game. One of which bonuses to dex saves for half and 3/4 cover respectively. The other is the line of sight requirement to cast in the first place.
this sentence removes the +2 and +5 bonus a creature would receive from half and 3/4 cover. It does not however remove the need for direct line of sight or bypass total cover.
total cover doesn’t provide a saving throw bonus, it’s a variable of basic soellcasting mechanic that is checked before a spell is even cast to force a saving throw. In this instance the sacred flame would be aimed at a creature since sight is checked off, but the sacred flame would (probably harmlessly) manifest at the point where the total cover begins to exist.
The key to this interaction is the rest of the sentence you partially bolded.
The target gains no benefit from coverfor this saving throw.
cover, if utilized appropriately, has many mechanical interactions in the game. One of which bonuses to dex saves for half and 3/4 cover respectively. The other is the line of sight requirement to cast in the first place.
this sentence removes the +2 and +5 bonus a creature would receive from half and 3/4 cover. It does not however remove the need for direct line of sight or bypass total cover.
total cover doesn’t provide a saving throw bonus, it’s a variable of basic soellcasting mechanic that is checked before a spell is even cast to force a saving throw. In this instance the sacred flame would be aimed at a creature since sight is checked off, but the sacred flame would (probably harmlessly) manifest at the point where the total cover begins to exist.
RAI sacred flame is one of the few spells that allows you to target somebody even if they're behind total cover, as confirmed in a Dragontalk by the Dev;
Jeremy Crawford: There are spells that create exceptions to this rule about needing a path clear of obstruction. One cantrip [that breaks] this rule is sacred flame. Sacred flame is one of the low level spells that has this text: "The target gains no benefit from cover for this saving throw." [...] So, they're getting no benefit from cover [...] and that includes total cover. So sacred flame is one of the few spells that allows you to target somebody even if they're behind total cover. [...] You can be looking through the window in the tower and cast it on someone outside.
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I know Forcecage and the combos with it are quite popular but I'm curious about the combination of these two spells.
Relevant points are here:
Forcecage
And Sacred Flame
The wording of Sacred Flame requires to "see" someone, so it's not a spell that goes from one location to another, like fireball, and it also ignores cover. This means the Forcecage cannot block Sacred Flame on the basis of it being a solid barrier.
However, the wording of Forcecage is that it's blocking any spells cast into the area. So, can someone cast a spell like Sacred Flame inside a Forcecage or not?
There is a tweet by Jeremy Crawford stating "A solid obstacle, regardless of material, can provide total cover. A closed window counts.", which means the invisible force cage still provides total cover, but that doesn't change Sacred Flame since it ignores cover anyway.
A forcecage doesn't simply provide cover, it prevents any matter from passing through it and blocking any spells cast into or out from the area, including sacred flame.
Thanks. That's how I was interpreting it but I had to make sure. I was reading on various places about casting spells inside the box using spells that require only line of sight, those not using a projectile and/or attack roll, but the wording of the spell prevents anything from being cast into it.
The key to this interaction is the rest of the sentence you partially bolded.
The target gains no benefit from cover for this saving throw.
cover, if utilized appropriately, has many mechanical interactions in the game. One of which bonuses to dex saves for half and 3/4 cover respectively. The other is the line of sight requirement to cast in the first place.
this sentence removes the +2 and +5 bonus a creature would receive from half and 3/4 cover. It does not however remove the need for direct line of sight or bypass total cover.
total cover doesn’t provide a saving throw bonus, it’s a variable of basic soellcasting mechanic that is checked before a spell is even cast to force a saving throw. In this instance the sacred flame would be aimed at a creature since sight is checked off, but the sacred flame would (probably harmlessly) manifest at the point where the total cover begins to exist.
RAI sacred flame is one of the few spells that allows you to target somebody even if they're behind total cover, as confirmed in a Dragontalk by the Dev;