D&D 5E - SPIRIT GUARDIANS range clarification (2024)

therealskeletron said:

So...trying to find a clear clarification on the range of SPIRIT GUARDIANS is a nightmare.
There are SO many conflicting ideas on this.

My understanding of the rules as written is that the AOE is a 5x5 SQUARE:
-15ft radius centered on self.
- only squares AT LEAST half covered in that range are effected.

My DM thinks it might be bigger (1st time DM), but I can see that becoming OP REEEEEALLY quick, especially given that it halves enemy movement speed.
I'm clear on all the other rules regarding this spell i.e when damage occurs, enemy movement speed

My Cleric is hitting L5 really soon and I want to get this right so I don't make his job super hard by completely blowing up encounters....nor do I want to look like a cheap god to the other players.

Thoughts?

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Xanathar's Guide to Everything has two options for adjucating AoE on a grid. You should take a look.

therealskeletron said:

So...trying to find a clear clarification on the range of SPIRIT GUARDIANS is a nightmare.
There are SO many conflicting ideas on this.

My understanding of the rules as written is that the AOE is a 5x5 SQUARE:
-15ft radius centered on self.
- only squares AT LEAST half covered in that range are effected.

My DM thinks it might be bigger (1st time DM), but I can see that becoming OP REEEEEALLY quick, especially given that it halves enemy movement speed.
I'm clear on all the other rules regarding this spell i.e when damage occurs, enemy movement speed

My Cleric is hitting L5 really soon and I want to get this right so I don't make his job super hard by completely blowing up encounters....nor do I want to look like a cheap god to the other players.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

If it's 15ft on self then getting from the center of your square to the edge of it takes 2.5ft. You get to go 2 more full 5ft squares and then it covers half the 3rd square at it's peak. By the 'at least 1/2 covered rule' that would make it not include the 3rd square since it wouldn't be fully 1/2 filled. It would do this in every cardinal direction from you. Essentially 2 squares out from you.

Personally if I run it on the grid I run it 3 squares in each cardinal direction from the caster. Diagonals don't go as far out.

NaturalZero said:

The real issue is how you run AOEs and blocking terrain. I always assumed walls and floor blocked it since it's an AOE but folks in one of my groups were linking tweets where a dev was saying that it goes through barriers.

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Those tweets can be hit or miss (pun… intended?)

PHB says:
A spell's effect expands in straight lines from the point of origin. If no unblocked straight line extends from the point of origin to a location within the area of effect, that location isn't included in the spell's area. To block one of these imaginary lines, an obstruction must provide total cover, as explained in chapter 9.

Swarmkeeper said:

Those tweets can be hit or miss (pun… intended?)

PHB says:
A spell's effect expands in straight lines from the point of origin. If no unblocked straight line extends from the point of origin to a location within the area of effect, that location isn't included in the spell's area. To block one of these imaginary lines, an obstruction must provide total cover, as explained in chapter 9.

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That's what I always thought and how I would rule it. Apparently, Mearls or Perkins thinks the flavor text of this spells overrides the rules text for AOEs somehow.

Blue said:

The spell description is "They flit around you to a distance of 15 feet for the duration". So that's 15 feet from your space, not 2.5 feet inside your space and then another 12.5 feet. "You" are not a point-mass, you are a 5x5 square (assuming medium or small). It seems it's just like any other aura. Is the foe within 15 feet of me? Yes? Then they are in the effect. No? They are not within the effect.

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You only occupy a small amount of your 5ft grid space. If it’s really from you and not your space then safest bet is using the center of the square you are in.

FrogReaver said:

You only occupy a small amount of your 5ft grid space. If it’s really from you and not your space then safest bet is using the center of the square you are in.

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When talking about a grid, you occupy the full 5x5 from a rules point of view.

"A creature's space is the area in feet that it effectively controls in combat, not an expression of its physical dimensions. A typical Medium creature isn't 5 feet wide, for example, but it does control a space that wide. If a Medium hobgoblin stands in a 5-foot-wide doorway, other creatures can't get through unless the hobgoblin lets them.

A creature's space also reflects the area it needs to fight effectively. For that reason, there's a limit to the number of creatures that can surround another creature in combat. Assuming Medium combatants, eight creatures can fit in a 5-foot radius around another one."

Blue said:

The spell description is "They flit around you to a distance of 15 feet for the duration". So that's 15 feet from your space, not 2.5 feet inside your space and then another 12.5 feet. "You" are not a point-mass, you are a 5x5 square (assuming medium or small). It seems it's just like any other aura. Is the foe within 15 feet of me? Yes? Then they are in the effect. No? They are not within the effect.

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I mean, you could rule it like that and it certainly won't break the game to have every AOE spell reach an additional 2.5 feet. But I personally do not interpret point of origin (PHB p204) to mean a 5x5 square (or any sized square for that matter).

Swarmkeeper said:

I mean, you could rule it like that and it certainly won't break the game to have every AOE spell reach an additional 2.5 feet. But I personally do not interpret point of origin (PHB p204) to mean a 5x5 square (or any sized square for that matter).

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The problem with this is deciding where the point of origin is within the square. Nothing says you are always in the middle of a square. I can see players whinning and saying that they are on "the edge" of the square or something like it. I interpret the rules as following. If you don't play with a grid, you are the point of origin. If you are playing with a grid, your square is the point of origin.

Swarmkeeper said:

I mean, you could rule it like that and it certainly won't break the game to have every AOE spell reach an additional 2.5 feet. But I personally do not interpret point of origin (PHB p204) to mean a 5x5 square (or any sized square for that matter).

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The point of origin might be a point in space, but chapter 9 also specifies it may be a creature. If it's a creature, then it's going to be the whole creature and so that radius is going to be around their space on the grid.