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Reading up on 5th Edition spells I came across the 5th Level Evocation Hallow:

You touch a point and infuse an area around it with holy (or unholy) power...The affected area is subject to the following effects.

First, celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead can't enter the area [unless explicitly excluded from this effect]...

This got me curious as to how this would interact with the spell Spirit Guardians:

Spirits float around you up to 15 feet away. If you are good or neutral, they appear angelic or fey. If you are evil, they appear fiendish...

Would the fey or fiendish Spirit Guardians be prevented from entering a Hallowed area that excludes them, effectively neutering the Guardians spell within Hallow's radius? I couldn't find any discussion or rulings about this online.

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No. It would not interact with spirit guardians.

The word to focus on here is appear:

Spirits float around you up to 15 feet away. If you are good or neutral, they appear angelic or fey. If you are evil, they appear fiendish...

They are not actually those types and therefore would be unaffected by Hallow in the way you propose.

An illusion could also appear like an Imp but it would not actually be a fiend as an example (albeit it is illusion and not conjuration as Spirit Guardians is (schools are an afterthought in this game but they do have some importance)). This is simply a spell effect with a visual component for flavor. Spirit Guardians does conjure spirits like other conjuration spells but unlike some others it does not indicate that their type is actually set. This may have been a balancing issue or simply an oversight or just poor word choice.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Ah. Thanks, I was reading it as "They appear (materialize) as fey" rather than "They appear (look like) fey". Good catch! \$\endgroup\$
    – Robotnik
    Sep 26, 2018 at 13:14
  • \$\begingroup\$ However, wouldn't the spirits be undead, which is also excluded? \$\endgroup\$
    – ravery
    Sep 26, 2018 at 14:24
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    \$\begingroup\$ @ravery It doesn't say the spirits are undead, so no they are not undead. \$\endgroup\$
    – Captain Man
    Sep 26, 2018 at 14:27
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    \$\begingroup\$ @ravery Also, it doesn't say that the spirits are fiend, celestial or fey. "Spirits" are a generic term that has little game impact, more descriptive rather than mechanical. Take Find Familiar as an example. \$\endgroup\$
    – Slagmoth
    Sep 26, 2018 at 14:35

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