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I set up a Prismatic Wall and a non-protected creature passes through it, say from left to right. On page 269 of the 5e Player's Handbook, the Prismatic Wall spell reads:

When a creature attempts to reach into or pass through the wall, it does so one layer at a time through all the wall's layers. As it passes or reaches through each layer, the creature must make a Dexterity saving throw or be affected by that layer's properties as described below.

The layers are listed from Red to Violet, so the enemy passed through my wall in that order and made it through. They are now on the right side, and I have contrived a way to push them back through the wall to the left side. Do I reverse the order they encounter the layers and go Violet to Red, or do I always go Red to Violet whenever anything passes through the wall?

In other words, does a Prismatic Wall have a "sidedness" to it, and, if so, when is that sidedness established?

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    \$\begingroup\$ Welcome to RPG.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance. Good first question! \$\endgroup\$
    – V2Blast
    Oct 12, 2019 at 7:23

2 Answers 2

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The saves are always in the same order

The spell description states that you pass through the colors in a certain order. It says nothing about what direction you might be moving as you do so. As such, you have to assume it is in the same order each time.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks. This makes sense RAW. This is what we did. No complaints from the DM. \$\endgroup\$
    – Kenshira
    Oct 15, 2019 at 19:52
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Consider a rainbow: No matter where one stands in relation to a rainbow, the order of colors is always the same. Hence, the saves should always be in the same order. Once you get through it and look back, the orders would appear in the exact same way that they did the first time you went through.

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    \$\begingroup\$ I think of a prismatic wall as not being like a ordered series of colored walls but rather that the colors are shifting and blending together. \$\endgroup\$ Oct 12, 2019 at 21:48
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    \$\begingroup\$ You can't stand anywhere in relation to a rainbow, because a rainbow is an optical phenomenon, not something with a position. There's no way for two people to stand on "opposite sides" of a rainbow, let alone pass through. \$\endgroup\$ Oct 13, 2019 at 6:33
  • \$\begingroup\$ A rainbow is generated by the refraction of light, and it absolutely can be projected. You can choose to hold up a prism near a window and project a rainbow of light onto a wall. While it is an effect, it is not an illusion. Different people standing in a classroom have different relations (relative areas) to the projected rainbow but they all see the same thing. \$\endgroup\$ Nov 5, 2019 at 15:46

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