Can a Horizon Walker ranger use the Distant Strike feature to teleport out of the Forcecage spell?

Question

Distant Strike is a Horizon Walker ranger feature which states (XGtE, p. 43):

At 11th level, you gain the ability to pass between the planes in a blink of an eye. When you use the Attack action, you can teleport up to 10 feet before each attack to an unoccupied space you can see.

The forcecage spell description states, in part:

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.

When you cast the spell, any creature that is completely inside the cage’s area is trapped. Creatures only partially within the area, or those too large to fit inside the area, are pushed away from the center of the area until they are completely outside the area.

A creature inside the cage can’t leave it by nonmagical means. If the creature tries to use teleportation or interplanar travel to leave the cage, it must first make a Charisma saving throw. On a success, the creature can use that magic to exit the cage. On a failure, the creature can’t exit the cage and wastes the use of the spell or effect. The cage also extends into the Ethereal Plane, blocking ethereal travel.

Can the ranger attack a location and thus teleport 10 feet outside the forcecage?

Answer 1

Yes, but you need to make a Charisma saving throw

Distant Strike states that you:

gain the ability to pass between the planes in a blink of an eye. When you use the Attack action, you can teleport up to 10 feet before each attack to an unoccupied space you can see.

Forcecage states that:

If the creature tries to use teleportation or interplanar travel to leave the cage, it must first make a Charisma saving throw

Since the Ranger is attempting both teleportation and interplanar travel, so they must make a Charisma saving throw as per the rules for Forcecage.

Note that this is congruent with the general idea of the rules that the specific overrules the general. In most cases Distant Strike allows travel without a check, but the specific language of Forcecage adds this additional requirement.

Answer 2

Yes, but you need to make a Charisma saving throw

I totally agree with jgn's answer (I mean, I even copied their title) but I feel like there's a simpler way to prove it.

Forcecage states :

If the creature tries to use teleportation or interplanar travel to leave the cage, it must first make a Charisma saving throw.

The Horizon Walker Ranger ability clearly establish :

When you use the Attack action, you can teleport up to 10 feet

The ranger ability is a teleport and the spell explicitly state that to teleport outside the cage, you need a Charisma saving throw.

Answer 3

Yes, they can attempt to teleport as part of their Attack action.

The Horizon Walker's Distant Strike lets them teleport when they take the Attack action. As part of making an attack, they can choose to attack a nearby enemy, or if there are none nearby, they can "attack" an empty location.

Whether you're striking with a melee weapon, firing a weapon at range, or making an attack roll as part of a spell, an attack has a simple structure.

1. Choose a target. Pick a target within your attack's range: a creature, an object, or a location.

Thus they can use the Attack action as a means of attempting escape. And unless something prevents them from performing attacks or taking the Attack action, the Horizon Walker can effectively use their Action at will to teleport up to (at least) 10 feet.

Note that teleportation effects, such as Distant Strike, have a chance to fail when inside a Forcecage:

If the creature tries to use teleportation or interplanar travel to leave the cage, it must first make a Charisma saving throw. On a success, the creature can use that magic to exit the cage. On a failure, the creature can’t exit the cage and wastes the use of the spell or effect.

So when the ranger takes the Attack action and attempts to teleport, they must make a Charisma saving throw in order to teleport successfully. Otherwise the teleportation fails and they remain in the Forcecage.