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Let's say the BBEG has their Tower of Doom protected by a Forbiddance spell and rather than kick down the front door, the party wants to sneak in all ninja-like. To do this, they want to use a spell to get inside quietly.

The relevant wording in the Forbiddance spell description says:

You create a ward against magical travel...For the duration, creatures can't teleport into the area or use portals...to enter the area.

I'm assuming Dimension Door wouldn't work as the description starts off with

You teleport yourself...

But, what about Passwall?

A passage appears at a point of your choice that you can see on a...surface within range...

Does the magical travel wording of the Forbiddance spell prevent Passwall from working, or can Passwall be used to enter an area protected by Forbiddance?

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Yes*

The description of Forbiddance makes it quite clear that it only prevents travel via magic, such as teleportation or planar travel. Passwall does not transport anything, it changes the structure of a wall to allow passage through it (note that its school is Transmutation, implying it changes structures, unlike most travelling spells which tend to be in the Conjuration school), and nothing in the description of Forbiddance suggests that magic cannot affect structures in its area of effect.

*: Well, technically no. Passwall, as explained above, does not transport or enter anything. But creatures can pass through an opening created by Passwall, which is what I assume you meant.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ *That's exactly what I meant, and I've adjusted my question to reflect that. \$\endgroup\$
    – aaron9eee
    Feb 2, 2020 at 13:49

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