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The description for Wall of Ice states

"If the wall cuts through a creature's space when it appears, the creature within its area is pushed to one side of the wall and must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 10d6 cold damage, or half as much damage on a successful save."

For both Wall of Stone and Wall of Force the spells specificity it is "Your choice" which side they arrive on, with Wall of Stone triggering a Dex save to see if they can avoid it. Wall of Ice's save only state doing damage, but nothing about getting a chance to escape.

Does that lack of specifying the caster's choice mean that it is the target's choice by default? Do creatures surrounded by the walls not get a chance to escape as long as they are untouched?

My current reading is that if a target is hit by the wall they can escape freely, but if you can enclose the targets without the wall touching them they would be trapped without a save to escape. Would that be correct?

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Your GM decides who decides where the creature goes

[...] If the wall cuts through a creature's space when it appears, the creature is pushed to one side of the wall (your choice which side). [...]

[...] If the wall cuts through a creature's space when it appears, the creature is pushed to one side of the wall (your choice). [...]

[...] If the wall cuts through a creature's space when it appears, the creature within its area is pushed to one side of the wall [...]

Unfortunately it doesn't say how to determine which side of the wall a creature ends up on, but a reasonable assumption would be to rule it identically to wall of force and wall of stone, that is, the caster decides. Of course, this part is not explicitly stated and so it is ultimately left up to the GM.

A creature does not get a save against being surrounded by a wall of ice (or a wall of force)

wall of stone actually goes on to say:

If a creature would be surrounded on all sides by the wall (or the wall and another solid surface), that creature can make a Dexterity saving throw. On a success, it can use its reaction to move up to its speed so that it is no longer enclosed by the wall.

There is an explicit saving throw that allows a creature the chance to escape from wall of stone. A wall of force or wall of ice does not grant such a nicety to those trapped. If they did they would say so, they do not say so, so they do not. Spells do only and exactly what they say (barring GM fiat of course)

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    \$\begingroup\$ I would like to point out that you likely don't get to save to avoid becoming trapped by Wall of Ice or Wall of Force because neither of those spells can become permanent, meaning you can escape eventually, while Wall of Stone can become permanent, and trapping someone inside forever with no save would be pretty OP. \$\endgroup\$
    – RevanantBacon
    Commented Apr 2, 2020 at 20:24
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    \$\begingroup\$ No, I think your reasoning generally holds up. \$\endgroup\$
    – Mark Wells
    Commented Apr 2, 2020 at 22:29
  • \$\begingroup\$ @RevenantBacon I wouldn't call wall of stone any sort of permanent trap given that it states: "The wall is an object made of stone that can be damaged and thus breached. Each panel has AC 15 and 30 hit points per inch of thickness." not to mention options such as teleportation, flying, climbing, burrowing, flooding, etc... \$\endgroup\$
    – Exempt-Medic
    Commented Apr 3, 2020 at 1:44
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Medix2 It may not be permanent in the sense that it can be removed with enough effort/force, but it is permanent in the sense that it won't go away on its own. Besides, considering that it's a wall made of stone most weapons that an adventurer is likely to have on their person are going to be ineffective at damaging it, and flying or climbing aren't going to be much help if the top is sealed over. \$\endgroup\$
    – RevanantBacon
    Commented Apr 3, 2020 at 14:09
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Exempt-Medic My reading of the spell is that for the time it is still 'magic', the wall is a spell effect that has AC15 and 30hp. Once it is permanent it is no longer a spell effect but an object, and governed by the rules of damaging objects - AC increases to 17 for stone, damage it in sections with 27 hp for a resilient item but likely with a damage threshold and can only be damaged by items specifically designed to damage stone walls. Which is not to say that it cannot be damaged or is a permanent trap, just that it becomes harder to damage than the stats in the spell imply. \$\endgroup\$
    – Kirt
    Commented Apr 10, 2022 at 6:22

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