104
You can't fire a fireball through a toad's mouth
The rules don't technically define 'swallowed', but in plain English, swallowed things are concealed by the relevant anatomy. Therefore, if a creature is swallowed by a toad, other creatures are completely concealed by that obstacle and therefore have toadal cover.
A target has total cover if it is ...
answered Feb 13 '19 at 19:37
David Coffron
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51
Yes, and it's hard, and that's why there's a cover penalty.
We generally assume that the character already knows the basic techniques for using their weapon, and thus gets no additional benefit from the player saying they intend to use it correctly. You're getting a proficiency bonus because you're proficient.
And if the enemy is behind cover such that it ...
45
Yes, readying a spell behind full cover would prevent counterspell
Counterspell depends on sight and a clear path to the target
Counterspell has a casting time of:
1 reaction, which you take when you see a creature within 60 feet of
you casting a spell
That means that an opposing spellcaster must be able to see the intended counterspell target. ...
answered Mar 5 '18 at 17:58
43
Yes, you can do this
Well, first of all, the fireball spell description states:
The fire spreads around corners.
Rules designer Jeremy Crawford has unofficially clarified on Twitter what this means:
Your cover is foiled if an effect spreads around it and reaches you.
In addition, regarding spell targeting (and the targeting of Fireball in particular), ...
43
Cover is concerned with what is between you and your target, nothing more, so it doesn't matter if eldritch blast shoots straight or wibbly wobbly.
The rules for cover state:
Walls, trees, creatures, and other obstacles can provide cover during combat, making a target more difficult to harm. A target can benefit from cover only when an attack or other ...
answered Jul 17 '20 at 1:57
Thomas Markov
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41
No, but it can provide obscurement.
Cover requires a solid object. Examples from the definition:
Walls, trees, creatures, and other obstacles can provide cover during combat, making a target more difficult to harm.
The game mechanic that represents the sight-blocking effect of something like an illusion is obscurement.
A heavily obscured area--such ...
40
Creatures technically always provide at least half cover:
A target with half cover has a +2 bonus to AC and Dexterity saving throws. A target has half cover if an obstacle blocks at least half of its body. The obstacle might be a low wall, a large piece of furniture, a narrow tree trunk, or a creature, whether that creature is an enemy or a friend (BD&...
answered Nov 10 '14 at 20:58
wax eagle
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39
PHB, Page 196:
A target has total cover if it is completely concealed by an obstacle.
I don't believe there is a rule on what constitutes an obstacle, so we must refer to the common understanding of what an obstacle is. Ultimately it's up to the DM, but personally I wouldn't consider a bedsheet covering the body to be an obstacle. Worn clothes aren't an ...
34
As a general rule...spells do exactly what they say they do, and no more.
In regards to ranged attacks, anything on the other side (or inside) of a Web Spell will be Lightly Obscured.
Lightly Obscured (PHB 183)
In a lightly obscured area, such as dim light, patchy fog, or moderate foliage, creatures have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that ...
answered Aug 3 '17 at 15:53
guildsbounty
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34
A wall of force grants cover by being an obstacle. A confirmed tweet from a game designer states this includes spells.
According to the cover rules in the Player's Handbook, p.196:
Walls, trees, creatures, and other obstacles can provide cover during combat, making a target more difficult to harm. [...] A target has half cover if an obstacle blocks at ...
answered Sep 23 '18 at 14:08
Quadratic Wizard
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30
There is an optional rule in the DMG about hitting other creatures that are providing cover for something, on page 272.
It says that if your attack misses due to the cover provided and the attack roll was high enough to beat the AC of the creature providing the cover, you hit the covering creature instead.
There is indeed nothing in the PHB, as there is ...
27
Being invisible is not different
You do not roll with advantage if you are invisible, you are simply allowed to roll (per the "Hiding" sidebar on PHB p. 177 or here in the basic rules):
You can’t hide from a creature that can see you, and if you make noise (such as shouting a warning or knocking over a vase), you give away your position. An invisible ...
26
Yes, he gets an OA
You are moving to get away from him, and for sure "being on the other side of the wall" means you are "out of his reach" as most attackers cannot reach through a wall.
The OA doesn't care where you are moving to, the OA condition is set based upon where you are moving from. (Without using the Disengage action).
You can ...
answered Jan 1 '16 at 19:45
KorvinStarmast
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26
How hard is for you to hit the target is how well you see it which depends on the angle of visibility. See the pic below, the left 'person' sees the other one just as well as if there was no stone and can attack normally, while the one on the right has a limited view and has to contest a higher AC. In this case it is a side view (shooting above the stone) ...
26
Your problem isn't solved by total cover.
As K-T already said, total covers conceals you fully and counts as an obstacle for whatever tries to assault you. This rule, at least as far as I can reason, does not actually apply or do much for you here.
Since you want to make the use of Counterspell against you impossible, you don't need any conventional cover. ...
24
Not as much protection as you'd think.
Try this at home - get a shovel, and try to pile "loose earth" into the shape you've described (3ft tall, 2ft deep wall). It will immediately fall down into a pile. The angle of repose of soil is 30-45 degrees. In your configuration (2ft diameter base) the pile needs to have an angle of repose of 75 degrees. ...
24
Yes, you can shoot
You don't need sharpshooter to do this, either.
Cover is covered on page 196 of the PHB, and states (emphasis mine):
A target with three-quarters cover has a +5 bonus to AC and Dexterity saving throws. A target has three-quarters cover if about three-quarters of it is covered
by an obstacle. The obstacle might be a portcullis, an arrow ...
24
No, but you're safe anyways
Let's start with "Total Cover":
A target has total cover if it is completely concealed by an obstacle.
As others have already pointed out, the blanket is not really an obstacle, so it can't provide you with Total Cover, but this is ultimately irrelevant, because of the way Counterspell works:
Casting Time: 1 reaction, ...
23
Half cover is not ignored:
Cover rules say:
A target can benefit from cover only when an attack or other effect originates on the opposite side of the cover.
Specifically for half-cover (emphasis mine):
A target with half cover has a +2 bonus to AC and Dexterity saving throws. A target has half cover if an obstacle blocks at least half of its body. The ...
23
Yes, as long as they can see the target (according to Rules as Intended)
Jeremy Crawford confirms that this is indeed the intended interpretation of the spell's effects on the Jan. 19, 2017 episode of Dragon Talk ("Wolfgang Baur on DMing for Girl Scouts"). Starting at 36:20, he says (transcription done by me):
There are spells that create ...
answered Feb 19 '18 at 16:45
23
Spiritual Weapon ignores Cover (but not Visibility) between the Caster and Target
The Cover rules state:
A target can benefit from cover only when an attack or other effect originates on the opposite side of the cover
Spiritual Weapon indicates that the weapon itself is attacking the Target, so only Cover between the Weapon and the Target matters.
However: ...
23
The wall doesn't have a direction, but attacks do
D&D doesn't spend a whole lot of time on cover and how and when to apply it, trusting players to use plain reading of the rules and their good sense to make things work. So let's try to read things plainly.
The spell doesn't have a direction, if it did, the description would say so. However, when you are ...
answered Feb 27 '20 at 14:56
21
#2 - Fog cloud would appear on the wizard's side of the wall
To target something, you must have a clear path to it, so it can't be behind total cover.
This gives a broad, general rule that covers anything that targets something. However, rules then go on to create a special case that tells you how to apply the rule in a specific circumstance:
If you place ...
answered Feb 15 '19 at 16:01
21
Yes.
This does it:
Choosing any other corner gives full cover.
answered Jul 16 '20 at 11:07
Thomas Markov
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21
Three-quarters cover
As stated above, the rules for determining cover on a grid read:
To determine whether a target has cover against an attack or other effect on a grid, choose a corner of the attacker’s space or the point of origin of an area of effect. Then trace imaginary lines from that corner to every corner of any one square the target occupies. If ...
20
In the DMG on page 272:
When a ranged attack misses a target that has cover, you can use this optional rule to determine whether the cover was struck by the attack.
First, determine whether the attack roll would have hit the protected target without cover. If the attack roll falls within a range low enough to miss the target but high enough to strike ...
20
This isn't nearly as powerful as you think. Let's assume that we have a squishy character like William the Wizard, his much tougher friend Bob the Barbarian, and they are fighting the evil goblin, Arthur the Archer.
Yes, Bob can move between William and Arthur. However, if Bob moves on his turn, Arthur can:
Move on his turn before he shoots so that he has ...
20
No, the Rogue can't. There are two separate conditions that must be met:
You need cover or concealment in order to attempt a Hide check
Blur provides this. However, the second condition is as follows:
If people are observing you, even casually, you can’t hide.
And Blur does not help with that. You need a separate ability for Hiding in Plain Sight, ...
20
RAW, B is targeted
One of the foundational rules for playing the game (found in the Introduction to the Basic Rules):
many racial traits, class features, spells, magic items, monster abilities, and other game elements break the general rules in some way, creating an exception to how the rest of the game works. Remember this: If a specific rule ...
answered Feb 26 '19 at 15:00
David Coffron
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20
Cover respects the point of origin of the effect.
The rules for cover say (emphasis mine):
A target can benefit from cover only when an attack or other effect originates on the opposite side of the cover.
Flaming sphere's area of effect is
A 5-foot-diameter sphere of fire [...]
The rules of spherical areas of effect say:
You select a sphere's point of ...
answered Aug 19 '20 at 14:24
Thomas Markov
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