Can I make an opponent take damage from Flaming Sphere twice per round

dnd-5espells

I would like to verify that my reading of the Flaming Sphere is correct. Suppose that I've cast Flaming Sphere and a creature is standing right next to it and is unable to move. Quoting the rules, each turn that creature

must make a Dexterity saving throw. The creature takes 2d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Additionally paraphrasing, each turn

as a bonus action, [I] can ram the sphere into [the] creature and then that creature must make the saving throw against the sphere's damage, and the sphere stops moving this turn.

Am I correct in thinking that this way I can make the creature take damage twice every round (once on its turn and once on mine), while I still cast (non-concentration) spells as normal in the meantime?

I'm uncertain about two issues:

  1. Maybe the intent behind the rule about ramming was that the creature makes the saving throw then instead of the one it would make at the end of its turn;
  2. Maybe ramming requires that some movement actually happens and can't be performed if the sphere stays in the same spot.

(The reason why I'm asking is that I ended up dealing a lot of damage with the Flaming Sphere during my last session, and I'm worried I might have been benefiting from some misreading of the rules.)

Best Answer

Flaming sphere has two independent damage triggers.

They are:

  • Any creature that ends its turn within 5 feet of the sphere must make a Dexterity saving throw. The creature takes 2d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
  • If you ram the sphere into a creature, that creature must make the saving throw against the sphere's damage, and the sphere stops moving this turn.

If both of these things happen to a creature in one round, then that creature must roll the save against the damage twice in that round. Nothing in the spell description indicates that a creature cannot suffer both of these things in one round.

Now, your question says 'can you make a creature suffer both of these', and the answer is probably no. You probably cannot force a creature to end their turn in range of your sphere without some other creative tactics - perhaps an ally has an enemy grappled and you can ram the enemy with the sphere and they are then unable to leave its range due to the grapple. If you manage this as you suppose in the question, then you can certainly cause the damage twice per round.

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