Can Invisibility Sphere Be Cast On a Rope or Chain In Order to cover More Targets or a Wider Area

area-of-effectdnd-3.5eobjectsspells

This Q&A in regards to emanations suggests that extending some of them from a creature's space rather than a grid intersection is a good way to handle those effects that emanate from a creature rather than from a point in space. I like the answer there.

Preamble:
My low-level wizard character is about to embark on a raid on a beholder's lair, and wants to have most of the party invisible. His plan includes casting invisibility sphere (PH 245) on the party and then have them ahead while he's a short way behind in an antimagic field (PH 200) which will be both refuge and trap for the beast. Due to his inability to see in darkness, the need to not alert the beholder to their presence too early by carrying a working light source, and the silence (PH 279) spell he intends to have the rest of the party under, he wants to have a rope extend from the party, most of whom have 60 foot darkvision (which he doesn't possess) so that they can all gauge their distance from each other, as well as send very basic signals.

I got the idea that making the rope invisible wouldn't hurt, and this question sprang to mind:

When cast on a very large or changeable object (like a rope), how do spells like invisibility sphere and silence operate? The invisibility sphere and silence spells say that they can be cast on objects which then emanate the spell effect from themselves. Both effects are also explicitly mobile with the recipient.

Would the effect persist along the entire rope, permitting humorously large groups of silent, invisible creatures who were all within 10 feet of an uncoiled rope (less than 100 lbs of rope in order to stay within the invisibility spell's limits)?

Best Answer

You need to pick a point of origin for the emanation

The Q&A you are linking is discussing how they handle the fact that it is not clear what intersection to use to represent the point of origin. It shows a method that in practical play seems to work smoothly, but it is explicit that this is not an official rule.

The official rules state (PHB, Aiming a Spell):

Regardless of the shape of the area, you select the point where the spell originates

Burst, Emanation, or Spread: Most spells that affect an area function as a burst, an emanation, or a spread. In each case, you select the spell’s point of origin and measure its effect from that point.

This is very clear and explicit that you always have to chose a point from which the radius for the spell is counted.

Therefore, it will not be possible to have a 50-feet long invisibility sphere extend around the eponymous rope. You need to pick one point along the rope.

I believe the confusion here comes from following the practical but inoffical resolution recipe to an extreme where it stops to be practical and instead produces unexpected results. Just return to the staid rules as written, and the problem dissolves.

Related Topic