[RPG] Can the Sphere of Annihilation magic item destroy a Wall of Force spell

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The Sphere of Annihilation magic item can obliterate all matter except artifacts (emphasis mine):

This 2-foot-diameter black sphere is a hole in the multiverse, hovering in space and stabilized by a magical field surrounding it.

The sphere obliterates all matter it passes through and all matter that passes through it. Artifacts are the exception. […]

Meanwhile, the Wall of Force spell is near indestructible, but it can be destroyed by a Disintegrate spell (emphasis mine):

Nothing can physically pass through the wall. It is immune to all damage and can't be dispelled by dispel magic. A disintegrate spell destroys the wall instantly, however. The wall also extends into the Ethereal Plane, blocking ethereal travel through the wall.

If a Sphere of Annihilation collides with a Wall of Force, what happens? Does the Wall of Force hold, or is it destroyed?

Best Answer

No, it can not destroy a Wall of Force.

The description of Wall of Force states (emphasis mine):

Nothing can physically pass through the wall.

The term nothing implies that even a hole in the multiverse cannot pass through it. The Sphere of Annihilation:

[...] obliterates all matter it passes through and all matter that passes through it.

But a Wall of Force seems not to be made of matter at all, but by force (whatever it means, see for example the discussion here about force damage). The quoted part from the spell description provides the sole way to disintegrate the wall, i.e. using a Disintegrate spell. Moreover:

Anything else that touches the sphere but isn't wholly engulfed and obliterated by it takes 4d10 force damage.

Hence, the sphere can not destroy it but it would deal 4d10 force damage – but the Wall of Force is immune to all damage, and hence it does not take such damage even if the sphere touches it.

A DM can rule otherwise, reasonably.

A Sphere of Annihilation is a legendary item which may also affect artifacts, while Wall of Force is a 5th-level spell: a DM may state that a legendary item is so powerful that overcomes spells of such level and maybe of higher levels.

What if a Wall of Force is cast in the Sphere's space?

There is another issue about the interaction between the Wall of Force and the Sphere of Annihilation: what happens when the wall created by the spell appears in the sphere's space? The description of the spell mentions the case of creatures only:

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).

It is not clear what happens in case of objects (see for example this Q&A How does Wall of Force interact with objects?). The DM has to make a ruling here:

  • The sphere follows the rule for creatures, and hence is pushed on one side of the wall.
  • The sphere is stuck in the wall. In this case another DM call is needed: they have to decide if the sphere can be moved again and what happens to the hole left in the Wall of Force, or if it is not possible to move it.

As a DM, in this particular case I would apply the first ruling, mainly to ease the game, since even if the sphere is on the other side of the Wall with respect to a creature, they can still control it, because the only requirement is to be within 60ft of the sphere.

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