[RPG] Can you cast spells through water

dnd-5espells

The PHB says normally you need "a clear path to the target" to target someone with a spell (see "Spellcasting", page 204). Jeremy Crawford confirmed, that you can't cast a spell through semi transparent things.

Water is quite "semi-transparent" for me. Can I normally cast a spell through water? For clarity, let's say the spell is Guiding bolt, I can see the target, and the situation is one of the following:

  1. There is a waterfall between me and my target
  2. My target is in a pond, beneath the surface, and I am above it
  3. Both me and my target are underwater

Best Answer

The answer you linked has also quoted Mearls tweeting that:

in general, a barrier that stops physical objects stops spells

Based on this I would say that water does not stop objects and thus would not stop spells either. Of note is that it also does not provide any cover (no such thing is mentioned in the section for underwater combat, PHB p.198).

You have to keep in mind though that forming the verbal component of a spell might be challenging if you cannot breathe underwater.

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