[RPG] Does Water Walk include ice as a terrain it affects

dnd-5espellsterrain

Water Walk in DnD 3.5e specifies ice among the surfaces Water Walk lets you traverse as if it were solid ground, eliminating the difficult terrain penalties ice normally imposes:

The transmuted creatures can tread on any liquid as if it were firm ground. Mud, oil, snow, quicksand, running water, ice, and even lava can be traversed easily, since the subjects’ feet hover an inch or two above the surface. (Creatures crossing molten lava still take damage from the heat because they are near it.) The subjects can walk, run, charge, or otherwise move across the surface as if it were normal ground.

If the spell is cast underwater (or while the subjects are partially or wholly submerged in whatever liquid they are in), the subjects are borne toward the surface at 60 feet per round until they can stand on it.

Water Walk in DnD 5e omits ice from the list of affected terrain:

This spell grants the ability to move across any liquid surface—such as water, acid, mud, snow, quicksand, or lava—as if it were harmless solid ground (creatures crossing molten lava can still take damage from the heat). Up to ten willing creatures you can see within range gain this ability for the duration.

If you target a creature submerged in a liquid, the spell carries the target to the surface of the liquid at a rate of 60 feet per round.

Has there been any clarification that allows ice?

Please cite source sites.

Best Answer

The rule clearly states that the effect applies to "any liquid surface", giving "water" as an example. Ice is a "solid substance produced by the freezing of water vapour or liquid water". It is not a liquid. The rule does not apply to ice.

The new rule is significantly different to the old one. It no longer involves "the subjects’ feet hover[ing] an inch or two above the surface", and it removes the only solid substance from the list of examples. This suggests the change was intentional, and was not merely an oversight.

There is no reference to Water Walk in the 5e Errata or in the Sage Advice rules articles. A search for the phrase "water walk" on the D&D site reveals no other articles mentioning it.