[RPG] Using Clairvoyance, can you attack a target you otherwise wouldn’t be able to see

dnd-5espellstargetingvision-and-light

Spawned from related: What does it mean "to see" when casting magic missile?

A circumstance occurs when I am no longer able to see my opponent. Fog Cloud was conjured over me, and I am blinded. I now lost sights of my opponent.

If I use Clairvoyance, and take the "seeing" sense, would I then be able to use a ranged attack or spell against my opponent? If examples are necessary, a ranged attack will imply an arrow being shot, and a spell would imply Magic Missile, for argument sake.

In the case of a physical object being in the way of you and your target, say a wall, I understand that you lose a clear path to your target, although it would
generate a lot of "cool" points if your Magic Missile would bend around a wall and hit your target. I am uncertain, however, about the interaction between being blinded, Clairvoyance, and ranged attacks/spells.

I am looking for RAW, as opposed to any house rules, and primarily focused on targeted spells and attacks, and not area-of-effect such as Fireball.

We can safely assume that range limitations of all attacks, spells, and Clairvoyance are not being exceeded.

Best Answer

Yes, Clairvoyance allows you to see through it's sensor

If you had the time to plan and set up Clairvoyance (10 minute casting time), you could "see" if you are in a heavily obscured area but the sensor is not.

There are other ways to either cast without the time requirement or through other magical means:

  1. Potion of Clairvoyance (DMG, 187)(Rare) - No casting time needed.
  2. Ring of X-ray vision (DMG, 193)(Rare, requires attunement) - See through solid matter. As Fog Cloud is a physical obstruction, this should work, but DM may rule otherwise.

But you still must have...A Clear Path to Target

While Clairvoyance gives you the required "visual confirmation" of the target, you are still ultimately casting the spell(you are not casting it through the sensor) and that still requires a clear path(PHB, 204.)

To target something, you must have a clear path to it, so it can't be behind total cover.

A target around a corner would be considered behind total cover from you. It is not the Fog Cloud that is creating the physical obstruction (it's only an area under the visual impairment of Heavily Obscured) but that something around a corner is under Total Cover.