[RPG] What happens if I cast Contingency with AoE spell on theself

dnd-5espells

The contingency spell description states:

Choose a spell of 5th level or lower that you can cast, that has a casting time of 1 action, and that can target you.

What intrigues me is

The contingent spell takes effect only on you, even if it can normally target others.

For instance, the crusader's mantle spell (PHB, p. 230) says:

Holy power radiates from you in an aura with a 30-foot radius,
awakening boldness in friendly creatures. Until the spell ends, the
aura moves with you, centered on you. While in the aura, each
nonhostile creature in the aura (including you) deals an extra 1d4
radiant damage when it hits with a weapon attack.

Does this mean that if I cast Contingency with an area-of-effect/aura spell, it will only affect myself?

Best Answer

Area of Effect spells don’t all work the same. What contingency cares about is how they target.

AoE spells like fireball pretty much all target a point in space, not a creature or you, so they can’t be used with contingency.

The “takes effect only on you” part of contingency doesn’t provide further explanation because it doesn’t need to explain how spells like fireball will work, since they’re already invalid choices. Any valid spell is much more obvious how it works with only one target creature.

Single-target auras like crusader’s mantle are more obvious: they’re valid since the spell will take effect only on you. That only means (as contingency clarifies right after) that no other targets are possible to affect. Crusader’s mantle will still affect those inside the aura though, because those aren’t spell targets. The benefit of the aura isn’t part of the spell’s targeting, that’s just part of what the spell does to its single target.