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How do cone AOEs work in #dnd 5e?
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May 21, 2025
How do cone AOEs work in #dnd 5e? Continuing my ongoing discussion of how 5e’s rules handle areas of effect in the various methods supported by the rules. #dnd5e #2024dnd #ttrpg #characteroptimization #dungeonsanddragons #dmadvice
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areas of effect in D and D cones So
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we've spoke on previous videos about the
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different methods for handling areas of
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effect Method one theater of the mind
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Method two is miniatures on a grid
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Method three is miniatures on a battle
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map no grid So if you're playing in
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theater of the mind very simple Just
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grab that table in the 2014 Dungeon
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Masters Guide for creatures in an area
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of effect If you're playing method three
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which is miniatures but no actual grid
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then you can just use a template and
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figure out which creatures spaces are at
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least half affected by the AoE It gets
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complicated if you're playing method two
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which is miniatures on a grid So you can
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use a template and then place the
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template on the grid So start from a
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grid intersection typically one of the
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corners of your space and orient your
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cone however you like and figure out
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which creatures spaces are at least 50%
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affected by the AoE Those creatures are
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affected by the cone If you're using the
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token method you're going to have to be
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a little bit more deliberate So start
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from a grid intersection and place
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tokens or marked squares out to the
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length of the cone and then from there
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go outward to the width of the cone
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Effectively you're making a T-shape And
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then you're going to fill it back in to
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form a triangle Now as you place tokens
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each step away from your point of origin
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the cone gets one space wider So this is
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going to mean that at some points you're
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going to have an even number of tokens
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So there's no middle space So if you're
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snapping to the grid your cone is going
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to be either oriented slightly to the
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right or slightly to the left and that's
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fine If you're not snapping to the grid
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then you can slide those tokens so that
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they they kind of straddle that middle
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line So there will be parts of your cone
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where it's like it's this wide for two
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spaces and then it's that wide for two
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spaces and you get a slightly wider cone
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as a result for the like base of the
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cone The end of the cone is always going
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to be those same dimensions but you
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might catch a few extra creatures in the
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area of effect depending on how you
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place those like middle chunks You might
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also be able to use this kind of snake
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your cone around your allies to hit
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enemies without hitting your
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