What happens when a glyph of warding with Blink is triggered?

Question

Context: I am a player setting traps for other players

If I cast Glyph of Warding with Blink as the spell glyph, what would happen when it triggered? I think it would either:

Teleport whatever triggered it to a predetermined location
Teleport the caster of the glyph to a predetermined location
Whatever triggered the glyph would be able to teleport as if they had cast Blink

Related on Can a spell with a target of self be stored in a glyph of warding? — NotArch, Dec 07 '18 at 18:10
A question based on a faulty premise can still be a good question because correction of the faulty premise could be valuable to users who share the same misunderstanding. — , Dec 07 '18 at 20:25
I think I was thinking of Misty Step when I made this, editing the question to clarify — Geekdude3, Dec 07 '18 at 22:18
@Geekdude3 Just make a new question with Misty Step, let this one stand. — Xirema, Dec 07 '18 at 22:27
Please don't make an edit of that magnitude after answers have been submitted. It completely invalidates them. It's better to just submit a new question. — NotArch, Dec 07 '18 at 22:27
@MarkTO Correct, but if OP simply made a mistake with a spell name (which indeed appears to be the case here), it is also good to enquire about that to make sure. In this case, it would be too late for them to change the spell but at the time I asked, had they replied it would have been a good and useful clarification. — Rubiksmoose, Dec 10 '18 at 13:45
Fwiw: OP please do ask that new question since I think it would be pretty interesting. — Rubiksmoose, Dec 10 '18 at 15:17

score 9 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 16 '20 at 10:23

None of the above

Blink would affect the creature who triggered it

Glyph of warding says¹:

When the glyph is triggered, the stored spell is cast. If the spell has a target, it targets the creature that triggered the glyph.

Since blink has a target, the creature that triggers the glyph would become the target of the spell. So this would imply #1 or #3 to be correct except for...

Blink does not allow you to teleport to a location upon triggering

Blink, on a roll of 11 or above, transports a creature to the Ethereal Plane. It does not allow any creature to teleport to any predetermined location of its (or any other creature's) choice.² The location of the creature in the ethereal plane depends only on where they were in the material plane. Thus none of your options are correct.

The real answer is:

4. The creature that triggers the glyph gets transported to the ethereal plane at the end of their turn if they roll an 11 or above.

^{1 - Important to note is that errata has changed the wording of the spell from "[Y]ou inscribe a glyph that harms other creatures," to "When you cast this spell, you inscribe a glyph that later unleashes a magical effect.". Thus, glyph of warding can indeed create non-harmful effects.}

^{2 - Worth noting is that at the beginning of each of its turns that it starts in the ethereal plane, the creature will blink back into the material plane in a place within 10 feet of the one you left last turn. While not technically teleporting, this would indeed be the creature who triggered the glyph's choice.}

score -3 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 08 '18 at 18:08

-3

None of the above, as glyph of warding casts "causes harm" to the triggerer of the glyph.

You cannot store a spell that does not harm the triggerer. Blink helps the triggerer out as it allows them to avoid being damaged half of the time

answered Dec 08 '18 at 18:08

Pliny

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I think this could be correct as the spell says, "[Y]ou inscribe a glyph that harms other creatures," but offering further support for this answer's reading may help persuade the community. For example, I can imagine an argument saying that the blink spell does harm (as in hinder) a creature by making it more difficult for the affected creature to land successful attacks. Were this answer to offer a narrower in-game definition of harm — like deals damage — then I'm almost certain the answer would be more successful. – Hey I Can Chan Dec 08 '18 at 18:51
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@HeyICanChan (and Garret Gang): That part of the spell description was changed in errata at least a year ago to: "When you cast this spell, you inscribe a glyph that later unleashes a magical effect." – V2Blast Dec 08 '18 at 18:54
@V2Blast O, okay. Cool. I'm not a 5e guy, and I was using as a reference this site. Should I avoid that site for rules in the future? Also, should this answer mention that errata so other folks don't fall for the same (harmful?) trap as Garret Gang and I? Finally, should the question link to the current version of the glyph of warding spell? – Hey I Can Chan Dec 08 '18 at 18:56
@HeyICanChan: Hmm. I'm not sure why the spell description wasn't updated there; it's possible the SRD never got that change that was made to the PHB and basic rules. Though Roll20 has other issues specifically with capitalization anyway, as it capitalizes every term that's a link to another Roll20 Compendium page - so I'd recommend using a different source that doesn't deviate from the official stylization, and matches the latest version of the rules. – V2Blast Dec 08 '18 at 18:59
@V2Blast That certainly makes sense and that's a poor decision on the Compendium's part, given 5e's affection for Initial Caps to Mean Something. Is there a question—here or in Meta—already about what site presents the 5e rules in a form that's closest to the current printing? – Hey I Can Chan Dec 08 '18 at 19:03
@HeyICanChan: I don't think that exact question has been asked, though there was this question prompted by roll20's improper capitalization. I think D&D Beyond is generally correct, as an official partner of WotC, barring some potential delay in changes being made after errata. – V2Blast Dec 08 '18 at 20:00
@V2Blast, I hadn't seen that erata. That nullifies my advert completely. I just have the players handbook. – Pliny Dec 08 '18 at 20:47
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Since this answer is not correct you may want to consider deleting it to avoid downvotes. – Rubiksmoose Dec 10 '18 at 13:50
@HeyICanChan fair point. I'll make a note in mine. – Rubiksmoose Dec 10 '18 at 15:04
@HeyICanChan note made. – Rubiksmoose Dec 10 '18 at 15:08

What happens when a glyph of warding with Blink is triggered?

2 Answers2

None of the above

Blink would affect the creature who triggered it

Blink does not allow you to teleport to a location upon triggering