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The last sentence of the Darkness spell has the following text:

If any of this spell’s area overlaps with an area of light created by a spell of 2nd level or lower, the spell that created the light is dispelled.

The Color Spray spell creates "flashing, colored light", and Flaming Sphere sheds bright and dim light.

Are both of these spells dispelled if they overlap with the Darkness spell?

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3 Answers3

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Only spells that produce an "area of light" are dispelled by Darkness: Flaming Sphere is dispelled but not Color Spray

Jeremy Crawford says " I would allow the darkness spell to dispel any spell of 2nd level or lower that explicitly produces light."

This is DM guidance, not RAW, but let's break down the implication of this. There are four categories of 2nd level and under spell effects that mention light:

Spells that Describe an Area of Light

All of these spells mention an ongoing area of light produced by their effect. I believe there is a strong case to be made for darkness dispelling these spells. The text of the spell reads "If any of this spell's area overlaps with an area of light created by a spell of 2nd level or lower, the spell that created the light is dispelled". All of the above spells create "area of light". If we are to give any effect to this text, it must apply to these spells.

Spells with instantaneous effects that explicitly mention "light", but not an area of light

PHB page 203 states that instantaneous spells cannot be dispelled.

Spells with that explicitly mention "light" that vanishes quickly and is not in an area

The text of these spells include the word "light", but perhaps more for flavor than as an enforceable description of an effect. After all, we might expect all spells (or at least the ones that involve fire) to produce light - the mention of light here could be incidental. For example, Guiding Bolt reads "A flash of light streaks toward a creature of your choice within range."

We can't automatically exclude these spells as with Ray of Frost, because although the light effect reads as if it's instantaneous, the spell's duration is 1 round. But this duration is surely describing the lingering effect of the spells, not the light produced when the spell was first cast. I would rule that the duration of the light in Color Spray and Guiding Bolt is the same as in Ray of Frost, and therefor not subject to dispel.

Further, the darkness spell does not mention being able to dispel any spell that "creates light" - it specifically mentions spells that create an "area of light". These spells do not create an area of light.

Spells with lingering effects that explicitly mention "light", but not an area of light

In addition to the light produced in casting, guiding bolt leaves a dim light on a target for 1 round. Unlike Faerie Fire, this light has no area of effect. This is an edge case.

In favor of darkness dispelling: dispels this because (a) it's an ongoing light effect and (b) the light is mechanically pertinent to the spell's effect on the target, in that it provides advantage on the next attack "thanks to the mystical dim light glittering on the target until then."

Against darkness dispelling: although the light is a persistent effect, this spell does not create an "area of light" as described in the darkness spell.

Pink Sweetener
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    Very nicely reasoned! – NotArch Apr 30 '19 at 17:22
  • Is there a case to be made that spells whose primary effect is to produce fiery object (e.g. Flaming Sphere, Produce Flame) aren't directly producing light, and are therefore no more dispellable by Darkness than a mundane flame that produces light? – Ryan C. Thompson Apr 30 '19 at 17:43
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    @RyanThompson But those spells do directly produce light, no? It may not be primary, but what does primacy have to do with it? It's in the spell description that they produce an area of light. – NotArch Apr 30 '19 at 17:45
  • A few notes, unrelated to my previous comment: I think Branding Smite might belong in a similar category with Guiding Bolt. And I think you're missing Dancing Lights from the first group. Also, for Guiding Bolt, I would suggest using "initial effect" and "ongoing effect" rather than first/second part. – Ryan C. Thompson Apr 30 '19 at 17:57
  • @RyanThompson Thanks! Branding Smite mentions an area of light, so I'm keeping it in the first group. I've incorporated your other notes. – Pink Sweetener Apr 30 '19 at 18:12
  • @NautArch Yeah, I suppose Flaming Sphere is no different from Continual Flame in that respect. (Side note: I think this answer is missing Continual Flame?) – Ryan C. Thompson Apr 30 '19 at 18:14
  • @RyanThompson Branding Smite does mention it "gleams with astral radiance as you strike". I suppose that's light. It could be categorized with implicitly instantaneous light effects. I'm sure many other effects could as well. Maybe "synonym for light" is another category? – Pink Sweetener Apr 30 '19 at 18:14
  • @RyanThompson oof, thanks. "A flame, equivalent in brightness to a torch". Didn't catch that! – Pink Sweetener Apr 30 '19 at 18:15
  • @PinkSweetener Yeah, I meant that Branding Smite has initial and ongoing effects that both mention light, like Guiding Bolt, so you might have to split it up in the same way. – Ryan C. Thompson Apr 30 '19 at 18:16
  • @RyanThompson but the initial effect doesn't explicitly say "light", and that opens the door to a flood of other spells. For example, acid arrow "shimmers". I could add a 5th category for spells that have synonyms for light - will think about it. – Pink Sweetener Apr 30 '19 at 18:29
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    @PinkSweetener Ok, then you should at least clarify that only the ongoing effect is dispelled. The initial damage is not prevented. As for acid arrow, to me "shimmer" indicates how the arrow appears when lit by an outside light source, it doesn't imply the arrow itself produces light, whereas the description of Branding Smite pretty clearly says the initial hit does produce light. It's not about whether the description uses specific words, but rather what the description says. – Ryan C. Thompson Apr 30 '19 at 18:34
  • @RyanThompson That's fair. I'll review other spells that don't use the word "light" but imply it. To me, that still goes under the same category of effects that describe "fire" or "energy". I'll clarify. – Pink Sweetener Apr 30 '19 at 18:43
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    Another minor note: the fact that Color Spray involves light is not purely flavor; it has a mechanical implication: creatures that can't see (e.g. those inside the area of a Darkness spell) are unaffected by the spell. I do agree that the light effect is instantaneous rather than ongoing, though. – Ryan C. Thompson Apr 30 '19 at 21:17
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The wording on Darkness reads:

If any of this spell's area overlaps with an area of light created by a spell of 2nd level or lower, the spell that created the light is dispelled

Therefore, if darkness overlaps with the light created by either of these spells, then it will dispel that spell. Do keep note of the wording of Darkness though, as it dispels any spell creating light in the area of darkness, this means that if a flaming sphere is 15 ft. away from the edge of the darkness spell, then it will be dispelled, as the light it creates is in a 20 ft. radius away from it.

This seems to be similar for Color Spray. As you mentioned, Color Spray creates

A dazzling array of flashing, colored light

This seems to imply that as long as darkness overlaps the 15 ft. cone that Color Spray creates, it should dispel Color Spray, and therefore end the blinded condition early if Darkness is cast after Color Spray, or prevent it from occurring if darkness is cast before Color Spray, however this is up to the DM's discretion, as it is not really clear what RAW rules here.

Rubiksmoose
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Smart_TJ
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    To fully answer the question, you should include color spray as well. – NotArch Apr 29 '19 at 20:11
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    Jeremy Crawford seems to agree: https://www.sageadvice.eu/2014/11/04/no-light-in-the-darkness and https://twitter.com/jeremyecrawford/status/949114071571341314. – Nick Brown Apr 29 '19 at 20:13
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    I agree with NautArch. This is a good answer so far, but Color Spray is a harder example to answer than Flaming Sphere, since Color Spray is described as creating light, but it's debatable whether what it creates is "an area of light". – Gandalfmeansme Apr 29 '19 at 20:26
  • @NickBrown good clarification that Darkness dispels spells that "explicitly" create light. – Pink Sweetener Apr 29 '19 at 23:36
  • Really good note on the weird interaction of "light-creating spell a good distance from Darkness is dispelled by Darkness". I had no idea that would happen. – Vigil Apr 30 '19 at 15:20
  • How are you equating an area of light, as in "as in sheds light in a X' radius", with something that doesn't actually create an area of light? – NotArch Apr 30 '19 at 16:46
  • @NautArch, sorry, but I'm not quite sure exactly what you mean there, could you clarify? – Smart_TJ Apr 30 '19 at 19:21
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    @Smart_TJ Darkness dispels spells with an "area of light". Flaming Sphere creates an area of light. Color Spray does not. – Pink Sweetener Apr 30 '19 at 21:54
  • @PinkSweetener that is where it is up to the DM, because even though it does not explicitly say that it creates "an area of light", it does describe it as "A dazzling array of flashing, colored light springs from your hand" and that that light is within a 15 ft. cone. This could be interpreted as an area of light in the shape of a 15 ft. cone, and therefore count, even thought it is not explicitly stated as such, thus the difficulty of answering this question – Smart_TJ May 01 '19 at 01:45
  • @Smart_TJ I think your last comment helps clarify NautArch's question. – Pink Sweetener May 01 '19 at 19:52
4

Yes; all of the following can be dispelled by the Darkness spell

To add on to Smart_TJ's answer, here is a list of every 2nd-level or lower spell that explicitly mentions creating light (per Jeremy Crawford's tweet, provided by Nick Brown in a comment) in the PHB:

It would seem all of these spells can be dispelled if cast in the vicinity of a Darkness spell.

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Pink Sweetener
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    What does it mean for e.g. Ray of Frost to be dispelled, given that the duration is instantaneous? What about Guiding Bolt, which has a duration of 1 round but deals its damage on the initial hit? Is the initial damage prevented, or only the lingering glow? – Ryan C. Thompson Apr 30 '19 at 01:30
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    It's worth noting that Jeremy Crawford's tweet you referenced states "I would allow the darkness spell to dispel any spell of 2nd level or lower that explicitly produces light." This indicates what he would do as a DM, not necessarily how the rule is intended to be interpreted by everyone. – Gandalfmeansme Apr 30 '19 at 01:54
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    @Gandalfmeansme, hopefully no one interprets it like this, dispelling a Flaming Sphere 15 feet away is the stupidest thing I heard in 5e. – András Apr 30 '19 at 09:48
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    Ray of Frost can't be dispelled, it is instantaneous. Though if you are including Ray of Frost you'd also have to include Fireball likely which specifies that it is a bright streak. – Rubiksmoose Apr 30 '19 at 14:29
  • @Rubiksmoose I guess Fireball was not mentionned because it is not "a spell of 2nd level or lower", and thus can't be dispelled by the Darkness spell. – Bash Apr 30 '19 at 14:55
  • @Bash oops! fair. – Rubiksmoose Apr 30 '19 at 14:57
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    How are you equating an area of light, as in "as in sheds light in a X' radius", with something that doesn't actually create an area of light? – NotArch Apr 30 '19 at 16:23
  • @RyanThompson yeah honestly, as I started to compile this list I began to more and more disagree with the notion that darkness should be allowed to dispel anything that explicitly mentions light. Ray of Frost was the turning point. Homebrewing that the effect needs to be ongoing seems like a good bet, but I can't think of a textual answer.

    I posted the above list despite my reservations because (a) it took some time to do and (b) I hope it might inform other, better answers.

     – Pink Sweetener Apr 30 '19 at 16:42
  • @NautArch I think that's a very good argument against Smart_TJ's answer, as it would apply to Color Spray as well. – Pink Sweetener Apr 30 '19 at 16:44
  • Definitely, i'll add it as a comment on theirs. But both should address. – NotArch Apr 30 '19 at 16:46
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    @NautArch I thought about it some more and came up with a new answer. The new answer was so different from the above one, I thought it would be preferable to post it as a separate answer rather than edit the above. – Pink Sweetener Apr 30 '19 at 17:19