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True Seeing is a divination spell that states:

For the duration, the creature has truesight [...]

While Mind Blank states:

Until the spell ends, one willing creature you touch is immune to psychic damage, any effect that would sense its emotions or read its thoughts, divination spells, and the charmed condition. The spell even foils wish spells and spells or effects of similar power used to affect the target's mind or to gain information about the target.

Let's say that the Rogue had Invisibility and Mind Blank cast on him, and the Wizard cast True Seeing on himself. How do these spells interact?

The discussion at my table hinges on the fact that True Seeing doesn't target or affect the Mind Blanked rogue, so his immunity is not relevant. The Wizard would simply gain Truesight and would spot him. Is this correct?

BlueMoon93
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2 Answers2

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Mind blank foils true seeing.

Mind blank states:

The spell even foils wish spells and spells or effects of similar power used to affect the target’s mind or to gain information about the target.

If true seeing is used to gain information (current position, appearance, etc.) about the target of mind blank, then it is foiled.

Usually you can see the target of mind blank because your eyes are not "spells or effects of similar power", but if the target is also invisible by some other means, then true seeing is foiled and the target remains invisible to you.

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Ruse
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  • By extension wouldn't this foil literally any spell like firebolt which would reveal the creature's location if they were hit? – Exempt-Medic Aug 31 '19 at 21:12
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    @Medix2 I'm not sure what you mean, firebolt doesn't reveal the location of the creature it hits – Ruse Aug 31 '19 at 22:43
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    If I hit a creature with firebolt I would know where it is. If I see a creature with true seeing I would know where it is. Just as you can see a creature, so too could you see where the firebolt stopped moving – Exempt-Medic Aug 31 '19 at 22:49
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    @Medix2 to target a creature with firebolt you need to know what space it is in, which allows you to shoot (with disadvantage if the target is invisible). Whether you hit or not, you don't gain any new information, so there is no interaction with mind blank. – Ruse Sep 01 '19 at 02:39
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    Yes it does have an interaction. You can aim a spell without knowing where a creature is, and fire in a random direction. If that spell hit an invisible creature you would thus gain the knowledge of where it is – Exempt-Medic Sep 01 '19 at 03:39
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    This can complement your answer, found it after the question was closed yesterday – BlueMoon93 Sep 01 '19 at 09:44
  • @Medix2 You'd gain knowledge that there's something at that location, not that it is a specific creature. – Mark Wells Sep 02 '19 at 01:09
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The wizard with true seeing can see the mind blanked rogue.

  • The spell true seeing was cast upon (and affects) the wizard not the rogue.

  • The rogue is immune to divination spells, which means divination spells cannot be successfully cast upon the rogue. From mind blank's write up "The spell even foils wish spells and spells or effects of similar power used to affect the target’s mind or to gain information about the target," but the true seeing targets the wizard (not the rogue), granting the wizard "the ability to see things as they actually are." and "For the duration, the creature has truesight..." From the PHB definition of truesight: "A creature with truesight can, out to a specific range, see in normal and magical darkness, see invisible creatures and objects..." Mind blank does not grant invisibility, and therefore does not prevent a mind blanked target from being seen by those with truesight.

Lexible
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  • What do you think of the logic in this answer? – Ryan C. Thompson Aug 31 '19 at 16:07
  • @RyanThompson Thank you for the link! I think both the linked OP and the linked answer are playing loosey-goosey with the straightforward language of the rules (e.g., the spell true seeing targets the wizard, not the rogue), and I disagree with it. – Lexible Sep 01 '19 at 00:36
  • Supporting that this is what being immune to a divination spell means would help* – Exempt-Medic Sep 01 '19 at 04:43
  • @Medix2 Edited a bit. – Lexible Sep 01 '19 at 05:01
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    The uses "target" in the spell description are referring to the target of mind blank not a generic spell. It would've said "gain information about their target" if it meant all spells. Also you have not justified that "being immune to divination spells" means exactly "cannot be targeted by divination spells" which is the phrasing that nondetection uses which is discussed in this question: https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/80845 – Exempt-Medic Sep 01 '19 at 13:10
  • @Medix2 Unlike the wording of the write up for mind blank, nondetection says explicitly "The target [of nondetection] can’t be targeted by any divination magic or perceived through magical scrying sensors." Mind blank is not affected by someone else having truesight, but the invisibility of someone covered by mind blank is seen through. – Lexible Sep 01 '19 at 16:38
  • I agree the wordings are different but your sentence "The rogue is immune to divination spells, which means divination spells cannot be successfully cast upon the rogue." effectively equates them with no proof/logic provided. – Exempt-Medic Sep 01 '19 at 16:50
  • Also you say: "The spell even foils [...] spells [...] used to [...] gain information about the target, but the true seeing targets the wizard". It doesn't matter what true seeing targets. The description is saying that spells cannot grant information about the target of *mind blank*. – Exempt-Medic Sep 01 '19 at 16:52
  • @Medix2 I think that is a spurious use of "not grant information," which I read to address the effects of spells like locate creature which have write ups describing specific kinds of information provided by the spell. Contrast with someone casting locate creature on a (visible) target currently under mind blank: the caster would necessarily gain the information that the target cannot be affected by locate creature. – Lexible Sep 01 '19 at 22:51
  • @Medix2 "effectively equates them with no proof/logic provided." The logic is in the plain-language reading of the phrase, and the ethos of "spells do just what they say they do, no more, no less" of 5e. – Lexible Sep 01 '19 at 22:52