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Elemental Affinity

Starting at 6th level, when you cast a spell that deals damage of the type associated with your draconic ancestry, add your Charisma modifier to that damage. At the same time, you can spend 1 sorcery point to gain resistance to that damage type for 1 hour.

Create Bonfire:

You create a bonfire on ground that you can see within range. Until the spell ends, the magic bonfire fills a 5-foot cube. Any creature in the bonfire’s space when you cast the spell must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 1d8 fire damage. A creature must also make the saving throw when it moves into the bonfire’s space for the first time on a turn or ends its turn there.

The spell does not deal damage directly, it creates a bonfire, and the bonfire can potentially deal damage. But then perhaps that's the same as creating a fireball, the spell doesn't deal damage, the giant burning ball of flame it creates deals damage.

However, create Bonfire is Conjuration, whereas Fireball is Evocation, so perhaps it's different.

I suppose the difference is that it could be a few turns later that someone steps in the fire and gets burned.

Does it count?

Someone_Evil
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NibblyPig
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    Highly related: Does the Draconic Bloodline sorcerer's Elemental Affinity feature apply to the spell Dragon's Breath?, How would Elemental Affinity work with a Booming Blade-style delayed damage spell? – Someone_Evil Feb 15 '21 at 14:57
  • I considered the Booming Blade one, but the difference was that Booming Blade actively deals damage, I would say it's a damage dealing spell. Whereas Create Bonfire creates a bonfire and the damage occurs more passively from touching it. I don't know if the rules would call that 'damage dealing' or not. If D&D had specific rules for ending your turn in a bonfire, Create Bonfire might not even specify the damage it causes - although since the damage scales with caster level perhaps that indicates it's different. – NibblyPig Feb 15 '21 at 15:00
  • Anyhow, I believe your question is effectively a duplicate of this one. In particular, answers there claim the following: "There is no listed requirement that anything be a "direct consequence" of anything. It's just as applicable here as it would be with wall of fire or produce flame - each of which applies damage at times and based on triggers other than the instant of the casting." and, in contrast: "You are not meeting the requirement of casting a spell when you are dealing the damage and therefore can not use your Elemental Affinity." – Exempt-Medic Feb 15 '21 at 15:07
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    It's closed as duplicate but the duplicate question has two opposite answers and neither is accepted... this hasn't helped at all – NibblyPig Feb 15 '21 at 19:22
  • @NibblyPig bounty the duplicate. – Akixkisu Feb 15 '21 at 19:50
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    @NibblyPig But you'll notice that one is at a significantly higher rating than the other. That's generally an indication of which is the correct answer if none has been accepted, though I can't speak to why there hasn't been an answer accepted. As to the bit about if Create Bonfire is a damage dealing spell, it's simple: If you cast a spell and it can deal damage, it's a damage dealing spell, regardless of whether or not it is successful in dealing that damage. – RevanantBacon Feb 15 '21 at 19:56
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    Don't focus too much on if an answer is accepted. The way the site is set up, correct answers should naturally get more votes than incorrect ones, so you can let that guide you, and failing that, just read the answers and determine for yourself which one you think is accurate. – RevanantBacon Feb 15 '21 at 20:00

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