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Grog the Conqueror wants to sack an enemy city. He has his battering ram ready to go and wants his Wizard to use Wall of Force to create a roof over the ram by resting the spell on top of the frame.

The part of the Wall of Force's spell description in question here is:

It can be free floating or resting on a solid surface.

Nowhere in the spell description does it specifically state that the Wall of Force is inherently an immovable object. Since a frame certainly counts as a 'solid surface', casting Wall of Force in this manner wouldn't hinder the ram from being wheeled up to the gates - right?

Can a Wall of Force be made portable?

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Probably not

While the spell is not explicit in this, all the other Wall spells the game offers are grounded on existing, immobile surfaces and aren't meant to be mobile barriers.

Also, the Wall of Force can appear in a free floating position, so there is no reason to assume to Wall needs to stick to whatever surface it initially appears on. It seems more likely the "rest on solid surface" option is meant for when you want it to link up nicely to an existing wall or to make a bridge, not as a way to make a portable shield.

So it seems the intent is that this is an immobile wall, the way all the Wall spells are.

An alternative

However, if you want a portable force barrier to guard your ram, might I recommend the Cube of Force? It is mentioned as being explicitly mobile, and will allow walls to pass into its barrier (at your discretion) to be pummeled.

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As far as the RAW, I would say that No, it cannot be moved. The ability to cast it free floating says to me the wall would not move if the solid surface it is cast on would move, which would ultimately prevent casting on a surface like "my shield" and following it around.

However, there is always a Magic Item exception, where an artifact can project something that uses the rules of Wall of Force with the exception that the location is always based on the casting item, or by spending a charge/use allows you to reshape or move the wall.

Since Wall of Force is a 5th Level Spell, it would count as a Rare magic item (max level 6). Going by XGtE pg129, this would require facing a CR 9-12 creature for a component, 10 work weeks, and 2,000gp just to create a base item that would cast it. I would argue that attunement would be a fair tradeoff for a 3/day modification to the spell.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Is there a magic item that does this? Supporting that last paragraph would be helpful here. \$\endgroup\$
    – NotArch
    Commented Apr 28, 2020 at 14:54
  • \$\begingroup\$ @NautArch: I do not know of a specific item. However, if you're the DM, you can "poof" it into existence. Unfortunately 5E has been stingy with item creation rules the last time I checked, so valuing or making it will rely heavily on the DM if you're not. \$\endgroup\$
    – CatLord
    Commented Apr 28, 2020 at 15:09
  • \$\begingroup\$ Gotcha. I'm not sure how helpful that bit is then. DMs can always make up their own stuff, but if it's not ready to go and you haven't actually done it or seen it done and can support the suggestion with pros and cons of how it went, it's not very helpful. \$\endgroup\$
    – NotArch
    Commented Apr 28, 2020 at 15:14
  • \$\begingroup\$ @NautArch : I added the closest approximation as I could find with XGtE and DMG1 \$\endgroup\$
    – CatLord
    Commented Apr 28, 2020 at 16:14
  • \$\begingroup\$ Xanathar's are optional rules, and your are still suggesting a homebrew item here. And I don't see how that homebrew item would act differently when casting it. \$\endgroup\$
    – NotArch
    Commented Apr 28, 2020 at 16:15

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