The War Caster feat saw a tiny wording tweak in DnD's 2024 rules, and this has recently triggered a debate across the most popular D&D YouTube channels. Designers Makenzie De Armas and Justice Arman have put the debate to bed, though, appearing in a Dungeon Dudes video on August 26 to make an official ruling on whether War Caster can be 'exploited' to buff your allies.
The debate was triggered by a change in wording for opportunity attacks between the 2014 Player's Handbook and the 2014 Player's Handbook. Originally, opportunity attacks could be made "when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your reach". However, in the 2024 rules, the word 'hostile' has been removed.
"That wording is intentional", Makenzie De Armas tells Dungeon Dudes. However, it wasn't changed to allow any particular exploits. Instead, De Armas says it was because DMs have control over what is defined as an 'enemy' or 'ally', and the distinction was removed to give players full control of the opportunity attack's trigger.
D&D players being D&D players, some have found a way to abuse this. The War Caster feat allows you to cast a spell that costs an action instead of performing the attack that's usually triggered by an attack of opportunity. One side of this argument is that, now that War Caster can technically target a friend, you can use the feat to cast buffing spells to improve your action economy.
Others have condemned this interpretation for ignoring the 'rules as intended' reading. These members of the debate say that we should pay much more attention to the flavor text that describes opportunity attacks in chapter one of the 2024 Player's Handbook. "Combatants watch for enemies to drop their guard. If you move heedlessly past your foes, you put yourself in danger by provoking an Opportunity Attack."
Justice Arman largely seems to agree with this good-faith interpretation. "I think chapter one helps clarify the intent of an opportunity attack", he says in the video above. "When we think an opportunity attack is going to be used, we consider this distinction between you and enemies or foes and whether or not you consider your party members enemies and foes."
"Rules as written, the 'exploit' of using opportunity attacks to buff your allies certainly can work", De Armas says. "Rules as intended, based on how we frame opportunity attacks and the typical use case of opportunity attacks, opportunity attacks are intended towards enemy creatures."
However, neither designer has called for a strict ban on using War Caster to buff your buddies. In fact, they actively encourage doing so if it makes D&D more fun for everyone at the table.
"The rules should not stand in the way of what sounds like a really awesome teamwork scenario if you and your table agree that that's something you want to do", Arman says. "D&D in its current edition is very much a game that thrives off of rulings, not rules."
So, if you want to "build a team that can wombo combo a high-five line and buff up your Barbarian as you run into battle", De Armas says you should absolutely do it. Just remember to check that your DM and fellow players think this is as good an idea as you do.
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