D&D 5E Cordon of Arrows and Invisibility

[Arcshot]

PCs encountered a monster with permanent invisibility in a room. In order to find their enemy, the Ranger cast Cordon of Arrows.
Q1: Will the arrows used in this spell auto-fly towards the invisible target?
Q2: With 4 arrows, is it correct that each arrow flies out once per turn?

 

[PnPgamer]

1: Maybe? Because the spell itself seems to be kind of sucky, so I think it would be ok to spot where the invisible creature is. Although by the rules by itself, all characters already know where invisible one is, unless it tries to stealth.
2: I would think that it is once per target. if an enemy stays in the area, he gets another arrow shot on his turn, given that arrows still remain.

 

[Arcshot]

1: Maybe? Because the spell itself seems to be kind of sucky, so I think it would be ok to spot where the invisible creature is.

PCs did not know where the monster is, although it was very obvious that the monster was in the square and empty room. I thought the spell is just 'meh' too at first when the player decided to learn it. When he used it to find the invisible monster, I found it rather creative without breaking the game (and spell rule), so I decided to give it to him. Just want to know what you guys think about this.

 

[PnPgamer]

PCs did not know where the monster is, although it was very obvious that the monster was in the square and empty room. I thought the spell is just 'meh' too at first when the player decided to learn it. When he used it to find the invisible monster, I found it rather creative with breaking the game (and spell rule), so I decided to give it to him. Just want to know what you guys think about this.

I meant that by the rules presented in the book, invisible creatures location is determined automatically UNLESS it tries to roll for stealth.

 

[iserith]

PCs encountered a monster with permanent invisibility in a room. In order to find their enemy, the Ranger cast Cordon of Arrows.
Q1: Will the arrows used in this spell auto-fly towards the invisible target?
Q2: With 4 arrows, is it correct that each arrow flies out once per turn?

Q1: I would say so, yes. It's up to the DM to make a ruling here.
Q2: An arrow is loosed when a creature enters the area of the spell for the first time on its turn or whenever it ends its turn there.

 

[Noctem]

As pointed out being invisible does not mean that others don't know where you are unless you roll stealth and beat the passive perception of creatures around you as normal to become hidden. They simply cannot see you which has it's own defined penalties (for others) and benefits (for the invisible creature). You can find all the listed effects of being invisible in the conditions section of the PHB near the end.

The spell in question does not require line of sight. All that needs to happen is that a creature comes within 30 feet of the ammunition (bolts or arrows) for the effect to occur. There's no ruling required and I'm not sure why it's being suggested that there would be a need for one, being invisible does not mean you can't be affected by this particular spell. For reference:

http://www.dnd-spells.com/spell/cordon-of-arrows

 

[cmad1977]

Sounds good to me, pretty clever usage of the doll if you ask me.

 

[iserith]

There's no ruling required and I'm not sure why it's being suggested that there would be a need for one

Probably because we operate off different definitions of the word "ruling."

 

[Noctem]

I see. That is possible yep

 

[Wuzzard]

Of course none of the rules need apply. It's a monster that is invisible, not a player. The DM doesn't need to declare that monster is hiding and have it roll a stealth check. The DM can just decide that it is hidden. So all of this is just a distraction from what the OP was asking.

The interesting bit is how the DM translates the effect of the spell. The spell attacks baddies in its range, by shooting an arrow. Does this reveal the location of the invisible creature? If the arrow hits, is there now an arrow floating in the air, half stuck into the invisible creature?