Magic Missile vs. Mirror Image

This has been beat to death in previous threads I am sure. It is a question as old as the game itself since both spells are as old as the game itself. My groups have always played with the assumption that magic missile cannot target the images of a mirror image spell. The only way a magic missile could be effective is if you get lucky. Alternately, assuming there are four images and one caster, you could guarantee 1d4+1 point of damage by tossing one missile at each.

Despite the fact that this is the way my first DMs ruled it and the way I have always ruled it since, I often have players dispute it. They claim magic missile should be able to destroy images. I counter that 1) only effects that require an attack roll can destroy images and magic missile does not require an attack roll, 2) a magic missile is ineffective against an illusion like a silent image, so it would not be effective against an illusory image of the caster either, 3) magic missile targets only living creatures and an illusory image is not a creature so a magic missile aimed at an image would have the same effect as a magic missile aimed at a brick.

What do you think? Have I missed something or are my players just being munchkins?

The rule in the PHB that covers this is "If you ever try to cast a spell in conditions where the characteristics of the spell cannot be made to conform, the casting fails and the spell is wasted."

If you cast Charm Animal (Target: One animal) at a dog, the casting succeeds. If you cast Charm Animal (Target: One animal) at a druid wildshaped into a dog (Type: Humanoid (Human), say, not Animal), the characteristics of the spell cannot be made to conform, the casting fails and the spell is wasted.

Strictly, then, if you cast Magic Missile aiming your five missiles at four gargoyles and a statue of a gargoyle, you are targeting something that does not fit the description of "Up to five creatures"; rather, it is "Up to five creatures and one object". The characteristics of the spell cannot be made to conform; strictly, the casting fails and the spell is wasted.

My personal ruling in the case of magic missile is that the casting succeeds, but the missile that was aimed at the statue fails, and that portion of the spell is wasted; instead of five darts of magical energy streaking from your fingertips, you only get four.

Similarly, if you aim one each of your five missiles at a group of five entities comprising a caster and four Mirror Image figments (where you don't know which is which), you are not attempting to target "Up to five creatures"; you are attempting to target "One creature and also four non-creatures". Strictly, the casting fails and the spell is wasted. In practice, I would personally rule that only a single missile manifests - the one that was targeted on a creature - while the other four fail and are wasted.

The FAQ declares that a spell which targets a creature can target an MI figment; I find no support for this position in the rules, however.

My vote, therefore, is 'other', even though I rule in play that "Magic Missiles targeted at an image fizzle', since I believe that by the rules, if the spell includes even a single image in its targeting lineup, the entire spell (not just the missile targeted at the figment) fails.

-Hyp.

I use rule 0 and let the images go to hell.

Hypersmurf said:

My personal ruling in the case of magic missile is that the casting succeeds, but the missile that was aimed at the statue fails, and that portion of the spell is wasted; instead of five darts of magical energy streaking from your fingertips, you only get four.

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That's precisely how I do it.

Well, in addition to what Hyper said above...the MI spells states:

Enemies attempting to attack you or cast spells at you must select from among indistinguishable targets. Generally, roll randomly to see whether the selected target is real or a figment. Any successful attack against an image destroys it. An image’s AC is 10 + your size modifier + your Dex modifier. Figments seem to react normally to area spells (such as looking like they’re burned or dead after being hit by a fireball).

So technically, unless you guess the exact right image/person, the spell does not go off.


At MY TABLE, however, I let the missiels fly at the target and each randomly takes out a Image or hits the target. I think it's cooler and more interesting.

I wish that Mirror Image created images that you could not specifically target..with attacks or magic. It'd be so much simpler if MI just created X images in your square that can not be distinquished. Anything that targets the caster would have to roll to see if the target was an image or not...ie. you could only target the caster, not an image. The DM would roll to see if you hit the real thing or not. A targeted spell (like Magic Missle or a Ray spell) would still seem to hit the target, and the only clue you'd get to what you hit was whether or not an image disappeared or not. It's be so much simpler that way..no having to decide what the AC of the image is...or how to distribute your attacks..or cleaving/whirlwinding the images (bs IMO), or even moving the images about the room (seprately).

But then, that makes MI better than displacement doesn't it.

Ever since I've been playing D&D (started in79), Magic Missles have popped images of the Mirror Images..every D&D computer game that I've played (I think I've played at least 90% of them) allows MM to take out the images of a MI. The FAQ says that MM can target MI. All past evidence supports letting MM's target and remove an Image. But the 3.5ed rules do not obviously allow it.

IMO, figments, tho not living, should be targetable as the thing they are figments of...but that's just my opinion..no real rules to back it up.

Darklone said:

I use rule 0 and let the images go to hell.

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...seconded....

was said:

...seconded....

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According to the poll: ...twenty-seconded...

Heh, the last poll on the subject was Nov-6, here:
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=179708

Results there were 134-33 (80%) in favor of "yes, I let magic missiles destroy mirror images".

GorTeX said:

The FAQ says that MM can target MI.

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Where? Not saying it doesn't, just that I wasn't aware the FAQ had anything that definitive on the subject.