Chain Lightning & Spell Resistance

[War Golem]

Hi folks,

If Chain Lightning fails to get through the Spell Resistance of the primary target, do the secondary arcs still jump over to the secondary targets, or is the spell blown completely?

Thanks,

War Golem

 

[shilsen]

I'd say the spell fizzles if the primary target isn't affected due to SR.

 

[Dimwhit]

We've been playing that the secondary targets can still be affected. Never thought to question it.

I see failure to get through SR as the lightning hits him but just doesn't affect him. But the secondary arcs still fly off. But I don't know if that's right. Just how I picture it.

 

[Len]

I think it fizzles. It says "chain lightning strikes one object or creature initially, then arcs to other targets." If it doesn't strike the first target I don't think it can arc from there to the others. Also, it says that the secondary targets suffer half the damage of the primary target. But if you didn't even roll damage for the first strike (because it never hit), well, what's half of nothing?

 

[Dimwhit]

I think it fizzles. It says "chain lightning strikes one object or creature initially, then arcs to other targets." If it doesn't strike the first target I don't think it can arc from there to the others. Also, it says that the secondary targets suffer half the damage of the primary target. But if you didn't even roll damage for the first strike (because it never hit), well, what's half of nothing?

I'm not so sure about that. I can't find anywhere that it says a spell fizzles if you fail the SR check. The spell just doesn't affect the creature. To me, it would be the same as launching a fireball on a creature immune to fire. The fireball still hits him, it just doesn't do anything.

Same for Chain Lightning. The first bolt still strikes the first target, it just doesn't affect it. No reason it can't still arc to other foes.

Look at the SR wording. They refer to it as being similar to an Armor Class for spells. In melee, if you miss the AC check (i.e. roll to hit) you can still hit the opponent, you just don't affect it. (Maybe not the best example, because there is no mechanic in D&D to determine for sure if a 'miss' actually misses or just bounces harmlessly off the opponent's armor, etc.--but the idea is clear.)

Anyway, that's my thinking for it all.

 

[the Jester]

SR lets you resist the spell, not suppress, counter, negate or dispel it.

 

[Vrecknidj]

From the stuff in the revised DMG on p. 299, I'd say that the SR of the first person has no effect on the remaining bolts. But, I can see plenty of room still for an interpretation that says otherwise.

Dave

 

[UltimaGabe]

When you fire a Fireball, you fire a small, pea-sized pellet in the direction of your pointed finger, which flies off to its destination unless it hits something. If you tried to shoot it behind an Ogre Mage, but the pellet instead collided right into him, even if you didn't overcome his spell resistance, the Fireball would still explode and cause fire damage to everything else around him. Just because you failed your Caster Level Check doesn't mean that the entire spell fizzles, it just doesn't affect him.

In the same way, a Chain Lightning spell goes off whether it hurts the person or not.

 

[Len]

But fireball is targeted at a place, not a creature. If a fireball is cast in a forest and no-one is there to feel it, it still explodes. Not so chain lightning.

SR lets you resist the spell, not suppress, counter, negate or dispel it.

Eh, maybe. I'm not sure what all those words mean, though, especially since "resist" is used both for SR and for saving throws.

 

[UltimaGabe]

But fireball is targeted at a place, not a creature. If a fireball is cast in a forest and no-one is there to feel it, it still explodes. Not so chain lightning.

In most circumstances, yes. In my example, no. If you're trying to cast a Fireball through a small space, you must specifically target the opening through which you're casting it, complete with making an attack roll and everything. If a creature happens to be in the way, and it goes off prematurely, it was meant to target an area (and still affects an area) but it focuses more on that single creature than a Lightning Bolt does. Therefore, going back to my example, if their Spell Resistance kicked in, would it explode? Yes or no?

On the flipside of the coin, however, what if the initial target of a Chain Lightning spell had Evasion and made his saving throw? Would it still arc?