D&D 5E Speed of Magical Attack Spells Emanating from a Caster

[The Crimson Binome]

That begs the question of why not just throw the second ball faster so that the third ball can't get it?
The first ball might be different, but the second and third balls are the same.

Two possibilities, off the top of my head:

1) Any given spell has a fixed speed, so all counters are exactly as fast, and are faster than regular spells. That would allow the third ball to intercept the second ball by putting itself between the first ball and the second ball, even though it isn't faster than the second ball.

2) Spells travel at a variable speed, and there is no real limit. You fire the first ball as quickly as you feel like, and the second ball is faster than that (because the enemy knows how fast the first ball is going, as they fire it arbitrarily faster in order to intercept), and you fire the third ball even faster than that. You could theoretically keep throwing faster counters until you run out of spell slots, except you're limited by the speed at which you make somatic gestures (which is reflected by the Reaction cost).

 

[Sword of Spirit]

I have some good news for you. 5e Meteor Swarm: "Blazing orbs of fire plummet to the ground at four different points you can see within range." (look ma, no hands!)

for improved coolness!
for loss of memory.

 

[Eis]

At the speed of plot?

I always viewed them streaking out similar to blaster bolts in Star Wars which is why people get dex saves. So about as fast as a baseball pitch.

yes spells travel dramatically

 

[Shiroiken]

The way I've looked at it, nothing in combat is perfectly static, and the mechanics we use are just estimates of what should actually be occurring. Rounds are "about" 6 seconds long, but not exactly, allowing some effects to resolve within the time span of the turn.

I agree that lasers exist in the star wars universe, but Han still had a blaster not a laser.

So long as we agree Han shot first, it's all good.

 

[Celebrim]

So long as we agree Han shot first, it's all good.

Han was the only one who shot.

 

[seebs]

I always thought of eldritch blast as Beam Weaponry -- instantaneous line of effect -- but most things I think are moving around arrow-speed, maybe, but also it specifically doesn't matter -- they happen on your turn, that's it, there is no more detailed modelling happening.

 

[jgsugden]

I get the idea that a lot of you do not picture combats as a story,

I don't picture combats as a turn by turn by turn series of events. Sure, that is how the rules handle them - but that is an abstraction. We're playing a story telling game, so I try to smooth out the abstracton and tell the story of the combat dynamically, with the actions of the PCs within a round being interlaced, rather than sequenced. It gives me a more immersive experience. At the end of each round I take a few seconds to recap the round with the individual actions of each PC and monster interwoven. Thinking about the game this way is what makes me think of how long spells take to travel as that becomes a consderation in the dyamics of the story.

 

[Immoralkickass]

One day i read Magic Missiles and tried to visualize how it would look like. If you throw 1 dart at a target at the max range of 120 ft, and 1 dart at a target at 5 ft, and another dart at a target standing at 60ft, all 3 darts would somehow strike their targets simultaneously. But for that to happen, they would need to travel at different speeds - the nearest target get the slowest dart, while the furthest target get the fastest dart.

And the best part is....they would never miss!

 

[Coroc]

If a 600 foot tall Godlike entity was swinging a weapon, I would not use the same mechanics as a 6 foot tall creature.

Again, I am primarily asking for purposes of seeing what people are imagining when they picture these combats. While there are a few mechanical concerns I might consider (mostly, for me, in terms of long range ship to ship combats where the maximum range of spells is a huge deal and distances may remain great for prolonged periods), that is not the primary goal.

Well if the weapon is proportional in size and both swing so their arm moves at the same speed, tell me which weapon tip is moving faster ?
Ok now imagine two humanoids and a weapon with short reach (dagger) and one with long reach (great sword) Let us assume for simplicity the dagger is moved in a slicing cutting way, which weapon tip moves faster now?

So much on all failed weapon speed systems (There are none which are even semi-realistic )

 

[Oofta]

One day i read Magic Missiles and tried to visualize how it would look like. If you throw 1 dart at a target at the max range of 120 ft, and 1 dart at a target at 5 ft, and another dart at a target standing at 60ft, all 3 darts would somehow strike their targets simultaneously. But for that to happen, they would need to travel at different speeds - the nearest target get the slowest dart, while the furthest target get the fastest dart.

And the best part is....they would never miss!

I've always assumed magic missile was the exception to the rule. They are faster than other spells which is part of why they always hit.
Or ... simultaneously isn't simultaneous to the nanosecond, but they still hit the same round.