D&D 3.x [3.5] Noteworthy spell changes
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coyote6
Adventurer
Intrope said:
No book with me, but I don't see that in the SRD. Can you quote the relevant section?
I see this: "A line-shaped spell affects all creatures in squares that the line passes through"; but I don't see how that makes it 10 feet wide. Maybe there's a handy diagram in the PH....
Magus Coeruleus
Explorer
IanB said:
Actually, my PHB says "A line describes some kinds of attacks [usually magical]. It affects creatures or characters in a straight line away from the spellcaster's square to any intersection within range. All squares through which the line passes or touches are affected by the attack. The line continues to its full range, usually beyond the target intersection and possibly affecting more characters or creatures" (caption to diagram on p. 176, emphasis mine).
Here is more explanation that I hope may help some people. This is kind of long because I'm trying to say it different ways, so once it makes sense, you can ignore the rest.
The diagram clearly shows all four squares surrounding the point of intersection as being affected by the spell, consistent with the caption. If one were to fire a line spell along a perfect diagonal, the line would only cross square borders at their intersections, thus affecting all squares in contact. This results in a roughly 10' wide line. Put another way, if you were counting the width in squares, as the number of squares to either side of the line, it would go 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2.
If you instead were to fire a line straight north (or any other cardinal direction, assuming the grid is oriented with its sides at N, S, E, and W), you would get a consistently 10' wide line. Take special note that a line "starts from any corner of your square" (PHB 175), so if you go in a "straight" (as opposed to "diagonal") direction, your line will overlap perfectly with the border between pairs of squares. Both squares in each of those pairs will be affected, for a 10' width.
Naturally, if your line extends at neither a perfect diagonal nor perfectly "straight" along the border between squares (as is the case with the example diagram on PHB 176), you will have a roughly 5' wide line except around each intersection crossed, where it will be roughly 10' wide. The example diagram puts the intersection at 5 squares north, 3 squares east. Just beyond the top edge of that diagram is where the next intersection would be (10 squares north, 6 squares east). At that point, like the original intersection, all squares surrounding the line will be affected, i.e. roughly 10' wide. If you made a line with an intersection 2 squares north and 1 square east, then there would be an intersection (with a wider effect) at 4N/2E, 6N/3E, etc.
To think of it in somewhat more mathematical terms, think of your distance in squares to the target intersection as a fraction, with north in the numerator and east in the denominator (you could use any perpendicular directions, really). Simplify the fraction as much as possible (e.g. 6 squares north and 2 squares east is 6/2, which simplifies to 3/1). Now, there are four affected squares surrounding the intersection at 1x, 2x, 3x, etc. of that fraction (a "target" intersection of 6N 2E gives you this at 3/1, 6/2, 9/3, etc., to the end of the range).
Hope this helps,
MC
Magus Coeruleus
Explorer
Overland Flight
A lot of people have complained about Overland Flight on account of its being even slower than Fly, but note that "when using this spell for long-distance movement, you can hustle without taking nonlethal damage..." (PHB 259). This means that for overland purposes, it's actually faster. Fly has a speed of 60, while Overland Flight has a speed of 40, but the latter can be used to hustle for an effective speed of 80 over a full day's travel without penalty. This means that the spell is actually good for what it's designed for, i.e. overland flight, and not so much for combat, because if you are flying around during combat and want to take single moves along with other actions such as spellcasting, you'll only get 40' per round instead of 60'.
A lot of people have complained about Overland Flight on account of its being even slower than Fly, but note that "when using this spell for long-distance movement, you can hustle without taking nonlethal damage..." (PHB 259). This means that for overland purposes, it's actually faster. Fly has a speed of 60, while Overland Flight has a speed of 40, but the latter can be used to hustle for an effective speed of 80 over a full day's travel without penalty. This means that the spell is actually good for what it's designed for, i.e. overland flight, and not so much for combat, because if you are flying around during combat and want to take single moves along with other actions such as spellcasting, you'll only get 40' per round instead of 60'.
Elder-Basilisk
First Post
Re: Overland Flight
That's pretty much exactly the problem. It's a personal range spell so it can't be cast on allies--if you want to fly overland, you're going it alone. It has little combat utility (because of the manueverability class--not because of the speed).
And it's the same level as teleport--a spell which is infinitely better at what it's supposed to do: get you and your party places. The only advantage of overland flight (you don't need to know where you're going) is outweighed by the fact that teleport lets you take your friends and overland flight doesn't.
If overland flight were 3rd level, effected one creature/level (or /2 levels), or even had range: touch, there might be some redeeming qualities to the spell. As a 5th level spell, it's worthless.
That's pretty much exactly the problem. It's a personal range spell so it can't be cast on allies--if you want to fly overland, you're going it alone. It has little combat utility (because of the manueverability class--not because of the speed).
And it's the same level as teleport--a spell which is infinitely better at what it's supposed to do: get you and your party places. The only advantage of overland flight (you don't need to know where you're going) is outweighed by the fact that teleport lets you take your friends and overland flight doesn't.
If overland flight were 3rd level, effected one creature/level (or /2 levels), or even had range: touch, there might be some redeeming qualities to the spell. As a 5th level spell, it's worthless.
Magus Coeruleus said:
Re: Re: Overland Flight
If a dragon with poor maneuverability can get good use out of its flight, there's no reason a wizard with average maneuverability can't manage the same.
... or you could just nerf teleport some more. Which is what I did for my current campaign, and I see no reason to change it for 3.5.
Elder-Basilisk said:
If a dragon with poor maneuverability can get good use out of its flight, there's no reason a wizard with average maneuverability can't manage the same.
... or you could just nerf teleport some more. Which is what I did for my current campaign, and I see no reason to change it for 3.5.
Magus Coeruleus
Explorer
Re: Re: Re: Overland Flight
How does your nerf work, Hong?hong said:
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