Anti-Magic Field

[DragonLancer]

My group has an upcoming encounter at the start of next week's session and they have asked me to double check a possible tactic they want to use.

This is from the Shackled City campaign, so heres a spoiler warning.



They are going to be fighting a Beholder in an underground chamber 30' tall but 60' width. Only one way in or out and thats the passgeway they are coming in from.

There plan is to sent one party member (human/half-celestial template Fighter/Ranger) in close with an anti-magic field on him. Reading through the description of that spell it would indicate that they can fire a spell through the field (and the character) as it suppresses it and have it hit the beholder when it passes through the anti-magic field.

Is this doable?

Also, would the Beholder's anti-magic central eye counter the anti-magic field?

Thanks for your advice.

 

[Iku Rex]

There plan is to sent one party member (human/half-celestial template Fighter/Ranger) in close with an anti-magic field on him.

How is the Fighter/Ranger casting antimagic field on himself? (It is centered on the caster.)

Reading through the description of that spell it would indicate that they can fire a spell through the field (and the character) as it suppresses it and have it hit the beholder when it passes through the anti-magic field.

WotC says "no".

The official 3.0 FAQ:

Does an antimagic field suppress a spell effect at the point
of origin or the area of effect? For instance, if I cast silence
on myself and then cast antimagic field (assuming I have the
Silent Spell feat), would the entire silence spell be
suppressed (because it’s centered on me), or just the 10-foot
radius surrounding me, leaving a 5-foot ring of silence
around the outside of the antimagic field?
It depends on the spell. Silence is an emanation, so the whole
effect is suppressed if the point from which the effect emanates
is inside the antimagic field. With an area spell, only the part of
the area that is within the antimagic field is suppressed. Note
that the antimagic field blocks line of effect, so an area cannot
extend through the antimagic field. For example, if you brought
the antimagic field into a fog cloud effect, only the portion of
the fog cloud that is within the antimagic field would be
suppressed. On the other hand, if you cast antimagic field in a
corridor 10 feet wide, the fog cloud effect could not spread past
the antimagic field. Note that a spread effect will flow around
an antimagic field if it has space to do so, just as it would
spread around any other barrier.

Rules of the Game: Magical Oddities (Part Three):
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050503a

Antimagic: A spell's magical effects become nonfunctional within an area of antimagic, such as an antimagic field. When a spell is aimed into an area of antimagic from somewhere outside the area, the antimagic blocks line of effect for the spell and the spell most likely fails. If the spell doesn't produce any sort of visible display or manifestation that the caster (or other witness to the event) can perceive, then there's no clue as to why the spell failed or even that it has failed. If the blocked spell has a target entry, however, the caster will not note any failed or successful saving throws in response to the spell (see Part Two) and that in itself might alert the caster to something amiss.

Also, would the Beholder's anti-magic central eye counter the anti-magic field?

No. "Two or more antimagic fields sharing any of the same space have no effect on each other."-- antimagic field

 

[rom90125]

ok, another question about antimagic fields...do they give off magical auras?

if a wizard casts arcane sight, will they see the antimagic field?

 

[Tiberius]

ok, another question about antimagic fields...do they give off magical auras?

if a wizard casts arcane sight, will they see the antimagic field?

Technically it is a magical spell so it is detectable with magical aura-detecting spells, though it would seem somewhat strange for an antimagic field, of all things, to radiate magic. I figure that while Arcane Sight is up, the user sees magical auras "background radiation", if you will, superimposed on everything. I'd rule that a user of Arcane Sight were able to see an AMF as an absence of that magical "background radiation" in the area and detect it that way.

 

[DragonLancer]

Ah, I had missed the centred on caster bit.

Thanks very much for the help.

 

[moritheil]

Ah, I had missed the centred on caster bit.

Thanks very much for the help.

It's still doable if you make it a one-use wondrous item, but that requires a lot of time . . . and the AMF does block LoE, so I gather it's not what you want.

 

[mvincent]

ok, another question about antimagic fields...do they give off magical auras?

From the 3.5 FAQ:
"Can an antimagic field be detected by detect magic?
No. By definition, magical effects can’t function within an
antimagic field. Since detect magic’s effect would have to
extend into the antimagic field to detect it, the antimagic field
can’t be detected by detect magic."

However, someone with arcane sight would notice magical items or effects ceasing at a certain line.

 

[Artoomis]

A beholder has very few hit points and is easy to kill in an Anti-Magic Field. Just have the caster stay behind the Paladin and hack it to death in a round or three. Done.

Simple. Effective.

Is the Beholder's power of flight magical? (I cannot find it in the SRD - what's it called, in there?) If so, darn stupid of the Beholder to be where there is no escape.

 

[DragonLancer]

Is the Beholder's power of flight magical? (I cannot find it in the SRD - what's it called, in there?) If so, darn stupid of the Beholder to be where there is no escape.

IIRC in Lords of Madness it says they float due to gas bladders within the body.

My biggest problem to overcome (and the Beholder is aware of this) is that the half-celestial can fly (wings) and the others in the party have boots of spider-climb and a cloak of the Archnid. I need to find a suitable means over this week to couteract that effectively (they are aware of the anti-magic eye, and will split up to avoid its affects where possible).

 

[mvincent]

Is the Beholder's power of flight magical?

Nope. It's an Extraordinary Abilities (Ex)

I cannot find it in the SRD

It is not in the SRD