Auras: Area Attack or Not?

[DracoSuave]

Close, Area, Ranged, Melee, and personal are called attack-types. They determine the manner in which the targets can be selected for the power, followed by the range and shape of the power's effect. Attack-types exist for powers and only powers.

Auras are not powers. They are -features- some monsters have. So an Aura is not inherently a Close, Area, Ranged, or Melee attack. Therefore, swarms are not vulnerable 5 to them, because they are not Close, nor Area.

Swarms are also, however, not normally able to resist the attacks for half damage either. They are not considered Melee nor Ranged attacks.

However, some auras (such as that of the needledrake swarm) have the effect of attacking the enemy within the aura with a basic melee attack. The -aura- does not have an attack-type, but the -attack- that it produces -does-. In this case, it has the attack-type Melee and therefore, another swarm would take less damage from it.

Do note: Swarms -are- vulnerable 5 from Divine Challenge, because the damage IS from a power with the Close attack-type. A swarm -does- take 5 extra damage when it triggers the Divine Challenge. And seeing as it's aura automatically attacks anyone in range, it is certainly a decent strategy to have a second meleer engage the swarm along with the pally to force DC-damage.

 

[Deverash]

I think the implement and feat bonuses would both kick in, since they both reference damage rolls, not damage rolls from attacks.

 

[DracoSuave]

I think the implement and feat bonuses would both kick in, since they both reference damage rolls, not damage rolls from attacks.

With Flaming Sphere? Yes. Tho it's a conjuration, it's still a damage roll from a power you're using with the Implement keyword (for the implement bonus) and the Fire keyword (for Astral Fire).

For actual auras? (If the DM makes a custom NPC, for example...) Auras cannot get inherently get such bonuses because Auras are not powers, and both Implement bonuses and feats directly reference powers.

Of course, if the aura permits attacks -as- its effect, the attacks get applicable bonuses based on -their- keywords.

 

[Pbartender]

Close, Area, Ranged, Melee, and personal are called attack-types. They determine the manner in which the targets can be selected for the power, followed by the range and shape of the power's effect. Attack-types exist for powers and only powers.

Auras are not powers. They are -features- some monsters have. So an Aura is not inherently a Close, Area, Ranged, or Melee attack. Therefore, swarms are not vulnerable 5 to them, because they are not Close, nor Area.

Swarms are also, however, not normally able to resist the attacks for half damage either. They are not considered Melee nor Ranged attacks.

However, some auras (such as that of the needledrake swarm) have the effect of attacking the enemy within the aura with a basic melee attack. The -aura- does not have an attack-type, but the -attack- that it produces -does-. In this case, it has the attack-type Melee and therefore, another swarm would take less damage from it.

Excellent reasoning, with which I would tend to agree.

So then, how does the "Any creature that starts its turn next to the flaming sphere takes 1d4 + Intelligence modifier fire damage" of Flaming Sphere fit in?

Like auras, it is not technically an attack of any sort, but it is listed as an "Effect" of Flaming Sphere, which is a "Ranged 10" attack.

 

[DracoSuave]

Excellent reasoning, with which I would tend to agree.

So then, how does the "Any creature that starts its turn next to the flaming sphere takes 1d4 + Intelligence modifier fire damage" of Flaming Sphere fit in?

Like auras, it is not technically an attack of any sort, but it is listed as an "Effect" of Flaming Sphere, which is a "Ranged 10" attack.

The two interpretations:

The one I take, just for simplicity sake (and because we have a Paladin and not a Wizard in the group I DM for):

Well, it's damage from an attack power, no matter how you look at it. That power has the Ranged attack-type, again, no matter how you look at it. The swarm halves damage from all Ranged attacks.... so...

Flaming Sphere is not the best against swarms, counter-intuitively enough.



Another way of looking at it, and one I'd be tempted to rule as well if my group make up were different:

Best case scenario is that you rule the swarm's qualities only affect attacks, which means that Divine Challenge doesn't benefit from vulnerability and damage to swarms from Effect:-type effects aren't altered either. Be consistant with that, as that means -any- damage from the Effect line is unmodified with regard to swarms.