Breath Weapon AoE: Line

[Random Axe]

Is a Line -Area-of-Effect breath weapon only restricted to just affecting those few victims who happen to be in that 5' wide line of squares? Isn't it more likely (or even possible) for a black dragon to "wave" his head around during a breath attack, splashing his acid breath all over the place?

 

[Rvdvelden]

Nope, but as far as I can recall a line effect starts at a corner of the square (just like area effect spells), effectively doubling the squares that are affected. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[ThirdWizard]

That might make a good feat, though.

 

[Goolpsy]

Yes a Line does in fact affect in a line 10 feet wide, as you mentioned it starts in a corner or square intersection, thereby affecting the squares to either side.

Btw for the Cinematic element, maybe you should look at Cones as "Spinning the head to affect more targets", while lines of lightning etc., are most fastpaced and direct (ex: Imagina the attack of a Spitting Cobra, its not really possible for it to twitch its head and hit more targets)

 

[frankthedm]

Yes a Line does in fact affect in a line 10 feet wide, as you mentioned it starts in a corner or square intersection, thereby affecting the squares to either side.

Actually that hinges COMPLETLY on how the DM choses to interpret the PHB Text, Text of the Example given for lines, Text of the SRD, WotC web Article and the D&D Miniatures game implementation of lines.

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/6786/penatratingshotlinexo6.gif

The PHB and SRD text: "A line-shaped spell affects all creatures in squares that the line passes through."

PHB Example's text, wotc web articles the D&D Miniatures game implementation of lines: "All squares through which the line passes or touches are affected by the attack"

Skip even concedes that the rules have issues in this department.

Line: A line's point of origin is one corner of the caster's space. (If the caster's space fills more than one square, you can use the optional rule suggested for cones to select the point of origin.) The line extends from the point of origin in any direction the caster chooses and reaches as far as the spell's range (or until its line of effect is blocked). The rules regarding lines are somewhat muddled; however, a line affects anything in a square that the line passes though or touches. So, if you send a line straight down a gridline, it will affect the squares to either side of the line. Some people like to limit a line's effects to a width of 5 feet. If so, the caster chooses which side of the line gets affected when a line passes between two squares. (Choose a side when you aim the spell, and once you choose, you have to stick with that side.)

Overall I agree that lines should affect the squares that it touches or passes through, if only to make Lightning bolt less of a second fiddle to Fireball's huge area and long range. But I do believe the rules read othewise thanks to the rules trumping examples precedent.

 

[kjenks]

The rules for "line" dragon breath weapons are a little different from "line" spells.

SRD
===
A blast from a breath weapon always starts at any intersection adjacent to the dragon and extends in a direction of the dragon’s choice, with an area as noted on the table below.
===

SRD - Dragon Breath Weapons table
===
*A line is always 5 feet high and 5 feet wide.
===

As you can see, that rule is quite different from this:

SRD
===
A line-shaped spell shoots away from you in a line in the direction you designate. It starts from any corner of your square and extends to the limit of its range or until it strikes a barrier that blocks line of effect. A line-shaped spell affects all creatures in squares that the line passes through.
===

frankthedm's top diagram is incomplete. It doesn't show all of the squares touched by the line as being affected, which is what his bottom diagram shows.

The diagram in the PH makes it pretty clear that if a line spell touches a grid intersection, all of the squares surrounding that grid intersection are affected. But this does not appear to apply to the grid intersection at which the spell begins. (If it did, the spellcaster would always be affected by his own lightning bolt spell!)

As to Random Axe's question about a dragon waving his head around, this is an instantaneous effect. There's no time for head-waving. There are "metabreath weapon" feats that allow a dragon to do all sorts of interesting things with its breath weapon, including modifying the area. See Draconomicon for details.

 

[frankthedm]

SRD - Dragon Breath Weapons table
===
*A line is always 5 feet high and 5 feet wide.
===

So exacly how does that work when used diagonally? IMHO That 5 foot wide language sounds like how lines worked in 3.0

frankthedm's top diagram is incomplete. It doesn't show all of the squares touched by the line as being affected, which is what his bottom diagram shows.

It is not incomplete. The top one is based on the text of the PHB that defines lines. The Bottom one is based on how the example in the PHB was worded and drawn.

 

[kreynolds]

Isn't it more likely (or even possible) for a black dragon to "wave" his head around during a breath attack, splashing his acid breath all over the place?

The Shape Breath metabreath feat from Draconomicon does this.

"If you have a line-shaped breath weapon, you can opt to shape it into a cone. Likewise, if you have a cone-shaped breath weapon, you can shape it into a line."

 

[IanB]

I use the DDM/PHB example version, personally.

 

[Darklone]

FrankySteinDMthing: I'm waiting for a comic a la Order of the long wooden thing drawn with your typical square things