Can I use a ray to make a called shot?

[Folly]

This is what the FAQ say:

• Magical Attacks: A tower shield’s effects on
magical attacks depend on the kind of magical attack.
Any attack aimed at your equipment is aimed at you.
If a magical attack has you as a specific target (that is
it does not merely affect the area that contains you
but is aimed right at you), the shield has no effect. All
rays fall into this category, as does any spell that has
a Target entry in its header and any spell that has an
Effect entry and affects creatures (provided, of
course, that the attacker can and does choose the
shield user as a target).

The FAQ is a poor source to pull from. It is notorious for creating rulings that are flawed and/or create new rules. In this case, the faq is explaining that the tower shield specifically allows casters to target an individual that takes cover behind the shield by target the shield. (as per the tower shield description). The flaw in the FAQ is that applies it universally while the tower shield description gives the caster the option of targeting the shield user by targeting the shield.

If I am missing a rule that says you cannot target attended objects (provide the spell affects objects), please link me the source.

 

[Aaron]

If I am missing a rule that says you cannot target attended objects (provide the spell affects objects), please link me the source.

Can you shoot an arrow against your opponent's sword?

 

[mvincent]

Can you shoot an arrow against your opponent's sword?

If his sword is on a table or hanging from his side, I don't see why not. However, it's unlikely to do much:
"Ineffective Weapons
Certain weapons just can’t effectively deal damage to certain objects."

Even if you used a sling stone instead of an arrow:
"Ranged Weapon Damage
Objects take half damage from ranged weapons (unless the weapon is a siege engine or something similar). Divide the damage dealt by 2 before applying the object’s hardness."

 

[Aaron]

If his sword is on a table or hanging from his side, I don't see why not.

I was assuming while he's wielding it.

Anyway, the existance of the Ranged Sunder feat makes me think that you can't shoot an arrow against your opponent's equipment, sword hanging from his side included.

 

[Folly]

Range Sunder is allowing you to circumvent the normal prevention of using the sunder combat option at range. And you do have a good point for most ray/range touch spells might (I haven't looked at that close enough to say) not be able to be used to damage attended items, but disintegrate has rules for affecting items. So with disintegrate you are not trying to sunder the object, you are trying to use the built in function of disintegrate against objects.

 

[Aaron]

Range Sunder is allowing you to circumvent the normal prevention of using the sunder combat option at range. And you do have a good point for most ray/range touch spells might (I haven't looked at that close enough to say) not be able to be used to damage attended items, but disintegrate has rules for affecting items. So with disintegrate you are not trying to sunder the object, you are trying to use the built in function of disintegrate against objects.

Disintegrate has rules for damaging objects cause it acts differently from, say, a scorching ray, cause it erases cubes of stuff, it doesn't simply inflict damage to it.

 

[Folly]

So as per disintegrate, the object would get a save because it is attend object using either the wielder save or the magic items save (which ever is higher). If it saves it take 5d6 else its gone.

 

[Aaron]

So as per disintegrate, the object would get a save because it is attend object using either the wielder save or the magic items save (which ever is higher). If it saves it take 5d6 else its gone.

Only if you can show me why a save entry can make you target a ray against your opponent equipment, while you can't do the same with a ray without it.

 

[mvincent]

Only if you can show me why a save entry can make you target a ray against your opponent equipment, while you can't do the same with a ray without it.

I'm unsure what you are asking for, but:

Disintegrate says:
"Saving Throw: Fortitude partial (object)"

and the rules say:
"(object)
The spell can be cast on objects, which receive saving throws only if they are magical or if they are attended (held, worn, grasped, or the like) by a creature resisting the spell, in which case the object uses the creature’s saving throw bonus unless its own bonus is greater. (This notation does not mean that a spell can be cast only on objects. Some spells of this sort can be cast on creatures or objects.) A magic item’s saving throw bonuses are each equal to 2 + one-half the item’s caster level. "

If you could not cast such a spell on an opponent's equipment, it would have been mentioned, and the passage definitely wouldn't have included items that were "(held, worn, grasped, or the like)".

 

[Folly]

Only if you can show me why a save entry can make you target a ray against your opponent equipment, while you can't do the same with a ray without it.

It has nothing to do with the spell having a save, and everything to do with the spell specifying objects as legitimate targets.

The rules that mvincent pulled explain the case.