Color Spray: Wake up fool!

[wolfen]

Love Colour Spray. But it's so easily countered by enemy fighters if they simply close their eyes and use BlindFight.

The spell description doesn't say anything about requiring people's eyes to be open. Is there something beyond the common sense factor that I'm missing here?

Lots of times the rules disallow common sense, I think this may be one of them...


wolfen

 

[Kae'Yoss]

The spell description doesn't say anything about requiring people's eyes to be open.

Stand right before the floodlights. Close your eyes. Does this prevent you to see any light at all?

 

[Scion]

Stand right before the floodlights. Close your eyes. Does this prevent you to see any light at all?

Standing before bright enough floodlights and it wont matter if your eyes are open or closed, it probably wont even matter if you are facing the wrong way (depending on the area you are in), you will still go blind.

Floodlights arent magical either.

But the spell does say that 'sightless' creatures are uneffected. Are creatures with their eyes closed sightless? perhaps, depends on the dm.

SRD:
Pattern: Like a figment, a pattern spell creates an image that others can see, but a pattern also affects the minds of those who see it or are caught in it. All patterns are mind-affecting spells.

The or is ambiguous, the spell isnt incredibly clear. I'd say it is dm's choice and either way would go with both the letter and spirit if the rules.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

But the spell does say that 'sightless' creatures are uneffected. Are creatures with their eyes closed sightless? perhaps, depends on the dm.

No, you won't go sightless if you close your eyes. You still see the inside of your eyelids. You still have eyes.

You could put your eyes out, that would make your sightless

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I love Color Spray! In my group the party Sorceress fired one off from the back of the group while they were in a very tight quarters fight. Managed to blind most of her own party while only knocking out the front two foes. Others stepped up and the blinded Paladin and Ranger were suddenly in big trouble since there was no place to go.

Of course the rest of the players aren't too keen about this spell (or the Sorceress) anymore.

 

[wolfen]

Regarding sight: Let's say you take the spirit of the thing and rule it only affects creatures with sight.

You are given a saving throw. If the colorspray is cast in the same round as the PC's action, I would judge that the saving throw includes one's ability to avoid seeing any colorspray.

In real life, closing your eyes isn't fullproof, either! If you don't believe me close your eyes and run from one end of the room to the other. You will open your eyes before you run into the opposite wall, won't you? Now imagine dodging blows and otherwise maneuvering in battle. It's a natural reflex to open your eyes, and not one that can be stifled by simply saying "OK, I'm closing my eyes, now."


wolfen

 

[Scion]

Remember that the save is a will save.

If 'closeing your eyes' would help then a reflex save should probably be in place instead.

 

[Pbartender]

Simple question:

Can you wake up someone who has been rendered unconscious by Color Spray?

Not technically, but you could always let a character use their Heal skill to make a First Aid check (DC 15) to revive an unconscious character.

 

[Darklone]

Not technically, but you could always let a character use their Heal skill to make a First Aid check (DC 15) to revive an unconscious character.

That would be a houserule, wouldn't it?

 

[Scion]

It certainly would, but it does bring up an interesting point. Smelling salts in the real world do wake people up. But what conditions, in the d&d world, would they work for? Asleep characters you can wake up most of the time just through moving them or talking near them. Unconscious is usually a bit deeper.

What does smelling salts work on in the real world? are they only for waking people up who are asleep? or does it work on a good portion of 'unconscious' people?

Sounds like it'd be a case by case basis for d&d though. Some forms of unconsciousness are just too extreme for normal means to wake up (I would assume most poisons fit into this category, and most spells for that matter)