critical whirling blade

[apesamongus]

Can you critical all attacks with the whirling blade (CAr) spell, or just the first? I can see it both ways, either it's a spell requiring multiple attack rolls and you can only crit on the first, or it's treated (as the spell says several times) exactly like making multiple melee attacks meaning that they all might crit.

 

[Pinotage]

Can you critical all attacks with the whirling blade (CAr) spell, or just the first? I can see it both ways, either it's a spell requiring multiple attack rolls and you can only crit on the first, or it's treated (as the spell says several times) exactly like making multiple melee attacks meaning that they all might crit.

Edit: Wrong Answer.

Treat it like ManyShot with only the first attack being a critical hit, and applying sneak attack damage.

Pinotage

 

[apesamongus]

Edit: Wrong Answer.

Treat it like ManyShot with only the first attack being a critical hit, and applying sneak attack damage.

Why?

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Can you post the relevant part of the spell's text here?

My assumption is that it is several different attacks, and not a volley,* but I could be wrong.

* - And, therefore, multiple sneaks and crits are allowed.

 

[Pinotage]

Why?

Sorry, I wrote an answer which, on reflection I deemed incorrect. And so I wrote that after the 'Edit' to indicate that I'd changed my post.

 

[Gaiden]

Incidentally,

Whirling blade makes for a very cool combat maneuver. You could compare it to the feat in Savage species that let's a flying creature do the same thing (attack everything in a straight line up to his movement) or to lightning bolt. I doubt the blade would be as damaging as a lightningbolt, but against the monks and rogues it is certainly the way to go.

Also, nothing says cool like a whirling two bladed sword with the returning property (think Ninja Scroll with the devil of Kimon with the stoneskin).

 

[Pinotage]

Can you post the relevant part of the spell's text here?

My assumption is that it is several different attacks, and not a volley,* but I could be wrong.

* - And, therefore, multiple sneaks and crits are allowed.

The spell allows you to throw a single slashing weapon and strike anything within a 60 ft line with a succesful melee attack roll, but you can substitute your intelligence or charisma for strength. You make an attack roll against each target (kind of like Scorching Ray) but you get multiple attacks from a Standard Action (like Scorching Ray or Manyshot).

It's not like Manyshot in that it allows multiple attack rolls, so it looks a liitle closer to a Scorching Ray type spell. You can certainly only apply sneak attack damage to the first strike, but maybe I'm wrong about each one being able to strike for a critical hit?

Pinotage

 

[Crothian]

You only get the first one. See Complete Arcane it has a section on spells and criticalls.

 

[apesamongus]

You only get the first one. See Complete Arcane it has a section on spells and criticalls.

That's ambiguous. It isn't a "weaponlike" spell. It's a spell that allows you to make melee attacks at a distance. It even goes so far as to say all applicable feats (WF, Imp crit) modify each attack and damage roll. The closest spell I can think of for comparison is Spiritual Weapon, and I would think that would allow multiple crits. If the "weaponlike" rules apply to whirling blade, why wouldn't they also apply to spiritual weapon.

 

[apesamongus]

Can you post the relevant part of the spell's text here?

"You make a normal melee attack, just as if you attacked with the weapon in melee, against each foe in the weapon's path..."

"The weapon deals damage just as if you had swung it in melee, including any bonuses you might have from ability scores and feats."