Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Skarppsey" data-source="post: 1542311" data-attributes="member: 9134">From the 3.5 SRD--------------------------------------------------------------------------Shooting or Throwing into a Melee: If you shoot or throw a ranged weapon ata target engaged in melee with a friendly character, you take a -4 penaltyon your attack roll. Two characters are engaged in melee if they are enemiesof each other and either threatens the other. (An unconscious or otherwiseimmobilized character is not considered engaged unless he is actually beingattacked.)If your target (or the part of your target you're aiming at, if it's a bigtarget) is at least 10 feet away from the nearest friendly character, youcan avoid the -4 penalty, even if the creature you're aiming at is engagedin melee with a friendly character.Precise Shot: If you have the Precise Shot feat you don't take this penalty.--------------------------------------------------------------------------Ray: Some effects are rays. You aim a ray as if using a ranged weapon, though typically you make a ranged touch attack rather than a normal ranged attack. As with a ranged weapon, you can fire into the dark or at an invisible creature and hope you hit something. You don't have to see the creature you're trying to hit, as you do with a targeted spell. Intervening creatures and obstacles, however, can block your line of sight or provide cover for the creature you're aiming at.If a ray spell has a duration, it's the duration of the effect that the ray causes, not the length of time the ray itself persists.If a ray spell deals damage, you can score a critical hit just as if it were a weapon. A ray spell threatens a critical hit on a natural roll of 20 and deals double damage on a successful critical hit.--------------------------------------------------------------------------I've never seen enforced, nor as a GM have I enforced, a -4 penalty to ray spells which are fired at creatures in melee combat.  However I believe that the rules here are somewhat ambiguous.  I believe the key issue hinges on whether ray spells are consider ranged "weapons" or whether ranged touch attacks do not suffer from the -4 penalty.  They operate, in regards to cover and concealment, in a manner similar to most ranged weapons.  Despite this, in my mind it is not a convincing argument that they should suffer a penalty.  I'm interested in hearing what other GMs think.What say you?</blockquote>

Verification