Fireball and ranged touch?

[d20Dwarf]

Has anyone actually ever required a ranged touch attack to "hit" a small area with a fireball? I have to say I wasn't even aware of this rule until recently reading through some spells for an article.

Anyone else have this or another similar rules revelation that made you slap your head?

 

[DWARF]

A year or so ago, I hadn't noticed that "True Strike" could only be cast on yourself. Man, the first two sessions the mage just pumped the power-attacking fighter with +20 after +20. I thought there was something wrong with that...

 

[Draxus the Tainted]

When I first started 3rd Ed. the DM was really loose with rules. We didn't know that normally like bonuses don't stack, so my monk had an insanely high AC!

 

[d20Dwarf]

Why is it only the dwarves that can't read?!?!

 

[Taloras]

Thats funny. Half the time, im the one reminding the rest of the group about obscure rules. And i never play dwarves.

Ive only been playing a year. yet i know more obscure 3rd Edition rules than the other guys have forgot, and all of them have been playin for years.

 

[Jolly Giant]

As a DM, I once told a PC sorcerer she had to make an attack roll to lob her fireball through an arrowslot in a fortress across a gorge from where she was standing... The entire party howled "WHAT?!?" in unison! That's actually the only time that particular rule has popped up. And the sorcerer (after much round-table debate) then proceeded to roll a natural 20...

I tend to be the one who picks up on these little-used rules in our group. Sometimes only after we've done it wrong for a couple of years...

 

[shadoe]

Our party wizard had to make an attack roll for a fireball he was trying to send into a murder hole. He failed and nearly toasted himself. I think I was the only person who was aware of that rule, and I had to tell the DM of that rule.

Slightly off topic, where does it say that dwarves don't know how to read? The only group that I knew of that didn't know how to read were the barbarians. The dwarves even have there own written language.

 

[mseds99]

Please clarify

Yes, I second that..wher do you find that dwarves can't read?

 

[d20Dwarf]

That's not a rule, I was just bumping the thread and commenting that the first 2 posts were by dwarves.

 

[Voadam]

When we first converted my campaign from 2e to 3e with an in-game event, not all the characters were up on the changes involved.

The wizard of the party was used to throwing lightning bolts from the back ranks of the party that would start just in front of the front rank fighters and clear out the enemies.

The first time he did this in 3e was quite a surprise to the party as I read the spell aloud to them emphasizing the starts at the caster's fingertips part.

The DM I play under was convinced until last night that lightning bolts would still bounce off of stone walls and richochet.