Fireball pellet discussion brings up an interesting question

[Dreaddisease]

Say you want to shoot the pellets. What is the pellets AC, HP? I ask this because a smart archer might save a shot for that fireball throwing wizard in order for it to go off in front of his face.

 

[Kai Lord]

Say you want to shoot the pellets. What is the pellets AC, HP? I ask this because a smart archer might save a shot for that fireball throwing wizard in order for it to go off in front of his face.

Ha! I love it! An archer could theoretically use the Deflect Ranged Attack feat from Dragon 274. The armor class would be obscene, but the hit points of the pellet don't matter. Any contact with physical matter causes the fireball to go off....

 

[Dreaddisease]

Well I think it is fine so a base AC of 0 since it is like paper. then +8 for the size difference. That is just not good enough though. It should be harder. An AC of anything below a 20 is too easy to hit.

 

[Kai Lord]

Well I think it is fine so a base AC of 0 since it is like paper. then +8 for the size difference. That is just not good enough though. It should be harder. An AC of anything below a 20 is too easy to hit.

IIRC, Deflect Ranged Attack required you to hit an AC of 28 for a crossbow bolt, so an AC of 30 or more for the fireball pellet would not be out of order.

 

[Haffrung Helleyes]

AC of 30 sounds about right, for an archer with a readied action...

It's actually a ballsy strategy! Only if you're good, though...

Ken

 

[Femerus the Gnecro]

I've always wondered if a mage could theoretically ready an action to:

1. use mage hand to deflect/return the bead

2. use magic missile to blat the bead before it hits its target

Telekinesis would work too I suppose.

The mage in question would have to know the fireball was coming though... but if you're up against a guy you know carries around a fireball wand...

-F

 

[Plane Sailing]

Not exactly an interception, but a classic situation is the invisible wall of force about 10ft in front of the wizard about to cast fireball. If there was a nasty wizard who frequently used a wand of fireballs, it would be worth readying a wall of force for just this eventuality!

 

[AuraSeer]

I've always wondered if a mage could theoretically ready an action to:
1. use mage hand to deflect/return the bead

Mage Hand only works on nonmagical objects.

2. use magic missile to blat the bead before it hits its target

MM can only target creatures. Objects or spell effects are not eligible.

Telekinesis would work too I suppose.

That one's debatable. IMC, I'd rule that since Telekinesis does not create a physical obstruction, it would not cause the proto-fireball to detonate. (That's if the pellet even qualifies as an "object," which I haven't decided yet.) That's just my interpretation though.

 

[Plane Sailing]

That one's debatable. IMC, I'd rule that since Telekinesis does not create a physical obstruction, it would not cause the proto-fireball to detonate. (That's if the pellet even qualifies as an "object," which I haven't decided yet.) That's just my interpretation though.

You would have to use telekineses to pickup an object to swat it with, I guess. Dustbin lid?

 

[Chaldfont]

I was just thinking about this the other day, daydreaming.

What roll would a character have to make to throw himself in front of the fireball pellet? A Dex check?

I was thinking about having a big battle in the middle of a crowded market and having the Evil Bad Guy throw fireballs all over the place. This way the PCs would have to fight and protect the innocents at the same time.

I just have a picture in my head of a high-level Paladin with a ton of hit points diving in front of a fireball yelling, "Noooooooooooo!" in slow motion, giving up the Reflex save and soaking the damage in order to save Innocent Bystanders.