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<blockquote data-quote="Magus Coeruleus" data-source="post: 1054076" data-attributes="member: 1704"><p>In a game I played with 3rd level characters, the sorceror (not me) used Scorching Ray a total of 4 times and hit twice.&nbsp; It seemed quite reasonable, because hitting was far from a sure thing, but when he did hit, things got really toasted.&nbsp; The fact that he had to be up close and personal was quite relevant.&nbsp; This was only two game sessions, but I highly suggest anyone with questions or concerns about the balance of the spell really try it out for a while in the game, because some factors just don't really hit home until you play with them.&nbsp; Just consider this:&nbsp; at his level (3rd) he could have chosen to fire Magic Missiles in each of those rounds.&nbsp; He would be guaranteed to hit, doing 7hp of damage on average ((1d4+1) * 2) from up to 130' away, for the cost of a first level spell slot.&nbsp; On average, his Scorching Ray would do twice as much damage (average of 14 on 4d6) for a spell of twice the level, IF he hit (which he did half the time), from within 30', and his opponent was not fire resistant/immune, incorporeal, etc.&nbsp; It seemed pretty balanced to me.</p></blockquote><p></p>

[QUOTE="Magus Coeruleus, post: 1054076, member: 1704"] In a game I played with 3rd level characters, the sorceror (not me) used Scorching Ray a total of 4 times and hit twice. It seemed quite reasonable, because hitting was far from a sure thing, but when he did hit, things got really toasted. The fact that he had to be up close and personal was quite relevant. This was only two game sessions, but I highly suggest anyone with questions or concerns about the balance of the spell really try it out for a while in the game, because some factors just don't really hit home until you play with them. Just consider this: at his level (3rd) he could have chosen to fire Magic Missiles in each of those rounds. He would be guaranteed to hit, doing 7hp of damage on average ((1d4+1) * 2) from up to 130' away, for the cost of a first level spell slot. On average, his Scorching Ray would do twice as much damage (average of 14 on 4d6) for a spell of twice the level, IF he hit (which he did half the time), from within 30', and his opponent was not fire resistant/immune, incorporeal, etc. It seemed pretty balanced to me. [/QUOTE]

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