Is a touch spell discharged if you strike a mirror image?

[Artoomis]

I'm with IceBear.
I'd consider the touch attack to be a miss, for purposes of discharging the touch spell, just as if you were trying to attack someone blindly and failed the miss chance.

Otherwise we'd be left with a strange situation if the touch attacker shut his eyes (to get a 50% miss chance, rather than the 80% miss chance afforded by four mirror images), we'd have to adjudicate whether he mistakenly hit one of the mirror images when he missed.

Actually, if in melee combat you are better off shutting your eyes and thus having only a 50% miss chance.

I'd say that the spell dissipates as if you hit something - by your belief that you hit, you release the spell's energy, but harmlessly, since you actually did not hit.

Ther rules are a little vague here, so I'd go with what seems to be the most reasonable considering other urle and apparent rules intent.

If you want to allow the touch attack to be a miss for the purpose of discharging the spell, then I highly recommend you institute some rules that allow for accidentally touching something while holding a touch attack to balance it out.

 

[AGGEMAM]

Hey, Artoomis, long time since last time, eh?

 

[IceBear]

Actually, if in melee combat you are better off shutting your eyes and thus having only a 50% miss chance.

I'd say that the spell dissipates as if you hit something - by your belief that you hit, you release the spell's energy, but harmlessly, since you actually did not hit.

Ther rules are a little vague here, so I'd go with what seems to be the most reasonable considering other urle and apparent rules intent.

If you want to allow the touch attack to be a miss for the purpose of discharging the spell, then I highly recommend you institute some rules that allow for accidentally touching something while holding a touch attack to balance it out.

Right, which was why I said I could see going with a Will Save to avoid discharging the spell. To me I could go either way really, but at this point in time I wouldn't automatically have the spell discharged, I'd check to see if the character was fooled into discharging it. If my players wanted to go with 100% discharge I wouldn't really have a problem with that, but I wouldn't use 100% not discharged.

IceBear

 

[Zenon]

Why not use a Spellcraft check? There's already a DC for it:

20 + spell level - Identify a spell that's already in place and in effect. (the character must be able to see or detect the effects of the spell.) No retry.

Have them make the Spellcraft check after the successful hit to realize it's a figment and hold off discharging the spell?

 

[IceBear]

Because normally when dealing with illusions you make a Will Save to disbelieve (at least I think that's the rule - I haven't played in awhile and getting rusty )

IceBear

 

[Zenon]

That's a shame!

I'm just throwing out alternatives and options. Either would work.

 

[IceBear]

Yeah, although I'm sure that the intent was that the spell be discharged. I was just imagining the argument put forth by a player in my group:

"Why did I lose my spell?"

"Because you hit an image"

"So...it's not really there so I didn't touch anything to cause the spell to be discharged"

"Well.....maybe....roll a Will Save"



Anyway, my gut tells me that they intended the spell to be discharged, but if push came to shove I wouldn't have a problem with using a Will Save.

IceBear

 

[Henrix]

Actually, if in melee combat you are better off shutting your eyes and thus having only a 50% miss chance.

Part of my point, yes.

I'd say that the spell dissipates as if you hit something - by your belief that you hit, you release the spell's energy, but harmlessly, since you actually did not hit.

But touch attacks only end when you touch something (or cast another spell).

Not when you believe you touch something (nor at will, there's generally no (D)).

If you want to allow the touch attack to be a miss for the purpose of discharging the spell, then I highly recommend you institute some rules that allow for accidentally touching something while holding a touch attack to balance it out.

Why?
Mirror Image is just a first level spell! Whyever should it be better versus touch attacks than, say, Blur?

 

[Voadam]

A figment is there but has no solidity, it is an image (usually). When you touch a mirror image figment it disappears. When you touch anything with a touch spell it discharges. So I would rule that touching the figment (even though you don't feel it) is touching something and discharges the spell.

 

[Magus_Jerel]

The spell discharges and the image vanishes if you hit.

Think of the mirror image as a hologram. or a beam of light. Your hand can "touch" such a hologram - and thus discharge the spell. The fact that you did not touch something "solid" is irrelevant.