Lightning Bolt and Sage Advice...

[Ridley's Cohort]

I did not see the article, but it seems like a solid ruling -- a very reasonable application of the line of effect rule.

It seems pretty obvious that very large creatures can function as full-fledged barriers even if that rarely would happen in actual play. How electricity would work is irrelevant; this is magic. Any large object or creature that is not obliterated by a spell effect is potentially a barrier to that spell.

 

[Wippit Guud]

never mind the lunacy of not considring how much would conduct RIGHT THROUGH those creatures.

Has anyone ever experiments with the conductivity rate of a human, and it's effect with a second human standing 10 ft behind him, with relation to an electric charge of the magnitute of a lightning bolt?

For all we know, a single person WOULD stop a lightning bolt. Since it can be measured that humans conduct electricty better than air, the bolt would hit someone, then travel down his length and ground out.

Ow, physics, brain hurts... get me some goblins, need to get this school stuff out of my system...

 

[Bastoche]

Or the character could just be duplicating the effects of a real lightning bolt and having the ground release the electricity. Since I recall lightning actually starting from the ground and then going up into the sky. But hey, physics was meant to be broken, that's why quantum mechanics are so much fun. =o)

Yep, the electricity actually goes from top to bottom. But the light is emmited first on top and then on bottom. So the current goes from down to up and the light from up to down. It's a quantum mechanics thing.

P.S. I'm a Ph.D. student in physics. I still claim my right to be wrong though

 

[LokiDR]

actually several factors weigh on if this assumption is correct or not. What is the living wall made out of? Does it have a moisture content higher then a normal wall would? If it's living does it have vital organs and if so how are they working and all that such without the help of a liquid mode of transportation at some level. And many many many MANY more other questions that have to be factored into it. Electricity is a funny thing. Pick up an iron that is plugged in, now pick up that same plugged in iron while standing in a puddle of water. Nowhere near as much fun, however much fun you could get from picking up an iron anyway.

Anyways I've gone way off on a tangent and have forgotten the point I was trying to make. =op Oh well. =op

Why do you keep trying to apply physics to D&D? Even so, if the "living wall" was conductive, it would ground out the lightning bolt, not allow it to pass through. I will have to disscuss this some time with a friend of a friend who tests industrial transformers.

 

[AuraSeer]

actually several factors weigh on if this assumption is correct or not. What is the living wall made out of? Does it have a moisture content higher then a normal wall would?

This is totally irrelevant. You cannot apply physical arguments to the workings of a magic spell in a fantasy game.

The only relevant question is whether the creature (or object) entirely fills a 5'x5' area. If so, it blocks line of effect through that space, and the spell is stopped there. Otherwise, the spell propagates as normal.

It has absolutely nothing to do with the properties of real electricity, or the behavior of real lightning, or the price of kumquats in Kazakh.

 

[kreynolds]

...or the price of kumquats in Kazakh.

Where is Kazakh?

 

[Hypersmurf]

The only relevant question is whether the creature (or object) entirely fills a 5'x5' area. If so, it blocks line of effect through that space, and the spell is stopped there. Otherwise, the spell propagates as normal.*

* but only because of the Sage's ruling, 'cos the PHB would suggest that "as normal" should be qualified by "after taking modifiers to Reflex Saves based on Cover into account".

-Hyp.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Where is Kazakh?

"Kazakh" refers to the people and language of Kazahkstan.

The national currency is the tenge, and there are approximately 150 tenge to the $US.

You can buy kumquats two for a dollar, so the price should be about 75 tenge. But that will depend on import duties and market fluctuations, I'm sure.

-Hyp.

 

[kreynolds]

The national currency is the tenge...

I prefer the yen. It's the only currency that makes me laugh.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I prefer the yen. It's the only currency that makes me laugh.

Because...?

-Hyp.