Mage Hand cantrip

[HeinorNY]

Why do you say this? If I remember my physics class correctly the speed of the object is the same on impact as it is right after being fired. As it approaches the apex of the arch the missile decelerates and reaches zero at the peak. It then begins to accelerate on the way down gaining the same but opposite velocity as it was being fired.

If at the peak, let's say X height, it reachs zero velocity, there is no difference between shooting the bullet from the ground and dropping it directly from X height.

There is somethng missing there. The bullet's mass, the acceleration of gravity and the powder's acceleration, and air resistance.

I didn't read the Nasa article you posted, but when it's Enworld vs. Nasa, regarding physics or whatever, I'll always bet on Enworld.


ON TOPIC: I'd allow the Wizard to roll a Thievery check modified by INT to take the knife from the enemy.

 

[Pbartender]

Well there was a clip on ripleys believe it or not a few years back and people have caught arrows b4 they do tend to cut there hands open when they do so however.
found this after a quick look http://www.zooweekly.com.au/members/viewPost.php?pid=0&aid=1884

Sure, but that guy is catching an arrow flying near him, not at him... that makes a big difference.

Simply put, if you're fast enough to catch an arrow shot at you (or knock it aside), then you're fast enough simply get the hell out of the way of an arrow shot at you. Either way you explain it, in D&D the arrow misses you due to your exceptionally high Dexterity bonus.

 

[Irda Ranger]

Because you're controlling it with your brane

String theory breaks my SOD.

 

[Intrope]

String theory breaks my SOD.

Just think of the Strings as being Tentacles, and now it becomes Far Realms Theory!

And you can control it with your brane because everything from the Far Realms is psychic

 

[Hunter In Darkness]

Sure, but that guy is catching an arrow flying near him, not at him... that makes a big difference.

Simply put, if you're fast enough to catch an arrow shot at you (or knock it aside), then you're fast enough simply get the hell out of the way of an arrow shot at you. Either way you explain it, in D&D the arrow misses you due to your exceptionally high Dexterity bonus.

You know that is a very good way to put that .

 

[dekrass]

Either way you explain it, in D&D the arrow misses you due to your exceptionally high Dexterity bonus.

Unless they throw in rules like the deflect arrows and snatch arrows feats.

 

[Spinachcat]

If my character can shoot fireballs, he can surely catch arrows and bullets and flying freaking high velocity elephants! In fact, he can catch them with his butt cheeks 'cuz its a make believe fantasy game.

I will probably rule that Mage Hand has STR 3 / DEX 3. Using those stats, the mage can attempt to do whatever he wants with the hand. It's a cantrip so it should be mostly non-combat or useful for only minor stuff. However, I want to reward players who think of cool ways to use their abilities.

So wanna catch that arrow? Cool...roll D20 and if your mage hand don't catch it, your mage head catches it instead.

 

[Keenath]

Okay, first, "muzzle velocity" of a bullet or arrow does matter, but in an atmosphere drag is an important factor -- so a falling projectile will be moving slower than it was when it was fired simply due to losing energy to the air around it.

Second, you can catch an arrow in real life, but it's not reaction to sight, but by anticipating the arrow's launch. The Mythbusters did in fact pull that off -- Adam caught an arrow that Jamie fired, just barely, by anticipating Jamie's release (by watching his arm twitch just before the fingers released the arrow). It IS possible to catch an arrow, but it's not really possible to do it consistently in battle conditions. It's a party trick, a stunt that only works under certain conditions.

Third, as far as the spell, I suspect any manipulations with the spell will be based on the user's skill. Or it might be one of several things that they patched before DDXP but didn't have time to reprint -- like the Pally's Mark-and-run-away strategy.

Honestly, the best use for the mage hand spell that I see is that it allows you to trade out items as a minor action -- it effectively allows a wizard to ALWAYS have a Handy Haversack.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

to topic:

you can´t grab an attended object, because the hand needs to be in an UNOCCUPIED square.

grabbing an arrow in midflight: no. In the video the martial artist reacts to the arrow beeing fired. Not to the arrow itself. He starts moving his hand to a certain point in the air, where he knows the arrow will be. Teh only posibility to catch the arrow in real life, would be if he sees the bowman, knows EXACTLY where the arrow will hit and would have enough time to step aside anyway. And who in his right mind would try to catch the arrow if he could just dodge it... doing it with mage hand would be possible, but only if those conditions are met, so it would be of no benedit (int or dex adds to your AC, so you could just discribe a miss as you catched the arrow with your mage hand...

 

[Pbartender]

You know that is a very good way to put that .

To elaborate, if I actually wanted a spell that consisted of a magical hand that deflected or caught missiles in mid-air, I'd simply use Mage Armor, Shield or Protection from Arrows and describe the visible effect as a magical hand swatting at the incoming missiles.