magic missile always hits again???

[Pbartender]

Attacks without attack rolls required rules changes to actually work. Technically, they came into existence a few months before the Magic Missile change when Dragon printed that terrible level 3 Wizard Encounter Power that's auto-damage, but no one cared about it because no one ever took it. The rules change itself has caused some issues—for instance, combined with the new limit on Free Action attacks, it means that Essentials Scout Rangers don't actually work as written, because both their Power Strike and their I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-Twin-Strike are "Attack Powers", and thus they can't use both of them in the same turn, which is clearly not authorial intent.

Free actions have always been explicitly limited by the common sense of the DM, to wit...

In certain circumstances, the DM might decide to limit the use of free actions further. For instance, if an adventurer has already used free actions during a particular turn to talk, drop things, and use a class feature, the DM might rule that the adventurer can use no more free actions during that turn.​

...so that the DM can reign in players who are trying to abuse them (like granting another player too many free auto-damage attacks every round). This is hardly a ground-breaking change to a core rule; it's simply better defining that stipulation in a specific circumstance.

Prior to that change, any DM who wanted to could have limited those granted free actions in the exact same way.


Plus, as DracoSuave mentions, the rule does apply to all free actions, it applies to those times when another ability or power lets you use an attack power that is not normally a free action as a free action.

 

[Felon]

Especially when you're starting out, you need to have a "safe space to fail into." Magic Missile without an attack roll is part of that safe space. You can keep playing, you can keep enjoying your friends' company, and you don't have to worry about failing too badly. You always have Magic Missile to rely on.

Because when you miss an attack roll and blow your turn, it sucks.

Like I was saying, it's the safety of the merry-go-round versus the high and lows of the rollercoaster.

Of course, the reason we have attack rolls and damage rolls is because a game needs highs and lows. Can you imagine how D&D would work if the mechanics of magic missile were applied to more attacks? You'd be able to calculate how many attacks (excuse me, standard actions) it would take to end the battle.

An at-will attack power with no attack and no damage role--essentially, no variables--is bad juju.

 

[Pbartender]

An at-will attack power with no attack and no damage role--essentially, no variables--is bad juju.

I find it curious...

A lot of people complain about Magic Missile as an At-Will attack power with no attack or damage roll, but no one complains about the oodles of auras that effectively do the same thing -- deal fixed damage with no attack roll and no real limitation on how often per encounter (or even worse, no limit per round, since it's an effect that usually activates at the beginning or end of an enemy's turn!) it can be done.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Of course, the reason we have attack rolls and damage rolls is because a game needs highs and lows. Can you imagine how D&D would work if the mechanics of magic missile were applied to more attacks? You'd be able to calculate how many attacks (excuse me, standard actions) it would take to end the battle.

Well, there are other ways to get highs and lows. Attack rolls aren't the only thing. Monsters that have sudden spike increases in defense, or sudden healing abilities, or otherwise change as the battle goes on (dynamic monsters, like some of the more recent solos) could do this in a game that entirely forwent attack rolls.

But I'm nowhere near arguing that D&D should do that.

I'm just sort of defending the idea that an ability can do that, and not be a problem. Generally speaking, I'm against fundamentalism, especially in game design. Dogma and idealism don't produce effective results for a broad audience.

If we eliminated attack rolls entirely from the game, Magic Missile wouldn't feel special. It should feel special. Every ability should feel special.

 

[Steelwill]

Since WoTC decided to change it to feel more like the legacy version, they should have gone whole hog adding something like; "Every 6 levels beyond the first, the mage gains an additional missile per use of the Magic Missile power. Missiles may be launched at separate targets or the same target, assuming all are valid, at the Mage's choosing." This would give the Mage 5 missiles/use of MM by level 30. Keep the damage scaling as is per missile. Or if that isn't as powerful as some might like, make it a missile every 3 levels, so 10 by 30. My 2 cents.

 

[Bagpuss]

The limit to Free Action attacks applies to attacks granted as a free action, which is like Commander's Strike and whatever. They have the form 'Gains a basic attack as a free action' which is what that rule applies to.

Using attack powers that are free actions is not being granted an attack as a free action, you're simply using a power. It does not grant you an attack.

Actually he's right. The wording used is...

There is an exception to that rule: A creature can take a free action to use an attack power only once per turn.

Both Dual Weapon Attack and Power Strike are attack powers. Power Strike should probably be made a utility (like the Rogue's Backstab) since it doesn't involve an attack roll.