D&D (2024) Magic Missile is saved! Hooray!

[MerricB]

Don't know if this has been covered before by anyone, but anyway...

For the 2014 rules, Jeremy Crawford made the ruling that when you hit several targets with missiles from a Magic Missile spell, you rolled 1d4+1 ONCE and applied it as the same damage to each missile. This surprised a few people, but is what the rules said.

Chapter 9, Combat, Damage Rolls
If a spell or other effect deals damage to more than one target at the same time, roll the damage once for all of them. For example, when a wizard casts fireball or a cleric casts flame strike, the spell’s damage is rolled once for all creatures caught in the blast.


The 2024 rules have this to say about multiple targets from one spell:

Damage against Multiple Targets​

When you create a damaging effect that forces two or more targets to make saving throws against it at the same time, roll the damage once for all the targets. For example, when a wizard casts Fireball, the spell’s damage is rolled once for all creatures caught in the blast.


Magic Missile now works as I've always known it - you roll 1d4+1 for each missile, regardless of number of targets! (The extra text of "make saving throws against it" changes how it works).

I've been frustrated by some of the changes, but this one I like!

(Awaits someone telling me a spell it now breaks...)

Cheers!

 

[DeviousQuail]

When your homebrew rule, that you didn't realize was a homebrew rule, is no longer a homebrew rule.

 

[ezo]

I'm not getting how this is helping you, but as long as you're happy with it, kudos!

For the 2014 rules, Jeremy Crawford made the ruling that when you hit several targets with missiles from a Magic Missile spell, you rolled 1d4+1 ONCE and applied it as the same damage to each missile. This surprised a few people, but is what the rules said.

Well, this was JC's "ruling" (not rules), so it isn't what the rules in 2014 actually said, JC said it.

The rules don't specify how damage is done for magic missile either way.

 

[Charlaquin]

I'm not getting how this is helping you, but as long as you're happy with it, kudos!


Well, this was JC's "ruling" (not rules), so it isn't what the rules in 2014 actually said, JC said it.

The rules don't specify how damage is done for magic missile either way.

Technically magic missile does do damage to more than one target at the same time, since it specifies that each missile hits simultaneously. So by 2014 RAW it did in fact fall under the rules in the damage rolls section cited in the OP.

 

[Distracted DM]

... If you hit a bless-casted cleric with a 1st level magic missile, are they making 1 concentration check or 3?

 

[MerricB]

Technically magic missile does do damage to more than one target at the same time, since it specifies that each missile hits simultaneously. So by 2014 RAW it did in fact fall under the rules in the damage rolls section cited in the OP.

It's weird because if you hit one target with two missiles and one target with one missile, the rules don't really apply without bending them a lot.

Crawford reached quite a bit in that ruling, IMO, but the rule he relied on has now changed.

Cheers!

 

[Chaltab]

Rolling 7d4+7 has always just felt better to me than (1d4+1)x7

 

[payn]

Good.

 

[cbwjm]

To be fair, Crawford's interpretation never made it into official use, it was just a tweet. I don't believe it was even added to sage advice.

 

[J-H]

The Evoker's 10th level feature just got a lot less fun.