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Magic Missile vs. Mirror Image
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<blockquote data-quote="Hypersmurf" data-source="post: 3293468" data-attributes="member: 1656"><p>The rule in the PHB that covers this is "If you ever try to cast a spell in conditions where the characteristics of the spell cannot be made to conform, the casting fails and the spell is wasted."</p><p></p><p>If you cast Charm Animal (Target: One animal) at a dog, the casting succeeds. If you cast Charm Animal (Target: One animal) at a druid wildshaped into a dog (Type: Humanoid (Human), say, not Animal), the characteristics of the spell cannot be made to conform, the casting fails and the spell is wasted.</p><p></p><p>Strictly, then, if you cast Magic Missile aiming your five missiles at four gargoyles and a statue of a gargoyle, you are targeting something that does not fit the description of "Up to five creatures"; rather, it is "Up to five creatures and one object". The characteristics of the spell cannot be made to conform; strictly, the casting fails and the spell is wasted.</p><p></p><p>My personal ruling in the case of magic missile is that the casting succeeds, but the missile that was aimed at the statue fails, and that portion of the spell is wasted; instead of five darts of magical energy streaking from your fingertips, you only get four.</p><p></p><p>Similarly, if you aim one each of your five missiles at a group of five entities comprising a caster and four Mirror Image figments (where you don't know which is which), you are not attempting to target "Up to five creatures"; you are attempting to target "One creature and also four non-creatures". Strictly, the casting fails and the spell is wasted. In practice, I would personally rule that only a single missile manifests - the one that was targeted on a creature - while the other four fail and are wasted.</p><p></p><p>The FAQ declares that a spell which targets a creature can target an MI figment; I find no support for this position in the rules, however.</p><p></p><p>My vote, therefore, is 'other', even though I rule in play that "Magic Missiles targeted at an image fizzle', since I believe that by the rules, if the spell includes even a single image in its targeting lineup, the entire spell (not just the missile targeted at the figment) fails.</p><p></p><p>-Hyp.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hypersmurf, post: 3293468, member: 1656"] The rule in the PHB that covers this is "If you ever try to cast a spell in conditions where the characteristics of the spell cannot be made to conform, the casting fails and the spell is wasted." If you cast Charm Animal (Target: One animal) at a dog, the casting succeeds. If you cast Charm Animal (Target: One animal) at a druid wildshaped into a dog (Type: Humanoid (Human), say, not Animal), the characteristics of the spell cannot be made to conform, the casting fails and the spell is wasted. Strictly, then, if you cast Magic Missile aiming your five missiles at four gargoyles and a statue of a gargoyle, you are targeting something that does not fit the description of "Up to five creatures"; rather, it is "Up to five creatures and one object". The characteristics of the spell cannot be made to conform; strictly, the casting fails and the spell is wasted. My personal ruling in the case of magic missile is that the casting succeeds, but the missile that was aimed at the statue fails, and that portion of the spell is wasted; instead of five darts of magical energy streaking from your fingertips, you only get four. Similarly, if you aim one each of your five missiles at a group of five entities comprising a caster and four Mirror Image figments (where you don't know which is which), you are not attempting to target "Up to five creatures"; you are attempting to target "One creature and also four non-creatures". Strictly, the casting fails and the spell is wasted. In practice, I would personally rule that only a single missile manifests - the one that was targeted on a creature - while the other four fail and are wasted. The FAQ declares that a spell which targets a creature can target an MI figment; I find no support for this position in the rules, however. My vote, therefore, is 'other', even though I rule in play that "Magic Missiles targeted at an image fizzle', since I believe that by the rules, if the spell includes even a single image in its targeting lineup, the entire spell (not just the missile targeted at the figment) fails. -Hyp. [/QUOTE]
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Magic Missile vs. Mirror Image
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