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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Elethiomel" data-source="post: 3355722" data-attributes="member: 49897">This is a false question, like "Have you stopped beating your wife?", because it equates armwaving used to hit someone over the head with a piece of metal with armwaving used to cast a spell. It isn't a given that you use the same force and speed to do these completely different things.Look at skeet shooting, which does indeed require you to move your left arm precisely (and not slowly, either) to hit the target. Hitting a monk, flying dragon, or other fast creature that moves around the battle field would require much the same sort of movement.Bottom line, though, we do not know what sort of handwaving exactly is needed for spellcasting. If we did, we'd be out casting magic missile. We do know, though, that it requires precise movement. We can surmise that it does not require forceful movement, because if it did weak casters would be at a disadvantage. The difference between aiming a ranged weapon at a moving enemy and hitting an enemy over the head with a piece of metal is that aiming requires precise movement, and hitting an enemy over the head with a piece of metal requires precise and forceful movement. That's why I think somatic spellcasting components are closer to aiming a ranged weapon than to attacking with a melee weapon.</blockquote>