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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FormerlyHemlock" data-source="post: 6673969" data-attributes="member: 6787650">Attacking a friend doesn't necessarily make them hostile, even temporarily. Two fairly obvious cases spring to mind where attacking would be an act of friendship:1.) Striking a barbarian to keep his bloodlust up (thus reducing the total damage he will take next turn),2.) Snapping an ally out of unconsciousness or Domination a la Short Round with Indiana Jones. "Indy, I love you! Wake up! [swings torch in Indy's face]"RE: "That may seem like semantics, but I think it's the game's way of avoiding the problem you've spelled out up-thread vis-a-vis Warcaster." That still seems like semantics. I can quickly cast Polymorph on an enemy to turn someone into a newt so I can step on him, but I can't quickly cast Polymorph on an ally to turn him into a fish so he can breathe water? Naw, that's bogus. I'm not going to enforce that rule.RE: "I don't see why this is a problem, considering the rules for opportunity attacks already convert melee weapon attacks that can take a full action into melee weapon attacks that only take a reaction. Is there a real difference?" As explained in my option #1 above, conceptually the weapon attack doesn't take a full action--most of the action is lining things up so you can make the weapon attack. High-level fighters in this view don't physically move faster than 1st level fighters, they are just way better at lining things up so they get more attacks per action. Opportunity attacks do have some significant problems from a realism perspective, in that it's quite odd for retreating to cause a defensive penalty when in real life it's more of a defensive advantage, but as far as Warcaster goes I could live with just ruling that spells which require an attack roll are more like weapon attacks in that they are quick and easy to cast, and most of the "action" of casting them is lining up the shot. Ergo they are more like weapon attacks and can, with Warcaster, be cast as an opportunity attack. I don't favor this solution but I like it a lot better than allowing any single-target spell to be cast as a reaction, but only under oddly specific circumstances which involve someone retreating from you at high speed. That's just plain weird and inappropriate, IMO.I'm not sure if I answered your question because it sounds like you still think of "hostile" as significant--but then I'm not really sure I understand your position from a game-physics perspective because there are things you say in post #62 which confuse me, e.g. why it isn't just semantics that hitting an ally with a melee attack is a "hostile" act, and then I also don't understand how that relates to Warcaster unless it's via circular argument. So there is probably an assumption which you and Mistwell share which I am missing.</blockquote>

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