Ranged Touch into melee

[Abraxas]

Although IIRC, when you are closer to the cover than your opponent, your opponent does not receive said cover bonus.

Just something else to be aware of I guess.

That only applies to Low Obstacles - from the PHB: Low Obstacles and Cover: A low obstacle (such as a wall no higher than half your height) provides cover, but only to creatures within 30 feet (6 squares) of it. The attacker can ignore the cover if he’s closer to the obstacle than his target.

 

[Abraxas]

And here is an example of how it might look like someone has cover when they don't due to how D&D is a slave to the grid.

The Mage does not have cover from the archer, though the archer has cover from the mage.

I've played in games where the DM would rule that the mage in this illustration does have cover from the archer - because the line going straight up from the archer's square passes through the border of a square that provides cover.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I've played in games where the DM would rule that the mage in this illustration does have cover from the archer - because the line going straight up from the archer's square passes through the border of a square that provides cover.

So someone in a five-foot-wide corridor has cover when shot at by someone else in the same corridor, because the squares adjacent to the corridor provide cover (since they're solid stone)?

-Hyp.

 

[Dracandross]

Another question regarding ranged touches:

At least it looks like familiars could deliver ranged touch spells as they are still touch spells. Only that makes hitting with them a lot easier (at least if caster doesnt have dex)? And ranged touches dont have range increment right, which is kinda stupid.

-Dracandross

 

[PallidPatience]

Ranged Touch spells could be delivered by a familiar, but that risks the familiar. Also, Ranged Touch spells usually have a smaller Range than any other ranged weapon (excluding thrown weapons) can possibly reach.

 

[Abraxas]

So someone in a five-foot-wide corridor has cover when shot at by someone else in the same corridor, because the squares adjacent to the corridor provide cover (since they're solid stone)?

-Hyp.

Honestly, I don't know if the DM would have ruled that way because I don't remember a single incident of a PC and opponent squaring off against one another in a 5-ft-wide corridor with ranged attacks and nothing in between them.
I don't think he would have (I never claimed he was consistent) - he just didn't like the particular case shown in the illustration.
I've played ranged attack focused characters in games where positioning shown in the illustration would provide cover, and games in which it wouldn't provide cover, to the mage and I can see the merits of both.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Another question regarding ranged touches:

At least it looks like familiars could deliver ranged touch spells as they are still touch spells.

No, they aren't.

A spell that requires a ranged touch attack isn't a 'touch spell'; a spell with a range of 'Touch' is a touch spell.

See the 'Cast a Spell' action in the PHB:

Touch Spells in Combat: Many spells have a range of touch. To use these spells, you cast the spell and then touch the subject, either in the same round or any time later...

See also the description of Range: Touch in the Magic Overview section.

-Hyp.

 

[Caliban]

I had a dwarven wizard once who used his toad familiar to turn melee touch spells into ranged touch spells.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I had a dwarven wizard once who used his toad familiar to turn melee touch spells into ranged touch spells.

Fastball Special?

-Hyp.