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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silverglass" data-source="post: 1383330" data-attributes="member: 14071">Your personal interpretation is that a Somatic Component is "pointing" at someone or that they are as complex as sign language is not born out by the rules. Pointing at someone is not a precise or measured movement.Somatic components are defined as complicated, precise and measured movements with the hand, this specifically excludes cartwheels. But what it does mean is that the Somatic component of an Arcane spell is complicated, precise and measured enough that it is more difficult to do if you have pounds of metal hanging of your arm or stiff armour binding the joints rather than soft cloth.Whirlwhind attack etc are gross body movement, Somatic components are small precise body movements (because thats what the rules say). The general principle is that armour restricts movement to varying degrees (which is what the armour check penalty implements) so it is entirely plausible that it also restricts delicate movements to some degree. And there you have ASF.Divine spellcasting is not affected by ASF. Why this is can be artionalised in 2 (circular) ways. 1) because the rules say its not that implies that the movements made are not affected at the same level as for arcane somatic components. If the movements are simpler they are less effected. 2) Nowhere does it state that the Somatic components for a spell are identical for both the arcane and divine versions. Infact the reverse is implied by it only being ASF.Untrue, if you look at any number of spells that exist in both arcane and divine forms you will see "Arcane Material Component: ...." or "Divine Material Component:... ". As an example consider Protection from Evil, as an arcane spell it needs " A little powdered silver with which you trace a 3-foot -diameter circle on the floor (or ground) around the creature to be warded." as a Divine spell there is no material component just the need for a Divine Focus. If the material components differ why not the form of the Somatic or Verbal components.Your argument relies on the single assumption that the somatic components are identical for arcane and divine casters, this leads to a conflict with the rules. However if the rules are taken to be correct then this implies that somatic components are not identical and the whole things holds together.The fact that you are ignoring is that all Arcane casters can wear armour, any arcane caster is able to cast spells without any ASF problems if wielding a mithril buckler or small shield for example. To utilise armour fully they must expend feats to do so and either spend money (mithril and splat book enchantments) or sacrifice casting ability (by a class such as Spellsword or by using the Still Spell feat). The ability to ignore ASF is a published ability for D&D (core Bards have it after all) so there is no blanket restriction any more, its just more difficult for Wizards and Sorcerors to cast spells in armour than it is for Clerics or Druids.So there you are, all Arcane casters CAN wear armour without worrying about ASF, and they can do it a number of ways but they all involve a cost of some sort. Your complaint that D&D arcane casters are some erroneous archetype of a robed caster just isn't born out any more.</blockquote>

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