D&D 5E So am I missing something with this evoker power?

[Particle_Man]

The Evocation tradition allows a 6th level evoker to require victims of their evocation cantrips to take half damage even on a failed saving throw, when they would normally take none.

On the first pass my question was "well how does that interact with the 7th level rogue evasion bonus that allows you to take no damage on a successful dex saving throw?"

In my head I resolved that like a tie for skill challenges you pretend both abilities don't exist and see what the status quo would be.

But on the second pass my question was "so where are the wizard evocation cantrips that require a saving throw for either less or no damage anyhow?". The ones they list seem to be all "make a ranged attack - if you hit the target takes damage".

I assume (if I haven't missed the cantrip) that there will be such a cantrip in the player's handbook when it comes out.

OTOH, I could modify the evoker power in the basic pdf to say "even if you miss with an evocation cantrip, the target still takes half damage (but no other effect)" just to give the Basic rules evoker something to use that ability on. And this would not interact with the rogue's evasion power, since that affects saving throws.

So am I just missing something?

 

[MerricB]

The Evocation tradition allows a 6th level evoker to require victims of their evocation cantrips to take half damage even on a failed saving throw, when they would normally take none.

On the first pass my question was "well how does that interact with the 7th level rogue evasion bonus that allows you to take no damage on a successful dex saving throw?"

In my head I resolved that like a tie for skill challenges you pretend both abilities don't exist and see what the status quo would be.

But on the second pass my question was "so where are the wizard evocation cantrips that require a saving throw for either less or no damage anyhow?". The ones they list seem to be all "make a ranged attack - if you hit the target takes damage".

I assume (if I haven't missed the cantrip) that there will be such a cantrip in the player's handbook when it comes out.

OTOH, I could modify the evoker power in the basic pdf to say "even if you miss with an evocation cantrip, the target still takes half damage (but no other effect)" just to give the Basic rules evoker something to use that ability on. And this would not interact with the rogue's evasion power, since that affects saving throws.

So am I just missing something?

You're missing with your cantrips?

Yes, it does seem that the power doesn't do anything with the current cantrips in the Basic Rules.

Cantrips from the Interim Rules Supplement it applies to:

Acid Splash: range 60 ft, two creatures within 5' of each other take 1d6 acid damage (Dex save avoids). Extra dice at higher levels: 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th.
Shocking Grasp - this was changed to an attack roll in the final rules.

And that's it!

Cheers!

 

[Particle_Man]

You're missing with your cantrips?

Yes, it does seem that the power doesn't do anything with the current cantrips in the Basic Rules.

Cantrips from the Interim Rules Supplement it applies to:

Acid Splash: range 60 ft, two creatures within 5' of each other take 1d6 acid damage (Dex save avoids). Extra dice at higher levels: 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th.
Shocking Grasp - this was changed to an attack roll in the final rules.

And that's it!

Cheers!

I wonder what would happen if a high level evoker hit a high level rogue with acid splash. Would evasion trump the evoker power or vice-versa?

 

[MerricB]

I wonder what would happen if a high level evoker hit a high level rogue with acid splash. Would evasion trump the evoker power or vice-versa?

My own reading is that the evoker power turns the attack into half-on-a-miss, which the rogue then can fully evade.

Cheers!