Spells Centered on You

[Moon-Lancer]

well this is how i see spells with range thats centered on the creature. I don't see it emanating from a zero point in space inside the creature but from its extremities.

let me know if thats too big. I work with a high rez

You will notice that larger creatures would have more squares. However wouldn't a larger creature have more surface area from witch the spell would emanate from?

I should also thank frank for using an image to demonstrate his point. I didn't mean to brush it off so lightly. Perhaps i was too quick to dismis his point... sorry bad pun.

 

[frankthedm]

let me know if thats too big. I work with a high rez

A .Gif or .Png will usually be smaller provided solid colors are used.

Also diagonals count 5 for the first square and 10 for the second even when measuring area.

You will notice that larger creatures would have more squares. However wouldn't a larger creature have more surface area from witch the spell would emanate from?

Spell area is supposed to be a very precious thing and tied to the power of the spell / caster level of the caster, not the size of the caster. A first level large or huge caster has no more casting power than a small first level caster.

 

[Someone]

The real tricky thing is what happens when a medium size caster casts antimagic field when mounted on a Large or larger mount and then dismounts, or if he was magically enlarged when he casts the spell.

By the RAW, the universe implodes.

 

[Hypersmurf]

A video game wouldn't off center the spell...

It would if one of the rules of the game were "The point of origin is always a grid intersection".

-Hyp.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

A .Gif or .Png will usually be smaller provided solid colors are used.

Also diagonals count 5 for the first square and 10 for the second even when measuring area.

Ah, Your right. forgot about gif. I have been working too much with tif. I wasen't sure if the spell size would look like yours, or work like reach for a large creature. I guess thats the exception, to prevent side stepping the reach?

Spell area is supposed to be a very precious thing and tied to the power of the spell / caster level of the caster, not the size of the caster. A first level large or huge caster has no more casting power than a small first level caster.

perhaps, Its still 10 feet out from the creature right? Reach increases with size, so why shoulden't spells? anway it does fix the universe imploding when you got off a horse, doesn't it?

It would if one of the rules of the game were "The point of origin is always a grid intersection".

-Hyp.

"10-ft.-radius emanation, centered on you."

So tell me... how do you center a spell on a med creature? I have yet seen the center of a 5 foot creature that is also a grid intersection.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

Reach increases with size, so why shoulden't spells?

I agree with this but the rules don't. I think it would make everything much easier if it worked that way, but the game designers might have to turn their minds to the ramifications in terms of area of effect.

 

[frankthedm]

So tell me... how do you center a spell on a med creature? I have yet seen the center of a 5 foot creature that is also a grid intersection.

You do that by choosing one of the grid intersections of the 5' square.As it happens the 5' square is the smallest unit of area on the battlemat. The 5' square has no "center" in this ruleset. Thus when an area is centered on you, it's point of origin corrects to one of the grid intersections.

A large creature has a center intersection so its decision might get made for him, and again the huge gets at least 4 choices.

Area

Some spells affect an area. Sometimes a spell description specifies a specially defined area, but usually an area falls into one of the categories defined below.

Regardless of the shape of the area, you select the point where the spell originates, but otherwise you don’t control which creatures or objects the spell affects. The point of origin of a spell is always a grid intersection. When determining whether a given creature is within the area of a spell, count out the distance from the point of origin in squares just as you do when moving a character or when determining the range for a ranged attack. The only difference is that instead of counting from the center of one square to the center of the next, you count from intersection to intersection.

 

[frankthedm]

I think it would make everything much easier if it worked that way, but the game designers might have to turn their minds to the ramifications in terms of area of effect.

How do you feel that would make things easier?

The way it works currently has everyone using the same radii. A tiny caster's fireball is no smaller than the huge casters. the footprint of every caster's spell works the same and Magic circle even has a proviso for big-uns. The main thing this bones is a huge or larger creature Using AMF. A foe that is naturally huge and has 11th to 12 casting capacity is getting to the point where a magic-less party has slim hope of besting.

Nothing other than the DM stops a huge to collosal caster from researching a 7th-8th level version of AMF that has a 20' radius.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

a fireball is a poor example i think, as its not centered on the caster. my point is a medium creature has no center. If its corners are the center, then a caster should be able to change what conner the spell is on, as all corners are the center.

has their been any video game based on dnd, ones that are heavenly based on the rules that have the spell off set from the character?

also i would like to see someone address Someones concerns about casting these spells while mounted, and dis mounting.

 

[ThirdWizard]

also i would like to see someone address Someones concerns about casting these spells while mounted, and dis mounting.

It makes less sense your way for that scenario. If area is based on creature space, then when you dismount, the area of the spell shrinks! No so the other way.