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Message: <blockquote data-quote="OnlineDM" data-source="post: 5352728" data-attributes="member: 90804">This is where I struggle.  I do understand the rule, believe me.  And I'm fine with it.  For flavor purposes, though, I struggle a bit with the idea that a character can place a magical grenade wherever he likes so long as he can point his fingers and have a clear straight line (however narrow) to the spot where he wants the grenade to explode.  He couldn't do that if he were throwing a physical grenade - trying to wedge it through the arrow slit from 50 feet away would be quite a feat!  But with magic - no problem.  He points at a spot in space (which he has line of effect to, via the arrow slit), and the magical grenade explodes right there.  Yep, it works just fine in the rules - but it's weird from a flavor perspective.I think I struggle because not all spells in the game are Magic Missile, where you point and damage is dealt.  A regular ranged magical attack, such as Skewering Spikes, still takes cover into account.  I know that area attacks take cover FROM THE ORIGIN SQUARE into account, too, but I think I mentally get the impression that pointing your finger (or wand or staff or orb...) and having the magic burst from it has the possibility of inaccurate aim.  In fact, it does not.  The magic goes exactly where the spellcaster wants it to go, but there's a chance that the target can dodge out of the way (versus Reflex) or withstand the physical or psychic trauma (versus Fortitude or Will).  Cover helps in those situations because it gives the target a place to duck behind (versus Reflex) or something to absorb some of the trauma (versus Fort or Will) (though that one is tougher to rationalize from a flavor perspective).I just have to shift my thinking to realize that magic attacks don't ever miss the spot they're aiming for.  They hit that spot, but the target might have moved out of the way or shaken off the impact physically or mentally.  It's fundamentally different from a physical attack with an arrow or a thrown grenade, and that's all there is to it.Anyway, thanks for chiming in, everyone!  It seems that I'm the only one who struggles with this, which makes it easier for me to say to myself, "Just get over it!"</blockquote>

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