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Message: <blockquote data-quote="N'raac" data-source="post: 6257507" data-attributes="member: 6681948">Are you the same Greenfield who posted on another thread what a huge break in your immersion it is that an arrow traveling through a series of 5' x 5' squares has a chance to hit each creature in each of those squares, weaving through them as they pass down this hallway-wide area?  It does not seem like each image needs its own square, nor does that seem consistent with "you have an equal chance to his the original and each image".  No melee combatant without Reach can be able to strike at any of the 8 images, plus the original character, at the same time if each needs its own square.  They fill a 3x3 grid of squares!  If they are in such a grid, and our actual Wizard is in the lower left grid space, he can take a 5' step to move 20' by moving the whole grid 1 square diagonally to the upper right, then shifting himself to the upper right grid space?  That could be a full move action for some wizards, taken as a 5' step.  In a 5' wide hallway, he an his images fill an area 45' long - he can take a 5' step backward when at the front of the line, then shift a further 45' to be at the back of the line?  A 50' move as a 5' step?Add in other objects or creatures in the area, and how do we find 8 empty squares for the images to fill?How do the wizard and 8 images appear in a single 5' square?  You answered that yourself in addressing targeted attacks versus areas:  Separate from you is not the same as 5' away from you and each other image.Well,   You can target one image with one attack.  A wild swing through the  entire square?  OK, you see several of the wizards dodge your wild swing, and a few others are struck by the shaft of the pole arm, rather than its head, which does them no harm, while one is struck and either they all bleed, or the one struck dissipates.  Why can't I swing my pole arm through the entire square holding a rat swarm and hit all the rats?I find the statement that the figments stay within 5' of one another problematic as it implies a pretty wide space.  Can I line them up single file, walk at the back and use them to attract attacks from hidden enemies as we go around a corner?  What if there aren't enough spaces for all the figments to manifest within these parameters?  The spell just fails?  "Within at least 5'" at least implies they can be closer than "within 5'".  Within 2' can place them all in the same square, constantly moving and repositioning.  Just like the game does not assume PC's move 30' instantaneously and then stand stock still for the rest of the round (despite appearances on the battlemat), I assume the images themselves keep moving, just like the wizard does.  They will merge with, and split off from, the caster as they weave about trying not to get hit in their 5' square. (like all the other combatants).You want to close your eyes and swing blindly?  Your call.  You will not be distracted by one or another figment seeming an easier target, but you also have that flat 50% miss chance, along with all the other benefits of being blind, until you open your eyes on your next action.  You can't target, then close your eyes in mid-swing, immediately reopening them - your targeting is then influenced by the cluster of images.There's certainly a level of abstraction here, just as with much of the rest of the game.  Overanalyzing that abstraction tends to have poor results - much like trying to work out the physics of magic to make it more realistic (whatever "realistic magic" is - pick a card, any card?; watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat?).  To some extent, the spell is a victim of overdesign.  What was the benefit of stating "each within 5 feet of at least one other figment or you" rather than "remaining in close proximity to the caster and the other figments", perhaps even specifying "within the same square"?   What purpose does "While moving, you can merge with and split off from figments so that enemies who have learned which image is real are again confounded."?  There are no rules that allow you to learn which is the real wizard.  Aren't all combatants assumed to always be moving?  You hit the wizard with your first attack - well done!  Now, nine separate visions of a bleeding wizard mill about, around and through one another as you aim your next attack, so you need to again select one of nine indistinguishable targets.</blockquote>

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