Displacement vs. AOE's ?

[VinceColo]

Question for all of you.
D&D 3.0-3.5

If a pc is wearing a greater cloak of displacement, do AOE effects and spells still need to get through the 50% concealment chance? If so where is the ruling located ? (which book)

[jindra34]

The person with concealment is still in the same square so yes they are effected. May I ask how this came up?

[tyckspoon]

Concealment miss chances such as Displacement only apply to attacks- that is, things which require making an attack roll (Invisibility's broader definition of 'attack' only applies to that spell. In other game references, it means rolling d20+BAB+relevant bonuses to hit AC.) Other kinds of miss chances do apply to almost everything, but those aren't concealment-based.

[VinceColo]

It came up in a game we played 9/18/11 (yesterday) the pc was wearing a cloak of displacement and gave the DM pretty hardcore crap about it, saying fireball would have to roll on the 50% miss chance... So, i asked you all, since the rules were a bit fuzzy on the subject. Thanks all...

[Runestar]

Let's put it this way. Being invisible won't save from from the blast radius of a grenade (because you are still there physically), so why would being blurred?

[Safety Sword]

If you're actually standing in the area of effect, you get hit by it (relevant saves etc, apply of course). You appear 2 feet away from your actual location (see Displacement (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/displacement.htm))

Same if you're invisible and a fireball lands next to you. You're invisible, not invulnerable.

Unless the cloak is giving you displacement by "hiding" you in the etheral plane and the AoE doesn't reach there... then I can see you getting a miss chance.

But that's not how a Cloak of Displacement works. What you want is Blink (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/blink.htm)

Edit: Sneak attacked by the Runestar ninja

[Keld Denar]

Now, Blinking WOULD mean there would be a 50% chance that the Fireball wouldn't affect him, because there is a 50% chance that he's on another plane at the moment. That said, Displacement doesn't toss you to another plane. You are still in the same 5' square (or 5' square, if you are larger or larger), you just are hard to locate within that square. The 50% miss chance is only for things with an attack roll. So a sword could be dodged, or a ray spell, but not an AoO like a Fireball.

[Safety Sword]

Now, Blinking WOULD mean there would be a 50% chance that the Fireball wouldn't affect him, because there is a 50% chance that he's on another plane at the moment. That said, Displacement doesn't toss you to another plane. You are still in the same 5' square (or 5' square, if you are larger or larger), you just are hard to locate within that square. The 50% miss chance is only for things with an attack roll. So a sword could be dodged, or a ray spell, but not an AoO like a Fireball.

But... I just said that :smalltongue:

Displacement is misleading your opponent into missing you because they actually think you're 2 feet away from where you actually are (it's not strictly you dodging their swing, although you'd probably tend to do both). True seeing defeats Displacement.

Just thinking about how awesome a Cloak of Displacement would be for my next karate tournament. Two feet is a long way for someone to miss you by in hand to hand combat.

Edit: I just read the Blink description more carefully. It appears you don't get a miss chance for area attacks. You just take half damage. I don't like it!

[jindra34]

Your player may have thought of Cover which does apply to AoEs and is listed together with Concealment.