Line of effect, when does it apply?

[supermonkeyjoe]

I've been thinking about some spells and how I've perceived them to not be bound by line of effect. The rule in question:


Line of Effect

A line of effect is a straight, unblocked path that indicates what a spell can affect. A line of effect is cancelled by a solid barrier. It’s like line of sight for ranged weapons, except that it’s not blocked by fog, darkness, and other factors that limit normal sight.

You must have a clear line of effect to any target that you cast a spell on or to any space in which you wish to create an effect. You must have a clear line of effect to the point of origin of any spell you cast.

A burst, cone, cylinder, or emanation spell affects only an area, creatures, or objects to which it has line of effect from its origin (a spherical burst’s center point, a cone-shaped burst’s starting point, a cylinder’s circle, or an emanation’s point of origin).

An otherwise solid barrier with a hole of at least 1 square foot through it does not block a spell’s line of effect. Such an opening means that the 5-foot length of wall containing the hole is no longer considered a barrier for purposes of a spell’s line of effect.

Take for example the Scrying spell, clairaudience/clairvoyance explicitly says that it doesn't need line of sight/effect however scrying doesn't, which makes it pretty useless! The best de

Teleport doesn't have a clause about line of effect but I can see that it wouldn't need to as the target is yourself/others touched.

Is this a rule that the designers just forgot for certain spells?

[KillianHawkeye]

You're right, I think they forgot to add that line about line of effect to the scrying spell. Or else they thought "the creature... may be at any distance" was a clear enough exception. Heck, scrying even works on creatures on another plane, so it pretty clearly ignores line of effect!

[ericgrau]

It tends to be the same way with other divination spells, and they tend to specify what blocks them rather than specifying that they can pierce solid objects. In fact the rules for the entire subschool of scrying says that lead blocks those spells, which implies that other materials do not. Maybe it's because these spells read information rather than affecting the target directly. It would be nice if the designers were more specific but this seems like a good rule of thumb: Spells that read info or such without really affecting the target or doing anything tangible, primarily divinations, don't need line of effect.