Stupid Question - Need answerz.

[Jane_Smith]

I havent never, ever, in my 8+ years of playing dungeons and dragons, now over -3- editions, -ever- have seen this scenario in any game I have been in. Someone has asked me about it, and... despite my experience, I have no idea how to reply. So I turn to you.

Does miss chance, concealment, etc, apply to non-touch based spells like fireball, magic missile, etc? I can understand it applying to like, scorching ray. But... would miss chance effect the area of effect of a spell, or a auto-homing spell?

Edit: Due to the wording of my first statement, id like to clarify, this question is for 3.5 and/or pathfinder rules, not ADND, 3.0, or 4.0.

[Cidolfas]

Nah, miss chances from concealment don't count against those. I think the entry for Magic Missile in the 3.5e System Reference Document even states that it isn't affected by concealment. Concealment really only works against things that require attack rolls.

[Latronis]

Things like magic missile will always hit anyone targetted with less than total cover or total concealment.

concealment is irrelevant for things like Fireball they nuke an area even if you can't see them the fire does

[Thinker]

I havent never, ever, in my 8+ years of playing dungeons and dragons, now over -3- editions, -ever- have seen this scenario in any game I have been in. Someone has asked me about it, and... despite my experience, I have no idea how to reply. So I turn to you.

Does miss chance, concealment, etc, apply to non-touch based spells like fireball, magic missile, etc? I can understand it applying to like, scorching ray. But... would miss chance effect the area of effect of a spell, or a auto-homing spell?

Edit: Due to the wording of my first statement, id like to clarify, this question is for 3.5 and/or pathfinder rules, not ADND, 3.0, or 4.0.

Here is the relevant information.

Also, I think this should be in the "Roleplaying Games" section, rather than "Homebrew Design".

[Tetrasodium]

it might depend on the source too. Blur probably wouldn't do a damn thing, blink might though since you are blinking in and out of existence, the displacement type of effect from things like displacer beasts might have an impact too if they happen to be in an unaffected square.

[Iferus]

Just read the spells that provide concealment, because they might have such a thing as a side effect. Concealment by itself won't help you against such attacks.
Also, shield blocks magic missile. No need for fancy stuff :)

[Latronis]

but you do need line of effect (prevented by full cover) and line of sight (prevented by full concealment though sometimes it can be as simple as a spot to check to overcome) to target.

[erikun]

It depends a bit on what is granting cover/concealment, but in general, the answer is no. Blink is a bit of an exception, although you take half damage from area effects (Fireball) rather than gain a miss chance. Note that Magic Missile is a force spell, and thus hits a Blinking target without a problem.

Cover only applies to area effects if the target has cover from the center of the area. It doesn't matter if they have cover from the caster or not. (At least, that was the rule last time I checked.)

[Temotei]

you can't see them the fire does

Is there a spell to animate fire?

[Latronis]

Is there a spell to animate fire?

without a doubt there very soon will be now

[Jane_Smith]

Living spell template, animate breath weapon from book of dragons, Control Flame from 3.0, raging flame from 3.5... >.>

[Serpentine]

...isn't there just an "animate flame" spell or somesuch? Turns a campfire into a Tiny or Small elemental? I know I've seen that somewhere...

[lesser_minion]

Cover does apply against some area spells, conferring a bonus to reflex saves, but concealment and miss chances mostly do not. Incorporeality is a special case here, however, and almost always applies (even if the attack specifically ignores miss chances).

Bear in mind that you cannot target a creature that has total concealment relative to you if you don't know their position from other means -- this might preclude you from using most spells against them, even if they don't require an attack roll.

Also, this probably belongs in the Simple Q&A (by RAW) thread.