You're right, my mistake. I was thinking mostly of Indirect spells (Which I suppose would still be affected, but Indirect spells already get a lot of negatives associated; higher drain, armour interference, cover interference, etc.; so I might rule against that. Might be something to think on, at least)

And that is the basic problem. Anything that can be applied to resist direct combat, can also be used to resist indirect combat. In the end the utility of indirect combat spells do not balance out against all the extra negatives, making direct combat spells the best choice.

Unless, of course, you cannot actually see your target for that Direct Combat Spell, but can catch them in the AOE of an Indirect Combat Spell...
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Sadly they herfed the hell out of that one, just as with launched explosives. Iirc, you need a primary target to center the spell on.

@hobgoblin
You can't make the fireball explode mid air?
I thought this was possible.

I hear the floor makes a good target. Or the wall. Hitting an area is what, a threshold of two? Personally, I've decided to reduce the effectiveness of direct combat spells. A la the Hits=damage that was used in the Foodfight 4.0 quickstart "adventure". More often then not, the Indirect spells will get more damage this way, but you'd be hurting for the direct ones a bit when you meet a heavily armoured guy. It also adds some more appeal to the elemental spells, which I like.

to quote page 204, SR4A: "Hence, Indirect Spells are handled as ranged attacks and require a physically solid target or astrally active target to hit."

As for nerfing direct combat spells, a doubling of the basic resistance stat could also work. This to balance out the stat+armor resistance of indirects (tho there is also the dodge thing). But yea, a net hits = damage may work. This as raw hits are capped by force anyways.

It is just weird that with all the potential options, the author of the section went with the one presented.

A Wall is a Physically Solid Target, as is the surface of a road or floor of a room... Just Sayin' (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

True, tho it brings to mind the example form Grimoire about spellcaster using a keyhole to turn a area spell into a single target spell...

@Tymeaus Jalynsfein
Does not change the fact, that the rule is kind of silly.

I want to let the fireball explode over their heads to impress them and scare them off.
Sorry, you can't do that.

Silly. (Since most of the other spells do not have this restriction)

There should be some additional ruling for indirect combat spells. We do not even now how the react to cover. (etc.)
The "granade" spell from War! gives some ideas on how the could be handled. (I would prefere to handle them more like granades anyway.

Agreed. I, too, think that the Elemental Effect should be able to take effect at a point in space. No big worries if it cannot, however. If you think that it should work that way, then use it that way. No Harm, No Foul.