Barrier bubbles + Line of Sight |
Barrier bubbles + Line of Sight |
Jul 13 2006, 02:37 PM
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#1
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,711 Joined: 15-June 06 Member No.: 8,716 |
If a mage casts a barrier bubble centered on himself would it totally surround him or would it only cover his forward vision arc??
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Jul 13 2006, 02:43 PM
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#2
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,430 Joined: 10-January 05 From: Fort Worth, Texas Member No.: 6,957 |
Only where he can see, which is about 120 degrees if you count the peripheral areas.
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Jul 13 2006, 03:20 PM
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#3
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Genuine Artificial Intelligence Group: Members Posts: 4,019 Joined: 12-June 03 Member No.: 4,715 |
Really? I thought the mage just had to be able to see the center of the barrier (himself, which is a given) and the barrier creates a dome all around him.
I don't have my book, but is there an explicit quote one way or the other, or are we both assuming/interpreting differently? |
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Jul 13 2006, 03:24 PM
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#4
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,430 Joined: 10-January 05 From: Fort Worth, Texas Member No.: 6,957 |
I don't have the book either, but spell effects don't extend out of your line of sight unless specified otherwise. It's possible that the barrier spell says it works where you can't see it, but I don't remember that being a clause.
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Jul 13 2006, 03:31 PM
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#5
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,711 Joined: 15-June 06 Member No.: 8,716 |
No it doesnt mention the ability to go out of sight specifically. Just says it can be a wall or dome and increase or decrease in size like normal radius spells.
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Jul 13 2006, 03:46 PM
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#6
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,965 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Edinburgh, Scotland Member No.: 2,032 |
Note that if the mage lies down then he can quite possibly see a larger arc, but that may cause other problems.
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Jul 13 2006, 04:21 PM
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#7
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,430 Joined: 10-January 05 From: Fort Worth, Texas Member No.: 6,957 |
He'll see the same 120 degree arc, it'll just have a different orientation. If he looks straight up while doing it he'll probably end up leaveing plenty of room all around for people to enter between the barrier and the floor. That might cause them to squeeze through a few at a time though, enabling a conga line of death if they're lemmings.
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Jul 13 2006, 04:31 PM
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#8
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Target Group: Members Posts: 47 Joined: 22-March 05 From: Milwaukee Member No.: 7,210 |
I believe the spell says it will create a wall or dome at or around it's target. Since a mage can always target himself you should be able to create a dome around yourself.
Also, barrier is a manipulation spell, and manipulation spells have always been able to create effects outside of the magicians line of sight, ie fireball at a hallway intersection... goons hiding around the corner get fried. |
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Jul 13 2006, 04:36 PM
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#9
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,430 Joined: 10-January 05 From: Fort Worth, Texas Member No.: 6,957 |
Not all manipulation spells have been able to.
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Jul 13 2006, 05:13 PM
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#10
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,965 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Edinburgh, Scotland Member No.: 2,032 |
True, he will see exactly the same area, but he can optimise his coverage by trying to avoid looking at areas where the ground prevents him from forming a barrier.
The mage could also use some optics which allow him to see a 360-degree field including the ground on all sides. I'm sure we've all seen pictures using ridiculously wide-angle lenses, particularly the ones with the sky in the middle and some famous building about the edges. I'm having a bit of troubble finding one with google, but I'm talking about something like this. The good thing is that once the spell has been cast, the magician does not need to see it in-order to sustain it. He thus only needs to look through his fish-eye periscope as he casts the barrier spell and not afterwards. |
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Jul 13 2006, 05:43 PM
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#11
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Mr. Johnson Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 3,148 Joined: 27-February 06 From: UCAS Member No.: 8,314 |
The problem seems trivial to me. If you disagree that a mage can't make a full bubble if he can't see all of where the bubble will be, just make him look all around during casting. Once a spell is in place, it doesn't have to remain in line of sight to be sustained.
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Jul 13 2006, 05:46 PM
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#12
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,430 Joined: 10-January 05 From: Fort Worth, Texas Member No.: 6,957 |
It comes down to how long you think the "line of sight" requirement allows. Some (like myself) feel that it's an instantaneous requirement. At the exact moment that you choose your target or area, you check line of sight. Others feel that it's checked throughoutthe entire casting of the spell, and so you can look around, ignore visual arc problems, and in general hit everyone around. The rules don't really speak to either stance, so whichever you prefer works fine. the second one makes mages more powerful, but not drastically so.
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Jul 13 2006, 05:52 PM
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#13
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,711 Joined: 15-June 06 Member No.: 8,716 |
Should i specialize in gymnastics for all the spinning i will be doing ? hehe. Joking.
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Jul 13 2006, 05:58 PM
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#14
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Genuine Artificial Intelligence Group: Members Posts: 4,019 Joined: 12-June 03 Member No.: 4,715 |
So you have to spin around like a magical girl when you cast area spells around yourself? :D
We need a FAQ so very, very badly. |
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Jul 13 2006, 06:25 PM
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#15
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The Dragon Never Sleeps Group: Admin Posts: 6,924 Joined: 1-September 05 Member No.: 7,667 |
What's your definition of LOS?
I usually use a very loose one where it covers the area the Mage could see if they happened to look that way. So for a barrier they can certainly do a dome since if they turned their head around they can see where the spell would take effect. This relieves me as a GM from thinking about checking if the character is actually looking at the exact spot they need to be looking at. Something that makes sustaining an invisibility spell on various different members of your team almost impossible if you interpet this any other way, since I certainly won't argue that I can keep an eye on two different people at once without some very peculiar eyes. |
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Jul 13 2006, 10:08 PM
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#16
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,408 Joined: 31-January 04 From: Reston VA, USA Member No.: 6,046 |
I don't think anyone suggested that you can't sustain a spell without line of sight, only that you couldn't cast one without it. Otherwise, you'd never sustain an invisibility spell unless you were astrally percieving. Player: I cast invisibility on Bob. GM: He turns invisible. Player: Yeah! GM: Since you can't see him any more, the sustainment drops and now he's visible again. Player: Boo... (And then the countless discussions about what line of sight actually means.) This has actually been done to death in several threads, although we didn't come to any aggreement in any of those, either. Line of Sight and Spell Defense Invisible Flashlights Sustained Spells and LOS Area Effect Spells and LOS (last one's probably the most thorough, but in the end it degraded down to a bunch of name-calling flame bait, just like all the rest of the threads around here...) |
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Jul 13 2006, 10:33 PM
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#17
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,711 Joined: 15-June 06 Member No.: 8,716 |
lmao your signature is pretty funny Apathy. Hehe i dont really consider a thread a discussion UNTIL the name calling and flame baiting start hehe.
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Jul 14 2006, 03:48 AM
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#18
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 144 Joined: 19-June 06 From: CAS baby Member No.: 8,736 |
My view on it would be that it refers to the target being in LOS not the effect, if you want to argue that you can't see behind yourself then be sure to note that you generally can't see through the target and as such will be leaving a "target" shaped hole on the side opposite yourself.
Thats just my 2 creds though. |
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Jul 14 2006, 04:08 AM
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#19
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,711 Joined: 15-June 06 Member No.: 8,716 |
Hey thats some damn good common sense.
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Jul 14 2006, 04:23 AM
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#20
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 144 Joined: 19-June 06 From: CAS baby Member No.: 8,736 |
Thanks, though now I want to make a crazy anime fan mage who's convinced he's a magical girl... "I've come to smite you in the name of love evil doer, magical girl pretty stevie powers go!" :rotate: |
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