Aenara's page

Thanks much to everyone who responded! I haven't GM'd in years and was in a different system at the time, so it's taking me some time to get a handle on the differences. There were a number of good posts on this subject but none had the example I was faced with. :)

Darksol the Painbringer, I really appreciated your suggestion. I'm going to suggest that to the group. Magic is supposed to be very powerful but it felt like that situation needed a little balancing.

From my reading about these forums my only real contention with Line of Effect thus far is glass. It does seem very silly that a simple pane of glass would block lightning bolts and fire balls. Haven't had that issue yet but something else I want to settle with the group before we do encounter it. ;)

Having a hard time getting my head wrapped around Line of Sight and Line of Effect rules. Had this situation come up:

http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/9808/losquestion.jpg

Basically four characters on the same row:
(A) (B) (C) (D)

(A) is a gnome, (B) is a half-orc, (C) is a bulky human, and (D) is a small human.

Initially (A) wanted to cast Produce Flame then hurl it at (C). In the spell description it says, "Alternatively, you can hurl the flames up to 120 feet as a thrown weapon." I didn't allow this since (B) was in the way, just as I wouldn't allow a thrown dagger or a bow shot.

(A) then wanted to cast a targeted spell similar to Magic Missle at (D), which I wanted to disallow. This started some lively debate.

How does this resolve in Path Finder? Do magic spells obey Line of Effect while thrown/fired weapons follow Line of Sight?

To be honest I'm still confused about Line of Effect. Because when I try to "step back" and look at what's happening, I see a small gnome trying to look around a large, friendly body of an orc. Then past a bulky human in half-plate armor and a shield. Finally finding the target and unleashing the spell. But... apparently bodies aren't a "solid barrier", right?

Trying to get a finger on the reasoning. Is it just "magic"? Are spells smart enough to dodge a friendly and an enemy to reach the target at the back? Almost seems like metagaming. The player knows a target is in the square and decided to aim the spell there.

Oh and... do magic spells ignore partial/full concealment?

TiA for opinions and insight! :)