Korred's page

There are several spells in the PF core book which have a Target defined as "one creature / level, no two of which can be more than 30 ft apart". Specifically, the most common spells are Haste, Slow, Good Hope, & Mass Heal.

At our gaming table, there is some disagreement as to whether the caster can choose the targets to be affected by these spells. Essentially 2 points of view here:

Position 1) The caster cannot control which creatures are affected. This position could be supported by PFC page 215, where it states under the definition of Creatures "a spell with this kind of area affects creatures directly (like a targeted spell), but it affects all creatures in an area of some kind rather than individual creatures you select. The area might be a spherical burst, a cone-shaped burst, or some other shape."

or

Position 2) If the PFC writers intended for these spells to affect Friend & Foe alike, then why didn't they just define the area of effect as "15' radius burst" instead of "one creature / level, etc". As written, it is not explicitly clear that the caster can choose the target creatures, but it seems to be strongly implied - especially for these spells. It is difficult to imagine the PFC writers intended to create situations where a 17th cleric would memorize Mass Heal with the glaring potential to unavoidably heal the foes within the area of effect.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Korred wrote:

or does Harsk gain the full benefit of 15 pts of cure damage, and he is now at 6 hit points, conscious, and laying prone on the ground?

-Korred

This, right here.

Thanks Pathos.

Does anyone know if there is a legacy thread on this discussion? I tried various forum search criteria, but didn't get anything in this discussion line.

I'd specifically like to see if the Pathfinder Dev's have chimed into this type of discussion before.

thanks.

In the PF Core Rulebook, it states on page 190 (Stable Characters & Recovery) the following:

"If any sort of healing cures the dying character of even 1 point of damage, he becomes stable and stops losing hit points. Healing that raises the dying character's hit points to zero makes him consious and disabled. Healing that rasis his hit points to 1 or more makes him fully functional again, just as if he'd never been reduced to 0 or lower"

Is the rulebook stating that it is a 2 step process to bring a character back to consciousness if they have been dropped below zero?

Example: Harsk is taken to -9 hit points by a critical hit from the ogre. Seelah (the cleric) casts Cure Moderate Wounds for 15 hit points of curing on Harsk.

How much of a benefit does Harsk recognize from the Cure Moderate Wounds? is he stable at -9, because he received at least 1 hit point of curing damage? and now a 2nd healing spell is required to bring Harsk above 0 hit points (which must cure for at least 9 hp's)?

or does Harsk gain the full benefit of 15 pts of cure damage, and he is now at 6 hit points, conscious, and laying prone on the ground?

thanks for your input.
-Korred