No limit on Color Spray?

[Twowlves]

Is there any reason why Color Spray no longer has a limit on the number of targets it can affect now? I am running the CotCT AP and half a dozen mooks were taken out on Eel's End by this spell, making a Big Fight (tm) a joke. Is this intentional?

[Dreamweaver]

Doesn't it only have a 15' cone cover area. At most I would think only four or five people would get hit. If they are all packed in like that serves them right and that was a great move by the player.

[Abraham spalding]

Yup area of effect, they more people you can pack in the area the greater your effect.

[Twowlves]

It has always been a 15' area of effect, but it used to have a random number of maximum targets. Just curious to see if this was an intentional design choice. Now it's better than Sleep at low levels, or nearly so.

[erian_7]

Twowlves wrote:

It has always been a 15' area of effect, but it used to have a random number of maximum targets.

Do you mean in D&D 3.x, or previous versions? In the 3.5 SRD, at least (don't recall for 3.0) it's simply an area effect with no listed number of targets.

Twowlves wrote:

Just curious to see if this was an intentional design choice. Now it's better than Sleep at low levels, or nearly so.

I've always thought the 3.x color spray was better than sleep, as have many others I've talked with...

[Abraham spalding]

The 2nd ed color spray was a 5'x20'x20' wedge that didn't nessacarily allow a save throw that could affect d6 targets. However 2nd ed didn't use battle maps near as much which has really changed the way a game can work. Before a player could argue that many more people are in that wedge than the DM thought would fit so it was easier just to have d6 targets within range. With 3.x having battle maps and what not so often you can actually see what everyone is talking about allowing you to simply use area of effect spells as they are with less argument about who is and is not affected.

[erian_7]

True, but it seems like the OP is talking about a perceived change in the Pathfinder RPG (my conclusion based on which forum got the post).

[aslak]

I'm currently playing a wizard in RotRL and I have chosen colorspray over sleep, primarily because I it stays good at higher levels. But it's not overpowered in my oppinion of several reasons.

1: Monsters are normally not that close packed.
2: If you really want to hit a lot (like 3-4) you will have to get within their threatzone provoking AoO.
3: The fighter is always in the f**** way and you don't want to take him out and leave monsters who succeed in their saving throws to beat away on you.

4: If 1-3 is not the case, but you still manage to get 3+ monsters and thereby winning the encounter, then you (and the monsters) deserve it.

I've never been able to hit more than two monsters without hitting our fighter or provoking AoO, and even then I wasn't able to hit more than three.

[KaeYoss]

You must think of even earlier editions, vocal-ly impaired one. 3.5 didn't have affect a random number of targets. Instead, it affects everyone with the bad luck of being cought in the spray. I say it makes more sense this way.

Colour spray is indeed more useful than sleep, but that's mostly because sleep simply sucks. It just has too many drawbacks - full-round casting time and limit on max HD.