A sorcerer in my campaign cast Contingency on himself with the following trigger:
"If I am targeted by, or caught within the area affect of, a hostile spell or attack while I am helpless or flat-footed, cast Resilient Sphere targeted on self."
My question(s):
1) Do you feel that trigger would go off if, say, an archer targeted him with a bow?
2) Only if he fired?
3) Just by aiming at him?
4) Is the Contingency spell powerful enough to tell when someone is "targeted" by a ranged attack (not a spell)?
5) If so, what does "targeted" really mean? What if a child looked in the sorcerers direction and considered throwing a pickle at him? Was the sorcerer "targeted"?
Just some logic issues I am trying to work through!
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I think all spells with trigger conditions need some wording to define how far their 'sensors' extend. As well as what factors can be sensed.
See Magic Mouth for an example.
The spell functions when specific conditions are fulfilled according to your command as set in the spell. Commands can be as general or as detailed as desired, although only visual and audible triggers can be used. Triggers react to what appears to be the case. Disguises and illusions can fool them. Normal darkness does not defeat a visual trigger, but magical darkness or invisibility does. Silent movement or magical silence defeats audible triggers. Audible triggers can be keyed to general types of noises or to a specific noise or spoken word. Actions can serve as triggers if they are visible or audible. A magic mouth cannot distinguish alignment, level, Hit Dice, or class except by external garb.
The range limit of a trigger is 15 feet per caster level, so a 6th-level caster can command a magic mouth to respond to triggers as far as 90 feet away. Regardless of range, the mouth can respond only to visible or audible triggers and actions in line of sight or within hearing distance.
Of course, with Magic Mouth, you don't really want it to go off too far away from the triggerer, if you're intending to give them a message. But you can set it max range to watch a corridor and give an alarm to your allies...a customised version of the Alarm spell.
The contingency trigger conditions should be made clearer I think. In one of the current campaigns I am in I play an elf wizard. Our party was about to go out into a wraith infested badland, and to protect me I cast contingency with the forceward spell (a spell compendium spell that keeps incorporeal creatures at bay)with the trigger condition of; If any incorporeal undead come within 30 feet of me forceward will be cast.
My DM didn't allow the spell to trigger with this condition, because the wraiths moved inside the very ground we walked on, and thus I could not see or hear them. He decided that I had to have some way of sensing the wraiths for the contingency to be able to take effect, thus I had to rephrase the trigger condition to; whenever I see an incorporeal undead within 30 feet of me, making the contingency much weaker then I had previously planned.
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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I wouldn't play around with the semantics of "targeted" vs. "aimed". In this case, the caster obviously means hit by, and tried to use a word that covers spells or attacks. I don't see the problem with that. He's not talking about someone looking through their sights, but not actually firing, so don't penalize them for the fact that you could interperet "targeted" in that way. This isn't a wish spell, so there's no reason to mess with their language. I would interperet their condition as if they are hit by an attack or targeted by a spell and be done with it.
If some kid actually hits the caster with their slingshot, not just aims and thinks about hitting them, then their contingency spell will go off.
If some kid actually hits the caster with their slingshot, not just aims and thinks about hitting them, then their contingency spell will go off.
So then you would have it trigger *AFTER* the caster of contingency is HIT the first time?
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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If some kid actually hits the caster with their slingshot, not just aims and thinks about hitting them, then their contingency spell will go off.So then you would have it trigger *AFTER* the caster of contingency is HIT the first time?
Yes. Contingency shouldn't be a mind reading spell that knows what an enemy is about to do. It reacts to events that happen. For example, you can contingency a stone to flesh spell on yourself if you get petrified, but you can't contingency a teleport spell to teleport back home when someone is about to turn you to stone.
the fact that the spell takes effect after is not corect. it takes effect at the same time as the trigger.. much like a readied action interupts its trigger action(magic is magic after all).
using the term "targeted by" meens, at least in rule termes that the effect/attack is actually launched(not that it hits, just launched)
if u want the spell to only go of on a hit u need to specifie that.
a simpel example is to set the spel to cast fire shield if u are hit by at mele attack.(the fire shild will take effect when u are hit and dmg the attacker) very simpel.
applying sience to maigic is ofen a problem, the rules do not suport after or before in termes of time. if our spellcaster in the example is hit by a spell both effects will happen at the same time therefore one might cancle the effect of the other.
the fact that the spell takes effect after is not corect. it takes effect at the same time as the trigger.. much like a readied action interupts its trigger action(magic is magic after all).
using the term "targeted by" meens, at least in rule termes that the effect/attack is actually launched(not that it hits, just launched)
if u want the spell to only go of on a hit u need to specifie that.
a simpel example is to set the spel to cast fire shield if u are hit by at mele attack.(the fire shild will take effect when u are hit and dmg the attacker) very simpel.
applying sience to maigic is ofen a problem, the rules do not suport after or before in termes of time. if our spellcaster in the example is hit by a spell both effects will happen at the same time therefore one might cancle the effect of the other.
Completely unrelated and no offense intended, but is English a second language for you? Just sayin...
I'd say, just from reading it, that as a 6th level spell that is awkward to cast, that you should have a devious amount of leniency.
As soon as the archer declares him as a target, and makes his attack roll, the spell should go off, resolving before the arrow has a chance to connect.
End result, the archer uses his action, makes an attack roll, and loses an arrow. The sorcerer has a spell go off, which is in effect after the arrow is loosed, but before it intersects with him as a target.
However, as a mischevious GM, I'd keep some notes on this handy.
1) 'Hostile' as in 'Hostile spell or attack'. It's kind of broad in interpretation. If I cast 'resilient sphere' on your sorcerer, does it trigger? Certainly he may interperate being forcibly restrained as a hostile act. (and I find the irony of resilient sphere triggering a resilient sphere to be priceless). likewise, if an evil bad guy is scoping the players out, does his detect magic spell trigger it when he , a hostile person, targets the sorcerer?
2) on the same note, is that hostile spell or attack or hostile spell or attack (which is hostile). if it's the former, by the spells opinion, then any attack action should trigger it. Obviously you would have to be a bit of a mongrel to allow mosquito bites to trigger it, but i'm sure there are instances where a friendly attack action targetting the player can be used (what if someone wants to tackle the sorcerer out of the way of an avalanch? or perhaps try to catch the sorcerer as he falls past him?)
3) What is an area spell originates from within the proposed area of the sphere? is he then trapped inside the sphere with the effect? how about melee attacks then? the sphere is 1 foot across per level, and is centred on himself. If someone tries to grapple him (a hostile attack action) does he then generate a sphere centered on himself and then his grappler? ( actually, probably not, unless the sphere couls encompas an opponent 5 feet away. By my own reckoning it would trigger as the attempt was made, but befor ehe moved into the target's 5 foot square)
4) the player should be prepared to have the thing go off without effect. there are a large number of spells that could target him that will trigger his contingency, but not be affected by resilient sphere. the first level clerical spell 'bane' is a hostile area affect spell. so is sleep.
5) lastly, the final qualifier is his condition of helpless or flat footed. if he's neither flat footed, nor helpless, then the contingency is not met. If he's grappled he is neither helpless, nor flat footed for instance.(though i guess if he knew an attack was coming, he could 'make' himself flat footed.
6) really lastly, does he want to really become held in place inside a resilient sphere for one minute per level, whenever he's suprised by a trap (at least, those that make attack rolls, the other type just force reflex saves) or is suprised out of combat, by spell or attack? There are a lot of ways this can work against him and it would be a pain to re-establish every time it does get set off.
Batts