RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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1) The spell force punch is delivered by touch attack, does damage, and pushes the target back up to 5 feet per two caster levels. If the target is bigger than Medium, the distance is decreased. A Fortitude save negates this. Should a dwarf's Stability racial trait (+4 racial bonus to CMD when resisting bull rushes or trip attempts) influence this? Better question: why doesn't the spell use the existing bull rush mechanics?
2) What are the rules on targeting unseen people (thanks to invisibility or darkness) with spells? The necromancy spell howling agony affects one living creature per level, if they're clumped up. It either disables them with agony, or forces them to spend a move action screaming in pain, every round. That would be great to keep track of enemies in the dark. But can it target them? And, by the way, why doesn't that earn the [Evil] descriptor? Can you imagine an inquisitor of a good-aligned god casting that and not needing to atone afterwards? (Oh, and I assume that undead would not be susceptible to a threnodic version of this spell?)
Should it: In my opinion, yes.
Does it: No.
I don't think you can target the creature effectively, since you don't have line of sight.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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1) The spell force punch is delivered by touch attack, does damage, and pushes the target back up to 5 feet per two caster levels. If the target is bigger than Medium, the distance is decreased. A Fortitude save negates this. Should a dwarf's Stability racial trait (+4 racial bonus to CMD when resisting bull rushes or trip attempts) influence this? Better question: why doesn't the spell use the existing bull rush mechanics?
2) What are the rules on targeting unseen people (thanks to invisibility or darkness) with spells? The necromancy spell howling agony affects one living creature per level, if they're clumped up. It either disables them with agony, or forces them to spend a move action screaming in pain, every round. That would be great to keep track of enemies in the dark. But can it target them? And, by the way, why doesn't that earn the [Evil] descriptor? Can you imagine an inquisitor of a good-aligned god casting that and not needing to atone afterwards? (Oh, and I assume that undead would not be susceptible to a threnodic version of this spell?)
You assume correctly; threnodic onloy affects mind-affecting spells, and howling agony isn't one.
You can't target creatures if you don't have line of sight to them.
As to the force punch spell, the spell technically isn't a bull rush, so stability wouldn't apply. When in doubt, the best rule is: It says what it does, and it does what it says. Not always true, but usually a pretty good rule.
If I know what square an unseen enemy is in, do I have line of sight? Do I have line of sight to an invisible foe I'm grappling?
No.
Assuming your combat area is a chessboard: Think of it in extreme circumstances. If a tifling monk is using cloud step and is ten feet in the air in square a4, then uses darkness to make the room pitchblack he could slowfall into a tiny hole in the floor, and disappear forever for all you know.You don't have line of sight, but you are touching them. Your party would have LoS on you, and be able to target you though.
Added*
The hole probably wouldn't be tiny, seeing as he is medium sized, but this monk has invested hevilly in lard-esq products so he'll make it happen.
Strangely enough, though, Jason, threnodic haunting choir would indeed make a lich fearful of the torments of being dead.
That actually makes some sense. One reason for a lich to become undead in the first place is to avoid dying...
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I can see why knowing somebody`s location (e.g. passing Perception check to notice moving Invisible NPC) doesn`t allow LoS Targetting (except for AoE spells)...
But Chris` example of Grappling seems like it should work... You not only know their exact square, you can perceive their body directly, even if you can`t see the color of their skin (which Blindsight can`t do either, yet allows targetting). Continual physical contact is a much more specific sensory perception than just knowing their rough location (square), and I would say it is on par with Blindsight.
The Grappled Condition actually says
...Though I would take the RAI there to mean the Invisible Grappler receives no other benefit IN RELATION TO THE OTHER GRAPPLER (i.e. Miss Chance, Targetting), but Invisibility applies as per normal vs. other combatants outside the Grapple (+I guess they should be able to discern the Invisible Grappler`s square). That line could be cleared up / Errata`d if the RAI is not for Mr. Invisible Grappler to lose ALL benefits of Invisiblity vs. everybody in the room.
Other lines in Invisibility Condition which could use Editing (IMHO):
`Regardless` isn`t quite the word desired here, since it can be read in the sense of `you CAN attack whether or not X condition exists`, while the RAI (AFAIK) is that blindsight lets you attack `without any penalties from invisibility`. Regardless (/`disregarding`) has some ambiguity, which is best to avoid in rules crunch.
This is fine on it`s own, but it seems to ignore the (in my experience) more common way of uncovering a near-by enemy`s location: bumping into them... Which is preferable because it just uses up normal movement (not a standard action) and you can cover several squares until you run out of movement. What would nice to be clarified is whether or not trying to move into an occupied square provokes an AoO (assuming they threaten), which seems reasonable (and is a down-side to this approach vs. using a standard action vs. one square).
I believe you can still cast targeted spells on Invisible creatures as long as you touch them even if you don't have Line of Sight -- which I would handle as a melee touch attack, with the normal 50% miss chance derived from full concealment. Spells like Charm Person don't typically incorporate a free Touch attack but I'd allow it in this case.
Yes, Invisible creatures can still perform Attacks of Opportunity on creatures moving out of threatened squares or into their space. The downside to this is two-fold; one, performing that attack will end a normal Invisibility spell, which some creatures would prefer not to do; two, when a creature is attacked by an invisible opponent, then the creature automatically pinpoints the opponent until the opponent moves.
As such, Invisible creatures may elect not to perform Attacks of Opportunity even when granted them, unless they're using Invisibility specifically for an offensive advantage -- like Rogues looking for Sneak Attacks, or creatures with Reach and Greater Invisibility that know they can't be pinpointed when they attack.
Or when a creature is attempting to move into its own square. Since that is not a legal move and the creature would be ejected into its last legal square (which is best described as being bumped out by the occupant), the invisible creature might take it anyway, since it's more or less found out.