Line of Sight / Cone Spells

[Kapfel]

So our 2nd ed group decided to give Pathfinder a try after playing together for several years and came across an interesting situation which got pretty heated. Our gnome bard was attacked by a human bandit who was standing in the very next square. 5 feet behind the bard was our elf mage. The mage wanted to cast color spray at the bandit over the head of gnome. Half the group said no way that will hit the gnome the other half said the mage can just lift his hand to keep it above the gnomes head. It became a 2d vs 3d ruling which the DM was not happy about having to decide upon since the group was torn between who is right and who is wrong.

Human Bandit|Gnome Bard|(empty sq)|Elf Mage

Any suggestions or rules that might apply to this scenario? Thanks!

Kapfel

[concerro]

If you are in a square that a spell passes through you are affected by the spell, no matter how small you are.

Here is what matters:
Does the spell enter or pass through square X?
Are you in square X?

If the answer to both of these is yes then you have to make the save. The gnome has to make the save.

[spalding]

move around so you don't spray the gnome -- same thing with any area of effect spell.

[Quantum Steve]

Anyway, Color Spray is a cone, it's effects extend both above and below the horizontal. There's no way the Gnome could be unaffected.

[Kapfel]

Abraham spalding wrote:

move around so you don't spray the gnome -- same thing with any area of effect spell.

The bandits (we were surrounded by 10) were all using spears. If the mage moved it would have been an AOO for 3 bandits instead of one.

I understand that it's taking into account both above and below the horizontal but to what extent. Now lets say a bandit is flying 20 feet in the air two squares away and the gnome is one square away on the ground. How would you address that?

Thanks for helping me try to figure this stuff out.

[arioreo]

Quantum Steve wrote:

Anyway, Color Spray is a cone, it's effects extend both above and below the horizontal. There's no way the Gnome could be unaffected.

You could always aim the spell so that the middle-line of the cone is at an angle so that the underside of the cone is horizontal.

Anyway, let them have the tactic if they so desire. Just enforce some rules.
Forinstance, only when within 5 feet of the caster and while kneeling (which means they have to spend a move action to get back up and provoke an aoo).

[Drejk]

If the color spray is cast so the cone is directed at the angle of a little more than 45 degree up (to avoid gnome head) it won't fill the whole opponent area. Maybe a bonus to saving throw would be in order? (and if the same applied with Reflex-for-half-damage effect I would probably rule that it inflicts half damage or none with successful save because the target can easily get out of the area completly).

[Davick]

The problem here is the empty square. If the mage was directly behind the gnome, he could have shot the color spray in the square above the gnome and the 10 ft spread would have hit your opponent. With him being 5 feet away, the 10 ft spread would hit the gnome, but the 15 ft spread would still hit the bandit. But to aim it high enough to miss the gnome will also miss the bandit.