I know that this is a touch spel but can a Light spell be caste on an enemy, such as on an eye or between the eyes to blind them? I imagine it would be a waste on a regular size foe but might be an advantage on a larger or more powerful one such as a ogre, troll or giant.
What if a group manages to subdue a town bully and just want to be mean in return and cast it on him?
Also, could it end up permanently doing damage to eyesight?
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No. First, the "target" is "object touched." People are not objects.
Second, even if it could be cast on a creature, being able to blind them would be far too powerful for a level 0 spell. Especially when there is already a spell to do that up at level 2, and the best level 0 alternative is flare or daze.
Finally, permanently damaged eyesight is not really within the realm of Pathfinder rules. The rules just don't go to that level of realism. If it did, regeneration would have to be made a much lower level spell. Otherwise, everyone would be walking around with horrible scars, broken arms, and stubs where their legs were melted off by an ooze. While there is a place for a game like that, D&D/Pathfinder isn't really it.
However, I'm going to go out on a limb and say "Welcome to Pathfinder." Trying to blind someone with light is like a right of passage. Up next: trying to drown them with create water.
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Up next: trying to drown them with create water.
Actually, under the rules as they currently exist, if you had someone trapped in a pit and either enough patience or a high enough level character you could drown someone with Create Water. The rules only say you can't create the water in a person, it doesn't say you can't drown in it. I had a CN character in a Rise of the Runelords campaign I was running use Create Water to waterboard a goblin.
First off when are people not objects? Maybe not inanimate objects, but they are objects nonetheless.
I would personally rule that light is not an intense enough luminosity to blind someone. Though that's because I let my players get away with illuminating their heads, horns, and tails... Though if a player did manage to get close enough to an ogre's eye to touch it I'd at least reward them with the enemy being dazed.
The whole nonsense about "that use would be too powerful for level 0" doesn't fly with me personally. It's like saying that daggers that can poke out someone's eye is too powerful for lower levels... (It breaks my verisimilitude of the world, especially in a game where many will cry out that balance is not the end all to roleplaying)
Here's a better question? Can someone cast light on their eyeball? If so, can they close their eye to cut off the light and open it again (using it like a flashlight)?
I personally like it when spells (and standard tools) are used creatively. It makes it feel more immersive than a videogame.
First off when are people not objects? Maybe not inanimate objects, but they are objects nonetheless.
Always. If a spell is meant to work on creatures or objects, it will always state so in the "Target" area. Objects and creatures are inherently different in the rules. A creature is a participant in the world, while an object is an inanimate object. Light cannot be cast on an ogre's eye any more than you could use warp wood to kill a Treant.
I like creative uses too. However, it is not creative to ignore how the game actually works. Using light on an eyeball is just as creative as using create water in the lungs or summon monster inside an enemy. And like those, the game has specific rules to stop you from doing it. Otherwise, the spells would have been renamed blind, drown, and explode torso long ago.
Cast daylight on a tanglefoot bag, and throw it at that pesky drow priestess. Dazzled for 2d4 rounds, plus thwarts any attempts to use darkness.
Weird, I always considered creatures a subset of objects. I blame my programming background. :/
Darkness can be used to counter or dispel light spells of equal or lower level, so unless that Light cantrip has been heightened to spell level 3 or higher, said Drow Priestess could still use darkness.
Oh, and of course you could cast Light on an arrow and then shoot the enemy with it.
Daylight, 3rd level spell, not Light, 0 level cantrip.
Daylight, 3rd level spell, not Light, 0 level cantrip.Darkness can be used to counter or dispel light spells of equal or lower level, so unless that Light cantrip has been heightened to spell level 3 or higher, said Drow Priestess could still use darkness.
Oh, and of course you could cast Light on an arrow and then shoot the enemy with it.
... and an arrow is destroyed when it hits its target and does damage.
If you had a specific enemy with light sensitivity and could cast it on some piece of clothing near their face, like an eyepatch or helmet I might allow it (regardless of RAW). But then it'd be a touch attack rather than an automatic, and they'd always have the option to use a move action to discard the blinding object.
If you had a specific enemy with light sensitivity and could cast it on some piece of clothing near their face, like an eyepatch or helmet I might allow it (regardless of RAW). But then it'd be a touch attack rather than an automatic, and they'd always have the option to use a move action to discard the blinding object.
Well, having range: touch, it's always a touch attack.
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The whole nonsense about "that use would be too powerful for level 0" doesn't fly with me personally.
Its how the magic rules to almost(?) all RPGs are written, certainly all versions of D&D. If a use of a spell emerges that could make it much more powerful than its level then generally the spell would be erratta'd or FAQd
It's like saying that daggers that can poke out someone's eye is too powerful for lower levels...
Your ability to hit with and deal damage with weapons increase as your levels increase - in parallel with magic getting more powerful.
Aside: You can't specifically poke out an eyeball in Pathfinder/D&D as all damage is general/non-specific.
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The arrow doesn't disintegrate into a fine powder, guys.
There is still something there what can emit light, it just is no longer a functioning arrow.
