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When you consider line of sight, and line of effect... can a caster cast lightningbolt down a corridor if they are in the 5 foot space to the right of a T-section?
I realize usually we draw a straight line from one corner of the PC's space to at least 1 corner of the FOE's space, but it seems like the caster should take a 5-foot step into the center of the T-section in order to be able to pull that off, rather than cast down the line of the wall, while staying behind a stone corner that offers little view.
What does PFRPG say according to RAW, I'm struggling here. Thanks.
............FOE......
XXXXXX.....XXXXXX
XXXXXX.....XXXXXX
XXXXXX.....XXXXXX
XXXXXX.....XXXXXX
..................PC..
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XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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Use the RAW rules for ranged combat. If you take a line of the bottom left corner of the PC's square all four corners of one of the squares of the opponent to determine cover and full-cover.
If a spell only needs line-of-effect than if any line is not completely blocked to any of the four corners of an enemy square then you can cast.
I'm too lazy right now to look up the RAW rules on this, but that's my interpretation. Someone please correct me where I'm wrong.
A line-shaped spell shoots away from you in a line in the direction you designate. It starts from any corner of your square and extends to the limit of its range or until it strikes a barrier that blocks line of effect. A line-shaped spell affects all creatures in squares through which the line passes.
- Excerpt from Magic Chapter
You need to be able to draw a line from one square to the other. All squares that line passes through (not counting borders of squares that it merely touches) are affected.
Therefore, if the hallway isn't too long, you could in fact hit the PC's square. He may have cover against it, however.
From the F to the P does seem to work.
If two archers could shoot each other then you have line of affect and I think they could in that case.
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What if a Ranger were standing around the corner and wanted to shoot that same target with her bow.
Wouldn't the player take a 5 foot step into the corridore and shoot down it?
I recently set up MapTool for fog-of-war effects and when I look at vision around corners it gave me a whole different impression of the available vision when "shooting around corners."
Similarly, I try to imagine the sorcerer or wizard casting their spell in the square safely protected by the corner of the wall... then, I seem to be forced to imagine they do a peek-a-boo around the corner and thow the equivalent of a bowling "gutter-ball" down that corridore line (along that wall) toward the target.
I'm good with it if that's the way the rules describe it, but wouldn't most GMs make a character move out into the hallway to see the creature if they were shooting say, a bow?
To determine whether your target has cover from your ranged attack, choose a corner of your square. If any line from this corner to any corner of the target's square passes through a square or border that blocks line of effect or provides cover, or through a square occupied by a creature, the target has cover (+4 to AC).
You pick the most advantageous corner of the PC (advantageous to the PC) to the worst corner of the target.
Can your PC hit that FOE? Hard to say. Depends on how wide that hallway is and how far apart they are. If it's a 5' wide hallway, the answer would always be no. If it's 10' and the FOE is on the opposite wall from the PC, then frequently yes.
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I guess this is much simpler than maybe I imagine it. The sorcerer would be using the corner as cover and casting around it. I guess a ranger could do the same.
It feels if I were the player in-game though, I would take a 5-foot-step into the corridore then shoot...
The hallway is 10feet wide, the creature (a nightwing) is about 30 feet down that hallway. In my imagination, shooting around corners seems a fine idea for the nearby squares... but shooting a ray or a lightningbolt down that "gutterball" line doesn't seem in keeping with the hard corner of this T-section hall. The player is casting down the center hall from the top left part of the "T".
Is there anything in-game that supports the idea of needing to take a step into the hallway to target that foe... or is my imagination in need of modification?
As you note, the "gutterball" line is legal for the guy around the corner. Guess you'll just have to get used to it.
Now that I think about it though - the "gutterball" line is not legal for the guy down the hallway. The nightwing has to use the worst corner of the target, for the guy around the corner that would be the top right of that target, and that line is going to pass through the wall so he can't shoot back. That's fairly weird - that one creature can target another without the reverse being true. The nightwing has to be right at the intersection before he gets his "gutterball" back at the caster.
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Oh, duh, you're right. The wizard has cover from the nightwing (the nightwing can trace a line to one corner of the wizard, but the line to the other corners are blocked), but the nightwing would have no cover from the wizard (the wizard can trace a line to every corner of the nightwing from his one good corner).
The "Do I Have Line of Effect" is: Any one of my corners to any one of the target's corners.
The "Does My Target Have Cover" is: My best corner, to all corners of the target. If any of those are blocked, the target has cover.