So a friend is running a campaign, and the bard in the party likes to use Displacement. In a recent battle (or a battle the GM is considering, I didn't quite catch the truth), a dragon used its breath weapon in the area where the bard stood, while he was under the affects of Displacement.
"The subject of this spell appears to be about 2 feet away from
its true location. The creature benefits from a 50% miss chance
as if it had total concealment. Unlike actual total concealment,
displacement does not prevent enemies from targeting the
creature normally. True seeing reveals its true location and negates
the miss chance."
I just reviewed the rules on Concealment, but I can't find anything hard and fast that will give my friend a definitive answer.
I assume your question is "Does a person with displacement have any defensive benefits against a breath weapon?"
No it does not. Cover affects reflex save type attacks, concealment does not. If he's in the area effect he rolls a reflex save and takes damage normally.
A 'miss chance' generally implies that a hit roll is required for the spell. When you attack a creature with displacement, assuming the attack hits, you then roll percentiles to see if it hit or missed.
In the case of area of effect abilities, there's no to-hit roll - and so I'd say displacement has no effect.
To put it simply. The dragon does not have to know or care if the bard is in the square. He could be invisible and he would still take the full brunt of the dragons breath. Concealment only ever affects things that require a to-hit roll.
Thanks, everyone!