Rolling Bolder question which i'm probably wrong about.

[Darthslash]

Last night I cast the spell Rolling Boulder.

Rolling Bolder:

A spherical boulder of elemental earth rolls around the battlefield under your control. It moves up to 20 feet in a straight line every round (less if it strikes an immovable object) in a direction of your choice, bowling over creatures in its path. Creatures struck by the boulder must make a successful save or be knocked prone, taking 3d6 points of bludgeoning damage as the boulder rolls over them.

The boulder has hardness 5 and 150 hit points.

The way its worded made me belive that the spell will do 3d6 bludgeoning damage every time it hits someone.

First off, the bolder is a 5 ft. diameter sphere which fills an entire 5 foot map square, so unless the target can get out of the way somehow, it should hit its target every time.

Secondly, it says that the bolder moves in a direction of your choice, bowling over creatures in its path....taking 3d6 points of bludgeoning damage as the bolder rolls over them.

So, half my group thought the bolder did 3d6 points of damage every time it enters a space filled with the target, and then the target had to make a reflex save to avoid being knocked prone.

The other half thought that when the bolder entered an occupied space, the target had to make a reflex save to see if he got knocked prone AND took the 3d6 points of damage.

Can I get some feedback on which way is right. Thanks.

Oh. Ps...the bolder has a hardness and hitpoints, which means it can be destroyed, which also means to me it should hit the target without the reflex save.

[seebs]

Can be destroyed is totally irrelevant.

Hmm. That is sort of ambiguous. I would intially have just said, hey, this is really obvious, "save or (be knocked prone and take 3d6 damage)". But you could also read it as "(save or be knocked prone), take 3d6 damage".

I think the main thing is: The boulder only rolls over them if they are knocked prone, otherwise they are not knocked prone, and it does not roll over them, it just moves through their space. Yes, we know there's no space to dodge, reflex saves are not required to make sense.

The other thing, which is probably the most important, is:

"Saving Throw Reflex negates"

If it were intended to do damage, but let you avoid being knocked prone, it would be "Reflex partial".

[FrodoOf9Fingers]

Seeb has it here.

EDIT: Clumsy Fingers, Sorry Seebs!

[Paulicus]

Yep, reflex negates pretty much confirms that.

Keep in mind, just because the boulder occupies a 5-foot square doesn't mean that it fills the square entirely. Combatants only occupy a square because they're moving during combat. Even a 5 ft sphere leaves corners open, and there's no reason someone making a save couldn't briefly move out of the "square" (which isn't a real unit, just an abstraction) when dodging.

[gnomersy]

Darthslash wrote:

First off, the bolder is a 5 ft. diameter sphere which fills an entire 5 foot map square, so unless the target can get out of the way somehow, it should hit its target every time.

As pointed out above by others the spell specifies that they get to save to negate effects so that would be how you should play it.

I just felt like it's worth pointing out that technically this statement in particular is false, a 5 foot diameter sphere cannot physically occupy a 5x5x5 cube entirely, simple geometry.

Volume of a sphere = 4/3 pi(2.5)^3~=~65.4 ft^3
Volume of a cube = 5^3 = 75 ft^3

There a solid 10 cubic feet of space open at the absolute minimum.