As it says above, I'm curious if a caster can start the area of their spell 5' back and choose to be affected by cone and line spells. Would anyone know if this is possible?
Effective for burning off little buggers that might be crawling on you.
Agreed with Deathspot and Elbedor. Any corner of the square. This way you can also heal yourself if you absorb whatever element you are throwing out, too. Good Question.
Just to quote the relevant rule:
Regardless of the shape of the area, you select the point where the spell originates, but otherwise you don't control which creatures or objects the spell affects. The point of origin of a spell is always a grid intersection. When determining whether a given creature is within the area of a spell, count out the distance from the point of origin in squares just as you do when moving a character or when determining the range for a ranged attack. The only difference is that instead of counting from the center of one square to the center of the next, you count from intersection to intersection.
So yes - you can choose any intersection of your square; if you choose one of the 'rear' corners of the square in regards to the direction in which you're sending the cone or line, then that square would be included within the cone or line.
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I disagree.
That quote is generic for all magic. You have to keep going and read the rules for cone and line effects. They specifically state that they go away from you. Including your square in the spell would not be going away from you.
A cone-shaped spell shoots away from you in a quarter-circle in the direction you designate.
A line-shaped spell shoots away from you in a line in the direction you designate.
Specific trumps general
You can choose any corner of you square, but, as anthonydido pointed out. the effect must always be directed away from you.
I agree with AnthonyDido.
(thinking of the meme where the guy raises his finger to make a point but then withdraws) PG 214 Core Rule-book does indeed say "away from you", good eye anthonydido, and it's very reasonable to say, given the spell diagrams on page 215 core rule-book, that the intent here is that a cone or line does not include yourself. So yes, I am inclined to go with anthonydido on this now.
Though I would not find it unreasonable to allow someone to use, say, Burning Hands, on themselves, this would have to be on a case-by-case basis.
From a personal GM perspective, I wouldn't bar a caster from affecting himself with a cone or line spell. I can see instances where it would be useful - let's say you're currently engulfed by an ooze, and your only spell left is Burning Hands; would a Wizard really just say, "Well, I don't want to burn myself so I guess I'll just have to suffocate..."?
But I concede that appears to be the intent based on the wording given; I just think it's rather silly.
That's a bit of a shame. The absorbing energy would've been a useful tactic. Also, this spell would've been much more fun in downtime.