Toppling meta-magic Feat Question

[poundpuppy30]

If you have magical linage with toppling meta-magic on magic missile spell I know the level stays the same. My question is when you cast multiple magic missiles and use each missile at a different target does each missile have toppling meta-magic on it or just the first missile? I can't seem to find the answer on this so if you know the link that answers this I'd appreciate the link to it, specially if it has a developer or higher telling how toppling works.

[Eoghnved]

The feat description says that when a target takes damage, fails a saving throw, or is moved by a force spell the caster gets to make a trip attempt. It seems to me that this means that a force spell that affects multiple targets would logically be able to trip all of them.

[Grey_Mage]

Because the toppling metamagic states if "damaged by the spell" it allows a trip attempt. So yes, my reading indicates 1 trip attempt to any target affected by your force spell allowing multiple creatures to be affected by your magic missile but only 1 check if a single opponent is struck by multiple missiles.

This has been discussed previously on the forum without clarification IIRC.

[poundpuppy30]

I'm asking because the GM at a table I played in recently said that it affects only 1 person and not each person hit by the spell. I could swear I saw some where where it affected each person hit by the spell. I've been trying to find the link from someone in Paizo who ruled and said each person hit by the spell has a chance to be tripped, so I can print that page out and take back for next table I play with that gm. The other gm's at the other tables were agreeing with that one gm, so unless I can bring a printed page from Paizo my character is only going to get to trip one person per casting of the spell and not per missile.

[Gwen Smith]

poundpuppy30 wrote:

I'm asking because the GM at a table I played in recently said that it affects only 1 person and not each person hit by the spell. I could swear I saw some where where it affected each person hit by the spell. I've been trying to find the link from someone in Paizo who ruled and said each person hit by the spell has a chance to be tripped, so I can print that page out and take back for next table I play with that gm. The other gm's at the other tables were agreeing with that one gm, so unless I can bring a printed page from Paizo my character is only going to get to trip one person per casting of the spell and not per missile.

I think they might be incorrectly applying the rule from the Evocation school Intense Spell ability:

"This bonus only applies once to a spell, not once per missile or ray, and cannot be split between multiple missiles or rays."

That's the only place that I remember having this language of "once per spell"--none of the metamagic feats have any verbiage like this that I can find.

Maybe you could ask them to show you the rule that says it only applies once per spell?

[kinevon]

They could also be confusing the "Sneak attack damage only applies on the first ray/attack for spells like Scorching Ray."

IIRC, it was decided, somewhere, once per target, but affects each target for something like that. One of the reasons Dazing Spell metamagic is such a game breaker.

[Deighton Thrane]

We actually had a big discussion about this on my local lodge's FB page recently. A lot of GMs don't like the combination, but it's perfectly legal, and works on every target, as long as they take damage. It's no different than rime spell on a flurry of snowballs, or dazing spell on a fireball or snap dragon fireworks. It's a rider effect that affects every target the spell does damage to, that's just how these metamagic feats work.