So, I was reading up on spells for an upcoming NPC and encountered a spell I don't know how to aim.
Hypnotism has:
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Area several living creatures, no two of which may be more than 30 ft. apart
Area several living creatures, no two of which may be more than 30 ft. apart
/.../
Your gestures and droning incantation fascinate nearby creatures, causing them to stop and stare blankly at you. In addition, you can use their rapt attention to make your suggestions and requests seem more plausible. Roll 2d4 to see how many total HD of creatures you affect. Creatures with fewer HD are affected before creatures with more HD. Only creatures that can see or hear you are affected, but they do not need to understand you to be fascinated.
Can I aim this spell at all or does it just affect every creature within range as long as everyone is no more than 30 ft. apart, staring with those with the lowest HD?
Say I have one group of creatures north of me, all within range of the spell and none further than 30 ft. from any other in the group. I also have a similar group of creatures south of me. Now, those are more than 30 ft. from the northern group (the spell diameter is at least 50 ft). Which enemies are affected?
Does Hypnotism affect allies?
Hypnotism is kind of garbled nonsense. Don't put too much effort into deciphering it, just use the target/AoE rules from Sleep.
You aim it at any number of living creatures that are all within 30' of each other and within close range of yourself. You affect 2d4 HD worth of those, starting with those with the fewest HD.
It will affect allies if and only if you aim it at them (and they get selected by the HD-counting process).
You aim it at any number of living creatures that are all within 30' of each other and within close range of yourself. You affect 2d4 HD worth of those, starting with those with the fewest HD.
It will affect allies if and only if you aim it at them (and they get selected by the HD-counting process).
If it where a target spell, sure. Like magic missile, that lets me pick out (one or) several creatures as targets.
But it's an area spell. That means I don't actually have to see - or even be aware of - the creatures hit by the spell.
Place the center of a 30' radius circle anywhere within 25' + 5'/2 levels of the caster. Targets within the circle are impacted by the spell.
This, starting with the lowest HD creature and working up from there until you run out of HD to affect
Place the center of a 30' radius circle anywhere within 25' + 5'/2 levels of the caster. Targets within the circle are impacted by the spell.
I believe the whole area, or any target, must be within the spell's range per this often-overlooked passage:
A spell's range indicates how far from you it can reach, as defined in the range entry of the spell description. A spell's range is the maximum distance from you that the spell's effect can occur, as well as the maximum distance at which you can designate the spell's point of origin. If any portion of the spell's area would extend beyond this range, that area is wasted...
For example, a fireball placed right up to the edge of a caster's maximum range would have a roughly half-circle shape, as none of the area would extend beyond maximum range. This would apply to individual targets that are out of range, too. Besides having to be within 30 feet of each other, all targets of hypnotize must be within close range.