So i think the phrase "except for magic rays and the like" is referring to the very loose weapon-like spells "category" of weapons (as in manufactured, natural, weapon-like spells).
In another thread i looked at some faq's and put together a very unofficial rule block for the category based on what the faq's allowed. I'd say that anything that falls into the loose definition you can derive from those faq's will be able to penetrate the Solid Fog.
TLDR
---Weapon-like Spells---
- effects resemble manufactured weapons
- spell/ability effects that apply to manufactured weapons apply to Weapon-like spells
- multiple attacks not resulting from BAB only apply precision damage once
- ranged weapon-like spells provoke 2 AoO's
- do not add physical mods to damage rolls
This is a bit of a GM judgement call as it is undefined. I'd say that if it creates or appears to create a physical missile then it is blocked.
Gloomblind bolts are expressly energy so should be fine.
Acid Arrow creates a missile so I'd say it is prevented.
Solid Fog blocks ranged weapon attacks.
Acid Arrow is not a weapon attack.
So acid arrow isn't blocked.
Seems straight forward.
i'd rule that the acid arrow probably gets through, but only because it falls into that special category.
The really annoying thing is that Solid Fog doesn't specify what happens if you shoot a ranged natural attack at it, it left out a whole weapon category.
"Your arrows bounce of the wall of Solid Fog!, meanwhile bill the quillboar's spike volley sails right through it and hits the mage in the face, killing him instantly!"
What exactly is the and the like.part even mean? Is there anything similar to a ray that is not really a ray?
While this effect predates their existence, Warlock Bolts and Kineticist Blasts are examples at this point of weapon-like spells, as you can select them for feats such as Weapon Focus.
I think that's the defining factor. Is the method of spell you're using weapon-like enough that you could theoretically take Weapon Focus in it?
And, as you can't take Weapon Focus (ranged touch), anything like Acid Arrow does not qualify, and thus the fog stops it.
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Except it's not actually an arrow, it's just the name of the spell. It's a magical stream of acid.
The description calls it an arrow...
An arrow of acid springs from your hand and speeds to its target. You must succeed on a ranged touch attack to hit your target. The arrow deals 2d4 points of acid damage with no splash damage. For every three caster levels you possess, the acid, unless neutralized, lasts for another round (to a maximum of 6 additional rounds at 18th level), dealing another 2d4 points of damage in each round.
It's a spell that creates a weapon. Looks like a weaponlike spell to me.
Adding a sub question to this, would solid fog stop things like siege weapons and giant thrown things? Or things that could penetrate solid objects? Like...I dunno, a railgun or something that could potentially punch through a 2 inch thick iron door?
Except it's not actually an arrow, it's just the name of the spell. It's a magical stream of acid.The description calls it an arrow...
An arrow of acid springs from your hand and speeds to its target. You must succeed on a ranged touch attack to hit your target. The arrow deals 2d4 points of acid damage with no splash damage. For every three caster levels you possess, the acid, unless neutralized, lasts for another round (to a maximum of 6 additional rounds at 18th level), dealing another 2d4 points of damage in each round.It's a spell that creates a weapon. Looks like a weaponlike spell to me.
GM: "The BBEG has his sights on the Sorcerer of the party and casts an ancient incantation derived from the knowledge of long dead Elder Gods. Sorcerer, how do you respond?
LV 8 Sorcerer: "I roll a 23 on spellcraft, can you tell me the description of the spell?"
GM: "Sure:
Arrow of annihilation:
An Arrow of Antimatter springs from your hand and speeds to its target. The arrow deals 4d6x10 points of damage in a 30 foot radius."
Lv 8 Sorcerer: "EASY, It's arrow like, right? I cast Solid fog, completely eliminating the threat of this magical arrow!"
What about technological weapons? :P
They're ranged weapon attacks, and they're technological rather than magical, but they shoot energy beams ;)
(I'm mostly having a little fun, as it's terribly obvious that they'll work, but it just shows how RAW can't cover every little corner case.)
Except it's not actually an arrow, it's just the name of the spell. It's a magical stream of acid.The description calls it an arrow...
An arrow of acid springs from your hand and speeds to its target. You must succeed on a ranged touch attack to hit your target. The arrow deals 2d4 points of acid damage with no splash damage. For every three caster levels you possess, the acid, unless neutralized, lasts for another round (to a maximum of 6 additional rounds at 18th level), dealing another 2d4 points of damage in each round.It's a spell that creates a weapon. Looks like a weaponlike spell to me.GM: "The BBEG has his sights on the Sorcerer of the party and casts an ancient incantation derived from the knowledge of long dead Elder Gods. Sorcerer, how do you respond?
LV 8 Sorcerer: "I roll a 23 on spellcraft, can you tell me the description of the spell?"
GM: "Sure:
Arrow of annihilation:
An Arrow of Antimatter springs from your hand and speeds to its target. The arrow deals 4d6x10 points of damage in a 30 foot radius."Lv 8 Sorcerer: "EASY, It's arrow like, right? I cast Solid fog, completely eliminating the threat of this magical arrow!"
All this proves is that the players have no recourse when the GM plays rocks fall, everyone dies.
Except it's not actually an arrow, it's just the name of the spell. It's a magical stream of acid.The description calls it an arrow...
An arrow of acid springs from your hand and speeds to its target. You must succeed on a ranged touch attack to hit your target. The arrow deals 2d4 points of acid damage with no splash damage. For every three caster levels you possess, the acid, unless neutralized, lasts for another round (to a maximum of 6 additional rounds at 18th level), dealing another 2d4 points of damage in each round.It's a spell that creates a weapon. Looks like a weaponlike spell to me.GM: "The BBEG has his sights on the Sorcerer of the party and casts an ancient incantation derived from the knowledge of long dead Elder Gods. Sorcerer, how do you respond?
LV 8 Sorcerer: "I roll a 23 on spellcraft, can you tell me the description of the spell?"
GM: "Sure:
Arrow of annihilation:
An Arrow of Antimatter springs from your hand and speeds to its target. The arrow deals 4d6x10 points of damage in a 30 foot radius."Lv 8 Sorcerer: "EASY, It's arrow like, right? I cast Solid fog, completely eliminating the threat of this magical arrow!"
All this proves is that the players have no recourse when the GM plays rocks fall, everyone dies.
Alright, similarly:
LV 16 Sorcerer: "I have my sights on The BBEG and cast an empowered LV8 Arrow of annihilation, an ancient incantation derived from the knowledge of long dead Elder Gods. How does the BBEG respond?
GM: "The BBEG rolls a spellcraft check on 23. He is aware that its a arrow like projectile. He casts Solid fog to nullify your attack.
LV 16 Sorcerer: "He is blocking an arrow that deals 4d6x10 points of damage in a 30 foot radius, with solid fog?"
GM: "yes, the BBEG exclaims "EASYPEASY, It's arrow like, right? I cast Solid fog, completely eliminating the threat of this magical arrow!"
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Acid Arrow is a weaponlike spell. It's ability to penetrate solid fog has no bearing on whether its weaponlike or not.
except for magical rays and the like probably includes weaponlike spells, just like how a ray is a weaponlike spell. I would personally allow Acid Arrow, Gloomblind Bolts, etc to pass through the fog.
It should have been written better, though, but honestly everything about weaponlike spells should be written better.
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The problem is your argument that it's weaponlike is a bit shaky. What weapon focus feat works on acid arrow?
Are arrows even weapons? Ammunition can be enchanted like weapons, but you certainly can't make a non-improvised attack with an arrow, either.
There's definitely a difference between something weaponlike and something that is a weapon. I can see how that line might be in a different place for different people. It's been left vaguely enough in the rules that it warrants a discussion with your GM.
Attacking with an Acid Arrow is like shooting a normal arrow, you just use magic instead of a bow. To me, that's enough like a weapon to be weaponlike.
Weapon Focus can be taken on weapons only, not weaponlike spells. Not every weaponlike spell has a corresponding weapon that is available, Acid Arrow is a good example of this.
GMs should be wary of the impact of allowing a spell to be weaponlike or not. If it isn't weaponlike, it won't benefit from certain weapon damage buffs and it won't be hindered by shooting into melee penalties.
Except it's not actually an arrow, it's just the name of the spell. It's a magical stream of acid.The description calls it an arrow...
An arrow of acid springs from your hand and speeds to its target. You must succeed on a ranged touch attack to hit your target. The arrow deals 2d4 points of acid damage with no splash damage. For every three caster levels you possess, the acid, unless neutralized, lasts for another round (to a maximum of 6 additional rounds at 18th level), dealing another 2d4 points of damage in each round.It's a spell that creates a weapon. Looks like a weaponlike spell to me.GM: "The BBEG has his sights on the Sorcerer of the party and casts an ancient incantation derived from the knowledge of long dead Elder Gods. Sorcerer, how do you respond?
LV 8 Sorcerer: "I roll a 23 on spellcraft, can you tell me the description of the spell?"
GM: "Sure:
Arrow of annihilation:
An Arrow of Antimatter springs from your hand and speeds to its target. The arrow deals 4d6x10 points of damage in a 30 foot radius."Lv 8 Sorcerer: "EASY, It's arrow like, right? I cast Solid fog, completely eliminating the threat of this magical arrow!"
I think I wil research a 3rd level version:
Arrow of Annihilation
School: Evocation [Force] Level: Corrupt 3
Casting time: 1 standard action
Components: V, S,
Range: 100 ft
Area: see text, 15 ft radius spread
Duration: Instantaneous
Save: Reflex half Spell Resistance: Yes
An Arrow of Antimatter springs from your hand and speeds to its target. The arrow deals 4d6x10 points of damage in a 15 foot radius.
It deals 1d20x10 points of force damage each creature in the area, to a maximum of 200 if max rolled. If the damage caused to an interposing barrier shatters or breaks through it, the explosion may continue beyond the barrier if the area permits; otherwise it stops at the barrier just as any other spell effect does.
Except it's not actually an arrow, it's just the name of the spell. It's a magical stream of acid.The description calls it an arrow...
An arrow of acid springs from your hand and speeds to its target. You must succeed on a ranged touch attack to hit your target. The arrow deals 2d4 points of acid damage with no splash damage. For every three caster levels you possess, the acid, unless neutralized, lasts for another round (to a maximum of 6 additional rounds at 18th level), dealing another 2d4 points of damage in each round.It's a spell that creates a weapon. Looks like a weaponlike spell to me.GM: "The BBEG has his sights on the Sorcerer of the party and casts an ancient incantation derived from the knowledge of long dead Elder Gods. Sorcerer, how do you respond?
LV 8 Sorcerer: "I roll a 23 on spellcraft, can you tell me the description of the spell?"
GM: "Sure:
Arrow of annihilation:
An Arrow of Antimatter springs from your hand and speeds to its target. The arrow deals 4d6x10 points of damage in a 30 foot radius."Lv 8 Sorcerer: "EASY, It's arrow like, right? I cast Solid fog, completely eliminating the threat of this magical arrow!"
I just want to point out that if the GM wanted to play a completely BS made-up spell to try and one-shot the players, he should either A. Make the players think and be prepared to deal with such mechanics, or B. Not make the spell so easily countered by something as simple as Solid Fog.
Or obviously C. Just simply say "Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies," like he wanted to do in the first place, because obviously the GM wants to relive the days of the Tomb of Horrors, where doing anything means you die, no questions asked, no excuses allowed, and no do-overs permitted.
If I came across a GM who would throw this sort of crap at us, and it would one-shot any of us (it's a minimum of 40 damage, capped at 240 damage, with a radius greater than a Fireball), I wouldn't play at his table, and if I found another player trying to play at his table, I'd tell him this same exact story, and to find another table ASAP.
By the way, I saw that you tried to switch it to a Player's perspective. For starters, no sane GM would allow it to simply appear in the game without his say-so. Secondly, there's no way the GM would allow the player to be able to cast that spell, especially if his plan is to not allow such powerful effects to ever manifest without his say-so. Thirdly, it doesn't matter if it's the player or the GM using the spell, it doesn't change the factor that it's a BS, made-up, overpowered spell that shouldn't exist, and breaks games for those very same reasons, and is probably the reason the GM decides the Player's overpowered spell simply "doesn't work," even if the rules would function it that way.
This is why people sit there and think "Wow, Wish is such a great spell! I'm going to use it to do XYZ!" And then when it happens, they're all like "Wow, Wish is the worst spell ever, I'm not going to use it again, and I'm never allowing it at my table!" The same can be said for many other spells, like Blood Money, Planar Binding, Geas, Simulacrum, etc. They're overpowered, they shouldn't exist, they're BS, and they break games. The fact that they're spells (several of them are Core, by the way) doesn't betray those prior points, and doesn't mean that the game should have them.
Solid Fog blocks ranged weapon attacks.
Acid Arrow is not a weapon attack.
So acid arrow isn't blocked.
Seems straight forward.
I would rule otherwise, for the exact same reasons I would rule that Point Blank Shot and Precise Shot can be applied to Acid Arrow and similar spells.
It may be a spell, but it is manifested as a ranged projectile. You get your benefits, you get your downsides. Everything stays mechanically consistent.
No where in the acid arrow spell does it state it counts as shooting an actual ammunition arrow, though. It just has the appearance of an arrow made of acid.
...Effect one arrow of acid...
...An arrow of acid springs from your hand and speeds to its target...
...You were saying?
So, you aren't using a bow to fire it with, big deal. It doesn't change the factors that:
A. It's an arrow made of Acid.
B. It's fired from your hand to attack your target.
C. It's treated as a Ranged Touch Attack, and therefore follows all of the rules and restrictions of Ranged Attacks, Touch Attacks, and Spell Ranges.
Which if you kinda think about it, seems kinda silly. Since its a ranged touch, other than for 'looking cool' there's no real reason for that acid arrow to be...an arrow :)
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None of those get us to the endpoint of 'it's a weapon' though.No where in the acid arrow spell does it state it counts as shooting an actual ammunition arrow, though. It just has the appearance of an arrow made of acid....Effect one arrow of acid...
...An arrow of acid springs from your hand and speeds to its target...
...You were saying?
So, you aren't using a bow to fire it with, big deal. It doesn't change the factors that:
A. It's an arrow made of Acid.
B. It's fired from your hand to attack your target.
C. It's treated as a Ranged Touch Attack, and therefore follows all of the rules and restrictions of Ranged Attacks, Touch Attacks, and Spell Ranges.
But it does seem to get to the endpoint of being similar to a weapon, therefore being a "weaponlike" effect.
Keep in mind that when using informal language (which shows up in a lot of rules text in pathfinder) arrow could just as easily refer to the shape such as → and not a physical weapon.
Arrows are explicitly defined in the rules as being ammunition used for Bows. They can also be used as an improvised melee weapon like most other objects in the game. The factor that you think it's informal language is hilarious, and quite frankly statisically impossible. The only time this has happened was in relation to the Courageous property, where "morale bonus" was meant literally, in relation to fear effects, versus its pre-defined game term, which would apply to anything that granted a Morale Bonus to a statistic.
But seriously, you must be grasping at straws if you think that they're shooting a written symbol made of acid at a person, especially since, for YEARS UPON YEARS of this spell existing, it has never once, EVER, been defined or construed as such.
@ swoosh: You're correct. It's not a weapon. It's ammunition. Which means in order to actually make said Acid Arrow speed at your target, you need a Bow to fire it from; most, however, are made of wood (or something similar), and the Acid Arrow would melt the string before you could even fire it. Otherwise, it's a melee improvised weapon, which means you're suffering -4 to hit unless you have the Catch Off-Guard feat.
Thankfully, we aren't saying that it makes an actual, physical weapon, or that it makes actual, physical ammunition for you to use a Bow with. We are instead, saying that it functions as and is treated as a weapon for specific purposes (or, to put a better term to it, a "Weapon-like Spell").
Stuff like this, Flame Blade, Spiritual Weapon, etc. are all "Weapon-like Spells," and therefore are subject to effects which enhance weapons, such as Inspire Courage, per this FAQ here.