Does the silence spell need line of effect?
In my last game my players took out a group of spell casters by one of the characters casting silence on himself and then positioning himself against the ceiling of the room below the casters. Seemed ingenious, but now I'm not sure if it should have worked.
The area for Silence is an emmanation, so if we check the rules for that we find:
"A burst spell affects whatever it catches in its area, including creatures that you can't see. It can't affect creatures with total cover from its point of origin (in other words, its effects don't extend around corners). The default shape for a burst effect is a sphere, but some burst spells are specifically described as cone-shaped. A burst's area defines how far from the point of origin the spell's effect extends.
An emanation spell functions like a burst spell, except that the effect continues to radiate from the point of origin for the duration of the spell. Most emanations are cones or spheres." From the magic chapter of the CRB.
So no, that tactic is not valid.
Crap, thanks.