I always have trouble using cone spells reliably in combat. Usually it is because the up front fighters are packed together and I don't want to get them in the area. I am searching for metamagic, magic items, class abilities that will let me change the shape or launch point to make them easier to get on target.
Selective metamagic is great, but I can't get it until 10th level. Any suggestions?
A selective spell lesser metamagic rod is just 3000 gp. For extreme changing of launch points, the arcane archer PrC can help.
This line of spells seems pretty ideal.
This line of spells seems pretty ideal.
Those are pretty cool. It's an awful big jump in level for the second one. But it was a good jump in number of targets, duration and range.
I have thought about what level a spell would be if it was a spectral hand that could cast cone spells. I wonder if 3rd level would be enough.
Flight is usually very useful. Target the cone over the frontline's heads
Flight isn't nessecary against large opponents. Just choose a grid intersection at the top of your square and you should be fine.
Remember a cone is three-dimensional. By angling a spell above or below the horizontal, you can affect different conic sections on the ground.
Unfortunately, there's no good 3D spell templates floating out there, showing, say, the different collections of cubes that can be affected by Burning Hands. But without going into a lot of explanation, a 15' cone can affect a 10' line on the ground plus a bunch of fire above everyone's heads, and a 30' cone can affect a 20-25' line on the ground (depending on the exact angle) plus a bunch of fire above everyone's heads. Also, either can affect a shorter line if you angle it into the ground.
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Remember a cone is three-dimensional...
Unfortunately it's not in Pathfinder. A cylinder is stated as being a cylinder, a sphere is stated as being spherical, but a 'cone' area is stated as being a quarter circle, not an actual 3D 'cone', so it's a flat sheet that shoots out in a quarter circle. That helps with firing over people's heads with a bit of elevation, as Dastis suggests, but won't let you, say, hover above a target and fire a cone directly downwards to turn it into a circle area (with you hovering at the 'pointy' top of the cone).
EDIT: I understand you're not saying a 'cone' area is a true 3D cone, from your examples - I'm just clarifying that it's a 2D area manifesting in a 3D space, not a 3D volume itself. That and lamenting the fact I can't pull one of my favourite MMO tricks utilising true 3D cone targeting... ;)
Remember a cone is three-dimensional...Unfortunately it's not in Pathfinder. A cylinder is stated as being a cylinder, a sphere is stated as being spherical, but a 'cone' area is stated as being a quarter circle, not an actual 3D 'cone', so it's a flat sheet that shoots out in a quarter circle. That helps with firing over people's heads with a bit of elevation, as Dastis suggests, but won't let you, say, hover above a target and fire a cone directly downwards to turn it into a circle area (with you hovering at the 'pointy' top of the cone).
EDIT: I understand you're not saying a 'cone' area is a true 3D cone, from your examples - I'm just clarifying that it's a 2D area manifesting in a 3D space, not a 3D volume itself. That and lamenting the fact I can't pull one of my favourite MMO tricks utilising true 3D cone targeting... ;)
That turns out not to be the case.
Core Rulebook, Magic chapter:
"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."Just because things are normally expressed on a flat grid doesn't mean they're actually flat. Any effect with a radius affects a sphere, not a circle. A cone is a 3d area.
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Hmmm... the core rulebook states...
Cone, Cylinder, Line, or Sphere: Most spells that affect an area have a particular shape.
A cone-shaped spell shoots away from you in a quarter-circle in the direction you designate. It starts from any corner of your square and widens out as it goes. Most cones are either bursts or emanations (see above), and thus won't go around corners.
When casting a cylinder-shaped spell, you select the spell's point of origin. This point is the center of a horizontal circle, and the spell shoots down from the circle, filling a cylinder. A cylinder-shaped spell ignores any obstructions within its area.
A line-shaped spell shoots away from you in a line in the direction you designate. It starts from any corner of your square and extends to the limit of its range or until it strikes a barrier that blocks line of effect. A line-shaped spell affects all creatures in squares through which the line passes.
A sphere-shaped spell expands from its point of origin to fill a spherical area. Spheres may be bursts, emanations, or spreads.
... emphasis mine. There's no FAQ I can find to contradict this and, as we can see, the cylinder and sphere are both called out as filing volumes, whist the 'cone' is define as a quarter circle - i.e. a 2D area.
What you quote from SKR - 'any effect with a radius affects a sphere, not a circle' - wouldn't define a 'cone' shape anyway when applied to the 'cone' area template - it'd define a quarter of a sphere, which is something else entirely. That he says a 'cone' area is a 3D area (assuming we think by area here he means 'volume') is cool and, if true, will let flying characters hit more targets with their cones, but it doesn't seem to be RAW (yet, anyway...) - just an opinion.
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The mathematical definition of "cone" states that it is 3D. The clarification of the "quarter circle" in the shape of the cone spell is to define the angle of the cone, it does not change the fact that a cone is 3D.
And the 'mathematical' definition of an 'area' is 2D, yet we know that 2 of the described 'areas' are 3D volumes, so I'm not sure that's relevant?
A line 'area', by the way, is 1D - it literally only has length...
Widen Spell: How does the Widen Spell feat affect spells with line effects?
As written, nothing--lines do not have a width dimension, so that can't be doubled by the feat, and most line spells have a fixed range, which the spell can't exceed unless you're using Enlarge Spell. So, for most lines, Widen Spell has no effect unless you couple it with Enlarge Spell. Yes, it's strange, and we may end up revisiting this rule at some point in the future.
... (emphasis mine) unless we're going to say they have length and height for some reason, so also not 'mathematically' an area.