Targeting enemies with Lightning Storm

[Ravingdork]

Can I retarget Lightning Storm each time I sustain the spell? Or am I limited to always hitting the same 5-foot burst area until the enemy wisens up and moves over one square?

[Castilliano]

Sustaining itself doesn't grant retargeting.
The spell would have to specify (like many do).
Lightning Storm's language, "the area", also suggests you choose again.

Yes, it's a terrible spell except in specific circumstances that one's unlikely to face unless working harder than one should need to to set up.

[thenobledrake]

There's no language in the spell for moving the cloud, which determines where the bolt will strike.

Two things worth noting, however, are that a 5-foot burst is 4 squares worth of area, and if you cast the spell outdoors you get 2 clouds so you can target different positioning.

It's a spell that is more situational than most, but very powerful if used in just the right situation (i.e. outdoors but in a restricted field of battle and/or in the dark so your enemies can't see the cloud overhead, used against enemies that won't recognize the spell so they won't know they need to move right away - or like, at a choke-point so your foes would have to choose not to be engaged with your party's frontline in order not to be in your striking zone).

[Ravingdork]

Yeah, you're right. It is a terrible spell then. Far too limited in application.

[Gortle]

It got to be an errata candidate. Surely the bolt comes down anywhere within range, just like the classic call lightning?

[Nik Gervae]

If I were being charitable, I might say this is a copy-paste error from Ice Storm. But the nerf bat has been swung pretty liberally in D&D5 and PF2.

In any case, yeah, even though it does initially hit every target in the burst(s), there's no way I would waste a spell slot on Lightning Storm as it's written.

Just a few ideas that would make it worth the slot: wider area(s) of effect than a 5' burst, even if limited to 4 targets in each; or allow sustain to move one cloud as well as call down a bolt; or allow a reaction to call down a bolt on a creature that enters the cloud's area (area denial in such a tiny area isn't much use when you have to do it on your turn).

[thenobledrake]

Gortle wrote:

It got to be an errata candidate. Surely the bolt comes down anywhere within range, just like the classic call lightning?

The spell is just like classic call lightning in where the bolt can strike; anywhere under the cloud. The issue is that the cloud is so small as to be easy to get out from under without also giving up the battlefield.