Is Magic Missile a single damage roll or is it X damage rolls?

[Luke Styer]

Is Magic Missile a single damage roll or is it X damage rolls where X is the number of targets?

Inspire Courage grants "a +1 status bonus to . . . damage rolls[.]"

Magic Missile states that "You choose the target for each missile individually. If you shoot more than one missile at the same target, combine the damage before applying bonuses or penalties to damage, resistances, weaknesses, and so forth."

So am I correct that if a PC under the effect of Inspire Courtage casts a 1st level 3 action Magic Missile, and targets one opponent he deals 3d4+4 damage, if the same spell targets two creatures it deals 2d4+3 to one and 1d4+2 to another, and if the same spell targets three creatures it deals 1d4+2 to each?

[Nefreet]

The whole spell is a damage roll, so you add +1 to just one target.

[Luke Styer]

Nefreet wrote:

The whole spell is a damage roll, so you add +1 to just one target.

That was my initial take, but "If you shoot more than one missile at the same target, combine the damage before applying bonuses or penalties to damage" implies that if you shoot at multiple targets bonuses apply separately.

[Nefreet]

I checked my collection of links and found THIS, but noticed it's actually from the PF2 Playtest. Mark mentions such a damage increase would be "problematic", especially since that would mean resistances might completely negate the spell, but you make a good point.

Maybe someone else has a more current link.

[Luke Styer]

Nefreet wrote:

I checked my collection of links and found THIS, but noticed it's actually from the PF2 Playtest. Mark mentions such a damage increase would be "problematic", especially since that would mean resistances might completely negate the spell, but you make a good point.

Maybe someone else has a more current link.

It's Playtest related, but it still gives some insight into the thinking. The (initial) Playtest Rulebook didn't include the "If you shoot more than one missile at the same target . . . " language. I think I read that as backing my interpretation.

An interesting (to me) side note is that the thread you linked is about the interaction between Magic Missile and Dangerous Sorcery, which grants "a status bonus to that spell’s damage" not "status bonus to . . . damage rolls[,]" so I think Dangerous Sorcery would only modify one missile even under my reading.

[Nefreet]

That makes sense. It's lumped under my collection of clarifications for my Sorcerer ^_^

[Ravingdork]

I'd say count the bonus once per target, regardless of how many missiles were targeting them. Add up all missile dame before determining damage resistance. That's how I'd run it if asked.

[Gortle]

There are 3 options discussed here. Balance wise

+1 for the whole spell is too weak
+1 per missile is far too strong
+1 per target is reasonable - the same sort of result you would get with a Fireball

The wording of Magic Missile combines the damage against each target. You get the bonus damage on each damage roll, that is against each target.

The other thing that people get wrong with Magic Missile is that because of the rules on Activities technically all the missiles are resolved at once. Which is a big change from every other edition of the game. You can't snipe one at a time and see what the result is before targetting your other missiles. I am not really a fan of this change but it is there. Once you comprehend this change, the whole issue makes more sense.

[Qaianna]

Gortle wrote:

There are 3 options discussed here. Balance wise

+1 for the whole spell is too weak
+1 per missile is far too strong
+1 per target is reasonable - the same sort of result you would get with a Fireball

The wording of Magic Missile combines the damage against each target. You get the bonus damage on each damage roll, that is against each target.

The other thing that people get wrong with Magic Missile is that because of the rules on Activities technically all the missiles are resolved at once. Which is a big change from every other edition of the game. You can't snipe one at a time and see what the result is before targetting your other missiles. I am not really a fan of this change but it is there. Once you comprehend this change, the whole issue makes more sense.

Agreed on almost all of this, although I think 1e (and D&D before) had all missiles shoot at once -- or at least you had to declare targets before resolving damage. So if you send three missiles at someone who turns out to have only four HP left, then ... well, oops.

[Gortle]

We always let people get a way with that. Maybe it was just the local groups I run with. Certainly the mechanics weren't tied down so well. But I'm talking about 1st and 2nd ed D&D.

[The Gleeful Grognard]

Another vote for RAW+RAI it being one roll per target, the combining rules make it into a single roll per target regardless of the number of missiles.