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So uhh, lines. I think the rules may be saying to cover a lot more squares than I've been doing or seeing anybody else doing.
A line shoots forth from you in a straight line in a direction of your choosing. The line affects each creature whose space it overlaps. Unless a line effect says otherwise, it is 5 feet wide. For example, the lightning bolt spell’s area is a 60-foot line that’s 5 feet wide.
So, if you draw a 5ft wide line on any non cardinal direction, you're going to overlap a ton more squares, than the basically no width lines we've been drawing.
Chart has the lines being drawn the way I and everybody I've ever seen draw them, but seems slightly different than what the rules day.
say :(
If a line is shot at an angle, yes, it may pick up more squares than a direct shot, yet the bonus squares aren't that great an advantage unless dealing with a packed house. I don't see "a ton", and you're losing squares at the end too, aren't you? (don't have diagram in front of me)
Much of the time a bolt parallel to the map grid lines serves best anyway.
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The line you "draw" to calculate the overlaps has no "width". The "width" described is for the final "Line Area" you affect. In this case, "5 feet wide" means that it affect the whole squares it overlap. A 15 feet wide line would affect the same squares, plus one square extruded from its left and right.
So the chart is correct.
These line measurement come from the original "war games" that inspired Chainmail and later D&D, when all spells and movement were calculated with strings.
Remember, I'm in total agreement that we play lightning bolt effectively as no-width line that hits any space it overlaps, and that way makes sense. I'm just trying to reconcile that with what the rules actually say.
A line shoots forth from you in a straight line in a direction of your choosing. The line affects each creature whose space it overlaps. Unless a line effect says otherwise, it is 5 feet wide. For example, the lightning bolt spell’s area is a 60-foot line that’s 5 feet wide.
Doesn't say the final effect is 5ft wide, says unless effect says otherwise, it is 5ft wide. Example: Lightning bolt doesn't say and thus is 5ft wide. That's even the example given. And the problem is a diagonal 5ft wide line potentially hits a lot of squares.
Look at all the squares overlapped by each line. The 45 degree angle has a particularly weird diamond/pulsing pattern,
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Have a look at the examples in CRB p.456
All lines are 5 feet wide. The problem is - you draw a line with 5 feet large pixels.
Take a 45 degree line. It starts at a corner of a square. I take the 60 feet line on p.456
It starts with 5 feet space to the east and 5 feet to the south. 1 feet in it is 1 feet space west, 4 east, 1 north, 4 south, 2 feet in it is 2 west, 3 east, 2 north, 3 south etc.
The line itself is always 5 feet - BUT the centre of a mathematical defined line is not always in the middle of that line.
Mathematically there are at least four solutions to the 5 foot wide line that I can think of. You draw a and add 5 foot above, you draw a line and add 5 foot below, you draw a line and add 2 1/2 foot on either side, you draw a line and fill out all squares it passes through.
Only the last definition gives you a line that avoids squares that are partially hit.
Yes - the more common view of a line is the third (or one of the first two) if you would describe a line mathematically. But for the purpose of the rules you have to use the fourth, less intuitive way to describe a line.
Make it long enough, add enough pixel and that is how it will look - like a real line. Zoom in on any line on your screen (Paint - maybe 500% or 1000%) and a line will look exactly like what is been used in Pathfinder.
I hope that helps.
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There are only 6 sides that a line can exit a square from. I see what you are saying, but you are making it needlessly complex by allowing a line to exit the square at any point on the compass.
The diagrams found on page 456 are how lines work.
That is wrong. Use a 4-fold symmetry (take each of the lines and turn them 90 degree) and the examples on page 456 allow already 16 different lines.
There are more possible lines.
Shown are:
x side, 0 down
1 side, 1 down
2 side, 1 down
3 side, 1 down
But you could do
4 side, 1 down
5 side, 1 down
6 side, 1 down (becomes x side, 0 down for 30 foot)
7 side, 1 down (becomes x side, 0 down for 30 foot)
8 side, 1 down (becomes x side, 0 down for 30 foot)
...
Some of these would make sense for very long lines only. Shown are the most obvious / most often used ones.
Edit: plus all 45 degree permutations - so side and be left or right, down can be up or down and vice versa.