"Your familiar is cold to the touch, its breath always visible. When you Cast or Sustain a hex, you can cause ice to form in a 5-foot burst centered on a square of your familiar’s space. Those squares are difficult terrain until the start of your next turn."
Surely this was meant to be a "5 foot burst centered on a corner of your familiar's square" right? Is there something I'm missing here? Is language like this used elsewhere? Does the familiar being tiny create some interaction I don't know about? Was this meant to be an emanation (centered on a square) and they got the term for the area wrong or was it meant to be a burst (centered on a corner) and they got the origin point wrong? Is anything wrong? Am I wrong? What is happening? Where am I?
Personally I feel that Emanation should always be attached as an Aura on a creature and that if the spell is instead in a fixed location on the ground that it should be a Burst area.
But I don't write the rules.
I would still go with "5 foot burst centered on a corner of the familiar's square". That seems to be the closest to the intent of the ability.
Technically, being a tiny creature, a familiar's space is only a quarter of a grid square too... And if you cast Enlarge on the familiar, it's space would take up multiple squares...
Personally I feel that Emanation should always be attached as an Aura on a creature and that if the spell is instead in a fixed location on the ground that it should be a Burst area.
But I don't write the rules.
I would still go with "5 foot burst centered on a corner of the familiar's square". That seems to be the closest to the intent of the ability.
Technically, being a tiny creature, a familiar's space is only a quarter of a grid square too... And if you cast Enlarge on the familiar, it's space would take up multiple squares...
I'm right there with you and that's what I'm going with. I like the ability. I tend to like abilities that force some kind of engagement with them (even through avoidance) so I'm all about this difficult terrain, but I do at least try to come up with some kind of RAI on an issue before I throw it at my players.
Thanks for your response. Going back to making my snowchild now.
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I would still go with "5 foot burst centered on a corner of the familiar's square". That seems to be the closest to the intent of the ability.
I think the emanation answer is more plausible, tbh. We've had numerous instances of writers forgetting that bursts can't be centered on squares, and that's both functionally what an emanation is and essentially what the text is suggesting.
More subjectively, having it only hit 4 squares seems kind of bad.
I would still go with "5 foot burst centered on a corner of the familiar's square". That seems to be the closest to the intent of the ability.I think the emanation answer is more plausible, tbh. We've had numerous instances of writers forgetting that bursts can't be centered on squares, and that's both functionally what an emanation is and essentially what the text is suggesting.
More subjectively, having it only hit 4 squares seems kind of bad.
It's not amazing coverage, no. Right now I'm falling on the 5 foot burst interpretation because it seems the most likely, unfortunately. If it were an emanation, it would be pretty strong, and...well.
It seems like strong options in this system are frequently accidents.
Well, also consider that the familiar is not immune to the difficult terrain that it is creating. And difficult terrain is only charged movement cost for spaces that you move into - not for being in a square of difficult terrain that you are moving out of.
So it being a burst that I can place on the corner closest to the enemies when I cast a Hex and then command the familiar to move out the back side of the area won't cost the familiar additional movement.
If it was an emanation then it would.
Not that familiars are lacking in movement speed, mobility options, or even the ability to fly. But it is something to consider.
More subjectively, having it only hit 4 squares seems kind of bad.
I was close to agree with you when I started to think: Is it better to have 9 squares of difficult terrain you can't choose or 4 squares you can choose?
I also think the best interpretation is the one that helps the most the Witch as this ability seems extremely underpowered (and RAW is unclear so we have this freedom). But I don't know what's the best interpretation for the Witch. Maybe just giving the choice between 4 squares or 9 squares?