Aerial Boomerang

[Lawrence Whalen]

Hi all,

Quick question on the air kineticist and his Aerial Boomerang impulse it reads:

"A blade of shearing wind races away from you in a 60-foot line. Each creature in the area takes 2d4 slashing damage with a basic Reflex save against your class DC. In the final square of the line, the boomerang whirls in place until the end of your next turn. Any creature that ends its turn in that square has to save against the boomerang."

My question is does the boomerang have to go 60 feet or if you are in a 45 foot room for example could you send it out 30 feet.

I would think so, but if not this is only really good in an outside setting it seems.

Thank you for your help.

Regards,

Larry

[Lawrence Whalen]

Sorry just had a thought to expand on the question above if you are in a 30 foot room and you send out the boomerang does it just cease to exist when it reaches the wall?

[YuriP]

There are 2 possible interpretations used for Aerial Boomerang.

The first uses the line maximum range is that once there isn't enough space to Aerial Boomerang kept it Dismisses. The problem with this read is there's no rules defending this thesis. The Line of Effect rules just says that if some solid barrier blocks the effect the effect doesn't go beyond this Area not that the effect stop to work in any way.

The second one (that I use) is that once that have a barrier solid enough to prevent the line effect to go to is maximum range this is the "the final square of the line" so the boomerang stays there until the kineticist calls it back or its duration ("end of your next turn") ends. The problem of this read is that some players can argue that it isn't the real last square of the line and that the obstruction prevents the boomerang to reach its maximum range so it have to be Dismissed automatically.

I use this last interpretation that the "the final square of the line" is the last possible square of the line because it prevents the impulse to be strongly limited to most maps that doesn't have enough space.

[Lyra Amary]

I think having the Aerial Boomerang disappear if you don't have enough space for the full length is too harsh a ruling. It's not like the ability is game-breakingly powerful or anything.

On that note, though, I'd like to see what a GM who rules that the boomerang is destroyed does with Lightning Dash. It has the language as Aerial Boomerang that implies it must travel the full distance, except this time the Kineticist themselves are the projectile. Do they just instantly die when they hit a wall? I think anyone would agree that's a ridiculous ruling.

[NorrKnekten]

Considering that Areas have an origin point and extend outwards to that, Not applying to targets/squares beyond the break in line of effect. It goes to say that the last square is the one adjacent to the wall.

[Easl]

I'd rule like Yuri.

Yes in a 30' room it goes only 30' and there is a final square of the line, that's the square next to the wall.

No you cannot voluntarily end the line early, such as having it go 30' in a 45' room.

AFAIK no line effect gets that. You can't do it for lightning bolt etc., and you can't do it with this. Each AoE shape has it's inconveniences, this is the line one. But I just looked up "line", maybe there's another section of the rules I missed.

[Lawrence Whalen]

Thank you all for your replies. I have no problem with it going up to the wall and stopping there. I just had issue that it might go into the wall and be done.

Your answers have helped me a lot.

Thank you again.

[Maya Coleman]

This was a very fun and helpful thread to read! Thank you all for helping Lawrence here!

[The Contrarian]

Like the lightning dash user, I rule that aerial boomerang ceases to exist upon impact with a solid wall that it can't break through.