Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 katerian Sep 29, 2014 20:53:36	I just had a couple of questions about area effect of spells.   1.  The cube spell says the point of origin is not included.  If I am standing in the point of origin does that mean I am not included?  If I am excluded what about if I was on a mount or standing over the top of someone, would they also be excluded?  How big could the point of origin be?   2.  Is the cube intended to only function exactly along the lines of a grid or is it intended it could be turned sideways (looking like a diamond instead of a square).
#2 2Chlorobutanal Sep 29, 2014 21:22:22	1. The rules state that the point of origin may be included in the cube's area of effect if the caster wishes.  So, yes, you can affect yourself, your mount etc. if you desire.  I assume the "point of origin" is either the caster's space or a point on the edge of the caster's space.  Regardless, I would let the caster affect himself or herself (and any other creatures occupying his or her space) if the caster desired.  If the caster wanted to exclude his or her mount or space-sharing buddy, I would also allow that - at the caster's ultimate discretion.   2. If you're using a grid system for combat, then spells typically conform to the grid.  The edges of squares and cubes in 4e were always parallel to the grid lines.  If you wanted, you could make a "diamond" and decide which squares along the edges of the cube or square are "included" and which are "excluded," but it slightly complicates things.  That's pretty much up to your group - rigorous grid rules don't exist presently for 5e.
#3 lawrencehoy Sep 30, 2014 3:05:26	[quote="katerian"]I just had a couple of questions about area effect of spells.   1.  The cube spell says the point of origin is not included.  If I am standing in the point of origin does that mean I am not included?  If I am excluded what about if I was on a mount or standing over the top of someone, would they also be excluded?  How big could the point of origin be?{/quote]This just means that the caster can place the AoE around himself or place its edge along one side of the space he occupies (unless the spell has a longer Range, in which case the AoE may not even be adjacent to the caster). It does not give the caster immunity to the spell's effects.   Some individual spell descriptions may grant the caster immunity to their effects; but, the Area of Effect rules themselves don't.   katerian wrote:
#4 katerian Sep 30, 2014 7:04:12	Thanks so much for both of your replies!  I'd just like to add 1 more component to question 1 and see what you guys think on it.  It wouldn't matter if that spell was offensive or defensive, correct?  For example, if I cast Hypnotic Pattern and it's point of origin is me, I could exclude myself from being hit by it?  And I can be anywhere on any one of the sides of the cube, correct?
(Reply to #4) katerian	Actually one more question on it.  If a cube excludes it point of origin, how do you know how big that point of origin is?  There is no indication in many spells, so how would you know what area is excluded when casting like hypnotic pattern, web, or cloud of daggers?
#6 2Chlorobutanal Sep 30, 2014 18:50:55	Basic rules p. 80 wrote:
#7 lawrencehoy Oct 01, 2014 0:57:16	katerian wrote:
#8 Timborama Oct 01, 2014 6:16:03	I'm not gonna lie...the cube rules hurt my head a little bit. Maybe it's a bit too early for me to learn these a bit better.   Anyway, some questions while we're on the subject:   Does the Point of Origin pretty much always refer to the Caster, and NOT the "space" from which it orginates? Using a non-cube example, you toss a fireball and send it to a point, where it expands into a big sphere. Is that point the Point of Origin? Or is it the caster? Or does the caster just make a Blast attack (using 4E terms) and he can just choose to arbitrarily include himself if he wants? Is this sorta like Line spells, in that he can choose to include himself or not, but with most being offensive spells they'll likely send the Lightning Bolt AWAY from themselves, and not THROUGH themselves?   If you cast Hypnotic pattern while the Fighter is engaged in melee with a bunch of bad guys (see below, where "x" are bad guys, and "F" is fighter), can set the spell right on top of the Fighter (making the Fighter the Point of Origin) and decide to not include him as per the rules of Cube spells so you can get all 5 bad guys? Or will the wizard have to choose between hitting all 5 and also the fighter, or missing the fighter but only hitting 2-3 bad guys?   x x x x F x   Now that you've answered that, what happens if the FIGHTER is the one casting the spell? Can he place the cube on himself, and count himself as the point or origin (since he's the caster, and centering the spell on himself), and then disclude himself from the spell's effect, thus hitting all 5 bad guys? Or is it the same in that he has to choose which way to focus his spell (similar to "Blast" spells from 4E) and will only effect 2 to 3 of them (with the option to include himself, but like Lightning Bolt, why would he want to)?   Sorry, I think the disconnect is coming from what Point of Origin means in this edition (as opposed to others), and also if it's just a fancy way of saying "Make a Blast attack like in 4E, and if it's a Close Blast you can include yourself in the area if you want, but why would you ever want to?" Also...it's early.   Thanks guys!
#9 Uthrac Oct 01, 2014 7:54:31	lawrencehoy wrote:
(Reply to #8) 2Chlorobutanal	Timborama wrote:
#11 lawrencehoy Oct 05, 2014 20:19:55	Timborama wrote:
(Reply to #10) Timborama	2Chlorobutanal wrote: