What is the range "X' Radius"? Is it 0' or is it self or is it something else?

Sorry for the confusion. I remembered one of the spells was Range: 60' radius, but didn't remember if the other was as well, so I inserted the X variable as a placeholder.

With a sweep of his hat,

Paul

Sorry. I should have been clearer. When I said "X' Radius", I was referring to any spell with a range listed of things like "5' Radius" or "10' Radius". There is no indicator if it is a radius targeted on self or 0' which is important since they have different mechanical implications.

Ah... it depends on the spell. A 0' or Self ranged spell uses the hole in the center template as it's intended to be radiating out from the caster. My interpretation is that as soon as you move it away from you, there's no longer a hole in the center and it's the narrower radius. So, for example, Heat Wave 0'(5' Radius) centered on you would hit the 8 squares around you. Move it 20' and it drops to a box of 4 squares. Part of the advantage of 0' range, Self or Melee is that you don't provoke.

If you were to take a spell like Twister that has a 60' (10' radius) and nuke yourself at ground zero, my understanding is that you'd be subject to free strikes as well as need the Adaptation: Selective Spell to avoid being affected. If you cast subtly I could see an argument for not provoking as they don't know that you're doing it. The devil's advocate position to that is even if they don't know what you're doing, can they tell your attention is elsewhere and hit you anyway?

I'm curious what other people think with that scenario.

With a sweep of his hat,

Paul

Self (5' Radius) clearly hits the 8 squares around you.

I thought 0' (5' Radius) only hit 3 squares around you (pick a corner and it hits the 4 adjacent squares (1 with you in it but you are immune))? Am I wrong and both 0' and self hit all 8 squares?

The difference between "Self" and "0 feet" is that self cannot have its range increased, while 0 feet can.

Do you have a reference for the 0' picking a corner, or is that just an interpretation of the range? I haven't heard of that interpretation before, but I can understand it.

With a sweep of his hat,

Paul

I think it was a mix of looking at the area templates and also what someone else had told me.

However, rereading the area rules, this passage:


Seems to be saying that any area spell dropped on the caster (whether self, 0', or 30') will affect the 8 squares around the caster. The only questionable point is "centered on the caster" since normally you select a corner when targeting area spells (but I think I'm over-analyzing it).

Thoughts?

Spells with Range Self (X' Radius) and 0' (X' Radius) are very similar. They are both centered on the caster and affect the surrounding squares according to the templates, and neither provoke Free Strikes. However, the 0' (X' Radius) can have it's 'starting point of origin' extended with Adaptations (So if you had an Adaptation that said Increase Range by 10', you could apply it to the 0' (X' Radius) but not "Self).

Spells with Range X' Radius are also centered on the caster and affect the surrounding squares according to the template, but these spells DO provoke Free Strikes. They also cannot have their 'starting point of origin' extended by Adaptations (see Self above)

These are my understandings from numerous spell discussions.

John

Thanks for your input. The quoted part above confuses me. What's the point of a spell with no range that provokes free strikes? Why would anyone ever develop, learn, or cast such a spell?