Basic Fantasy RPG Forums

Hi everyone, I am newbie to Basic Fantasy and would just like some advice on what happens when a magic attack e.g. Magic missile is made. Is there any attack throw besides the damage in the spell detail. I.e. Is there a. To hit roll or does the spell hit automatically? If anyone could provide advice on how magic works I would be grateful.

Regards

Jim

There will be more knowledgeable people that will post soon but from my understanding, most spells hit their target automatically but require a saving throw from the target. Usually this information is detailed in the spell description and the info block above the description.

Magic Missile is an automatic hit spell but some DM/GMs have the target save vs spells for half damage (houseruled games)

How magic itself works in a game all depends on the DM/GM and how they view magic. Someone here will explain the official core rule version of how magic works.

In the case of magic missile the whole point is that it hits automatically.

For other spells there is usually a saving throw (versus spells) for reduced or no effect. A few spells may require an attack roll in special situations, e.g. fireball through a small opening, but for the most part the spell just succeeds.

It is magic after all, and it can feel bad for a magic user to spend a valuable spell slot just to miss an attack roll and have no effect.

How is making a save different from making an attack roll? Statistically an enemy is more likely to fail the save at low levels, than a magic user would be to make the attack. This means at low levels a spell is likely to be effective, while at higher levels it's ok to miss because there are simply more spells.

As usual, Munkey has the right of it.

Thanks everyone! As usual I am looking for complexity where there is none!



Jim

Dopplebockdunkel wrote:Thanks everyone! As usual I am looking for complexity where there is none!

In this house? I don't think so! GOOD DAY SIR!