Is there really any better spell in D&D 3.5/Pathfinder than magic missile? In a game which features energy resistance and ranged touch attacks and evasion and concealment and cover and saving throws, isn't it nice to have the old standby to fall back on. That maximum 5d4+5 pts. may pale in comparison to the 10d6 or 15d6 spells of higher levels, but at least you feel confident of actually doing damage with a magic missile. The same can't be said of fireball. Sure, you occasionally get thwarted by a brooch of shielding or spell resistance, but compared to all the options available to defend against most other offensive spells, I'm happy to put up with a fizzle once in awhile. My vote is for magic missile.
-Rognar-
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It was in the winter of 2008 when our part stood face to face with Dragotha, the toughest dragon that I have ever faced in my long history of playing the game. I saw an archivist throw down a mirror image that duplicated the caster with 9 identical images. Our party then watched as Dragotha swung and hit all nine images before even getting to the real caster. Seconds before this amazing event occurred, the fighter in the group was eaten by the dracolich in a single round, regardless of the fighter's decent AC.
It was this event that convinced me that mirror image was the greatest spell, ever.
Or was that 2007?
Bwahahaha! Put up your mirror image. With my magic missile, I will drop five images per round.
I need to check out 3.5/pathfinder.
My favorite old-school 1st Elvel spell is sleep, believe it or not. It puts 2-16 (2d8) HD worth of opponents to sleep.
Why people think that a M-U is weak at 1st level is beyond me!
3.5/Pathfinder sleep only affects 4 HD and there is a saving throw (if I remember correctly, there was no save back in the day). There is a 3rd level version called deep slumber which affects 10 HD, but again, there is a saving throw.
They defanged my sleep spell!
Problem is sleep can be used against PCs and at low levels that would be a guarenteed TPK.
I for one am happy with the saving throw.
Yes I love mirror image (sucks vs true seeing). Solid fog was great too until the nerf and I still have a fondness for glitterdust and grease.
How about favourite buff spell? For me, it's heroism. Sure, divine power and righteous might give better bonuses, but they are 1 rd/level spells with range: personal. They have to be cast just before battle, which effectively means the cleric has to stay out of the fray for a round. With heroism, the wizard or sorcerer can cast it on his fighters and himself before entering the dungeon and it will last for 10 min/level. I would say heroism is second only to magic missile in terms of sheer awesomeness.
I seem to recall a discussion somewhere (Grognardia?) about Magic Missle and whether people were playing it as an energy bolt generated by the spell--or whether it animated an object to become a missle (like a sharp rock, stick, or dart, etc.).
Any preferences in your games?
Hey Jay, in D&D 3.5/Pathfinder, magic missile is defined as a force effect. "Force" is a spell characteristic which has defined properties. It is unaffected by damage reistance or energy resistance, so it actually doesn't fall into either the categories you describe. Its most distinctive property, in game terms, is that it affects incorporeal creatures. Other force spells include shield and the various Bigby's hand spells (although in Pathfinder, all the old Greyhawk wizard names have been stripped off).
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