Topic: Question about Spell casting

[alloowishus]

Can you cast through a small hole, say 2" cubed? For instance, could you summon a creature to appear on the other side of the hole? With a minus to the spell roll perhaps? Just trying to decide if I should allow this.

[MisterK]

Can you cast through a small hole, say 2" cubed? For instance, could you summon a creature to appear on the other side of the hole? With a minus to the spell roll perhaps? Just trying to decide if I should allow this.

My default rule is that 'if you can see it, you can target it'. There might be exceptions one way or another, but the general rule is this one. Now this obviously only apply if you actually target something (even if it is a point in space). The Summons spells from Gate Mastery, have a 100' range, which implies that the summoned creature appears anywhere within 100' of the caster. I would apply the 'you can hit what you can see' rule : if the caster peeps through the hole and can see the place where the summons would appear, they can do it.
Now if the summons require some paraphernalia such as circles to appear, then the obvious answer is no. But the summons spell do not mention that, and explicitly state that the creature summoned appears 'instantly', so that would rule out any stereotypical summoning prop.

[netbat]

I would say you should at least apply the no hands penalty(if your are trying to maintain LOS on the target through a 2" hole you are not moving much). Depending on what companions and optional rules you are using it might be more like using spell trickery to cast unobtrusively and/or some casting traditions involving somatic movements or dance may not be usable.

[Hurin]

For me, a crucial consideration is the stated range of the spell. I wouldn't allow a touch range spell to be cast through a keyhole. If you can't even target someone at range, then I would say you certainly can't cast it at range.

[MisterK]

I would say you should at least apply the no hands penalty(if your are trying to maintain LOS on the target through a 2" hole you are not moving much). Depending on what companions and optional rules you are using it might be more like using spell trickery to cast unobtrusively and/or some casting traditions involving somatic movements or dance may not be usable.

Good point - peeking through a keyhole (or similar) is not really compatible with ample gestures. However, nothing in RM magic says that gestures are to be emphatic (I think you actually get a bonus if you use emphatic gestures and/or voice, or is it a carryover from Ars Magica ?). The mage could use simple hand gestures ('jedi mind tricks'-like hand waving) and at least limit the penalty, if not cancel it altogether. You can do that without moving so you can still peep.