
Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

Rules Index | GM Screen | Player's Guide
Chapter 7: Spells

Ranges, Areas, and Targets

Source Player Core pg. 300 2.0
Spells with a range can affect targets, create areas, or make things appear only within that range. Most spell ranges are measured in feet, though some can stretch over miles, reach anywhere on the planet, or go even farther!

Subtle Spells

A spell with the subtle trait can be cast without incantations and doesn’t have obvious manifestations. Most of these spells enhance your subterfuge or stealth, such as invisibility. Some abilities, like the Conceal Spell feat (page 201), allow you to make spells subtle even if they wouldn’t normally be.

Spellshape

Many spellcasters can gain access to spellshape actions, typically by selecting spellshape feats. Spellshape actions tweak the properties of your spells. You must use a spellshape action directly before casting the spell you want to alter. If you use any action (including free actions and reactions) other than casting a spell directly after, you waste the benefits of the spellshape action. The benefit is also lost if your turn ends before you cast the spell. Any additional effects added by a spellshape action are part of the spell’s effect, not of the spellshape action itself.

Touch Range

Source Player Core pg. 300 2.0
A spell with a touch range requires you to physically touch the target. You use your unarmed reach to determine whether you can touch the creature. You can usually touch them automatically, though the spell might specify that they can attempt a saving throw or that you must attempt a spell attack roll. If an ability increases the range of a touch spell, start at 0 feet and increase from there.

Areas

Source Player Core pg. 300 2.0
Sometimes a spell has an area, which can be a burst, cone, emanation, or line (pages 428–429). If the spell originates from your position, the spell has only an area; if you can cause the spell’s area to appear farther away from you, the spell has both a range and an area.

Targets

Source Player Core pg. 300 2.0
Some spells allow you to target a creature, an object, or something more specific. The target must be within the spell's range, and you must be able to see it (or otherwise perceive it with a precise sense) to target it. At the GM's discretion, you can attempt to target a creature you can't see, as described in Detecting Creatures on page 434. If you fail to target a particular creature, this doesn't change how the spell affects any other targets the spell has.

If you choose a target that isn't valid, such as if you thought a vampire was a living creature and targeted it with a spell that can target only living creatures, your spell fails to target that creature. If a creature starts out as a valid target but ceases to be one during a spell's duration, the spell typically ends, but the GM might decide otherwise in certain situations. Some spells restrict you to willing targets. A player can declare their character a willing or unwilling target at any time, regardless of turn order or their character's condition (such as when a character is paralyzed, unconscious, or even dead).

Spells that affect multiple creatures in an area can have both an Area entry and a Targets entry. A spell that has an area but no targets listed usually affects all creatures in the area indiscriminately.

Line of Effect

Source Player Core pg. 302 2.0
You usually need an unobstructed path to the target of a spell, the origin point of an area, or the place where you create something with a spell. More information on line of effect can be found on page 426.