How to direct a spell at several targets

[temnix]

A while ago I asked on the forums how I might make a spell or ability that would affect several targets, similar to Ice Knife in Torment. I got a lead to JOG's "Wild Mage Additions," where one of the spells did something similar, and after some head-scratching I was able to deduce which property of an SPL file to edit. It is Spell Ability -> Number of targets. Type the number you like, and that is how many targets will get a shot of the ability (you can spend several on the same target). I don't claim the discovery of this mechanic, but I would like to see broader use of it.

 

Note that this is not exactly the way Ice Knife worked: it fired the knives in succession rather than simultaneously. I don't know if it's possible to duplicate that action within the BG engine. However! Multiple targets works for area-of-effect spells too - I tested it on a two-headed Skull Trap. You might be able to use it to set up a series of walls, glyphs, summon creatures to individual points, place smaller webs where you need them rather than one huge indiscriminate web and so on.

 

By way of an example I'm including a Magic Missile which works as the pen-and-paper version did. Choosing targets is cumbersome, though, and there is more potential for abuse, so it is up to you whether to use it.

 

MM