[OOC] Return to the Rusty Rat

[Toot]

"Flattering," the armorer smirks. "I believe you can get as many as four bodyguards for the time being."
Before turning to leave, he addresses Portho and Torin as well.
"Are you a-coming?"

I'm not trying to beat a dead horse but Toot is very skittish and wary around big folk, especially big folk he doesn't know.  Many of his worries come from how his race is treated and because he is tiny.  It was the same argument he had with the female druid.  She couldn't grasp why he was so concerned about drowning; being tethered to Boo; being accidently dragged around underwater by Boo while Boo is trying to defend Toot but not realizing Boo is actually drowning Toot; etc. 

So when Too asks for protection, and someone Toot doesn't know says, [after snickering] "I believe you can get as many as four bodyguards for the time being."  That doesn't sound very reassuring!  At least not to Toot who is suspicious of everyone and everything that might get him squashed!

[DM Surranó]

Toot asked one of them to act as protection and one of them offered all four of them for the purpose.
Well, how many bodyguards would Toot consider "very reassuring"?

[Toot]

It might be just semantics but when he snickered and said, "You CAN get AS MANY as four bodyguards for the TIME BEING, was a little bit concerning.

"Can get," doesn't mean he WILL get.  "As many," seems rather vague.  Technically it's not even committing even one bodyguard.  The, "Time being," seems rather vague as well.  Does that mean as soon as he casts his spells and they no longer have use for him, THEN they will let him get smooshed?  Or while he sleeps they will let him be smooshed?  While he goes pee they will let him get smooshed? 

You might notice that Toot has an aversion to being smooshed. 

[DM Surranó]

Well Toot is free to digest himself on this dilemma or come forward with his concerns in his usual friendly and diplomatic manner.
What the armourer really meant was that currently the four don't have anything better to do. In the thick of the action, though, some may have to leave Toot's side for the common benefit of the team. Unfortunately, he can't promise that at least one member will stay on the post "no matter what"...

[Toot]

Well Toot is free to digest himself on this dilemma or come forward with his concerns in his usual friendly and diplomatic manner.
What the armourer really meant was that currently the four don't have anything better to do. In the thick of the action, though, some may have to leave Toot's side for the common benefit of the team. Unfortunately, he can't promise that at least one member will stay on the post "no matter what"...

Toot would expect them to do what was for the common benefit of the party as long as the common benefit was to keep him alive.     At the moment, Toot feels a minuscule amount of kinship with the Grey Dwarf and Half orc, only because they also experience the bigotry of other small minded individuals.  But they are still big folk so that means they are still dangerous and stoopid.     I hope that Toot can learn to trust these big folk and gain actual friendships with some of them... except the Gnome.  I imagine Toot saying, "Gnome" much like how Seinfeld would say, "Newman." 

[DM Surranó]

With no access to youtube at the moment (corporate firewall...) I assert we are on the same page. Strictly as a spoiler... in the NPCs' sense "common benefit" is to keep everyone alive. Too bad they failed in Merri's case (strictly due to practical OOC reasons...)

[DM Surranó]

About casting spells across antimagic field. Just wondering what are the views of all of you; can you cast a spell outside the field so that the point of origin is on the far side, thus the line of effect passing the field? Like this:

C - F - F - F - F - O

where C is the caster, F is the field and O is the point of origin.

[Lugar]

Yep. As far as I know an anti magic field only suppresses magic while it is active, if the caster is outside of it he can cast spells but not while inside. I believe whatever portion of a summoned creature is in the field is suppressed and disappears but the rest of its body is intact.

[DM Surranó]

Hm. Summoned creatures partially inside the field? interesting... but I'd say the whole creature winks out.
The question, though, was not about casting ouside; it was casting across.

[Toot]

I think that depends upon if you have line of sight and line of effect.  A summons spell allows you to summon creatures anywhere within a certain range.  They just appear where you designate and then follow orders.  A scorching ray on the other hand would be blocked because the ray originates with the caster and needs to pass through the field.  Since it is an instantaneous effect it would just fizzle.  But if an effect weren't instantaneous it would just vanish when it hits the field and then continue when the field is moved as long as its duration wasn't finished.  

So Scorching ray would be stopped.  Flaming sphere would be stopped if was cast into or rolled into the field.  But wouldn't be stopped if cast past the field.  One thing I'm not sure about is if the far edge of the field were against a wall but there was a tunnel that led out of the field, if you could still cast a spell in the tunnel.  Because you can't cast a spell through a wall so the only way to your targeted area would be through the antimagic field.  Personally, I think you still could depending upon the spell.  Some spells are described as emanating from the caster while others just say the magic appears anywhere within range.  

For example, the Fireball spell in 2nd edition said it just blossomed at the point where you designated so that shouldn't be stopped because there isn't any effect between the caster and target.  But now in 3rd edition it says, a pea sized bead streaks from your pointed digit, so now it would be stopped because the spell now has to travel through the field.

At least this is how I see it.  But I will do more research and look through my dragon magazines to see if there are any official answers.