Additional Targets in Spellcasting

[Telarus_KSC]

For Lightning Bolt I interpret that any "Additional targets" are "secondary", including those from extra threads.
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Most spells read to me that if you only roll 1 Effect Test, then assigning the same "person" as multiple "targets" really wouldn't increase the damage dealt. You roll once to determine how much damage "each target" receives, so the 1 target (locked onto twice) gets the result of that one Test as damage.

Compare Lighting Bolt to Bone Shatter (which explicitly gives permission to assign multiple Effect tests to the same target, no more than 2 per target).

Lightning Bolt:
... If successful, crackling bolts of electricity fly from the magician’s fingers, striking the target. The magician’s Effect test determines how much damage is inflicted. The initial Spellcasting test is used against any additional targets that may result. Additional success levels on secondary targets will not cause additional bolts.

Bone Shatter:
The magician makes cracking sounds and then makes a Spellcasting test against the highest Mystic Defense among any targets in range. If successful, he makes one Effect test per Success to determine how much damage is inflicted, directing no more than two Effect tests against an individual target. A target who takes a Wound adds +5 to the Knockdown Difficulty. The magician may affect up to Spellcasting Rank targets.

[Baravakar]

[Tattered Rags]

I wonder if the bone shatter rules indicate the intention that a single target can only be targeted once or that they wanted to limit the number of wounds bone shatter could cause. It seems to indicate that the damage in one attack is the sum of the effect rolls, whereas other spells would likely be considered separate attacks for purposes of determining wounds.

[Telarus_KSC]

As they have greatly simplified the wording of the Bone Shatter spell compared to 1st edition, I would say that each Effect test can cause a Wound (that is more obvious in the 1st edition wording), so there is some of that Wound limiting factor there as well.

Personally, it's about how many math calculations and dice rolls I have to make as a GM. I've decided use how area effects spells work as a guideline: generate additional successes against the highest target's MD, unless something specifically says otherwise in the spell.

If I have an Elementalist Journeyman and his 3 Novice apprentices up against my players, and all 3 3rd Circle Elementalists encounter the players and cast Ice Mace & Chain, each weaving an extra thread for an additional target (6 targets total), I would much rather:

Make 3 Spellcasting tests, compare each caster's result to their targets' MD (3 checks), generate additional successes against the highest MD targeted by each, roll 3 Effect tests with the various "additional success" bonuses applied (checking for Bonus dice only 3 times), apply each Damage result to each target character by subtracting Armor, apply the Harried modifier to each set of targets where the Chain did not shatter.

Than...

Make 3 Spellcasting tests, compare each Result to each target's MD, noting the resulting Success Levels generated for all 6 targets, roll 6 Effects tests of different steps/ or different result bonuses (checking for bonus dice and noting it 6 times), apply 6 different damages to target by subtracting Armor, apply the Harried modifier to each target where the Chain did not shatter.

It's almost twice as much work, and while I love randomness, I don't love single fight scenes that last a whole gaming session.

Now imagine when you have 3 or more "5th Circle" or above Spellcaster Adepts/Creatures/Horrors around, and they can each target up to 3 targets with what used to be a single target spell @ lower circles. Total headache to deal with each separately.

Then again, my head is also in "airship/mass-combat" design-space, where more rolls does not equal "more fun".

[Tattered Rags]

[Baravakar]

[Fusilliban]