Regular Spells and Specific Targetting
 

For a regular spell, you can specify a target location such as a certain hex. However, what are the rules skill penalty wise for if you wanted to target a specific spot inside that hex? For example, can you cast Explode on a subject (Some person) and target his head (or even his brain)? Would this just be -7 to skill in addition to other penalties such as range? I'm assuming directly hitting his brain would be another -5 (I think that's what it was) due to not being able to see your target. Of course, this would be devastatingly lethal and possibly OP, but maybe -12 + range penalties justifies it?

Re: Regular Spells and Specific Targetting
 

You can't cast it on a person.

Re: Regular Spells and Specific Targetting
 

Oh. I was wondering since most of the other spells had "Inanimate subjects only" while explode just said any subject.

Re: Regular Spells and Specific Targetting
 

Why exactly can't it be cast on a person? The same goes for a lot of Make and Break spells. For example, couldn't shatter be cast on a bone at -5? Tissue and organs might have problems shattering or exploding because it's mostly water, but bone is mostly just mineral composite.

Re: Regular Spells and Specific Targetting
 

Because...

"Explode" description starts with "As Shatter, but (...)" which means it functions exactly like Shatter with the differences it then follow to describe after the "but".

Looking at Shatter description, at the end we have "This spell only affects inanimate objects."

I believe I don't need to go on how Magic has many description and mechanics flaws. With the description I cited above and also being a spell from the "Making and Breaking" School it's pretty clear the intent of the spell chain in question, Weaken>Shatter>Explode, to be usable on inanimate objects and NOT on living beings or part of them.

A bone is considered a rigid organ and thus a non-inanimate object in the sense of valid target.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone

Keep in mind Weaken even points toward p. B557, which guess what it is... "HP and DR of Objects and Cover".

Re: Regular Spells and Specific Targetting
 

We always use the Innate Attack () skill to target spells. The roll versus Spell level is used for activating the spell (at least in our campaign).

Re: Regular Spells and Specific Targetting
 

Spells that can target parts of a thing are usually pretty clear on that.
Melee and Ranged spells give you a choice of hit locations and you roll against your melee attack skill or Innate Attack with the usual hit location penalties.
The various shape-changing spells only change part(s) of your body, and specify which part in the spell description. These kinds of spells are not flexible. If you have Tiger Paws, you don't turn entirely into a tiger. Likewise, learning Shapeshift (Tiger) doesn't let you change just your hands into tiger paws.

There is no Partial Body Of Fire, therefore you can't partly turn into fire. You could research that, but then you'd have to really clearly define what the heck the implications would be. There is no Partial Explode, and Explode doesn't have a to-hit roll against any skill, so affects the thing and the whole of the thing.

Re: Regular Spells and Specific Targetting
 

Okay. This makes spell use a bit easier to understand now. I just have this player who will always try to "logic" everything. I just had to build an argument other than "Because I say so." As it goes, it seems like GURPS spells work by focusing on VERY specific concepts, and combining multiple concepts or spell effects increases the complexity seemingly exponentially in terms of difficulty.
However, looking at Evisceration, I think I could allow him to literally explode body parts if he knew both Explode and Evisceration both as prerequisites.

Re: Regular Spells and Specific Targetting
 

That should be at a penalty and become a new spell with Eviscerate and Explode as prerequisites.

Re: Regular Spells and Specific Targetting
 

Yup. And it would be a pretty awesomely gruesome spell. "I have head-explodie!"

Re: Regular Spells and Specific Targetting
 

First, Magic base system is a rigid system of sorts.

If you want a system that can handle improvisation or "split-second decision" type of system you'd be better using RPM, Path and Books or your own built system, for example.

Secondly, I'd advise against allowing such type of magical effects on what seems to be a trivial magic casting for the player.

If all and every wizard out there can explode your heart, encounters will most certainly be gruesome and players will die rather quick if they consistently engage.
I guess it could work if that's the kinda of setting you're running...

All that said, why don't you take a look at "Magic Death Spells" - It's a list of death spells that could give you all sorts of ideas and baseline for such spells.