Why don't characters with electric control do this?

[Lago_AM3P]

Is there a reason why people who have the ability to generate electricity send it through the air rather than through the ground, even if it's rock?

[Fwib]

Lightning bolts are cooler when they fly through the air to the target than when they go invisibly through some conductor.

[tzor]

Or in other words ... Huh?

Generally speaking you need to form a closed loop if you want to transmit electric power over the long run. (Short term imbalances typically static based do not need to worry about the long run.) The general return path is the earth, that's why electrical systems call it the "Ground." Since the earth is so large it can be effectively be considered a sink/source and flatly ignored. That's probably why in general people talk about electricity "through the air." It is also another code word for low frequency radio waves which are electromagnetic waves that in theory can carry electrical power. There have been numerous proposals for such systems for years.

[Crissa]

Electromagnetics do not 'carry' electricity, but rather 'induce' it in conductors.

It's used in many places, but we've since learned that too much radio is bad for our cells, and far more useful for transmitting data than energy over distances.

-Crissa

[Surgo]

I think he's talking about rpg characters, guys.

[shirak]

Because transmitting through the air creates awesome visuals. Compare thunderbolts with... well, nothing. Anyone with such powers would use the air because his mind cannot visualize anything else.

[tzor]

If we are talking about lightning bolts then it's actually easier. They tend to be more or less stright bolts. If you wanted to send one through the ground you have to take a left turn as it were at the victim to head straight up.

[Crissa]

Well, a 'bolt' of lightning is when a circuit connects through air.

The remainder of the circuit is generally through the ground.

If the 'bolt' went through the ground, to the person, where's the other end come out and go?

-Crissa

[Fwib]

1199045076[/unixtime]]I think he's talking about rpg characters, guys.

I guess the OP was, and I certainly was. Definitely a bad idea to have a real-physics vs magic/superpowers discussion, I think.

[SunTzuWarmaster]

The ground is, well, ground. A high amount of positive charge always searches for a high amount of negative charge to dissipate. Many times it will settle for a 0 charge, slightly negative charge, or even less possitive charge (in the case of a high 'reference' voltage). The ground (dirt) is bad to conduct electricity in any directed manner. If you exposed a positive power supply to a large amount of electrically neurtral material, it will dissipate in all directions (the speed of spread will vary based on the material).

This would result in a 'radial' RPG attack hitting all enemies rather than a targeted beam (which will have reduced potentcy as the matter gets worse, it's good for copper and bad for granite/glass/plastic/whatever). The resistance of the air is significantly less than the resistance of the ground. By making electricity travel the path of least resistance, you can deliver more power/energy to your target.

Also, it looks cooler.

Side note: There were a number of WotC questions a year ago or so of 'what will happen if there are a number of characters in a lake and you Shocking Grasp it".
It was left to the DM to rule whether everybody took 5d6 damage or if the 5d6 damage would be divided out among all characters (other things such as 'all energy is dispersed, no one takes damage' and 'spell does doulbe damage' were neglected from discussion). Physically speaking, it should be divided among all characters and other matter within the body of water. Considering that we are talking magic here, I would rule that it could be even divided among all targets within a set Radial effect (the range of which the wizard would be allowed to determine at the time of casting) or all focused on any single target within the electrical loop (representing the wizard's control of the spell).

Bolts of lightning are a special scenario, considering that negative charges build up on the ground in response to a large amount of positive charge in the clouds. As they connect, they form a circuit, but they tend to do wierd things (like strike the beach) because of the negative charge build-up. I am assuming that at the time of casting there has not been a negative charge buildup observed on the recieving side.

[Crissa]

Well, I always figured we had bolts because that was where the damage came from - energy traveling though a target. In D&D, things which would normally disburse the bolt work in reverse, and make it easier to damage targets - metal armor, etc.

Doesn't shocking grasp have a range? I can't imagine it doing damage beyond your reach.

-Crissa

[SunTzuWarmaster]

Looking it up... yea, Touch. The idea was that they put their finger in the water (or attached to a metal pole or whatever), and shocking the water in that manner.

[Crissa]

So they do 5d8 damage to the water, and if that nukes enough water (what's the durability of water) to get to someone, you get them. But since it doesn't have a range in water, I doubt it touches them any more than it touches them in air.

It most certainly doesn't do 5d8 to each one in the water, and splitting it... Between what? All the fish in the lake? wtf?

-Crissa

[tzor]

1199058506[/unixtime]]Well, a 'bolt' of lightning is when a circuit connects through air.

Well not really. Remember that lightning is not a proper electrical circuit; it's a discharge of a capacitor and thus falls more under static electricity. It also goes both upwards and downwards, which makes it even more bizzare. Normally the dischargeis pulled up from a regional area around the ground, but not always. Bolts of lightning can and will often take the best source of charge available. This means it will go down a tree, tunnel straight through the ground (making a really wicked rip in the ground as the energy heats the earth) and straight towards my old water pump.

But note that it went straight towards my water pump, a plump source of electrical capacity. Lightning can and does travel through the ground in order to make the best connections.

[SunTzuWarmaster]

Water conducts better than air, for air to conduct, you have to achieve the electrical breakdown (and get those cool bolts!), water does not have this requirement.

[Crissa]

Which mean, Sun Tzu, that wet or in water means targets are easier to hit in D&D, instead of harder.

-Crissa

[JonSetanta]

Or it would change the save from Reflex to Fortitude.
Hell, who dodges a lightning bolt anyways. Who could other than The Flash, Quicksilver, Goku, or Superman?
Frank had a point on one of the New Setting threads about that, dodging vs. taking hits (saves compared to HP, what they are meant for)

However, touching water to conduct electricity only works due to the trace metal in water. Purified water does not conduct.
So it would be the same area or range as touching metal, which I'd say (for balance purposes) would be about 5 feet burst from origin per caster level.

[SunTzuWarmaster]

Sorry, re-reading your post, it seems that you intended it to hit more targets in water, rather than fewer targets (as was my initial position from preliminary reading).