@DMW:
Thaumaturgy attacks are 'less effective' in that they lack weapon ratings. Evothaum attacks use evocation's methods, which include weapon ratings (see the 'Shell Game' sidebar), and so are not less effective.
Matter of opinion, that. I'm not necessarily disagreeing here(that would be a whole different subject...and one I don't even have a strong opinion on), just noting that those rules are really open to interpretation.
The example being used from Cold Days is suspect at best. As such, it makes a poor support for your argument. It's full of holes. Some other example might be better suited to your argument, but since apparently none of us can think of one, it seems reasonable to conclude for now that one does not exist. In the absence of even a single solid example from canon, your assertion rests solely on your own opinion.
And a large segment of the rules.
And the conclusion that 'no examples exist' is a pretty big leap from the basis that neither you nor I can think of such an example off the top of our heads.
I'm not asserting that 'you need line of effect'. Those are your words. I'm asserting that it takes time to cast spells, that the target of an evocation is not based sympathetic principles such as those required to target an individual wherever they may be or wherever they may go, and that the location of an evocation's intended subject might change between the formulation of a spell and its taking effect in the world.
And I'm asserting that your visualization can be of a target that's an individual, not an area per se, and thus moving around that doesn't remove them from line of sight isn't helpful against such an Evocation.
And my apologies for getting some part of your argument wrong. My bad.
If finesse matters in that one particular example, then answer the question for that example. Just precisely how much finesse is required to take a spell using that methodology from 'eminently dodgeable' to 'attempts to dodge have no chance of success'.
How high does my Control roll have to be before I can unilaterally demand that my victim use a different skill for their defense?
Uh...that's
really not what I'm saying. The part that requires finesse is rendering them unconscious, not dead, not the nature of the attack. If you're willing to just grab and crush their neck to pulp, that's equally undodgable and requires almost no finesse.
I prefer active aggression to the passive sort, though, and tone rules tend to make people passive-aggressive.
I wasn't suggesting it as any kind of rule, just a good idea most of the time.
