History Main / ProjectileSpell

* Perhaps lacking imagination, nearly every wizard in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has some version of this, but you can always tell the badass ones by how effectively or inventively they use their magic. Harry, for example, casts big fireballs and beams, which shows both his significant strength in magic and his lack of fine control. Luccio, commander of the Wardens, uses a wrist-thick beam of fire like a laser cutter, showing both power ''and'' control. Warden Ramirez uses small bolts of water and earth magic in his duels, showing control and smarts that make his shallower well of power go further, etc.

* The majority of offensive spells in ''Franhise/LyricalNanoha'' are like this, even status dealing spells like Hayate's Misteltein, which has a [[TakenForGranite Petrify]] effect delivered through lances of magical energy.

* The wands of the three Good Fairies in the DisneyAnimatedCanon movie ''Disney/SleepingBeauty''. The best example is when Merryweather is trying to stop Maleficent's raven from warning her of Prince Phillip's escape. She flies after him shooting magical blasts, with the raven dodging all except the last, which petrifies him. On [=YouTube=] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gre95XJCcjM starting at 7:20]].

* In ''FateStayNight'' Rin has her "Gandr" spell. It was originally a curse to give someone the flu, but Rin powered it up so it's more like a gun being fired. It makes gunshot holes in the walls. It even ''sounds'' like a gun.

* ''SluggyFreelance'' [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=080426 spoofed]] ''Literature/HarryPotter's'' use of this trope during the [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=080305 fourth "Torg Potter" storyline]].

* Naturally, since it's used in ''DungeonsAndDragons'', it's used in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''.
* In {{Drowtales}} this is the easiest and most common attack for a fae to use. Can be dodged. [[http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive//20070731c0p018.jpg Seen in action here]], together with mana shields and ordinary crossbows.
* Subverted in [[http://www.applevalleycomic.com Apple Valley]] where one of the few spells main character Arthur can successfully perform is called "Tragic Missile". It functions much in the same way the traditional Magic Missile does, except it doesn't fly in a straight course - it arcs around and targets whatever it would be the most traumatic and drama-inducing for it to strike. Despite it being his only quasi-effective offensive spell, it doesn't get used often (for obvious reasons).

* If the ''Reflect'' spell is anything to go by, all single-target spells in most titles of ''FinalFantasy'' actually take the form of magic missiles, even if they aren't graphically represented as such.
** However, they are in large part shown as classic, very dodgeable magic missiles in both [[DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia]] and the KingdomHearts series. There are some spells that spawn directly over the target, like Bind, but even they can be dodged with sufficient reflexes.

* The majority of offensive spells in ''Franhise/LyricalNanoha'' are like this, even status effect dealing spells like Hayate's Misteltein, which has a [[TakenForGranite Petrify]] effect delivered through lances of magical energy.

* ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' has Hayate's Misteltein spell, a [[TakenForGranite Petrify]] effect delivered through lances of magical energy. Nanoha's Divine Shooter is much closer, and its upgrade Axel Shooter is MacrossMissileMassacre.

** In LeagueOfLegends, "targeted" spells can also fire a projectile. While the player simply has to click on their target, the PlayerCharacter will fire a magical bolt/{{BadassNormal throw a spear}} which will fly towards the target and {{AlwaysAccurateAttack never miss}}. There's an important distinction here: skillshots can be dodged, targeted abilities will always home on you even if you use Flash or a dash ability to escape. Of course, abilities like Zhonya's Hourglass or an InvulnerableAttack can prevent targeted projectiles from having an effect.

* ''{{VideoGame/Dota 2}}'' has Pudge's Meat Hook ability which requires the player to aim the skill. The same goes for Mirana's Sacred Arrow.

* The Huckster in ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}'' has Soul Blast as the go-to attack. Its damage is determined by how strong a poker hand you draw; draw a DeadMansHand and [[OneHitKill the target dies instantly]].

* From ''TabletopGame/Exalted'', the Dragonbloods have Elemental Bolt Attack. It's fairly basic, but [[AllYourPowersCombined when used in a group]], it gets proportionally more effective.

In other settings, magical spells are treated a lot like modern bullets or projectiles ([[DungeonsAndDragons magic "missiles"]], if you will): A physical manifestation of (possibly [[PowerGlows glowing]]) magical energy is launched through the air and flies towards its target, and only by physically hitting someone (or something) does its effect take hold on them. As a direct result, it may be possible to evade the spell by simply leaping out of harm's way (or, alternately, if the witch's aim was a bit off) while the magical energy continues onwards and strikes something less fortunate. Many other tropes associated with physical projectiles also start to apply, too: The would-be victim can [[ConcealmentEqualsCover dive for cover]] behind an obstruction, block it with a BulletproofHumanShield (or inversely, a bystander [[TakingTheBullet takes the spell in their place]]), or so on.

** ''{{VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII}}'' and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2 its]] [[VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII sequels]] show basic black magic spells as projectiles (including the Fire, Blizzard, and Aero families. The Thunder spells are difficult to say.)

** 4th edition Magic Missiles are handled more like regular ranged attacks, with a chance to simply ''miss'' the target. (Note that if the target successfully dodges it, the spell will not continue to fly onwards and strike something else). They eventually errata'd it back more toward its original incarnation.

* Most spells in ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' work like this. Even ''[[OneHitKill Avada Kedavra]]'', the most feared spell in the Wizarding World, a Killing Curse that cannot be dodged and bypasses all magical defenses, is still useless if the victim takes cover in time or uses telekinesis to get a solid object into the way.

* ''SluggyFreelance'' [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=080426 spoofed]] ''HarryPotter's'' use of this trope during the [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=080305 fourth "Torg Potter" storyline]].

See also KiAttacks, which are less explicitly magical (and popular among martial artists).

* Most spells in ''HarryPotter'' work like this. Even ''Avada Kedavra'', the most feared spell in the Wizarding World, a Killing Curse that bypasses all magical defenses, is still useless if the victim ducks out of the way or dives for cover.

* Perhaps lacking imagination, nearly every wizard in the DresdenFiles has some version of this, but you can always tell the badass ones by how effectively or inventively they use their magic. Harry, for example, casts big fireballs and beams, which shows both his significant strength in magic and his lack of fine control. Luccio, commander of the Wardens, uses a wrist-thick beam of fire like a laser cutter, showing both power ''and'' control. Warden Ramirez uses small bolts of water and earth magic in his duels, showing control and smarts that make his shallower well of power go further, etc.
** When a squad of Wardens lead by Senior White Council members go to town, there are so many variations of these that it apparently looks like a shot from Star Wars.

* From ''DungeonsAndDragons'':

** Any spell that follows a "ray" or "line of effect" will fly out and hit the first thing it comes into contact with (target or otherwise). Characters from the ForgottenRealms setting frequently call wizards "spell''hurlers''" for a reason.

* 3d Edition {{GURPS}} ranged curses work like this (the caster specifically needs the Curse Missile spell to make them ranged).

In other settings, magical spells are treated a lot like modern bullets or projectiles -- ([[DungeonsAndDragons magic "missiles"]], if you will: A physical manifestation of (possibly [[PowerGlows glowing]]) magical energy is launched through the air and flies towards its target, and only by physically hitting someone (or something) does its effect take hold on them. As a direct result, it may be possible to evade the spell by simply leaping out of harm's way (or, alternately, if the witch's aim was a bit off) while the magical energy continues onwards and strikes something less fortunate. Many other tropes associated with physical projectiles also start to apply, too: The would-be victim can [[ConcealmentEqualsCover dive for cover]] behind an obstruction, block it with a BulletproofHumanShield (or inversely, a bystander [[TakingTheBullet takes the spell in their place]]), or so on.

One of the many ways FunctionalMagic varies between settings is what range spells can be cast from, or how exactly it finds a target. In some stories, a WickedWitch can simply invoke a spell's name (or point a finger) and -- poof! -- somebody's been [[BalefulPolymorph turned into]] a [[BewitchedAmphibian frog]]. (Yes, there may be limits to this -- maybe she needs [[NoEyeInMagic direct eye contact]], or to be within easy speaking distance for it to work. But moving on...)

In other settings, magical spells are treated a lot like modern bullets or projectiles -- ([[DungeonsAndDragons magic "missiles"]], if you will: A physical manifestation of (possibly [[PowerGlows glowing]]) magical energy is launched through the air and flies towards its target, and only by physically hitting someone (or something) does its effect take hold on them. As a direct result, it may be possible to evade the spell by simply leaping out of harm's way (or, alternately, if the witch's aim was a bit off) while the magical energy continues onwards and strikes something less fortunate. By extension, many tropes associated with physical projectiles also start to apply: The would-be victim can [[ConcealmentEqualsCover dive for cover]] behind an obstruction, block it with a BulletproofHumanShield (or inversely, a bystander [[TakingTheBullet takes the spell in their place]]), or so on.

One of the many ways FunctionalMagic varies between settings is what range spells can be cast from. In some stories, if [[AliceAndBob Alice the witch]] wants to put a curse on Bob, she just has to say the right words and burn the right incenses, and he'll be cursed whether he's right next door, in a different hemisphere, or on the far side of the moon. In other stories, Alice's curse might only work within a certain range (like say, a one kilometer radius) but as long as Bob is within that range he'll be cursed but good.

Then there's this trope. This is where the spells a witch or wizard cast act more or less like bullets: if Alice wants to curse Bob, she's going to have to point her hands or wand at him (or at least be facing in his direction), then, when she says the curse, the magic will actually take a physical form (usually some sort of [[PowerGlows glowing energy]]) which will shoot towards Bob. If the curse hits him, he's cursed. However, if Alice's aim is off, or if Bob manages to dodge out of the way, he'll remain safely unenchanted. Whatever the spell hits ''instead'' might not be so lucky.

Sometimes characters will turn this trope against spellcasters by holding up a mirror. For some reason, a spell that would turn anything else into grey mush will [[MirrorsReflectEverything reflect harmlessly off glass]], usually [[HoistByHisOwnPetard bouncing right back at the person who cast the spell]]. Kind of the {{Fantasy}} version of "I am rubber; you are glue."

Please note that this trope is only about cases where somehow enchanting an object relies upon a spell making contact with it. If Alice creates a {{fireball|s}} (or other EnergyBall) and hurls it at Bob, that's not a ProjectileSpell, since the actual ''spell'' was making the fireball in the first place. This trope is where, if Alice casts a spell to turn Bob into a ferret, but Bob ducks out of the way, the man standing behind him will be turned into a ferret instead.

May overlap with KiAttacks. Not to be confused with MagicMissileStorm, which sends a hailstorm of actual magical projectiles at the target.

Please note that this trope is only about cases where somehow enchanting an object relies upon a spell making contact with it. If Alice creates a {{fireball|s}} (or other EnergyBall) and hurls it at Bob, that's not a MagicMissile, since the actual ''spell'' was making the fireball in the first place. This trope is where, if Alice casts a spell to turn Bob into a ferret, but Bob ducks out of the way, the man standing behind him will be turned into a ferret instead.

** Named for the "Magic Missile" spell, wherein a magical force of energy darts out from the user and subsequently strikes the target. Note that prior to 4th edition, Magic Missiles don't do that much damage compared to other attack spells, but they are [[AlwaysAccurateAttack guaranteed to hit the target]] ([[NoSavingThrow no exceptions]]), even if the magic missile has to pass through solid obstructions to actually reach it. And while it can't be dodged, there are still special circumstances (like a Shield spell, or Spell Resistance) that can negate its effect after it hits.

** 4th edition Magic Missiles are handled more like regular ranged attacks, with a chance to simply ''miss'' the target. (Note that if the target successfully dodges it, the spell will not continue to fly onwards and strike something else).