I support Projectile Spell or Spells Are Bullets. Putting "line of sight" makes it sound like it's transmitted through eye contact or it's impossible to cast the spell with your eyes closed.
The D&D term for this would be Magic Ray, which could also work.
edited 10th Jun '13 12:30:10 PM by Prime32
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Magic Ray to me sounds like it's some sort of constant, wide-spread beam. Good point on Line Of Sight Spell.
Spells Are Bullets works.
edited 10th Jun '13 12:44:02 PM by Larkmarn
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Captain of USS Bajor
We could also use D&D's technical term line of effect
. Perhaps Line Of Effect Spellcasting?
Magic Ray needs proof that it can't turn before I accept it. The Line Of Effect thing is good for me.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Well, if the definition is to be "magic that moves in a straight line," then Linear Magic would be accurate and not overly wordy.
Would probably need a whole new description to go along with it, though. At least as far as I can tell the current pretty much says "magic projectile that can be dodged." It doesn't specifically exclude guided projectiles, either.
Captain of USS Bajor
And we probably need to split off the trope for "spell = Frickin' Laser Beams" since that's what most of the misuse is.
Gentleman Troper!
Again, it isn't just about line of effect (which just requires an unobstructed line to your target). It is about the spell visibly shooting towards its target in a way that can, at least theoretically, be dodged.
A spell that where a witch snaps her fingers and suddenly the prince turns into a frog is not this trope even if she has to see the prince (or "have effect" to him) to do that. This trope is where the witch points her finger, and a green dart shoots out, and the prince turns into a frog when hit by the dart.
Rhetorical, eh? ... Eight!
I'm leaning towards Spells Are Bullets at this point.
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NaNo 4328 / 50,000
Which is why I mentioned this trope has two parts. FLB should probably be linked, since the two really are related.
One Winged Egret
Ballistic Magic Missile. Since the main point is that it's not homing or an "instant" effect that just happens.
edited 11th Jun '13 9:18:53 AM by Clarste
No, the other one.
Why not just Ballistic Magic?
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One Winged Egret
Well, it was supposed to be a pun, but that certainly rolls off the tongue better.
Zzzzzzzzzz
If it's necessary that the spell not only be line-of-sight, but also be a visible bolt or beam, this sounds like Spells Have Tracers, frankly.
edited 11th Jun '13 1:26:40 PM by Madrugada
...if you don’t love you’re dead, and if you do, they’ll kill you for it.
Gentleman Troper!
Spells Have Tracers, Tracer Spell, Ballistic Magic, all work for me.
Rhetorical, eh? ... Eight!
I like Spells Have Tracers, but the others aren't bad.
NaNo 4328 / 50,000
Spells Have Tracers seems good. Tracer Spell sounds like a magic equivalent of a Tracker/Bug.
Here's a few more:
Ricochet Ray, (edit: or Magical Ricochet Ray)
edited 11th Jun '13 3:28:54 PM by crazysamaritan
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No, the other one.
I think that the word tracer is more closely associated with tracking than a bullet visualisation aid. I also think that's sort of implied by magic behaving like a bullet, considering Power Glows.
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Dragon Writer
Every Spell Is A Tracer. There, I had to get the snowclone out.
An Ear Worm is like a Rickroll: It is never going to give you up.
Zzzzzzzzzz
What snowclone? And why make the name more universal than the trope is by saying "every"?
...if you don’t love you’re dead, and if you do, they’ll kill you for it.
It's a snowclone of Every Bullet is a Tracer. The tropes have very little to do with each other, though, so it's definitely not a good snowclone.
literary masochist
The essence of the trope isn't that it's visible (though it's certainly a necessary side-effect), it's that the spell manifests as a physical object that must be aimed. I believe the name should focus on that above anything else.
I personally like Ballistic Magic.
This "faculty lot" you speak of sounds like a place of great power...
Dragon Writer
"Ballistic" has a few meanings, though, and I'm not sure if what I think it is is what you think it is.
An Ear Worm is like a Rickroll: It is never going to give you up.
No, the other one.
Well, the word does have a couple meanings. It can mean "go ballistic", though that's an informal use and I don't think it's the first thing you think of here.
More scientifically, ballistics is basically about projectile trajectories. In fiction, unless it's specifically the point, like with artillery and some snipers, bullets go straight. But honestly, if the magic is affected by gravity, I'm not sure that would discount it. I don't think that goes against the spirit of the trope. It's about magic taking a physical form that travels unguided to the target.
I'm also not sure a guided spell would be against the spirit of the trope either. It may be impossible to dodge (or not), but you can shield against it, or simply outrun it.
edited 11th Jun '13 10:47:41 PM by AnotherDuck
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Raven Wilder
What about Spell Shooting?
edited 12th Jun '13 12:32:13 AM by RavenWilder
"It takes an idiot to do cool things, that's why it's cool" - Haruhara Haruko
Crown Description:
That still sounds more like "Magical Bullet" to me.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman