actually this is a little contradictory, if target made the spell to "miss" by resistance than how it can even being casted?
question: are all current taget_and_area type abilities/spells are like "a"?
Except it can also be a basic chance to use ability. An accuracy or success chance
First of all - there are no spells in AoS. Just like in many other variants - AoWW, AoMW, AoD.
So in all those variants those are just abilities. Either:
1. physical
2. chemical
3. mental, social
and in those variants magic exists:
4. magical
And all those abilities can:
a) fail to affect a target
b) be absorbed by target
c) fail (not even be executed)
d) miss
a) It could be personal spell resistance or mental/social resistance or physical attack too weak to affect strong unit or poison cloud going to immune target.
b) practically only applicable if magic exist. And not even with all magic concepts - many can use more personal approach to magic resistance, so spell would still work on area. Without magic maybe in some rare cases like special trap or defensive unit, that e.g. vacuums poison gas.
c) could be inadequacy of user or materials (failed difficult spellcasting, tripped and didn't throw weapon, mechanism broke or just didn't work this time).
And probably shouldn't have any effect (or have effect on fail).
d) Anything could miss - any type of ability. And in this case it could just as well affect target
So it depends on variant, but e.g. in AoS - there is close to none chances of any ability with b) type, but some could be c), which would also not apply effect on area.
btw "e.g. target died by attack" how this can happen? it is not an ability we are talking about? it is a normal attack and "weapon effect" ability? if weapon effect ability than definitely the "b" should be used as the weapon failed to hit the target like a poisoned weapon will only put poison if it hit the target.
Most of those can be a weapon effect and while in some cases it's logical, that main attack would be applied on area and weapon effect only on each target hit - in other it doesn't make sense.
Examples of things, that should work by single attack and area weapon attack:
- Magical fireball arrow: a mystic archer imbues an arrow with spell, so it explodes after normal, regular, physical attack.
Unless enemy is some kind of rare magic absorbing being - it should normally explode on miss or after target death.
- Double explosion rocket - either solid tip incendiary rocket or maybe bunker buster: initial attack can be single target - explosion of flames - surely not and they should work in the same two cases of miss or destruction of initial target.
- Super strong physical attack (e.g. by machine or some giant), that spreads fear on target and around it: such fear should have been executed on both cases of miss or death. On death it would be even more effective.
- Any projectile attack with splash of chemicals (poison or greek fire)
- Any kind of area weapon effect made that way, because area attack with single weapon effect would apply weapon effects of the same full strength even on outer breaches of it's area.
)
, will test it when it goes into dev version.