Not gonna lie: I love rays and I love treating them as attack rolls -- pointing a finger at the baddie and trying not to miss. Furthermore, critting with a ray is just about the greatest thing ever. I think 3e was where the designers settled on using ranged [touch] attacks for everything described as a ray (with some then requiring a save), and as I started playing in that era I readily admit that is where my formative sympathies lie.
The ray spells currently in 5B are Disintegrate and Ray of Frost. Others from the last play test include Scorching Ray and Ray of Enfeeblement. Prismatic Spray is described as many rays in the playtest, although as an area affect it occupies a quite different mechanical space. Setting Prismatic Spray aside for a moment, all the other ray spells involve an attack, while Disintegrate involves a Dex save. I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed that Disintegrate made it through the playtest in that form.
In 1e/2e very few spells used attack rolls, and I'm not aware that any rays were among them. Disintegrate was not described as a ray in 1e, and involved a save in both 1e/2e. It involved a save in 3.5 as well, of course, but only after a successful attack. Prismatic Spray has been an area effect forever, and in 3/3.5 the designers changed its description to "beams", probably to avoid confusion with the written rules for rays. Ray of Enfeeblement in 1e/2e involved only a save. I'm not certain if Ray of Frost existed prior to 3e. Scorching Ray also seems to have originated in 3e, although it may have evolved from the non-ray Aganazzar's Scorcher. In 4e basically everything was an attack and saves played a much different role, so an attack vs. save distinction for rays isn't really applicable to that edition.
I don't really want special written rules for rays, just a tacit guideline that things called rays have one small mechanical correspondence. Am I the only one? Even with crits, it would be possible to write a balanced version of disintegrate by adjusting how much damage comes from dice and how much from the flat bonus.
The ray spells currently in 5B are Disintegrate and Ray of Frost. Others from the last play test include Scorching Ray and Ray of Enfeeblement. Prismatic Spray is described as many rays in the playtest, although as an area affect it occupies a quite different mechanical space. Setting Prismatic Spray aside for a moment, all the other ray spells involve an attack, while Disintegrate involves a Dex save. I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed that Disintegrate made it through the playtest in that form.
In 1e/2e very few spells used attack rolls, and I'm not aware that any rays were among them. Disintegrate was not described as a ray in 1e, and involved a save in both 1e/2e. It involved a save in 3.5 as well, of course, but only after a successful attack. Prismatic Spray has been an area effect forever, and in 3/3.5 the designers changed its description to "beams", probably to avoid confusion with the written rules for rays. Ray of Enfeeblement in 1e/2e involved only a save. I'm not certain if Ray of Frost existed prior to 3e. Scorching Ray also seems to have originated in 3e, although it may have evolved from the non-ray Aganazzar's Scorcher. In 4e basically everything was an attack and saves played a much different role, so an attack vs. save distinction for rays isn't really applicable to that edition.
I don't really want special written rules for rays, just a tacit guideline that things called rays have one small mechanical correspondence. Am I the only one? Even with crits, it would be possible to write a balanced version of disintegrate by adjusting how much damage comes from dice and how much from the flat bonus.
