Arcane Overload question

Is arcane overload really supposed to apply a couple points of damage once per long rest? That has to be a typo, it's 2-6 pts of extra damage for crying out loud!

It's an Origin Feat, so it's not meant to be super powerful, and it does also give you a free cantrip. But yeah, it's a bit underwhelming compared to some of the others.

Could you use the Power Surge of Arcane Overload to increase the damage that Magic Missile does?

Quote from Brian_Avery >>

Could you use the Power Surge of Arcane Overload to increase the damage that Magic Missile does?

It's an Evocation spell that deals damage, so yes.

Quote from spamandtuna >>

It would, however, apply to only a single missile. Since Magic Missile doesn't force a save, the rule linked above does not apply.

That's correct under the 5.5e rules-as-written, though in practice a lot of DMs do treat it as a single damage roll, especially if all the projectiles are directed at the same target. It's worth checking with your DM about it before choosing the feat.

Quote from spamandtuna >>

It would, however, apply to only a single missile. Since Magic Missile doesn't force a save, the rule linked above does not apply.

 Doesn't the wording of the feature refer to a single damage roll... and Magic Missile has been ruled as a single damage roll (per RAW) for well over a decade with absolutely no signs of it changing?

Quote from spamandtuna >>

Quote from Brian_Avery >>

 Doesn't the wording of the feature refer to a single damage roll... and Magic Missile has been ruled as a single damage roll (per RAW) for well over a decade with absolutely no signs of it changing?

 It changed already.

In the 2014 PHB, it clearly did apply to Magic Missile (or at least it did when the spell targeted multiple creatures):

If a spell or other effect deals damage to more than one target at the same time, roll the damage once for all of them.

In the 2024 PHB, the equivalent rule now applies only when a saving throw is involved, which clearly excludes Magic Missile:

When you create a damaging effect that forces two or more targets to make saving throws against it at the same time, roll the damage once for all the targets.

Since Arcana Unleashed is written for 5.5e, my previous answer was also written for 5.5e.

 The rule you mentioned for 2014 appears to only work for multiple targets. (as you included in brackets above)

Under the 2024 rules, about a few paragraphs and/or sentences before the rule concerning saving throws you quoted there is a rule that states something to the effect that each attack roll requires it's own damage roll. An argument with just as much merit could be made to say that magic missile only has one damage roll because it doesn't have individual attack rolls.

But due to magic missile not having any saving throw or attack rolls both of these rules have absolutely nothing to do with magic missile... and lacking any distinct or specific rule that changes it from a single damage roll, I'm happy to say it remains a single damage roll... not because of any rules found outside the spell description that have nothing to do with it, but because of the spell description itself.

Both the 2014 and 2024 rules show the spell description for Magic Missile clearly has one damage roll listed and is the main rule for magic missile being a single damage roll... it's even another part of the spell description that tells you how many darts you get, once the number of darts has been determined then later in the spell you make your single damage roll and apply that whenever a dart hits a target.