diff --git a/common/ruletypes.h b/common/ruletypes.h
index 24998930a..74a1c5ffa 100644
--- a/common/ruletypes.h
+++ b/common/ruletypes.h
@@ -515,6 +515,8 @@ RULE_BOOL(Spells, ManaTapsOnAnyClass, false, "Enabling this will allow you to ca
 RULE_INT(Spells, HealAmountMessageFilterThreshold, 100, "Lifetaps below this threshold will not have a message sent to the client (Heal will still process) 0 to Disable.")
 RULE_BOOL(Spells, SnareOverridesSpeedBonuses, false, "Enabling will allow snares to override any speed bonuses the entity may have. Default: False")
 RULE_INT(Spells, TargetedAOEMaxTargets, 4, "Max number of targets a Targeted AOE spell can cast on. Set to 0 for no limit.")
+RULE_INT(Spells, PointBlankAOEMaxTargets, 0, "Max number of targets a Point-Blank AOE spell can cast on. Set to 0 for no limit.")
+RULE_INT(Spells, DefaultAOEMaxTargets, 4, "Max number of targets that an AOE spell which does not meet other descriptions can cast on. Set to 0 for no limit.")
 RULE_CATEGORY_END()
 
 RULE_CATEGORY(Combat)
diff --git a/zone/effects.cpp b/zone/effects.cpp
index f97d5e8b5..63e349f1b 100644
--- a/zone/effects.cpp
+++ b/zone/effects.cpp
@@ -1096,7 +1096,7 @@ void EntityList::AESpell(
 		max_targets = nullptr;
 	}
 
-	int max_targets_allowed = 4;
+	int max_targets_allowed = RuleI(Spells, DefaultAOEMaxTargets);;
 	if (max_targets) { // rains pass this in since they need to preserve the count through waves
 		max_targets_allowed = *max_targets;
 	} else if (spells[spell_id].aoe_max_targets) {
@@ -1109,6 +1109,12 @@ void EntityList::AESpell(
 		!IsEffectInSpell(spell_id, SE_Mez)
 	) {
 		max_targets_allowed = RuleI(Spells, TargetedAOEMaxTargets);
+	} else if (
+		IsPBAENukeSpell(spell_id) &&
+		IsDetrimentalSpell &&
+		!is_npc
+	) {
+		max_targets_allowed = RuleI(Spells, PointBlankAOEMaxTargets);
 	}
 
 	int   target_hit_counter = 0;