diff --git a/include/game/spell_defines.hpp b/include/game/spell_defines.hpp
index 8b431532..99349c47 100644
--- a/include/game/spell_defines.hpp
+++ b/include/game/spell_defines.hpp
@@ -127,7 +127,10 @@ inline const char* getSpellCastResultString(uint8_t result, int powerType = -1)
         case 24:  return "Charmed";
         case 25:  return "Chest in use";
         case 26:  return "Confused";
-        case 27:  return nullptr; // DONT_REPORT — suppress message
+        // DONT_REPORT carries no localized reason of its own. Returning null
+        // sent it through the unknown-code fallback and exposed "error 27" to
+        // players, which is less useful than a safe generic explanation.
+        case 27:  return "You can't do that right now";
         case 28:  return "Equipped item required";
         case 29:  return "Equipped item class (mainhand)";
         case 30:  return "Equipped item class (mainhand)";
diff --git a/include/rendering/character_renderer.hpp b/include/rendering/character_renderer.hpp
index aefbb399..d11622ef 100644
--- a/include/rendering/character_renderer.hpp
+++ b/include/rendering/character_renderer.hpp
@@ -190,6 +190,13 @@ private:
         pipeline::M2Model data;  // Original model data
         std::vector<glm::mat4> bindPose;  // Inverse bind pose matrices
 
+        // Tight bind-pose bounds from rendered vertices. M2 header
+        // boundingBox/boundingRadius describe collision geometry on many
+        // creatures and can cover little more than their feet.
+        glm::vec3 visualBoundMin{0.0f};
+        glm::vec3 visualBoundMax{0.0f};
+        float visualBoundRadius = 0.0f;
+
         // Textures loaded from BLP (indexed by texture array position)
         std::vector<VkTexture*> textureIds;
 
diff --git a/src/rendering/character_renderer.cpp b/src/rendering/character_renderer.cpp
index d4e973d7..60f747e7 100644
--- a/src/rendering/character_renderer.cpp
+++ b/src/rendering/character_renderer.cpp
@@ -1636,6 +1636,16 @@ bool CharacterRenderer::loadModel(const pipeline::M2Model& model, uint32_t id) {
 
     M2ModelGPU gpuModel;
     gpuModel.data = model;
+    if (!model.vertices.empty()) {
+        gpuModel.visualBoundMin = glm::vec3(std::numeric_limits<float>::max());
+        gpuModel.visualBoundMax = glm::vec3(-std::numeric_limits<float>::max());
+        for (const auto& vertex : model.vertices) {
+            gpuModel.visualBoundMin = glm::min(gpuModel.visualBoundMin, vertex.position);
+            gpuModel.visualBoundMax = glm::max(gpuModel.visualBoundMax, vertex.position);
+        }
+        gpuModel.visualBoundRadius =
+            glm::length(gpuModel.visualBoundMax - gpuModel.visualBoundMin) * 0.5f;
+    }
     const auto classification = classifyM2Model(
         model.name, model.boundMin, model.boundMax,
         model.vertices.size(), model.particleEmitters.size());
@@ -3744,14 +3754,25 @@ bool CharacterRenderer::getInstanceBounds(uint32_t instanceId, glm::vec3& outCen
     const auto& inst = it->second;
     const auto& model = mIt->second.data;
 
-    glm::vec3 localCenter = (model.boundMin + model.boundMax) * 0.5f;
-    float radius = model.boundRadius;
+    glm::vec3 boundsMin = mIt->second.visualBoundMin;
+    glm::vec3 boundsMax = mIt->second.visualBoundMax;
+    float radius = mIt->second.visualBoundRadius;
     if (radius <= 0.001f) {
-        radius = glm::length(model.boundMax - model.boundMin) * 0.5f;
+        boundsMin = model.boundMin;
+        boundsMax = model.boundMax;
+        radius = model.boundRadius;
+        if (radius <= 0.001f) {
+            radius = glm::length(boundsMax - boundsMin) * 0.5f;
+        }
     }
 
     float scale = std::max(0.001f, inst.scale);
-    outCenter = inst.position + localCenter * scale;
+    const glm::vec3 localCenter = (boundsMin + boundsMax) * 0.5f;
+    glm::mat4 rotation(1.0f);
+    rotation = glm::rotate(rotation, inst.rotation.z, glm::vec3(0.0f, 0.0f, 1.0f));
+    rotation = glm::rotate(rotation, inst.rotation.x, glm::vec3(1.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f));
+    rotation = glm::rotate(rotation, inst.rotation.y, glm::vec3(0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f));
+    outCenter = inst.position + glm::vec3(rotation * glm::vec4(localCenter * scale, 0.0f));
     outRadius = std::max(0.5f, radius * scale);
     return true;
 }
diff --git a/tests/test_spell_classification.cpp b/tests/test_spell_classification.cpp
index 9223a870..3307a18d 100644
--- a/tests/test_spell_classification.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_spell_classification.cpp
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #include <catch_amalgamated.hpp>
 
 #include "game/spell_classification.hpp"
+#include "game/spell_defines.hpp"
 
 #include <string>
 #include <unordered_map>
@@ -35,6 +36,11 @@ private:
 
 } // namespace
 
+TEST_CASE("DONT_REPORT cast failures remain player-facing", "[spell][failure]") {
+    REQUIRE(std::string(wowee::game::getSpellCastResultString(27)) ==
+            "You can't do that right now");
+}
+
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Range classification
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------