Fire Bad

[the_redbeard]

Is there a spell to extinguish a normal fire?

I'm not seeing a low level spell that does just that. Prestidigitation might work, with a range of 10ft - but I think any one holding a torch or lantern would deserve a saving throw, which pretty much invalidates prestidigitation.

There are spells like Gust of Wind and Pyrotechnics, but they are far from ideal.

Those critters that can see in normal darkness SHOULD have developed a spell to extinguish normal fires. Magical darkness (aka magical 'dimness') doesn't give darkvision creatures any advantages, as it creates "shadowy illumination" not "darkness".

You would think an orc shaman would want to extinguish a surface dweller's light source for an ambush (or a dwarf defending his home from surface incursion). Smart adventurers would then acquire Light spells and such.

Am I missing a spell in the plethora of published spells? Or do I need to make some?

 

[phindar]

I've long thought (by which I mean, for maybe 6 mos) that there should be spells that simulate "non-magical" darkness and dimness, so that the elves, dwarves and orcs of the world could have spells that would give them a tactical advantage. From a game standpoint, its not like they really need it, but it does seem like the sort of thing they'd develop.

Darkness spells are good for cancelling magical light spells, which most mid to high level groups use. But you pretty much have to have an orc shaman dedicated to firing off a Darkness spell each round, and that's only going to be so effective, since most characters by that level will have something to fall back on.

In the many, many supplements WotC has put out, someone surely must have come up with a spell to extinguish normal fires.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Well, the spell for putting out fires is Quench... but that might be overkill for what you're after.

-Hyp.

 

[phindar]

Water Elementals also do it. There's no much else to do with a small water elemental from the lower level Summon, except have it run around dousing fires.

 

[EyeontheMountain]

Seems like a good spell to research.

 

[Dross]

Would a spell like burning hands, which sets things alight, burn through a torch making it useless as a torch (I can't see many PCs using their burning clothes as a light source)?

Although heavy handed, would Cone of Cold, Ice storm or any similar spell be useful for this?

 

[phindar]

Cone of Cold, probably not. Ice Storm, that seems very likely. Anything that puts a lot of ice, water or wind on the fire would probably be a likely candidate for snuffing it out. The problem as I see it comes down to percentages: how do you decide which fires are extinguished? Is it all of them, do they make saving throws, and so on. What about a hooded lantern, wouldn't that have a better chance of staying lit than a torch, and if so, how much better?

Let's take an example of a party mostly without darkvision, skipping merrily through a cavern complex with their torches for illumination. It seems a little harsh to have the first Ice Storm automatically snuff out all light, especially since the spell already does something like cause damage. At least a spell that extinguishes fire does that as the spell effect, and you're not left with a bonus interpretation to an existing spell you may regret later (like when the party starts casting darkvision on themselves and Ice Storming opponent's light sources).

Off the top or possibly sides of my head, I'd say Extinguish, lvl 0, Dur: I, Close Range, AoE: 5' diameter of fire, VS. Then maybe, Quench Flames, lvl 2, Dur: I, Medium Range, AoE: All fires in a 40' radius spread.

 

[Darklone]

Ray of Frost? There were some rules for growing fires somewhere. I simply substracted the cold damage from the Ray from the Fire... several PCs working together extinguished a burning house rather quick.

 

[SelcSilverhand]

Druid:
0
Create Water - Players Handbook / SRD - Creates a couple gallons of water at short range. Clerics / Paladins can use this as well.

1st
Aura Against Flame - Spell Compendium - Snuffs out fires but you have to get close.
Raging Flame - Spell Compendium - Makes fires burn their fuel faster and thus go out quick.

2nd
Cloudburst - C. Divine - Makes it rain outdoors.

 

[awayfarer]

Druid:
0
Create Water - Players Handbook / SRD - Creates a couple gallons of water at short range. Clerics / Paladins can use this as well.

Bah, you beat me to this by about 3 seconds.