Continual Flame

[Alcamtar]

Continual flame annoys me; if it looks like fire it ought to act like fire, and it seems kooky to stick a burning torch in your pocket or use it underwater. It is "cooler looking" to carry a torch than a glowing coin (the old 2E version), but the behavior is absurd. Two options are:

(a) Drop the spell from the list. This may not be great because now character just won't use torches at all, they'll use lanterns or sunrods or something. Also it's a bookkepping chore to keep track of fuel for light sources.

(b) Modify the spell. I'm thinking of changing it from [Light] to [Fire] and redefining it as *real* fire -- it is hot, can ignite items, does +1 fire damage like a torch, and can be extinguished by smothering or dousing. If extinguished, it can be re-lit with a command word as a free action. It is no longer dispelled by darkness spells. It requires access to fuel and oxygen, but does not consume them.

Has anyone done either of these? I don't want to nerf the spell, just make it more interesting and cooler.

Another spell idea is (c),

Wizard Fire
Evocation [Fire]
Sor/Wiz 1
Popular among wilderness travelers, this spell ignites a fire that will burn even wet fuel, and will continue burning even in a gale or in a downpour. If smothered or doused, it will re-kindle as soon as exposed to the air again (like those birthday candles you can't blow out). It is hot enough to serve as a campfire. The size and illumination are determine by available fuel, ranging for a candle flame to a bonfire. The spell ends when the fuel is gone, or when the wizard dismisses it with a word.

This idea could make a good torch also.

 

[Chimera]

I dunno. I liked the previous version of the spell, though I made a minor modification that I've carried forward to the new version, for which it makes even more sense.

That it slowly consumes the object upon which it is cast.

Thus, you really don't want to cast it on anything of value. Something like a coin might last several weeks. Casting it on the end of a Longsword or something like that would burn it down like a candle over a period of years.

But why cast it on a coin (actual money) or anything valuable when you can cast it on a rock or a stick?

 

[UltimaGabe]

You know one really, really cool thing about the 3.5 version of Continual Flame?

You can't resist it. It's got a casting time of 1 standard action, no save, no spell resistance. That means, assuming your DM will allow you, you can cast it one a person, and that person will continually burn, without generating heat, forever. Until they get someone to dispel it, that is.