Delayed Fireball

[durza120]

I looked in the text and it said that it can "detonate immiditely if desired", if this is true, why bother using fireball? It also said that you can delay the blast up to five rounds, do you have to roll for this, or can you just choose when you want it to detonate? B/c that is what it says in the text, is that true?

 

[pallandrome]

Totally true. The lower level fireball has it's uses, however. Specifically, it is easier to meta-magic, and it takes up a lower slot.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

You can delay it for as long as you want:

You select the amount of delay upon completing the spell.

As for why you'd use one over the other:

Fireball:

Save DC: 13 + Stat
Damage Max: 10d6

DB Fireball:

Save DC: 17 + Stat
Damage Max: 20d6

 

[Infiniti2000]

You can delay it for as long as you want...

No, definitely not. It specifies a 5 round limit no less than 3 times.

Of course, you meant to say "as long as you want up to 5 rounds", but you didn't.

 

[Nail]

The lower level fireball has it's uses, however. Specifically, it is easier to meta-magic, and it takes up a lower slot.

Exactly.

Moreover, by 13th level (DB Fireball's min CL), there are better things to do that hit your opponents with fire damage.

 

[AuraSeer]

I looked in the text and it said that it can "detonate immiditely if desired", if this is true, why bother using fireball?

There are lots of better things to do with that spell slot, especially at relatively low caster levels.

DLB only does its max damage if you're a 20th-level caster. If you're at the minimum caster level, it only does 13d6, which is not much of an improvement over the 10d6 cap of regular fireball. A lot of the time I'd prefer to throw a different 7th-level spell entirely, like finger of death or grasping hand or perhaps prismatic spray.

Even if I'm certain that area fire damage is the way to go, I might use that 7th-level slot for a Quickened fireball. Use that plus a regular one in the same round, and even a Wiz13 can put out 20d6 damage in a single round.

 

[Infiniti2000]

... until you run into the white dragon within a globe of invulnerability. Then you'd be wishing you had delayed blast fireball.

 

[AuraSeer]

That's what Heighten Spell is for.

 

[Sejs]

I looked in the text and it said that it can "detonate immiditely if desired", if this is true, why bother using fireball? It also said that you can delay the blast up to five rounds, do you have to roll for this, or can you just choose when you want it to detonate? B/c that is what it says in the text, is that true?

Because fireball is a 3rd level spell, and delayed blast fireball is a 7th? You can do some pretty cool stuff with a 7th level spell slot other than just blowing things up slightly better than you can by just slapping Empower Spell on a normal fireball.

It's all about resource management.

DBF definitely has its uses, though. And for that reason so does the Delay Spell feat.

 

[Sejs]

... until you run into the white dragon within a globe of invulnerability. Then you'd be wishing you had delayed blast fireball.

Or worse, globe of invulnerability and prestidigitation. Or a can of paint.

"I am the Fire Dragon of the Ice Cave!"