Fireball or Lightning Bolt?

[Altalazar]

I'm a traditionalist. I've just always loved the fireball, no matter its shortcomings. Nothing like roasting your enemies in their own skins.

Though I did see a great use of lightning bolt in one campaign, where the mage, through some bluffing, got the household guard for this one place to think he was an officer. He then had them line up all in a row for "inspection" perpendicular to a solid stone wall. He then stood at the other end of the line and hit them with the lightning bolt, which through ricochet, hit every person in line twice. Ouch. They were all roasted corpses before the smoke cleared. The rest of us PCs just watched and then laughed, not having to lift a finger.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

I'll vote fireball. Ironically though, the last full caster wizard I played knew lightning bolt but not fireball. He had too much fire damage in his other spells and needed some variation in elemental type.

 

[The Shaman]

"Lightning bolt! Lightning bolt! Lightning bolt! Lightning bolt!"

 

[Supaida]

Lightning Bolt is cooler than Fireball, so I voted for it in the poll. In general, though, PCs get Fireball, NPCs get Lightning Bolt. Fireball is great for when you have a nice, powerful, reliable front line you don't want to hurt, but when you don't? When your cannon fodder only lasts a couple rounds while you blind the wizard and paralyze the rogue, and then the fighter and cleric are right in your face and you're facing down the entire party from one direction? KA-THWOOM.

That was a thunder sound effect. I blame comic books.

 

[MadMaxim]

The fireball is great for clearing rooms. "Fire in the hole!" *KABOOM!* And then you send in the fighter...

 

[just__al]

Eventually, I'll have shadow evocation and can do both....

Until then, lightning bolt, greater potential # of targets. Some degree of precision, and as mentioned, much less things are immune.

 

[lukelightning]

Fireballs all the way! You can blast it in through arrow slits (as a spread it can "fill up" the space behind them).

 

[lukelightning]

I don't see how lightning bolt is any different from fireball in this respect; instead of an area you have a line...and any square (those blocks you despise) the line touches is in the area.

I like blockiness. It takes a little bit of faith to accept this level of abstractness but it's better than arguing where the edge of the fireball/lightning bolt/whatever is and if it is just "touching" you or "half on" you etc.

I picked Lightningbolt because for me, Fireball is like the text-book defenition of "rollplaying".

 

[Shard O'Glase]

fireball.

1: its cooler
2: its better
3: I like fire and the smell of roasted flesh
4: if it wasn't raining I'd be grilling today.

Man I miss the spells the way they were supposed to be 33 10'by10'by10' sections filled with burning doom, richochets(oh and lightning bolt started at a distance within medium range, not at your finger). Sure it was a bit more complex, but complexity isn't a bad thing always. They stole the magic form my spells in 3e.

 

[Woas]

I don't see how lightning bolt is any different from fireball in this respect; instead of an area you have a line...and any square (those blocks you despise) the line touches is in the area.

I like blockiness. It takes a little bit of faith to accept this level of abstractness but it's better than arguing where the edge of the fireball/lightning bolt/whatever is and if it is just "touching" you or "half on" you etc.

True, I'll admit that lightningbolt can be just as blocky and what not. I guess it's just my experience with the two different spells...