if you insist to make a random fireball it will be simpler to roll another type of dice to increase or decrease radius.
D&D 5E Fireball tweak idea
Blue
Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal
I've toyed with a house rule which is a much watered down version of this.
"Anyone* outside an area of effect engaged with someone inside an area of effect needs to also make a save, but with advantage. No effect on success even if normally it would have a partial result like half damage."
Basically, placing to to cut inches away from your allies in combat does carry some danger.
(* Anyone = not the caster if it comes from you, like a cone or line.)
"Anyone* outside an area of effect engaged with someone inside an area of effect needs to also make a save, but with advantage. No effect on success even if normally it would have a partial result like half damage."
Basically, placing to to cut inches away from your allies in combat does carry some danger.
(* Anyone = not the caster if it comes from you, like a cone or line.)
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Blue
Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal
What about if you reversed what you had?
For every 1, it's obviously less dense fire because it's bigger - increase radius by +5' (max +50%).
For every [max], it's obviously more concentrated because it's smaller - decrease radius by 5' (min half original).
One side goes up when the other goes down and vice versa, to balance.
For every 1, it's obviously less dense fire because it's bigger - increase radius by +5' (max +50%).
For every [max], it's obviously more concentrated because it's smaller - decrease radius by 5' (min half original).
One side goes up when the other goes down and vice versa, to balance.
The DMG states what the base assumptions of the game are. Obviously you are free to ignore those assumptions and build whatever world you like. But doing so carries consequences, and those consequences include elevating typical D&D casters in a way unintended by the base assumptions of the game.
Let's assume for sake of argument that you decide the world is essentially medieval with no more powerful magic than was believed to be real in our own history. Then you allow the PCs to play characters as written in the PHB. By level 3 they are absolutely confounding and dominating the setting because of the powers at their disposal. That's fine and all, but it is a very different experience than is presumed.
Base line D&D expects that the world is full of magical elements. Other beings than the PCs inhabit that world. Ergo, NPCs and monsters are not flabbergasted by the existence of magic, and will actively plan to deal with it.
Again, obviously, you a free to define your world and run your game however you want, but it is clearly stated that magic is everywhere.
TheCosmicKid
Hero
Sure. As you said, it states that "The World Is Magical" on p. 9 of the DMG. And then the very next sentence begins, "Practitioners of magic are relatively few in number". And then the suggested alternate assumptions in the following section present "Magic Is Everywhere" as a contrast to this core assumption.
Again: if this were the reason that fireball is overpowered, and NPC countertactics were intended to be the balancing factor, this is pretty important information that I would expect the game to spell out, rather than leave it to us to infer. Furthermore, it would not explain why fireball is overpowered compared to other spells. Why isn't, say, shatter pushed the same way? It's a lower-level spell, so NPCs and monsters would have even more experience in dealing with it, so there would be even more justification for giving it a couple extra dice of damage.
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And immediately after "relatively few in number" (which is not a synonym for "rare") it goes on to explain how there are magical artifacts, locations and creatures everywhere you turn.
There are lots of area of effect low level spells, which is why any intelligent enemies should at least be considering the possibility of having to deal with them.
TheCosmicKid
Hero
If you say so.
Which does not answer my question about why fireball in particular is overpowered.
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Fireball:
A red streak shoots from your finger to the designated place. It then creates an explosion that deals 8d6 fire damage to creatures within it; a successful dex save halves thd damage. The radius of the explosion is 1' for every point of damage the explosion does. Even creatures overlapping the edge of the explosion risk full damage.
There. One roll. Larger radius vs no surgical strikes. No extra math.
And it scales with level. Cast a 9th level fireball, roll 14d6 and get an average radius of 49 feet. BOOM!
(I considered giving advatange on the save at more than half radius, but that made the wording more complicated. We could give advantage on the save if you are partly outside of the radius? That actually seems neat.)
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Fireball:
A red streak shoots from your finger to the designated place. It then creates an explosion that deals 8d6 fire damage to creatures within it; a successful dex save halves thd damage. The radius of the explosion is 1' for every point of damage the explosion does. If a creature is partly inside, partly outside of the radius, they have advantage on the dex saving throw.
A red streak shoots from your finger to the designated place. It then creates an explosion that deals 8d6 fire damage to creatures within it; a successful dex save halves thd damage. The radius of the explosion is 1' for every point of damage the explosion does. Even creatures overlapping the edge of the explosion risk full damage.
There. One roll. Larger radius vs no surgical strikes. No extra math.
And it scales with level.
Cast a 9th level fireball, roll 14d6 and get an average radius of 49 feet. BOOM!(I considered giving advatange on the save at more than half radius, but that made the wording more complicated. We could give advantage on the save if you are partly outside of the radius? That actually seems neat.)
V2:
Fireball:
A red streak shoots from your finger to the designated place. It then creates an explosion that deals 8d6 fire damage to creatures within it; a successful dex save halves thd damage. The radius of the explosion is 1' for every point of damage the explosion does. If a creature is partly inside, partly outside of the radius, they have advantage on the dex saving throw.
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I don't think it is. i think it is desirable because it is the iconic area of effect damage spell for its level.
TaranTheWanderer
Legend
But that doesn't help him find a balance or brainstorm a way to tweak the spell. If someone asks for a way to change or home brew a spell (or anything) in such a way to add some flavour to their own game, it seems counter-productive to have someone else drop in and argue that they shouldn't.
To me, it seems more fun to help them find a solution. No one is asking you to use any of these ideas in your own game.
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