Forgotten Realms: Spellfire

[hammymchamham]

Ok, I started a FR game last Saturday and one of my players wanted to take the feat Spellfire (He's a Druid). I said 'Its ok with me, as long as you are willing to face the consequences' Another player carefully asked him if he understood what that would be (Evil organizations out to get him, Wizards wanting to do experiments on him etc). All I could do was try to hide a smile (Though some of the players noticed it).

One of the players is a straight Wizzard and the other a Rogue/Sorcorer.

We ended last session after a fight where the Druid used 8 levels of Spellfire to kill an enemy. Now, my question is

Would the Wizzard and/or Sorcerer know what was going on? What kinda check would I use? Knowledge Arcana? Spellcraft?

Also, how does spellfire relate to the Weave and Divine spells?

 

[LokiDR]

As I understand Spellfire, mostly from reading Magic of Faerun, Spellfire is fairly famous. I would personally put it at a arcana roll of 15-20. Most every wizard has heard of it, but most haven't seen it.

As for the weave, spellfire is a part of it. Spellfire is raw magical energy, more or less straight from the weave. Spellfire skips the normal knowledge steps and the concentration for raw power. I think Mystra could prevent a person from using spellfire, because archmage gets a similar ability, silver fire or some such.

 

[Mr Fidgit]

i agree with LokiDR, mostly

spellfire is supposed to be so rare, i would set know: arcana check higher (minimum 20), for anyone else to discern what it really is (since there are so few people who can use spellfire, not that many people would recognize it)

i would also add a circumstance bonus to anyone from an organization specifically hunting for spellfire users (Cult of the Dragon, Red Wizards, etc.) or who might have a better knowledge of it from experience (like Harpers or the clergy of Mystra)

"how does spellfire relate to the Weave and Divine spells?" as LokiDR mentioned, spellfire is energy directly from the weave. divine magic also taps the Weave for energy, but its access is granted by the gods in the form of divine magic. (divine casters don't actually tap the Weave themselves (the Power MoF pg 8))

 

[hammymchamham]

Thanks for the response. The wizard did a good job RPing his charecter. He asked me if he knew what was going on, and told him we'll resolve it next time we play. The guy knows a LOT about FR, so he's my helper when it comes to stuff in FR (as I have another player who helps with rules). So he RPed as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

Now, I'm still trying to get ahold of how the Weave works. If Wizard A is near Wizard B, does Wizard A know if Wizard B is tapping into the weave? What if its Druid B? What if its Spellfire user B?

 

[AuraSeer]

Now, I'm still trying to get ahold of how the Weave works. If Wizard A is near Wizard B, does Wizard A know if Wizard B is tapping into the weave? What if its Druid B? What if its Spellfire user B?

AFAICT the Weave is entirely "flavor text." It explains the existence of wild magic dead magic zones, like the Shadow Weave explains shadow magic, but I don't see that it has any real game effects.

A spellcaster in FR is just like a spellcaster in the standard game world, and doesn't suddenly gain the ability to sense other casters. (Unless I've completely overlooked something in FRCS, of course.)

 

[Mr Fidgit]

Now, I'm still trying to get ahold of how the Weave works. If Wizard A is near Wizard B, does Wizard A know if Wizard B is tapping into the weave? What if its Druid B? What if its Spellfire user B?

i might be unclear on this, so i'd recommend reading the first chapter of MoF

the Weave - "Raw magic exists in Faerun, but it is a powerful and dangerous force that can easily destroy even a patient and skilled mortal. It is locked away inside all matter and difficult to access. Most spellcasters instead draw upon magic through the controlled and relatively safe magic accessed through the Weave."

no one can 'detect' someone else using the Weave without a special ability to do so (like a specialized spell - they don't exist, but could, if developed in a game). casters can detect magic, but not the Weave itself

ALL casters use get their magical energy from the Weave, if they realize it or not. in fact, divine casters are less likely to know the Weave even exists (since they pray for their magic - i.e. its granted by their gods)

in a way, the Weave is like the Force (it surrounds us, binds us, it's in all living things...) with a few exceptions. 1) the Weave is present in ALL things, living, dead or undead. 2) the Weave only exists on Faerun (so Mystra could block the magic given to worshipers of any given diety on Faerun, but not anywhere else in the multi-verse). 3) the Weave can't be 'detected' like a jedi can sense the Force (or the use of it - unless some homebrew ability was created, like a feat to 'Sense Weave'). this is why dead- and wild-magic zones are so hard to find. magic-users can't detect them without some kind of direct contact (being in a zone, or trying to scry or teleport into a zone)

hope that helps a little....

 

[hammymchamham]

Thanks. I thought I read something that Wizards could detect it, but couldnt find it, so I guess I thought wrong. Thanks

 

[AuraSeer]

in a way, the Weave is like the Force[...]

Yeah! It has a light side, and a dark side, and it binds the universe together.

No, wait. That's duct tape.

Nevermind.

 

[Shard O'Glase]

So what's the wizard going to do if he figures out his companion is a spellfire wielder.

Keep him unconscius next time he goes to sleep, and sprit him off and sell him to the highest bidder?

Perform experements on him?

Or actually help him hide from his enemies?

Maybe I should make this a poll.

 

[hammymchamham]

So what's the wizard going to do if he figures out his companion is a spellfire wielder.

Keep him unconscius next time he goes to sleep, and sprit him off and sell him to the highest bidder?

Perform experements on him?

Or actually help him hide from his enemies?

Maybe I should make this a poll.

I don't know yet. His patron deity is Mystra, and he told me bascially his charecter cares about increasing magic power for everyone and for Farune, not just for himself. He'll try to repair dead magic areas and such. Now, I do know he won't use a 'cheese' tactic and use his spells to fuel the Druids spellfire level.

What will be interesting is that after the adventure they currently are involved in, I am going to run Pool of Radience: Ruins of Myth Drawmoricantspell, which is crawling with the Cult of the Dragon.

Plus, I made the current adventure long before they made their charecters, and one part of the adventure has them in a dungeon seeking out 2 items. They are 5th level and each item has a guard(s) of EL 7. The druid is a half-celestial, so only has 2 levels of druid (and few hit points). Well, to get to one of the items, the PCs have to pass an old suspension bridge (I made up rules for balance checks etc to see if they fall off), and the Druid Half-Celestial rolled a 74% to see if he had wings. I can see the druid flying across... well the encounter I have prepared is... well I don't remember the name of the critters, but its from the Monsters of Faruen with the purple looking eagles with antlers that likes to eat peoples hearts. And basically the way I read the discription of the critters... they'll go right after the half-celestial. So, *if* he survives that, then I'll begin to plot how the Cult of the Dragon will use him..