Grease spell confusion

[Rel]

It seems like you are just making an arbitrary decision, which doesn't help anyone.

Since the rules are unclear on this point, yes, I am making an "arbitrary" decision.

I would not be offended or angry if a player in my game brought up the "can we set it on fire" option. In response, I would say, "The Grease spell makes stuff slippery. Any use of the spell that would benefit from making something slippery is fine. Nothing in the spell description indicates that it is particularly flamable and, if it were intended to be a useful way to employ the spell, I think it would have been mentioned (see Web)."

I feel that, without the ability to burn, Grease is still a cool and useful 1st level spell. With the ability to burn (assuming 1d6 fire damage per round) I would say it is looking more like a 2nd level spell in terms of power and utility.

I can see why you might disagree. As I said before, I don't think your argument is without basis. I just think that it lends a bit too much versatility and power to a 1st level spell for my comfort.

 

[Pielorinho]

All forms of "grease" are fundamentally flamable. They are fat and oil. Both burn quite hot.

Not exactly true. It is true that they burn hot, but inflammable/flammable/combustible all have, as part of their definition, "easy to ignite." Again, I challenge you to get a tub of Crisco out of your pantry (or vegetable oil, or whatever oil you've got handy), spread a thin layer of it on a rock, and hold a match to it. Lemme know if it burns.

Alcohol ignites easily. Gasoline ignites easily. Sawdust ignites easily. Crisco and other soft-at-room-temperature natural fats do not ignite easily. And you'll generally want something that's soft at room temperature: too solid, and it'll provide traction, and too liquid, and it'll run off, allowing the victims to gain traction against the floor.

Daniel

 

[Pielorinho]

Oh, and Rel, I hope you're okay with my slight paraphrase of you in my sig file -- it was too good to pass up!

(I'll be happy to remove it, of course, if you want)
Daniel

 

[Conaill]

Just another vote for the not-easy-to-ignite camp.

And while we're on the topic of oranges... did you know that the rind of the orange contains highly flammable aromatic oils? Take a piece of orange peel and squeeze it next to a candle, and you'll see what I mean. Yet, as Rel so perceptively stated, oranges "don't catch on fire easily and burn for 1d6 damage every round".

Oh, BTW... and just because you poured a pitcher of beer over someone's head, doesn't mean he'll be easier to set on fire, despite the fact that beer does contain alcohol. Just another stupid trick I heard someone tried to pull...

 

[Conaill]

PS: At best, I might allow some more creative uses of the Grease spell, such as in making already flammable materials burn hotter. Cast Grease on a thatched roof, then set it on fire. Or cast Grease on a ship's sails, then throw some Alchemist's Fire on it. Think candle wax: it's not going to burn if you hold a match to it, but it sure helps other flammable materials (like a wick) burn...

 

[Camarath]

I believe that the grease spell should be flammable, as I believe it creates grease... but I don't have a rules reference for this. Additionally, I understand your dilemma, as I have this same discussion with other GM's occasionally, and some believe it's flammable and some think it's not.

This is called a House Rule. IMO if a spell does not say the substance it creates is flammable then it is not flammable by default. If you wish to add properties to a spell or alter the properties of a spell then this is a house rule.

If the rules do not prevent you from doing it, you can try it. Casting web to break your fall or using it as a defence against ranged attacks. I can not find any place where an action is not disallowed by a spell that I would change. Do you have any other examples?

There is a defiecance between creative application of a spell and adding propreties to a spell.

All forms of "grease" are fundamentally flamable. They are fat and oil. Both burn quite hot.
B]

Iron is also fundamentally flammable .

Sample Game Quote
Player "I cast Iron Body on myself"
DM "Ok. The Kobold walks up and touches you with a torch."
Player "uh..do I take any damge"
DM "You spontaneously combust. You take 1d6 fire damage per pound you weight and then you cumble into a pile ironoxide. Your effective ability scores become 0."

 

[Darklone]

Rituals&Relics I: Glue spell.

It's essentially a reversed Grease spell but gives rules for fire damage if someone lights it. I used the same rules with nice effect for Grease till now.

Don't have the book with me here now, but I could look it up if anyone is interested.

 

[Krinkle]

This might be a created memory since I'm goin' way back but I seem to remember that the 1st edition Dungeoneer's Survival Guide provided rules for using grease (just plain old grease, not the spell) to slip through narrow passages. It also stipulated that someone covered in grease suffered something like 1-2 additional points of damage from fire attacks since grease can get hot once you get it going but it takes a lot (fireball or Frydaddy) to get it going.

 

[Rel]

Oh, and Rel, I hope you're okay with my slight paraphrase of you in my sig file -- it was too good to pass up!

(I'll be happy to remove it, of course, if you want)
Daniel

Feel free. This may be the first time anybody has ever quoted me in their sig so I'm honored. I also got a chuckle out of reading the quote out of context because (a) I love oranges, and (b) one of my favorite fictional characters, Nakor the Blue Rider from Raymond Feist's world of Midkemia, had an "Endless Sack of Oranges" and I stole the idea for a character back in the day. He would have loved that line.

 

[Belphanior]

There is no good reason to assume Grease would burn.

Do the rules support it?
No, and there is precedent to believe it is therefor not possible (Web).

Does the name support it?
Not if you define grease as "a thick lubricant". And yes, mine does.


So one could do a bit of word-wanking to support the notion of flammable grease, but even then, there are plenty of greases which do not ignite the instant a torch is held close.

Remember people: word-wanking is bad. It makes baby cthulhu cry and makes you blind to boot.