Killing a troll with non-magical fire

[Elder-Basilisk]

Note that Lava does 2d6 damage for brief exposure. Immersion in lava does 20d6. Being staked down in the middle of a bonfire could reasonably do more than 2d6 even if it didn't approach the 20d6 mark.

Also, in real life, a person stuck in a fire is at as much risk from suffocation as from heat. Even if the troll were completely immune to fire, sticking its unconscious body on a roaring bonfire for long enough might well cause it to suffocate due to the lack of oxygen (all of which is being used up by the fire).

Here you have it...
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/environment.htm#heatDangers
Oil and torches and alchy fire:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/goodsAndServices.htm#oil


Even Lava exposure only deals 2d6 of damage. That's not a lot if the guy has fire resistance. Normal fire resistance 5 though will keep him quite a long time alive if he's taking 1d6 fire damage each round from a normal fire (or if he's caught on fire).

Not though that his resistance only works "once" per round, so if several guys keep burning the troll with torches (1 point fire damage) while he's caught on fire (1d6) and lying on a fire (1d6) while being soaked with oil (1d3 or 1d6 depending how you use it), all this damage will stack... and will usually be more than fire resistance 5, depending on how much oil and torches you have, even more than fire resistance 10.

 

[Thurbane]

My personal belief if that being immobile in a bonfire should be somewhere between being immersed in boiling water (10d6) and being immersed in lava (20d6)...

 

[Nyeshet]

My personal belief if that being immobile in a bonfire should be somewhere between being immersed in boiling water (10d6) and being immersed in lava (20d6)...

So, . . . 15d6?

Seems a bit much to me, for non-magical fire. Perhaps 12d6?

On the other hand, what's wrong with making it 10d6? Boiling water has quite a bit of heat in it, after all - at the very least over 100 C, and likely far more than that. Granted, typical (camp) fires can reach quite a bit higher (around 1000 - 1500 C, if I recall correctly, . . . or is that F?), but note that that is about the same temperature as lava (which can range from 'cool' molten lavas of 'merely' 500-600 C to much hotter lavas around 2000 C, I think).

 

[Thurbane]

I agree, 10d6 sounds about right.

 

[Darklone]

I've been looking but didn't find it... somewhere (I think in some Kalamar stuff or some old official adventure) there were rules for fire damage depending on the size of the fire.

For simplicity, immersion in fire: I'd say 10d6 like boiling water.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Boiling water has quite a bit of heat in it, after all - at the very least over 100 C, and likely far more than that.

Under normal conditions (standard atmosphere and pressure), it will be exactly 100C. Not over.

It's a bit more complicated than that, but basically once you get water up to 100C, it starts to boil... and then any energy you put in goes towards turning water to steam, not to increasing temperature. Until all the water's gone, the temperature won't rise any higher.

-Hyp.

 

[isoChron]

I suppose that someone thrown into a bonfire has not that much oxygen left in the air inside the fire to survive it even with fire immunity...
Suffocation can happen in various ways. As an alternativ drown the unconscious troll in the puddle made from rain, or create water. A rope around his neck does the same. All in all it's much easier to suffocate a troll than to burn it or use acid. No magic needed.


EDIT: By the way : Typical Lava temperature ranges from 800°C to 1200°C. There are some rare types of lava (carbonatite) that are as "cold" as around 560°C during eruption.

 

[underfoot]

Hypothetical situation: party fights some trolls in the woods, but has no fire or acid spells or items handy to kill them with.

Fire and Acid are not required to kill a troll anymore. You can perform a coupe de grace against a troll once you've beaten it helpless. The troll will survive the damage (taking more nonlethal damage and keeping it unconcious) but then has to make a saving throw vs. dying (DC 10+damage dealt).

Trolls have a decent fort save, though, so hopefully you have someone with power-attack or sneak attack or you'll be rolling damage until the troll botches a roll.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Fire and Acid are not required to kill a troll anymore. You can perform a coupe de grace against a troll once you've beaten it helpless. The troll will survive the damage (taking more nonlethal damage and keeping it unconcious) but then has to make a saving throw vs. dying (DC 10+damage dealt).

Trolls have a decent fort save, though, so hopefully you have someone with power-attack or sneak attack or you'll be rolling damage until the troll botches a roll.

Incorrect, actually. According to the regeneration ability:

An attack that can cause instant death only threatens the creature with death if it is delivered by weapons that deal it lethal damage.

Only fire and acid deal lethal damage to trolls.

 

[Patlin]

Under normal conditions (standard atmosphere and pressure), it will be exactly 100C. Not over.

It's a bit more complicated than that, but basically once you get water up to 100C, it starts to boil... and then any energy you put in goes towards turning water to steam, not to increasing temperature. Until all the water's gone, the temperature won't rise any higher.

-Hyp.

As a resident of Colorado Springs, I'm used to abnormal conditions... as the main abnormal condition in the equation is the amount of pressure the system is under. Water boils at a lower temperature up here in the heights. Hyp's observation is of course correct... we did an experiment to confirm it in high school chemistry.