Lightning Bolt or Fireball?

[WizarDru]

Well, if you check our latest story hour installment:

http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?threadid=99&goto=post369637

You'll see that Scorch, the party's Mage of the Arcane Order (and party malcontent) chooses to use empowered maximized versions of both...although he prefers fireball, he says.

 

[Hatchling Dragon]

The problem is that you need both.

The different area effects of spells are the hammers and screwdrivers of a wizard's toolkit. (I say wizard, since it's unlikely for a sorcerer to have more than one.) There are four really useful shapes, each necessary in a different situation: burst, line, cone, and ranged burst.

But I thought this was the exact reason that the feat Sculpt Spell was invented for. It's even another 'selling point' for the Combat Sorcerer.

And of course if you have Hole in the Middle you're set for when those pesky hordes surround you and think you won't suck-it-up and drop that Fireball at yer own feet!

As to my vote: Lightening Bolt all the way. Fire's been done to death, and there are too many fire-wielding monsters/demons out there with thier Resistance or Immunity. Lightening has style, it looks far better (at least in my mind's eye) and is better suited, AoE-wise, to tunnel fighting.

What was this about Lightening Bolt only doing 3pts of damage and being instant?!? Could you run the explanation behind that by me again, I certainly don't know where you're coming from.

Hatchling Dragon

 

[Victim]

From Magic the Gathering:

Lightning Bolt: 1 red casting cost, instant, 3 damage to target creature or player.

Fireball: X and 1 red, sorcery, X damage to target creature or player. IIRC, you could spend an extra 1 to split the X between another target.

For pure efficiency, lightning bolt was generally better because it's cheaper and an instant.

When combined with Fly, Lightning Bolt is really dang good. With a 90 ft move in an open area, it's not that hard to find a direct line between 2 baddies.

However, I prefer Fireball overall, but both are useful.

 

[Kesh]

I just thank the gods that there was never a Magic: the Gathering d20. Channel/Fireball would kill many a campaign.

[Edit] Might as well clarify that. As explained above, you can spend X points of mana in a Fireball spell to do X damage. Channel was a spell that converts your own health into mana points. Thus, by the second round of the game, you probably have two natural mana sources, plus a creature that grants you one mana (like Llanowar Elves).

Each player has 20 life.

So, you blow two mana casting Channel and Fireball, use Channel to convert 19 of your life into mana, and the final mana from your critter gives you a 20-point Fireball. Thus, your opponent is dead.

In the second round.

Luckily, I think it's not possible under current tournament rules.

As for the vote, gotta go with Lightning Bolt. I prefer to pick and choose my targets, rather than crisping innocent bystanders or my fellow fighter. Because he has that big sword. And if he lives, he'll be mad.

Of course, I always prefer the Sniper Rifle to the Rocket Launcher in FPS games as well...

 

[King_Stannis]

bahhh, i was born a fireball man and i'll die a fireball man.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

I disagree. If you look at just the spell and hp and saves it looks bad. You add in haste now giving you an extra spell, more spells per day(high int/chr), and metamagic I think they fare about the same as before. I miss the fireballs tunnel clearing effect though. We used to call it kobold be gone, a wand at 6d6 didn't penetrate our resitance spells and we'd just fire away into kobold tunnels, and other rat warren type places, In just blazed aorund on the inside buring huge quanaties of the tunnels.

I concur with Shard.

Most grunt monsters have twice the HPs of their 1e brethren. But you factor in Haste, an extra spell slot or two based on Int and specialization, the ease of making scrolls and wands and other items, and the vastly more brutal saving throws at higher levels, and it all comes out to be pretty similar.

A single Fireball is not quite as impressive as before, but that would be completely missing the big picture.

With the change in how HPs scale and easier access to resistances, it is also more practical to dump a 5d6 Fireball on top of your friends. With Evasion, Improved Evasion, Endure Elements, etc. it is a more reasonable tactic than before.


I voted Fireball. I find the AoE easier to work with.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

Lightning Bolt, 5 to 1 (and 2 to 1, even topside.)

The fighters always insist on charging into melee, before the mage or magistress can say Shriak!

And you cannot fire an artillery shell (which is what a Fireball is) at your own people.

Lightning Bolt has this nice way of going right between those fighters, even if the clearance is a bit narrow (a couple of inches to a foot or two, usually.)

 

[WizarDru]

With the change in how HPs scale and easier access to resistances, it is also more practical to dump a 5d6 Fireball on top of your friends. With Evasion, Improved Evasion, Endure Elements, etc. it is a more reasonable tactic than before.

That aspect took the party wizard some time to get used to. The wizard would say "I can't throw a fireball there, the rogue's right in the middle of the explosion!" The rogue would then look at him and say "Do it! Trust me, it won't hurt."

 

[Rashak Mani]

I have seen Lightining Bolts very well used and they are easy to setup in order to hit two enemies. Yet somehow Fireball is much more FUN !

I like using fireballs blindly... your enemy is hiding within bushes or is invisible ? No problem if you know the general area. Let the fireball "find" him. I even once used fireball to burn some trees and lighten up the area where a guy was hiding.

Flying Enemies ? Fireball Anti Aircraft at them ! Shoot em down.

Of course you do have GPS Targeting Computer ? Your fireballs have to be precisely placed in order to miss frying your friends.

 

[Teflon Billy]

bahhh, i was born a fireball man and i'll die a fireball man.

Sweet merciful Christ!!!

Stannis and I *gulp* disagree on something