Need Help Fast on FIRE

[PugioilAudacio]

I'm starting a new game today, and another PC wants to be a pyromaniac. To that end, I have a few questions:

1. What type of class/feats/etc. should he take? He wants some sort of caster - with fire of course.
(I know he should take the pyro feat - which brings the next question)

2. Setting things on fire - How does it work? Can a fireball or burning hands set stuff on fire? Need a lot of help
on this.


Thanks for the help in advance,

Umm... Please hurry?

 

[DrZombie]

Some very mixed feelings about this. Unless, he's a really good player, things will get out of hand pretty soon. Remember, arson is something that is frowned upon, since most buildings are made from wood with a thatched roof. He'll probably end up torching a city. If he does, just have the player hunted down by officials, tried for killing children in their sleep, use some charred baby corpses as evidence, a testimony by a six-year old who saw her mother and baby-brother burn alive, and then have him messily executed in the town square. That should sort out the player and prevent him from choosing another daft character concept.

Be very hard on him, and let things get out of hand in an unpleasant way. If you don't you'll just keep on being annoyed by silly plans involving setting fire to things, and he'll probably eat up more than his share of gametime, leaving the other players feeling left out and probably pissed of at your friend.

And as an answer to your original question, burning hands and fireball make things burn, and i think it says in the spell description where to find the actual rules. If not, look in the index of the DMG.

 

[Eccles]

1. What type of class/feats/etc. should he take? He wants some sort of caster - with fire of course.
(I know he should take the pyro feat - which brings the next question)

2. Setting things on fire - How does it work? Can a fireball or burning hands set stuff on fire? Need a lot of help
on this.

1. I'd probably go with either rogue or sorceror. Sorceror for a carefully chosen list of flame themed spells, or rogue for the equipment and nasty mindset. You can go a long way with lantern oil, tindertwigs and alchemist's fire...

2. I'm pretty sure that fireball doesn't set things on fire, although you might like to decide on any spell he casts as you go along. For instance, a burning hands spell cast on a pile of parchment would definitely do the trick...

The 3.5 SRD has this to say about catching on fire:

Catching on Fire

Characters exposed to burning oil, bonfires, and noninstantaneous magic fires might find their clothes, hair, or equipment on fire. Spells with an instantaneous duration don’t normally set a character on fire, since the heat and flame from these come and go in a flash.

Characters at risk of catching fire are allowed a DC 15 Reflex save to avoid this fate. If a character’s clothes or hair catch fire, he takes 1d6 points of damage immediately. In each subsequent round, the burning character must make another Reflex saving throw. Failure means he takes another 1d6 points of damage that round. Success means that the fire has gone out. (That is, once he succeeds on his saving throw, he’s no longer on fire.)

A character on fire may automatically extinguish the flames by jumping into enough water to douse himself. If no body of water is at hand, rolling on the ground or smothering the fire with cloaks or the like permits the character another save with a +4 bonus.

Those unlucky enough to have their clothes or equipment catch fire must make DC 15 Reflex saves for each item. Flammable items that fail take the same amount of damage as the character.

---

Hope that helps!

 

[Liquidsabre]

I'm almost ashamed to admit it but...

Song & Silence Feat (p. 40):
Pyro - Increases Ref save DC of catching on fire and does an extra poitn of damage with fire.

 

[PugioilAudacio]

Thanks for the fast replies everybody. All of this helps a lot!

He's a pretty mature player, I don't think he'll ruin the game by torching everything. I think he's mostly gonna try to torch the enemies more than just anything. If he does, then I'll have to give him a little smack down

 

[Thanee]

It's a regional feat, but still...

Player's Guide to Faerûn - Bloodline of Fire

Bye
Thanee

 

[Piratecat]

I read the thread title and thought, "If you're taking the time to post on EN World that you're on fire, I bet you're probably hoping that we don't have any server lag before someone tells you about 'Stop, Drop and Roll.'"

Glad to see that I was wrong.

 

[Salad Shooter]

Some very mixed feelings about this. Unless, he's a really good player, things will get out of hand pretty soon. Remember, arson is something that is frowned upon, since most buildings are made from wood with a thatched roof. He'll probably end up torching a city. If he does, just have the player hunted down by officials, tried for killing children in their sleep, use some charred baby corpses as evidence, a testimony by a six-year old who saw her mother and baby-brother burn alive, and then have him messily executed in the town square. That should sort out the player and prevent him from choosing another daft character concept.

Be very hard on him, and let things get out of hand in an unpleasant way. If you don't you'll just keep on being annoyed by silly plans involving setting fire to things, and he'll probably eat up more than his share of gametime, leaving the other players feeling left out and probably pissed of at your friend.

And as an answer to your original question, burning hands and fireball make things burn, and i think it says in the spell description where to find the actual rules. If not, look in the index of the DMG.

I'd be careful about doing this...don't go out of your way to screw him over, but if he happens to throw a fireball into a thatched roof, well, I guess thats his problem.

 

[DrZombie]

I'd be careful about doing this...don't go out of your way to screw him over, but if he happens to throw a fireball into a thatched roof, well, I guess thats his problem.

Well, I might be a bit harsh, but hey, some players fail to understand a subtle clue . I won't go out of my way to screw'em over, but I always make sure they get what's coming.

 

[LGodamus]

I read the thread title and thought, "If you're taking the time to post on EN World that you're on fire, I bet you're probably hoping that we don't have any server lag before someone tells you about 'Stop, Drop and Roll.'"

Glad to see that I was wrong.

.hehehehe