PCs starting a forest fire?

[Ogrork the Mighty]

This seems to be a recurring theme that cuts across all campaigns and all types of players. At some point, the idea of starting a forest fire to address some sort of problem (usually monster related) comes up.

So, the question is:

Have PCs in your campaign ever contemplated or actually started a forest fire?

 

[takasi]

Simpsons did it!

Actually, Knights of the Dinner Table starting at #101.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Nope, not at all as alien thought to them as possible, just something you don't do.

Rangers, Barbarians and Druids knowledge, never leave a fire unattended...ever! Any one that does, trouble in the forest!

 

[sabby]

PCs in my game "accidentally" started a forest fire when fighting a druid.

PC was warned that fireball could start a forest fire.
PC ignores warning in a fight with a druid, starts forest fire, thinking druid would be busy from fire too.
Druid dies, rest of druids alerted of fire and druid death.
PCs in the middle of a deep forest, trying to "outrun" a forest fire.
Druids stop fire, but kill party off.

... I kill too many parties, I am told.

 

[der_kluge]

Not forests per se. But definitely the occasional Inn.

 

[The_Warlock]

Briefly considered as a method to stop an orcish horde which was moving through the northern forests to attack a number of cities in the river basin. The plan was considered because, "The druid's up north somewhere, set the woods on fire." Needless to say the plan was never carried out, since the orcs were way ahead of us. On the other hand, we did set several of their boats on fire, as well as several of their hill giants.

 

[diaglo]

read the story hour in my sig.

the druid in our first party was a fire bug. he tried to light everything on fire.

 

[cmanos]

Not in a current game but in one about 10 years back, the druid started a forest fire. He claimed it was full of deadwood and the fire would help clear it out to make way for the new growth.

Little known fact. There are some species of pine trees whose seeds cannot gernimate until exposed to very hot temperatures....like forest fires.

 

[Ambrus]

the druid in our first party was a fire bug. he tried to light everything on fire.

The first campaign I ran had a big dumb fighter named "Skull" being played by a big dumb guy known to his friends as "Crush" who thought the Fire Building Proficiency (2nd edition) was the greatest PC ability ever. The first words out of his mouth after my reading every boxed text to the PCs invariably was "Is it made of wood?"

Out of curiosity, how do other DMs judge the ability of PCs to stop a small forest fire (from the result of one or two fireball spells) to rage out of the PCs' control? The last few times the PCs have started such a fire, I've had one character roll a survival check DC 20 (or 25 for very dry conditions) and allowed all the other PCs to aid that character by making DC 10 survival checks on their own. Only a single oppurtunity is allowed before the fire spreads and becomes a full fledged forest fire. Sound resonable?

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Accidently, yes. Fireball during a drought. They died, the manticore that they threw the fireball at fled over the trees and lived happily ever after.

Yes, I did warn them. One of the few TPKs I don't feel bad about. (More of what The Gneech calls 'Total Party Sepuku'...) The sad thing is that they could have handled it without the fireball, but the wizard cast it anyway. And he had a wand of high level magic missiles... he could have 'machine gunned' it down. (He almost never used it, always afraid that he'd use it up... it had more than 30 charges when he died, it was a hold over from 2nd ed. I think.)

The Auld Grump