Should alchemist fire set someone on fire?

[RangerWickett]

As per the DMG, if you're exposed to noninstantaneous magical fire, you must make a Reflex save (DC 15) or else catch on fire. Do think this should apply to alchemist fire? Would it only work if the person has flammable clothing, or could I toss it at a scaly monster and watch it burn?

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

One word for you NAPALM. Yes flesh does burn, not very well but it does, just one of the many things I wish I'd never learned or seen. Though I'd add a bonus to saves for things with heavy scales or exoskeleton and a penalty for anything furry. Off the top of my head either +4 or +6 or the opposite for fuzzy critters.

 

[Hypersmurf]

As per the DMG, if you're exposed to noninstantaneous magical fire, you must make a Reflex save (DC 15) or else catch on fire.

I don't have a DMG handy... does it go into more detail?

Flaming Sphere, Flame Blade, a Flaming longsword... all of these are non-instantaneous magical fire. Do they all have a catch-on-fire property as well as their normal damage?

-Hyp.

 

[RangerWickett]

I don't have a DMG handy... does it go into more detail?

Flaming Sphere, Flame Blade, a Flaming longsword... all of these are non-instantaneous magical fire. Do they all have a catch-on-fire property as well as their normal damage?

-Hyp.

I'd put alchemist's fire in the category of 'burning oil.'

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.

 

[Christian]

It looks like the victim needs hair, clothing, or equipment to be at risk for this, then. So them scaly monsters are in luck. To whatever extent someone targeted with Greek fire can be considered to be 'in luck'.

 

[Thanee]

That's where the term 'fire-kissed' must have come from.

Bye
Thanee

 

[frankthedm]

As per the DMG, if you're exposed to noninstantaneous magical fire, you must make a Reflex save (DC 15) or else catch on fire. Do think this should apply to alchemist fire?

Damn right they do! I wish that section was in the PHB in Combat chapter so players understood that while the game now handwaves the fireball's threat to thier gear, the danger of one's +5 cloak of charisma getting charcoaled is still there if they stand in a wall of fire!

Setting PCs on fire or costing them their actions [when they try and put it out] is how one gets the Full CR out of NPCs.

Would it only work if the person has flammable clothing, or could I toss it at a scaly monster and watch it burn?

Scaley monsters are just about the only things that are safe from this. It works very well on people even wearing plate! there is a nice thick layer of padding beneath all that lovely gleaming metal.

Full Plate: The suit includes gauntlets, heavy leather boots, a visored helmet, and a thick layer of padding that is worn underneath the armor. Each suit of full plate must be individually fitted to its owner by a master armorsmith, although a captured suit can be resized to fit a new owner at a cost of 200 to 800 (2d4x100) gold pieces.

 

[cmanos]

Personally I look at Alchemist Fire, a.k.a Greek Fire, a.k.a Napalm, as a mixture of highly volatile chemicals that when thrown and the flash breaks, it coats whatever it hits with the volatile chemicals. The volatile compounds, on exposure to air, bursts into flames, and the volatile compound is what burns, not the creature's clothes, hair, etc. The creature takes damage, and burns because the flames are in close proximity (touching) it's flesh, hide, whatever.

If you throw a molotov cocktail at a lizard...the lizard burns

If you dropped napalm on a dinosaur (non sequitur noted)...it would burn, and take damage

 

[frankthedm]

Personally I look at Alchemist Fire, a.k.a Greek Fire, a.k.a Napalm, as a mixture of highly volatile chemicals that when thrown and the flash breaks, it coats whatever it hits with the volatile chemicals. The volatile compounds, on exposure to air, bursts into flames, and the volatile compound is what burns, not the creature's clothes, hair, etc. The creature takes damage, and burns because the flames are in close proximity (touching) it's flesh, hide, whatever.

If you throw a molotov cocktail at a lizard...the lizard burns

If you dropped napalm on a dinosaur (non sequitur noted)...it would burn, and take damage

The alchemist fire burning is not the question. Yes the lizard burns from alchemist fire, but the OP was also asking about "catching on fire" not just being burned by the napalm.

 

[Hypersmurf]

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.)

That adds quite a kick to Flaming Sphere... makes a Fire-substituted Acid Arrow quite nasty... and gives the Flaming property rather an edge over Frost and Shock...

-Hyp.