The Origin of the Fireball

D&D historian extraordinaire Jon Peterson has just posted a new article which deals with - amongst other things - the origins of D&D's fireball spell. It goes back to before D&D, and before Chainmail (the game from which D&D evolved in the 1970s) to a two-page ruleset which predated it, and which includes dragons, orcs, fireballs, and ents used to replay epic battles from Lord of the Rings. Of most interest is how wizards "can cast a fire ball" up to 24" as a burst effect. It even has a saving throw (a roll of 5-6 on a d6).

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The article is, as always, a fascinating read. Check it out here.

 

[Celebrim]

Amazing find.

 

[Jiggawatts]

I love discovering historic game information. Like how elves being immune to ghoul paralysis is derived from a Chainmail rule that was a balancing tool for elves going up against undead armies.

 

[collin]

Very fascinating. I, too, am interested in history and origins of various things. This information just goes to show there are very few original things under the sun. Thanks for posting!

 

[Kramodlog]

Figures under the burst are killed!? Someone creates the first spell and wizards are already broken and overpowered!

 

[darjr]

Dude, most of them had ONE hit point.

 

[Mercule]

"Wizards in possession of magic powers can cast..."

Does that mean there are wizards without magic powers (which makes vague sense, as wizard was more or less Gandalf's race) or that wizards can cast because they are in possession of magic powers?

 

[Anselyn]

Dragons were there before the Dungeons.

 

[Polyhedral_Columbia]

Since I know of no other place in the Middle-earth stories where bursts of fire are cast by a wizard, the origin of the D&D fireball must be this very passage:

"He gathered the huge pinecones from the branches of his tree. Then he set one alight with bright blue fire, and threw it whizzing down among the circle of the wolves. It struck one on the back, and immediately his shaggy coat caught fire, and he was leaping to and fro yelping horribly. Then another came and another, one in blue flames, one in red, another in green. They burst on the ground in the middle of the circle and went off in coloured sparks and smoke."

-The Hobbit, Chapter 6: "Out of the Frying-Pan Into the Fire"

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Note what may be the origin of "saving throw" in there, too.