Hi, folks.
I'm an relatively old RPG gamer (I play D&D like RPGs for nearly 20 years) and in our last game of Pathfinder the wizard in the group I'm GMing (the campaign is Rise of the Runelors, they were in the Seven's Sawmill, entrance floor) wished to cast a fireball against the wall of the mill, to affect only the Skinsaw Cultists and not the players.
I argued that the fireball will spread until fills all the 44ft area of the 20ft radius spread...
But I think this is more like the AD&D fireball than the description of the Spread in Pathfinder: "A spread spell extends out like a burst but can turn corners. You select the point of origin, and the spell spreads out a given distance in all directions. Figure the area the spell effect fills by taking into account any turns the spell effect takes".
I admit I'm confused because fireball is a "spread" magic, not a simple burst. My question is: can a Wizard "aim" the fireball in a corner to affect only 11ft (one quarter fireball) or agains a wall to affect only 22ft (a half fireball) or the "spread" effect of the fireball means that it will spread until fill all the 44ft?
I think in fireball as an instant fog cloud... In my mind the "cloud" will spread all the 44ft, since fog cloud has a duration and isn't an instant spell, I think it eventually will fill all the 44ft sooner or latter, but and with the fireball... Am I an old gamer with AD&D syndrome of filling rooms fireball or my interpretation of the always 44ft fireball is correct?
You're an old gamer with AD&D syndrome. It's okay though, a lot of us are.
I don't think that's the way it works in Pathfinder (or 3.5 D&D). For a lot of gamers figuring out the spread of such spells slows down the game and reduces fun.
But hey, as long as everybody at the table understands how it's going to be played then have at it.
The Fireball has changed.
Yeah, fireballs don't fill 33 10 by 10 cubes anymore. :-P In 2nd Ed, I had a fatalistic evoker cast a range 0 fireball to take out all the baddies in the tunnel he was in--with the rest of the party. He figured his friends were tough. :-P
Anyways, where are you getting the 44ft figure from?
But fireball has changed. It doesn't spread to fill narrow spaces anymore. If you cast it in a 100 long, 5 foot wide corridor, it's only affecting 40 feet of that corridor nowadays.
The fireball fills 44 squares.
See, debating the exact volume of a fireball--not how I want to spend 15 minutes of precious game time.
The fireball fills 44 squares.
Thanks!
:-D
Fireball reminiscing time!
I was running a boxed set adventure in 2e, and in a small room, the wizard cast fireball. The rest of the party were "safely" outside that room. A quick bit of square counting later, and the entire small room was filled with flame. The bigger room outside got filled, too, and so did about 10 feet of corridor. Everyone cursed and rolled saving throws... One person failed. The damage was rolled, and came up high. The guy who failed dropped dead.
There was the usual cursing and quick recalculation, but the result was inevitable. He hit the floor, hard, crispy like chicken, even with the fire resistance one of his items provided.
And then the player said "uh, Chem, what does a Ring of the Phoenix do?"
A quick check revealed a line that starts "if killed by fire damage whilst wearing this ring..." and ended with being a LOT more powerful than before.
Good times.
4 squares.
Guys, thanks for the clarification.
I am getting old... but I'll discuss the topic with my players. I think the simplest solution is the best solution.
Smilodan, I counted the squares in my old Fireball DDM template, similar to the pathfinder 20ft radius template.