Campfire beads in combat

[Gingerbreadman]

Imagine a 10ft corridor, there are monsters some distance away. The party places two campfire beads side by side to block off the corridor (assume stone so fire spreading isn't a problem)and then start shooting/tossing spells at the monsters.

Campfire beads are made using produce flame and they give off heat so I assume there is "real fire" involved.

Side question: The bag of everlasting dung provides enough dung for a small fire for 8 hours. How big of a fire would you get by putting all the dung in two piles (or one 5x10 pile) and lit it? Would that work better than the campfire beads to block off a corridor?

[Quandary]

You're not thinking big enough... Try opening a portal to the Plane of Burning Dung... in Nebraska.

[Thod]

It is a small (2 foot tall) fire. Unlikely it will cover a full 5 by 5 foot square.

So monsters might be able to get past without a problem. Jumping over it is an acrobatics check DC8 (CRB p89) based on the height.

Do you get damaged if you move into the square (see above - I doubt it fills everything in a single square) and if so - how much?

Expect table variation how a GM will rule this.

I would certainly congratulate my players if they come up with such a nice solution - but I would look out that the benefit is balanced.

Against animals (Giant Rats) I might rule it blocks perfectly - against more intelligent creatures who might be able to use fire themselves ?

Can an enemy spell caster with Spellcraft identify it and stop it / turn it against you?

[Gingerbreadman]

Quandary wrote:

You're not thinking big enough... Try opening a portal to the Plane of Burning Dung... in Nebraska.

Quite amusing if you are not directly involved/affected. But it makes me wonder what happens to the dung from the endless bag if you just Keep on piling it in one place over several days.

I think I remember that water created with create water disappears after 24h if not used up before that time.

[Timebomb]

With how the beads say they create a small pile I would say it doent completely block the space (unless you use more beads). Unintelligent monsters would probably stay away from the fire, but intelligent creatures might just go around/over the fires or just kick them down and into your party's squares.

Enough dung to power a small fire for 8 hours I would say is about 2 cubic ft of material, maybe 3 or 4 depending on the intensity of the fire. That isn't really enough to block movement by the virtue of it's size, but I think the main problems I would see with it would be the limited heat output (you can jump over a small fire or move around it without getting hurt, and that's not even being a adventurer) and the combustibility: It isn't just going to light like gasoline. Without magic it would take at least a couple minutes to get the fire to the point where it would be dangerous and that's staying by it and tending to it, feeding the fuel at the right rate, blowing in air, ect.

I would either think about getting a Bog of Holding filled with regular Lamp Oil and a single flask of Alchemist's Fire, to produce a flaming of pool of flaming oil, or look into a Tree Feather Token

[Gingerbreadman]

My idea was not to block off the corridor perfectly just to force the Monsters to fight in the burning squares as the squares behind the fire are occupied by PCs.
But I have to admit that I had not thought about the Option to just scatter the fire or to kick it into the PC's squares.

[Claxon]

Intelligent monsters, provided the corridor was of proper construction, would probably just go around a corner, spot you and your fire, and retreat back around the corner calling for backup. One would assume they would bring archers and spellcasters to fight you at range and avoid getting near the fire. Forcing you to come to them or used ranged attacks.

Why fight the enemy on their terms? That's not smart thinking.

[Furthermore]

Could you use it as a source for Pyrotechnics?