Damage from Alchemist's Fire and Oil...

[Zan Greenshadow]

I have looked over the forum and rules and don't really see an exact answer to my questions regarding damage from targeting a square vs. an enemy with a splash weapon such as alchemical fire or oil. Maybe I'm just not finding it...don't know.

With regular oil, you can coat a smooth 5' square and set it on fire. It will burn for 2 rounds and deal 1d3 each round (but no save specified). Similarly, it is possible to target a square as a ranged touch attack vs. AC5. These two rules are somewhat clear.

However, my questions are:

1. What is the damage from _thrown_ oil or alchemist's fire that targets a (smooth/level) occupied square @ AC5? Is it 1 point of splash damage for enemies in that square (+surrounding splash, of course) or is it 1d3 for 2 rounds for anyone in that square, similar to the rule for coating a square with oil? The latter would seem to make more sense, since the square is on fire and the enemy is in the square.

2. Assuming a successful hit on a square (and ignition (50%)in the case of regular oil) or the case where you coat a regular square with oil, is there a rule for a saving throw for the fire damage (vs. the case where you attack an enemy directly and they have to try to extinguish the flames to avoid round 2 damage @ +2).

For example, would it be a DC5 Dex check to leap out of a burning square to another one that is not on fire & not occupied, where success would be 1/4 or 1 point and failure would be 1d3? Presumably, since the square is on fire, they would get a 2nd save the next round if they stayed in the square (or could just move out of it and not have to do the 2nd save, unless circumstances prevented them from moving - surrounded, etc.).

3. Finally, when targeting a square with a thrown splash weapon, is it possible that everyone in the main & surrounding squares gets 1 point of splash damage and anyone who remains in the successfully targeted (or randomly d8 failed) square then gets 1d3 per round...so 1d3+1?

If there are no clear rules for these scenarios, I would be inclined to think there should be 1 point of splash for everyone, then DC5 save to move out or 1d3 for staying in the burning square each round for up to 2 rounds. Or, if the square is coated in advance (regular oil only), then no splash, just the 1d3 for up to 2 rounds and similar save/move options.

So, is there a previous ruling or any other clear interpretation based on a collection of rules somewhere that explicitly covers these issues?

Any obvious errors?

Thanks for your help.

[Starglim]

1. Damage from alchemist's fire that does not hit its target is 1 point. Throwing a splash weapon doesn't evenly cover an entire square.

2. No save. Only an alchemist's bombs give a save against splash damage for half.

3. When throwing a splash weapon at empty space, you target an intersection of squares. Creatures in the four squares adjacent (possibly more, if you're an alchemist) take splash damage.

[Jiggy]

You can't target a square; you can target a grid intersection.

CRB, Combat chapter, Throw Splash Weapon wrote:

You can instead target a specific grid intersection. Treat this as a ranged attack against AC 5. However, if you target a grid intersection, creatures in all adjacent squares are dealt the splash damage, and the direct hit damage is not dealt to any creature.

Additionally, the CRB has rules for catching on fire. A lot of people don't know about them since most spells and alchemical items write their own variations, but they exist nonetheless, in the Environment chapter.