Apr 21

Apr 21 A Player's Guide to Fire

Fire is a source of great pain and suffering for monsters and characters alike. A common misnomer is that fire damage comes from the flames of whatever has been set aflame. In reality, it isn't the flames but the intense heat that results in you taking fire damage. Steam jets, boiling waters, and molten liquids will all deal fire damage.

In the 5th edition, there are two types of fire, mundane (nor nonmagical) and magical.

Mundane Fire

Think of everything in the real world that burns you when you get too close, and you'll have a good idea of what your character can use to burn its foes. Campfires, lit stoves/ovens, fireplaces, boiling water, and steam are examples of real-world sources of fire damage that your character could easily encounter in the fantasy world. That said, there are several other fire hazards to beware of when you're fighter is off searching for fame and fortune. Torches, oil, lava, and alchemist's fire are additional sources of fire damage you'll need to be on the lookout for. Now, I'm not saying that you couldn't be strolling down the street in your neighborhood and happen to fall into a pool of magma, but I'm willing to bet the chances are pretty slim.

Things get sticky when we want to calculate damage done by nonmagical fire. When we're talking about nonmagical fire damage, suggestions are made, but the rules are, in general, vague. Some are clearly defined, while others are merely suggestions for the DM to consider and can be found in the Dungeon Master's Guide on page 249.

Whacking someone with lit torch results in 1 point of fire damage.
A flask of oil can cause 5 points of fire damage, either by throwing it at someone or pouring it out at their feet. Oil will burn out within one to two rounds.
Alchemist's fire deals 1d4 fire damage at the start of each turn. Unlike oil, there is no time limitation for how long this sticky goo will burn. Based on the description, the only way to stop alchemist fire from melting your skin is to make a DC 10 Dexterity check to extinguish the flames.
Being knocked onto hot coals will do 1d10 fire damage. Falling into a fire pit will do 2d10 fire damage. How you differentiate the two is anyone's guess. Does pushing a bad guy into your campfire qualify as being burned by coals? If so, then it's 1d10 damage. A blacksmith's forge would probably qualify as a fire pit, so throwing a foe into one would do 2d10 damage.
Pushing an enemy into a fiery pit of lava could do 10d10 damage if they can remain standing, or it may do 18d10 if they fall prone after you callously tossed them in.

There are other ways to incorporate fire and the damage it inflicts on your damage repertoire, only limited by your own imagination.

Magical Fire

If you're not willing to buy flasks of oil or carry a tinderbox everywhere you go, don't fret because Magical fire damage comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Magical fire is produced by a wide variety of creatures and spells. Creatures may be born of fire in the depths of Hell or be blessed with glands in their throats that allow them to breathe fire. Others have spent a lifetime learning the spells that would enable them to turn you into a pile of ash.

Searching D&D Beyond, 35 spells deal fire damage. Damage produced by the cantrips create bonfire and produce flame is 1d8, while casting a 9th-level meteor swarm will do 20d6 fire damage (along with 20d6 bludgeoning damage) in four different locations. The most famous fire-producing spell, if not the most famous spell period, is fireball. While we could talk endlessly about the various fire damage spells, I'd like to speak briefly on immolation, an overlooked spell that is an excellent example of why fire damage can vary wildly.

Flames wreathe one creature you can see within range. The target must make a Dexterity saving throw. It takes 8d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. On a failed save, the target also burns for the spell's duration. The burning target sheds bright light in a 30-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet. At the end of each of its turns, the target repeats the saving throw. It takes 4d6 fire damage on a failed save, and the spell ends on a successful one. These magical flames can't be extinguished by nonmagical means.

If damage from this spell kills a target, the target is turned to ash.

Elemental Evil Player's Companion

Immolation has the potential to deal 48d6 fire damage! Failing eleven saving throws in a row may be unlikely, but I'm proof someone can roll that poorly. The target becomes a human torch, taking fire damage and producing enough light that everyone can see them burn to death. There are a few things about this spell that strike me as odd. First, the burning creature can stand beside another person, who will take no damage. This would only bother me a little if the spell didn't specifically talk about the light it produces. It feels like if a fire is burning that bright, it would also radiate an extreme amount of harmful heat. I guess the heat is turned inwards toward the spell's target.

This brings us to the famous line found on some fire spells and strangely absent from others.

The spell damages objects in the area and ignites flammable objects that aren't being worn or carried.

Apparently, all backpacks in D&D are fire retardant, not to mention every spellbook, scroll case, cloak, and arrow. Look, I get it. It would bog down the game if every time you hit the bad guy with a fireball, you had to run through every item they had to determine if it caught on fire. But instead of haphazardly adding the line to some sources of fire damage and not others, make it a uniform rule. Add the line above to the description for magical fire damage and make it uniform across all mediums.

There are two areas to explore when talking about monsters and fire; the fire damage they can cause and their resistance to your fire damage-dealing attacks. The Monster Manual alone has over 45 creatures that can deal fire damage in one form or another, whether by breathing on you, casting a spell, or being from the Plane of Fire and always wrapped in flames. Resistance/Immunity to fire is one of the most common resistances in D&D. There are 100+ creatures with resistance to fire, which shouldn't come as a surprise given how many demons, devils, and dragons are lurking about. Not surprisingly, many creatures that can deal fire damage are also resistant to it. With so many monsters having fire damage abilities at their disposal, attuning to a ring of fire resistance sound like an excellent idea.

Fire Facts (And how to use them to your advantage)

If you're an Evocation wizard, invest in the Elemental Adept (Fire) Feat. There are twenty fire damage spells in the school of evocation, and you'll now be able to use all of them and ignore a creature's resistance to fire damage. Casting a fireball at a slaad or any of the other 80+ creatures with fire resistance with this feat will now strike fear into their hearts, whereas before, they may have stood their ground and laughed at you.
Fire affects the surrounding environment. Casting fire spells in a dungeon may ruin some beautiful tapestries, but that's about it. Doing the same thing in a forest could result in every woodland creature within ten miles hating you as you burn down their home. Remember, you only can prevent forest fires.
Tieflings, Fire Genasi, and Brass/Gold/Red draconic ancestry Dragonborn racial traits provide them with resistance to fire. There are even more classes/subclasses that offer fire resistance at certain levels:
Barbarian - bear totem (3th), storm herald (6th)
Cleric - forge domain (6th)
Paladin - oath of conquest (20th), redemption (20th)
Ranger - horizon walker (15th)
Warlock - fiend (10th), genie, fire efreet (6th)
Wizard - school of transmutation (6th)
A castle will probably be made from stone, but what about the surrounding village? Casting meteor storm in a town can have dire consequences for buildings, structures, and townsfolk. Homes in these areas are probably made from wood, and even if the frame is made of stone, I'm willing to bet the roof isn't. Being a murderhobo is one thing, but indiscriminately killing townsfolk by burning them alive in their homes is wrong.
Being fully submerged in water will not prevent you from taking fire damage. Per the Player's Handbook, creatures and objects fully immersed in water have resistance to fire damage. If you think this is strange, refer to what we said about the heat causing damage, not the flames. A fireball cast into a swimming pool will raise the temperature to very uncomfortable levels.

Overall, fire is a versatile and important element in D&D, both for combat and roleplaying. However, players should also be aware of its potential dangers and use it carefully to avoid unintended consequences. Woodland creatures, not to mention townspeople, tend to get very angry when you 'accidentally' burn down their homes.

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