Behind the Spells
Fireball
Behind the Spells: Fireball is another installment in (as you
might guess) the "Behind the Spells" series. Which is a
line of short PDFs that takes a look at the history behind a
classic spell from D&D/d20. At least as imagined by the mind
of Bret Boyd, aka
Napftor (no "h"!). And besides the history, some closer
examination of the implications of the rules as written, as well
as a variant or two (two in this case). (For more on the series,
see my previous
review)
If Fireball isn't the favorite spell of D&D players, it's
pretty much near the top of the list. (Personally though, when I
play mage types, I usually pick "lightning bolt"
instead, as I often misjudge the blast radius).
I don't want to give away too much of the history, but basically
it involves a drunken half-elf evoker and a bar fight. (Not
unlike how Ben Franklin came up with the idea for bi-focals).
The mechanical analysis revolves around the early impact clause.
Despite its name, "Fireball" really isn't a fireball,
at least not until it explodes. It's actually just a flying pea
until then. (Which also ties into the inventor being a drunk,
though they usually let fly a different sort). If it falls short
and hits something else, it's problematic (much like the other
sort, actually). In this case, it explodes early, possibly
missing the target or singeing the caster.
So anyway, there's rules for this impact bit to be exploited by a
PC. Complete with example, which is also illustrated by flavor
text, in a nice touch.
One of the variants is a version which is higher level, but the
projectile pea is etheral until the target spot, so won't hit
anything. (This ability to make the projectile of a spell etheral
until the target could be a decent idea for a metamagic feat).
The other variant is a split-fireball, basically 2 tiny ones
instead of 1 big one. (This review is making me feel like a Shock
Jock.). There's also an option to tweak the damage type of the
spell a bit (to sonic), which seems a bit of a stretch (since it
would have to be awfully loud to do any damage other than to the
eardrums), but not too much of one.
It's a plain (no art), but clean PDF. Complete with bookmarks.
Why a 5 page pdf needs bookmarks, I dunno, but they are there if
you somehow get lost. Since the author just emailed a copy to me,
I don't know if there is a printer friendly version or not, but
this does have some grey shaded boxes (for rules) which can suck
up ink on an inkjet. (Though not as much as those stupid white
text on black boxes some like)
While this is just as clever as magic missile, the backstory
behind the spell doesn't has as much adventure seed potential as
that of magic missile. In that, you got a pretty vivid
description of the inventor's home base/secret lab. In this, you
just get a mention of a magical college and bar and a burned out
monastery and missing tablet. Conversely though, the game
mechanics are far more useful. Not quite perfect, B+
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