Produce Fire (spell)

Produce Fire is a spell that summons an intense yet controlled blaze that engulfs the caster's chosen hand. This magical flame causes no damage to the caster, as it lacks the immediate searing of heat — but it can be used to ignite natural materials or to cause damage to a defender.

Produce Fire

Range	10 ft.
Duration	1 round per level
Area of Effect	caster's hand
Casting Time	1 round
Saving Throw	none
Level	druid (2nd)

Each round the caster maintains contact with an object, the spell raises the fire's temperature by 125° Fahrenheit. This is sufficient to set paper or lamp oil aflame in 2 rounds, while charcoal and alcohol require three. Pitch ignites in four rounds, light woods in five and denser woods in six or more. Damp or sodden materials, whatever they are, take twice as long as normally described. Because the spell's duration is highly limited for lower level characters, this is a less effective tactic that attacking enemies with the spell.

Once the material starts to burn, the result is normal fire, not magical. The effect depends, again, upon the materials being ignited. Oil, once lit, can easily be used to ignite any surface it touches, which can spread a fire quickly. With other materials, assume that each combat hex with combustible material that's adjacent to the burning area has a 50/50 chance of igniting. Increase this to 3 in 4 if the area is enclosed. Very combustable material — such as dry hay, paper or tarred surfaces — should alight without a die roll. If a hex adjoins two hexes that are on fire, roll two dice, with either sufficient to set the hex aflame; no more than 3 dice should be rolled to make this determination.

Wet areas, those with heavy wood, surfaces that are covered with heavily sanded pitch, can show a resistance to fire by assigning them a 1 in 4 to a 1 in 12, as judged by the dungeon master. High winds outdoors can tight the roll probability higher, either by adding an extra die or adjusting the odds. Strong fires can easily jump 2 to 10 hexes in the space of a round, once they get going. This can also be assigned.

Using Produce Fire in Combat

Each round that the flame persists, the caster may wield it as a form of attack. To do so, the caster must roll to hit, but the target's armour is disregarded; instead, the caster must simply hit armour class 10. A successful strike inflicts 2–7 damage.

The caster may attempt this fiery grasp once per round. However, creatures lacking a corporeal form, such as shadows and banshees, or those with immunity to fire, remain unaffected. If the target also possesses an attack by touch, such as a ghoul or ghast, the caster's burning hand provides protection against those effects.