Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Skye Silverleaf 05-29-06, 08:20 AM	Sigh. I seem to be having a lot of trouble dealing with this spell lately. Oh well. Here goes...... The description of the spell states that it will also ignite flammable materials and melt low-flashpoint metals. My players have a sorceror in their party (the same one that used this spell on a pool of water) who now used it on a Hobgoblin cleric. My problem this time comes from the fact that I had already stated that this hobbo had a wooden holy symbol around his neck and was holding a club. The player argues that both of these items would ignite, as per the spell description, thus depriving the cleric of his spells and disarming him. This seems a bit extreme, but I am just not sure, based on the spell description. Since the last LB question was answered satisfactorily with help from all of you, it was agreed that we will once again bow to the collective wisdom of the boards community. Thanks again in advance for any help.
Radijs 05-29-06, 08:31 AM	No it wouldn't. Per definition a spell does not affect items worn by any of the victims save the chance that he or she would roll a natural one on the saving throw. Then there is a chance that an item would be affected. Which item is left to the DM's discression. I will quote the SRD: Items Surviving after a Saving Throw: Unless the descriptive text for the spell specifies otherwise, all items carried or worn by a creature are assumed to survive a magical attack. If a creature rolls a natural 1 on its saving throw against the effect, however, an exposed item is harmed (if the attack can harm objects). Refer to Table: Items Affected by Magical Attacks. Determine which four objects carried or worn by the creature are most likely to be affected and roll randomly among them. The randomly determined item must make a saving throw against the attack form and take whatever damage the attack deal. If an item is not carried or worn and is not magical, it does not get a saving throw. It simply is dealt the appropriate damage.
Witch 05-29-06, 08:32 AM	Wood is not flammable in the here intended meaning of the word, I believe.
MarkB 05-29-06, 09:38 AM	Wood is not flammable in the here intended meaning of the word, I believe. The description says it "sets fire to combustibles", which is precisely what Fireball's description says. Since there are illustrative examples of fireballs burning through wooden doors, I think we can assume that either fireball or lightning bolt can set fire to wooden objects. As mentioned by Radijs, only unattended objects take damage from area-effect spells, unless the person attending them rolls a natural 1 on his save, in which case a single randomly-chosen object is damaged. One thing to note is that a slain creature cannot attend objects, so if an area-effect damage spell goes off in an area where creatures have already been slain, all their exposed equipment is subject to the spell's effects.