Wednesday 23 January 2013

Flame On!

Human Torch by Covens Oz
When it comes to attack magic in Tunnels and Trolls, Take That You Fiend! is the standard, and, why not?

It's far more potent than any Magic Missile could ever be and, as the Wizard progresses and gains access to even more powerful magics it doesn't become redundant. Best of all, it's a part of your opening repertoire of spells, so it's a freebie!

This creates a bit of a problem though. With TTYF! at your disposal from the word go, why would you bother with spells like Call Flame and, Call Water? They cost more to cast and likely do less damage.. At least on the face of things, but take a look at that spell book again.

TTYF! cannot target inanimate objects. Call Flame can! So, whilst your TTYF! spell is always going to be subject to Kremm resistance, Call Flame can cause absolute havoc amongst your enemies with indirect attacks and the collateral damage that they can cause.

Don't believe me? Why not give some of these a try the next time you're at the gaming table:

  • Blast a bow string: Render the Ranger's missile adds moot with this one.
    • Flaming backpacks: Watch your foe struggle as the material sack he strapped to himself combusts. I hope there wasn't anything too expensive in there.. Or any flasks of oil.
    • That'll cost you: Burn a rivals wand to run up their Kremm costs.
    • Exploding lanterns: A sudden blast of fire should be more than enough to ignite all the oil in that lantern at once.
    • Feel the burn: A sudden blast of fire should also be more than enough to heat a metal weapon to the point where it is too painful to hold on to.
    • Blackpowder backfire: Gunnes are pricey, so why not trash one by igniting the powder in the breach. It might even go off with a bang.
    • Typo: Any magical object that relies on runes to weave its spell could be rendered useless by a blast or two (particularly those made of precious / soft metal), warping the metal. 

    Well worth the pandemonium for the cost of 1 extra WIZ.

    2 comments:

    1. Those are great ideas for the use of Call Flame in combat. These really are not combat spells so it is hard to compare them to TTYF.

      The only problem with some of your ideas here is that in the spell descriptions for Call Flame and Call Water they require Touch for effect; they don't shoot blasts of flame or water. But you could always house rule them.

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      1. Ah, good point Dan. I had overlooked the range though, and always envisioned Call Flame as a tamer version of Blasting Power.

        House ruling sounds like the way to go with this one for my purposes as, being a touch spell totally changes the nature of beast. Good spot Dan!

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