Fire magic is a very popular kind of magic in fantasy RPGs, and it is a personal favorite of mine. When I first started playing The Fantasy Trip, I wanted the fire spells like Fireball to go into combat. As I have grown "older" I have come to appreciate many more subtleties to the art of fire magic.
Obviously there are the normal fire spells that are used in magic combats or adventuring. But there are many other uses for fire magic, too. Fire magic can also be used in crafts, such as metalwork, pottery, artwork or even stonework and construction.
Another consideration is that of fire magic in plain old everyday life. Creating and shaping fire can be used for everything from cooking to lighting to providing heat in the winter. Depending on the religions in your campaign, fire magic can even be tied to religious acts or rituals.
The point of all of this is to have fun roleplaying, using your creativity to add depth to the game.
Here are some new spells for fire magic. These have been borrowed from GURPS, but work well in The Fantasy Trip.
EXTINGUISH FIRE: (T) [GURPS] IQ 9. This spell extinguishes normal or magic fires, up to 1 hex in size. This will not put out the fire in things like molten lava or metal. ST cost: 2.
FLAME JET: (C) [GURPS] IQ 12. The caster shoots a jet of flame from his or her fist. The flame is long enough to hit a target in the next hex. The caster rolls against DX to hit, and the flame does 1d for each ST point put into the spell (up to 3 points).
FLAMING WEAPON: (C) [GURPS] IQ 10. Spell causes any weapon to burst into flame. The weapon does +2 hits of damage to any opponent or flammable object. The flaming weapon can also be used as a torch or light source. Metal weapons will be unaffected after the spell–wooden ones will fall in ashes. Cost: 4 ST, plus 1 for each minute it continues.
RESIST COLD: (T) [GURPS] IQ 10. Allows the subject to maintain a normal temperature, immune from any effects of cold or frostbite. The cost of the spell is 2 ST, plus 1 per minute to maintain.
FLAMING MISSILE WEAPON: (C) [GURPS] IQ 10. Similar to the Flaming Weapon spell, but for missile weapons. The missile does +2 hits of damage, with the fire lasting 1 minute. The cost of the spell is 2 ST for wooden missiles, 4 ST for metal or stone missiles.
Marko ∞
(Originally published on inthelabyrinth.org, on 3/27/2015.)
