Dungeon Map: Trial of the Riddlemaster

When I went off to college (many, many years ago), 1st Edition AD&D was still in print, but rumbles of a 2nd edition were heard in the pages of DRAGON Magazine. I remember filling out survey cards and sending them in for what I would like to see in a 2nd edition of the rules. That summer before college I set upon creating a new campaign world to use from that point forward. I originally started with a map of Antarctica as the basis for my campaign map, but quickly rejected the idea. I then decided to build the world from a small-scale map outwards, increasing the size of the campaign world as I needed it. When my two friends (my only players at the time) started playing in the world, named Thuin, I had a wilderness map, a basic idea of a regional map (basically where all the races originated), and only a concept of what I wanted to run as my first adventure. Taking cues from Gygax on creating a mega-dungeon that would be the focus of the campaign, I started drawing the maps during my first semester in college, and keying them into a red spiral notebook. We tentatively started the campaign that semester, playing in dorm rooms, using characters ported from our previous Greyhawk adventures in the town of Fax on the Wild Coast. We had destroyed Greyhawk that previous summer in a catastrophic battle between gods, demons, and devils, and ported all the PCs from our joint campaigns into individual campaigns run by their respective DMs. We all took turns DMing to allow everyone a chance to play. My friend Nick created a world he dubbed Primordia (which would be the focus of the majority of our gaming throughout college), my friend Steve took the Forgotten Realms as his own (which he had started running as 1st edition AD&D and later converted), and finally I had my Thuin campaign.

The backstory to the campaign was very weak. Essentially, the party was lost in the wilderness, having entered the world through a planar gate of temporary duration. They had to survive in a sub-arctic forest environment surrounded by tall mountains. They barely made it to the only sign of civilization they could find, a small town along a wilderness road. They obtained rooms in the Geitmyolk Inn and made it their base of operations. The town they had entered was called Malbork, and it would remain their home throughout the rest of the campaign.

They soon learned of kobolds raiding along the southern road, interfering with the trade between Malbork and Poznan, a larger community to the south. [I had acquired a new World Atlas before heading off to college and made a list of names to use for geographical locations - so if any of these names sound vaguely familiar, it's because they were real names of real places on maps of Europe. I even called the region the Stuttgard Forest. Then again, it was for my own personal use, so who cared, right?] The party (2 players) consisted of a ranger and a druid - perfect for a forest environment! They headed off to take on the kobolds, being 3rd level adventurers by this time (they had started their careers in Greyhawk, remember?). They eventually found a path leading off the main road and followed it to a large mound of earth in a forest clearing. Kobolds were camped outside the entrance of this mound which was a large tree stump and a tunnel dug beneath the roots. They were cooking something (or someone) in a pot. The kobolds were easily slain and the party entered the mound. Within they found that the kobolds were being enslaved by orcs who had come and invaded the mound looking for the "Way Below." In the center of the mound, in a dirt cave further excavated by the orcs, they found a stone block surrounded by statues of a warrior, rogue, wizard, and priest. Behind the rogue statue they discovered a secret door and a stairway leading down. Before they could descend though, they fought off several orcs, more kobolds, some wolves, and an ogre guard! Injured and out of resources, the party fled the scene after marking it on their map. They were chased down by kobolds riding armored boars and forced to fight for their lives before being able to return to the road. They managed to survive, but only barely. They fought their way back to Malbork and spent some time recovering from their wounds and setting up a base. If they would continue, they needed to bolster their ranks.

At this point we located the local gaming club on the other campus. "Realms of Fantasy" was a small group of gamers huddled in a basement room that stank of body odor, pizza scraps, and cigarette smoke. We were not impressed and decided it wasn't for us. We decided to continue playing games in the dorms, and later moved into a classroom in one of the lecture halls. At this time we met others who were also looking for a game - enter Dave, Michael and Bruce. We started them off in Nick's Primordia campaign and found that most of them were a good fit for the adventure. One played a few times then bowed out due to other obligations. Bruce decided he also wanted to try my campaign, so I let him create a character. This was my first mistake in the long line of mistakes I would make with this campaign. We were just learning the new AD&D 2nd edition rules which came out during the first semester of college. We were now in the second half of the year and still learning the ropes of campus life. Around the time of my second run in Thuin I was dealing with the death of a high school friend, a move to another dorm room to escape the lunatics we roomed with during the first semester, and adjusting to a heavier course load. I eventually caved when Bruce showed up with a 1st level drow ranger which he was adamant about playing. With a heavy sigh, I allowed the character into the campaign and started him off with a solo run to escape the underworld and flee to the "safety" of the sunlit world. He apparently had a lot of fun and we continued playing both campaigns after that.

The party was now three players strong and they entered the dungeons below the mound. They were not prepared for what was to come. The dungeon was a test - a trial of ascension created to test the abilities of future emperors of an ancient fallen empire. As such, the Lady of Mysteries, Xaal, instructed her chief prophet (then named the "Dungeon Master," and later the "Riddlemaster") to create the test and maintain it. Thus, the place was literally stocked by the priests of Xaal and these same priests inhabited the dungeon to maintain the traps, tricks, and monster populations. When the empire fell, this out of the way location was forgotten, but the priests continued to maintain the dungeon. After several years they became self-sufficient and the entrance was later buried during a season of heavy snows and mudslides. Cut off from the surface, the dungeon continued to grow and expand, using natural caves and other features to blend into the the dungeon. The kobolds, goblins, and hobgoblins gathered to inhabit the spaces of the upper dungeons began to war with each other over resources. The dead were raised as undead and placed in certain areas of the dungeon as further tests. The priests held sway over the northern section of the first level and had access to all the levels of the dungeon through a secret elevator room guarded by a sentient door that only obeyed the priests of Xaal. It was an interesting concept of dungeon ecology, borrowed from parts of WGR1 Greyhawk Ruins. On the second level, the threats increased, but since the creation of the dungeon, those living in the dungeon had gone mad or had become paranoid. The place was, therefore, considered to be most dangerous since one had no idea how the inhabitants would react. There was a cabal of illusionists on the 2nd level who were charged with maintaining many of the magical tricks and spells of trickery used in the test. Most had turned evil over the years, and their descendants continued the traditions of their art. Naturally, inbreeding and madness led to a very unstable group of individuals (but fun to role-play). The dungeon was invaded from below by monsters, other humanoids, and eventually dark elves. The kobolds, being the weakest, mined their own tunnels into the rock surrounding the dungeon's first level, making bolt holes and escape tunnels to flee from the larger creatures. These tiny accessways eventually permeated the entire level and the kobolds created a life of stealing and hiding, eventually burrowing their way to the surface and freedom. But the surface was a harsh environment, filled with large monsters, wild animals and cold winters, so the kobolds continued to keep their lair in the dungeon. These crafty creatures eventually split into two tribes - a dungeon tribe and a surface tribe - and because of differences in their lifestyle, the burrowed tunnel was sealed and forgotten. So the kobolds in the mound forgot about their brethren below until the coming of the orcs. An ancient green dragon had taken the nearby forested hills as it's territory and destroyed the nearby orc lairs when the orcs refused to pay tribute to the dragon. With their chieftain slain, the surviving orcs fled with their witchdoctor into the forest to the south. Led by visions of the dungeon (implanted by Xaal), the orcs invaded the kobold mound and unearthed the ancient entrance to the dungeon. Leaving some of their tribesmen on the surface to keep the kobolds in line and guard their rear, the orcs descended into the dungeon. However, the magical tricks and traps were still being maintained by the surviving clerics of Xaal, and when the last orc stepped off the stairs, the entire stairway slowly descended into the ground to become a blind corridor and the stone secret door above closed and latched (it was a one-way secret door entrance).

The concept of the dungeon was as a trial, a test of worthiness. One would have to survive the experience, testing the initiates' intelligence, wisdom, bravery, leadership, strength, endurance, and agility. Only those who could solve the riddle of the Dungeon Master were deemed worthy to rule the ancient empire. So, the dungeon itself was a trap, meant to lure monsters and heroes inside. In order to escape, you had to "solve" the dungeon. Unfortunately, in the modern age, there was no empire anymore and the entrance had been lost for so very long that it was mostly forgotten. When the orcs stirred up the kobolds, those kobolds that fled into the forest became troublesome to others who eventually came to explore. Many others made it into the dungeon only to find themselves trapped there. So it was with the orcs who were only looking for a new place to call a home. These orc invaders would become a theme for the dungeon, allowing me to show how dynamic the dungeon was. With the priests of Xaal trying to get everything balanced again, they would allow heroes to enter the dungeon to eliminate some of the invaders and get things "back to normal." Xaal needed new monsters to freshen the populations, and this in turn brought new heroes to explore the dungeon.

What the players didn't know was that Xaal had plans for them as well. Her prophet, the Dungeon Master (later the Riddlemaster), was the original prophet of the empire of Parthavia. He was present at the coronation of the last emperor, but was mortally wounded before the ceremony could be completed (this act was what caused the downfall of the empire). His injured form was placed in stasis and hidden in the depths of one of the trial dungeons he had overseen along with one of the Artifacts of Ascencion (a crown, rod, and orb of might) devoted to Neutrality. This was the new goal of the dungeon - for Xaal wanted to see the humans united in one mighty empire once more. So Xaal charged the priests to guard the form of the Dungeon Master in his eternal slumber until someone came along to solve the dungeon and prove worthy of leading men. The new circumstances of the dungeon made it impossible for any true heir of the throne to be found, but all humans were considered to be sons and daughters of the empire, regardless of how different they had become since the fall of that ancient civilization. Even half-elves or half-orcs could be considered. Since my group had a human and a half-elf, I figured it would be cool for them to find an artifact, then use clues to locate the other two artifacts, and try and start their own empire in the north.

But first they had to survive the Trial of the Riddlemaster! So here's the complete map of the first dungeon level (it's already been explored by the original party to the extent that it could be, and I'll probably never get to use it again):

The northern portions of the level (areas 20-35) were held by the priests of Xaal (originally called clerics of the Dungeon Master) who would help monsters and characters alike, were True Neutral in alignment, and kept the dungeon in balance as best they could. The numerous statues were placed by the clerics as a warning of what would lie ahead, and also as a grim memorial to those who died here. There were basilisks living in the caves below and the statues were their unfortunate victims who made it past the first two levels of the dungeon and would be honored here eternally! The entrance area near the central stairs and the rooms to the east were inhabited by orcs left behind to guard the entrance. Goblins lived in the rooms to the northeast while primitive hobgoblins (norkers) lived in the southeast. The kobold lair (filled with centuries of accumulated junk from the other areas) was in area 83 and the various tunnels surrounding and permeating the dungeon level. The stairs to the second level were in the southwest and the only way to get them open was by locating a key in the red prism room of the north that opened the chamber of the Fire Key in area 64. That Fire Key was used to enter the second level secret door from area 63.

The first level had a lot of hidden surprises as well. There was a fat ogre with his twin half-ogre sons, a few survivors of a recent adventuring party that entered here a few weeks ago, and a pool guarded by a water weird that held a fortune in gemstones. The pool chamber in the northeast granted visions to those who drank of the waters, giving hints of what to expect in the coming dungeon levels. I tried to make the level as dynamic as possible, showing that this place was its own ecosystem that existed with or without the players. Over the years of adventuring within, the Balance Stones (which powered many of the magical tricks and traps on this level) were stolen, thus rendering the stairs inert and preventing many of the clues from being accessed (it even turned off the elevator room accessway for the priests!). Drow had surfaced from a lower level seeking a new route to the surface, thus becoming the latest dungeon invaders.

Feel free to use this map in whatever games you play (as long as it isn't published). The map is of my own design and belongs only to me. But if you're looking for an interesting and unique map for a week's amusement, feel free to use this one. I realize I may never again run my campaign, so someone should be able to get some use out of this map!

AD&D: Fear the Undead!

Since we're in the month of Halloween, I thought I'd go over a few rules concerning the undead and why they are the most feared monsters in the game.

At the lower levels of play, there are a few undead that are typically encountered by player characters - most notably skeletons and zombies. Skeletons are the lowest form of undead, little more than animated bones that follow the commands of some evil spell caster or devil. Some skeletons can be created by curses (for example, the bones of the dead interred in a sacred tomb that has been desecrated animating by divine/unholy power to take their vengeance upon the desecrators,) but most are created by the animate dead spell (3rd level cleric spell, 5th level magic-user spell). Skeletons can be animated from any pile of bones, so long as the skeleton is mostly complete. Most are human skeletons, but there can be demi-human skeletons, monster skeletons, even dragon skeletons. Hit Dice of the skeletons are the same as they were in life; however, class levels do not translate. Therefore, a 9th level fighter whose bones are animated is still considered a 1 HD skeleton, since humans normally have a base of 1 HD. You cannot, therefore, have an army of undead skeletons raised from the greatest warlords to ever have walked the earth. You can, however, raise several ogre skeletons and these would be 4 HD creatures!

Zombies are similar, but slightly more powerful. Zombies are animated corpses, with some meat still on the bones. They are just as mindless as skeletons, but are hardier (and easier to hit) than average skeletons, the negative energy animating the dead flesh somehow boosting its strength to allow them to cause 1-8 points of damage with a single blow of their fists! These are also animated by spell or curse, and can be animated from any corpse, taking the base HD of the creature and adding 1 to the total. Thus, a zombie ogre (normally 4+1 HD) becomes a 5 HD undead creature. There is no mention of increasing the damage based on size, but I would permit an increase of 1 die per size category. A human zombie causes 1-8 points of damage, so a large creature might cause 2-16 damage. A small zombie (like a gnome or halfling zombie) might only cause half normal damage, or 1-4. It's really up to the DM to decide how to run this.

The worst part of undead at low levels is that they cannot be bargained with, cannot be fooled by spell effects or high Charisma, and will attack until destroyed. Given that low-level characters usually depend on things like morale or other tactics to fool or outwit their opponents in order to survive, this makes low-level, mindless undead particularly unforgiving. They cannot be scared off by fire, illusions, or other tactics that low-level parties might try to use in order to avoid conflict or scare off their opponents. It is also stated that the undead are silent, so they can often surprise a party that is unaware of their presence. They are also immune to spells that normally affect the mind, and cannot be detected using ESP. The relentless, mindless undead occur in large groups being found in cemeteries, crypts, and dungeons. The only way to escape them, usually, is with the help of a cleric with the Turn Undead ability. Low-level clerics have little chance of turning, and can only send the undead away for a short time; at the end of that time, the undead return to continue the attack. Most AD&D parties were fairly large back in the day, with at least 6-8 PCs and sometimes a like number of henchmen or hirelings. Even so, the relentless nature of the undead meant that there would be fatalities unless the cleric was able to turn some of them away to allow the party to handle them in smaller groups.

Take the zombies in the crypt of T1: The Village of Hommlet for example. There, a dozen zombies enter combat, appearing 2 per round, from their hiding places in the cells. A cleric could accidentally try to turn too early and only affect a few of the undead, thus leaving the rest of the party to have to clean up the others as they emerge. Turning is not automatic until the cleric is higher in level, and even then the numbers affected are limited. I had a group of characters with a druid instead of a cleric, and they faced a cursed fountain full of bones that would animate 2 skeletons each round. Needless to say, the party was soon almost overwhelmed when their attacks were only doing half damage (most had sharp weapons only) and the numbers kept growing faster than they could destroy them! Zombie movies like Night of the Living Dead show what can happen if undead creatures just keep coming with no relief in sight!

Mid-level undead can be just as nasty - ghouls, mummies, and ghasts are corporeal undead that all have special abilities that make combat with them difficult to survive. Ghoul paralysis is definitely a powerful ability that can leave the target helpless and subject to excessive amounts of damage. They attack without fear and usually in packs, increasing the chance that they can paralyze targets. They are subject to normal attacks and most spells, but are immune to sleep and charm spells (some of the best spells a magic-user can have). Mummies have powerful attacks (1-12 points of damage per hit), cause fear in their targets, and each strike causes a deadly disease to the target that eventually causes death and negates all cure wound spells cast on the victim! What's worse, they are hard to kill, being immune to many spells and attacks forms. The truly terrifying power of a mummy though is what happens to the body of its victims - the corpse will rot and cannot be raised from death unless a cure disease and raise dead spell are used within 6 turns (1 hour) of death! Ghasts are simply more powerful versions of the ghoul, with the ability to paralyze elves (which a ghoul cannot do) and cause a nauseating stench that reduces combat chances to hit against them. Ghouls (and presumably ghasts) create new spawn when they kill (and don't devour) a victim. Unless the corpse is blessed, it will become a ghoul or ghast (presumably on the following night). A protection from evil circle will hedge out ghouls, but will not function against ghasts unless powdered iron is used in the casting.

The higher undead creatures are created by the actions of evil supernatural beings, or by the death of the undead's victims. Shadows, ghouls, wights, wraiths and others can create new spawn by killing their victims. Once slain, the victims rise the following night as undead of the same type! In some cases, like that of the shadow or wraith, the transformation seems to be immediate! I once had a group of shadows attack my party late at night, while most of them were asleep and only a watchman was awake in camp. Those shadows ran rampant through the party, able to remain mostly invisible (90% undetectable) in the shadowy light of the campfire. Those they killed by draining their strength were transformed into shadows themselves, thus adding to the problems of the survivors! Needless to say, undead that can replicate themselves in this manner are greatly feared!

However, nothing inspires more fear in a player character than the threat of energy drain. This attack form used by wights, wraiths, vampires, and spectres is the most feared ability of any undead creature (except maybe the ghost). With a single touch, an energy-draining undead creature can undo years of adventuring, and thus reduces their ability to fight back! Imagine a vampire (which drains 2 life energy levels per hit) attacking a party of 9th level characters. The vampire is likely to hit whomever it attacks, and that target is then 7th level. Further attacks reduce the character to 5th level, then 3rd, then 1st, and finally slays the character, draining it completely of life energy. A clever vampire would attack a few times and then flee in mist form, only to return at a later time to finish off the weakened characters. Levels are not easy to recover, either. Sure, there are restoration spells, but the requirements to cast such a spell are taxing not only to the pockets of the victim, but to the caster as well! Each restoration spell causes the caster to age 2 years. One would have to be a very important person, and well connected to a church, in order to get two such spells cast upon them. They would also have to lay out 10,000 gp plus a like amount PER LEVEL of experience of the recipient. Thus, if a 9th-level fighter fought a vampire and ended being 5th level at the end of the battle, he would need 4 restoration spells cast upon him, costing 60,000 gp, 70,000 gp, 80,000 gp, and finally 90,000 gp to finally recover from the ordeal. I don't know many 9th level characters with that much free cash on hand, and it would hardly seem worth it to spend that much anyway. One would have to locate a minimum 16th level cleric who can cast 7th level cleric spells, and would have to have an 18 Wisdom in order to even cast such a spell! Such characters are few and far between. Adding in the fact that the spell must be cast within 1 day per experience level of the caster or the loss is permanent, you can see the dilemmas involved with restoring life energy levels.

Energy draining undead are by far the most feared, even more so than liches and mummies. However, the most feared undead creature is the ghost, who, with a single glance, can send party members, henchmen and hirelings running in fear, and age those who simply view it 10 years (unless they succeed at a saving throw versus magic)! Clerics above 6th level are immune to this effect, and other classes above 8th get +2 to the saving throw, but this is still a game changer. If the party is comprised mostly of humans, unnatural aging may cause them to change to a higher age bracket and thus lose Strength, Constitution, and/or Dexterity (without the bonus Intelligence and/or Wisdom that normally comes with natural aging). Any character affected by unnatural aging must also make a System Shock check or die on the spot (see PHB p.12)! What's worse, every attack the ghost makes ages the target 10-40 years! That means that every attack requires a System Shock roll, and most humans will only be able to survive one or two such attacks before being too feeble to continue the combat. As an added gotcha, any human or demi-human killed by a ghost is forever dead. That means no coming back by raise dead, resurrection, or wish. Your soul is lost and consumed by the ghost. Most humans would not last long against a ghost in combat. A ghost can magic jar into a person's body and attack materially, while his companions try not to kill their ally and still survive the possessed person's attacks (which, at the level one would be to face a ghost, is probably pretty powerful). Spells cannot affect ghosts unless the caster is in the ethereal state, so magic-users and illusionists are pretty much useless. Only semi-materialized ghosts can make touch attacks, but can only themselves be hit by silver or magic weapons in this state, and even then they are AC 0 to those on the Material Plane. Yes, these undead creatures are the absolute worst to encounter by a party of experienced humans who have been adventuring for years, especially if there are some older members of the party (such as magic-users). I can honestly say that I would rather be energy drained than aged unnaturally by a ghost!

There are few ways to get back your youth if you survive an encounter with a ghost. Sure, you could locate or brew potions of longevity, but remember that there is always a chance that such potions backfire and age you instead! Such a chance could be very dangerous to a character who is already aged and feeble. There are few undead scarier than a ghost (thankfully), and only the lich is considered to be more powerful!

What truly terrifies most characters when facing powerful undead is the lack of a saving throw against their most potent attacks. Energy drain, ghost aging, and strength drain have no saving throw to avoid the effects. Therefore, the attack will succeed whenever a hit is scored on a target. I can't think of any other power possessed by any other type of monster that doesn't allow a saving throw of some sort against that attack form. This, above all else, is what makes the undead extremely scary!

Spell Evolution: Fireball

Given my tendency to be a pyromaniac (when given a chance), I prefer to cast fire-related spells. And there are no fire spells more iconic than fireball! Without a doubt, this spell gives you the most bang for your buck, but does have a tendency to hurt as well as help when it's not placed just right... We're able to take this one ALL the way back to the beginning of the game; to a time before D&D was even it's own game!

CHAINMAIL (1975)

This is the game system used to run D&D combats. "What?" you say. Yes, that's right, D&D combat originally used the Chainmail miniatures rules. More specifically, the "Fantasy Supplement" of those rules beginning near the back of the rulebook. Here, wizards were mysterious figures with mighty spell powers, and could choose to use deadly missiles such as fireball or lightning bolt (chosen before play began). This was carried over in the DUNGEON! boardgame where wizards selected a number of fireballs, lightning bolts, and teleport cards at the start of the game. But I digress... In this miniatures game, there were no memorized spells, and a wizard who had fireball as their attack spell could lob them all day long! A fireball had a hit area equal to that of a large catapult shot (3½" diameter circle). Such missiles (and this is where the term "casting" or "throwing" spells comes from) had a range of up to 24", with the center of the hit area at the range determined by the caster. This spell destroyed any forces or creatures in its hit area (with some exceptions). The spell could be cast as direct fire or indirect fire, with the range being called before the hit area was placed. Heroes (4th level fighters), Super Heroes (8th level fighters), and Wraiths all got saving throws to see if they survived the missile attack. Giants could be routed, pushed back 1 move, or be completely unaffected depending on their save roll. Dragons were driven back 1 move. Air and Water Elementals were driven back 1 move as well. Of course, all this is on a battlefield, not in a dungeon. There are no levels of spells, but there is spell complexity. So, essentially, a wizard's main means of attack was by lobbing fireballs (or lightning bolts), and possibly other spells based on their complexity and the wizard's actual "level."

D&D (Original White Box) (1974)

Although technically published before Chainmail, D&D grew out of miniature rules, so I gave Chainmail the first billing. This is the first listing of the spell "fireball" in an actual D&D rule book!

Fire Ball: A missile which springs from the finger of the Magic-User. It explodes with a burst radius of 2" (slightly larger than specified in CHAINMAIL). In a confined space the Fire Ball will generally conform to the shape of the space (elongate or whatever). The damage caused by the missile will be in proportion to the level of its user. A 6th level Magic-User throws a 6-die missile, a 7th a 7-die missile, and so on. (Note that Fire Balls from Scrolls (see Volume II) and Wands are 6-die missiles and those from Staves are 8-die missiles) Duration: 1 turn. Range: 24".

As you can see, the spell references Chainmail rules (which is why I listed them first). The spell is listed as a 3rd level spell on the Magic-User Spell Table, which is first attainable as a Thaumaturgist (5th level Magic-User). This version of the spell does not have material components. It retains the same 24" casting range from Chainmail, but got bumped up in diameter (now 4" diameter sphere). The die type (although not specified) is a d6 (the only die type used in this version of the game). The duration listed 1 turn, but this is a player's turn, not a "turn" as in 10 minutes of exploration in the dungeon. The term "instantaneous" has not yet been coined for such spells. Seems a powerful and useful spell in this version of the game, although a saving throw was still allowed to all characters for half-damage (I suppose that 0-level characters would still be slain by the spell automatically since they only had less than a full HD of hit points anyway).

AD&D 1st Edition (1978)

Fireball (Evocation)

Level: 3
Range: 10" + 1"/level
Duration: Instantaneous
Area of Effect: 2" radius sphere
Components: V, S (hmm, there is a material component to this spell)
Casting Time: 3 segments
Saving Throw: ½

Explanation/Description: A fireball is an explosive burst of flame, which detonates with a low roar, and delivers damage proportionate to the level of the magic-user who cast it, i.e. 1 six-sided die (d6) for each level of experience of the spell caster. Exception: Magic fireball wands deliver 6 die fireballs (6d6), magic staves with this capability deliver 8 die fireballs, and scroll spells of this type deliver a fireball of from 5 to 10 dice (d6 + 4) of damage. The first of the fireball does not expend a considerable amount of pressure, and the burst will generally conform to the shape of the area in which it occurs, thus covering an area equal to its normal spherical volume. [The area which is covered by the fireball is a total volume of roughly 33,000 cubic feet (or yards)]. Besides causing damage to creatures, the fireball ignites all combustible materials within its burst radius, and the heat of the fireball will melt soft metals such as gold, copper, silver, etc. Items exposed to the spell's effects must be rolled for to determine if they are affected. Items with a creature which makes it saving throw are considered as unaffected. The magic-user points his or her finger and speaks the range (distance and height) at which the fireball is to burst. A streak flashes from the pointing digit and, unless it impacts upon a material body prior to attaining the prescribed range, flowers into the fireball. If creatures fail their saving throws, they all take full hit point damage from the blast. Those who make their saving throws manage to dodge, fall flat or roll aside, taking ½ the full hit point damage -- each and every one within the blast area. The material component of this spell is a tiny ball composed of bat guano and sulphur.

Lots of goodies in this description. Also it's fun to note that the spell here is called fireball, but in the previous version was referred to as fire ball. This is an important distinction that will come up again! Here is the first time this spell is called an "evocation"; although it doesn't mean much in this version of the game, it is a flavorful tidbit that defines the type of magic involved (and useful for detect magic spells, although it's pretty much over before such a spell could be cast). The range is curiously cut down from the original 24" range - now one has to be 14th level before such a range can be achieved! The duration is listed as instantaneous, meaning that its effects happen instantly and are over in a flash (cannot be dispelled, since there is no duration). The area of effect is the same as original D&D, and that saving throw is there to help others survive the terrible death by ignition. My only concern here is that the fire is hot enough to set everything in the area on fire and melt soft metals, but if you have a spellbook in a leather backpack that you are carrying, and you save vs. Spell, you take half damage but the spellbook is just fine... Yeah, right... Strange physics aside, the part about the level ability of wands and staves is lifted directly from original D&D; curiously, fireball scrolls got a bump up, allowing them to be up to 10th level in casting ability! Now, a fireball isn't a Hollywood pyrotechnic explosion - in other words, there isn't appreciatively much pressure behind the blast. However, it does say that it is a "burst of flames," and superheated air is going to have some pressure behind it, magic or no. It might be just enough to knock you off your feet in a narrow corridor, but it must be present, especially when trying to conform to a limited volume. If a fire is hot enough to instantly fuse soft metals together, it's gonna hurt! A lot! Perhaps they should have said that at 10th level the flames are hot enough to melt soft metals, at 15th it basically incinerates all soft goods, etc. But they didn't because it's a game, and it's no fun to be incinerated by a single spell. That being said, it's very tricky casting a fireball in a confined space such as a dungeon (especially the ones Gygax used to run, with every square filled by room, corridor, or other feature)! Note the volume listed as 33,000 cubic feet. That's 33 squares on a dungeon corridor that's 10' x 10' x 10' on the map. [The note about cubic yards is an error - as stated at the beginning of the spells section, only ranges change to yards outdoors; areas of effect remain in scale feet only.] Placement of a fireball is tricky - one has to be able to place it for maximum damage output while keeping one's own party out of the blast radius. This is harder to do than you think! Still, it's one of the best spells to use on large quantities of low-level creatures such as kobolds, goblins, orcs, giant rats, bat swarms, skeletons, zombies, hobgoblins, etc. Against higher-level creatures it can be beneficial in knocking down hit points, but most of the higher-level creatures are magic resistant or fire resistant (fire giants, red dragons, devils, demons, etc.). The old invisible wall of force trick to taunt the magic-user into casting fireball and then laughing as he and his party fries in their own spell has been done before. However, it's still a great gag to play, and humbling to the magic-user's player who then has to apologize for causing the near-total-party-kill. That being said, it's important to realize that premature impact of the fireball could really harm the casting party. Imagine using the spell distance distortion on a wall to make it appear further away that it actually may be! Or using an illusion to make a stone wall appear to be a clear, long corridor. Such dupes could cause a catastrophe for the magic-user lobbing such a spell as fireball (or even other spells like lightning bolt which rebounds when a solid surface is struck). The worst thing about a party being struck by a fireball is having to see what survived the blast. Those who made their saves are in the clear; those who did not save must roll for all their exposed belongings, including armor, weapons, and gear! Oh, how many magic items were snuffed out of existence by a failed saving throw on the Item Saving Throw chart! Remember kids, your Dexterity Reaction Modifier applies to saves against a fireball! So too do magic armor bonuses and possibly shield bonuses (if its a large shield - a buckler won't do). Those magic items that fail are completely and utterly destroyed! But, if your DM is a stickler for sympathetic magic, a wand of fireballs or powerful staff will likely succeed if it has fireball or other fire spells as it's main focus (a sword +1 flametongue shouldn't have to save, but a Holy Avenger +5 should). Remember those bonuses to magic item saving throws! The last thing to note here is that the spell DOES have a material component - they just forgot to put the "M" in the components at the top of the spell listing.

Moldvay Basic/Expert Sets (1981)

Going chronologically, this ruleset contains the next iteration of the spell. However, it's more tied to the original D&D White Box set in how it's presented, and creates the rift that starts the divergence of the two version of D&D (Advanced and B/X or BECMI).

Fire Ball

Range: 240'
Duration: instantaneous

This spell creates a missile of fire that explodes into a ball of fire 40' across (20' radius) when it strikes a target. The fire ball will cause 1-6 (1d6) points of fire damage per level of the caster to all creatures within the area. If a victim of a fire ball saves vs. Spells, the spell will only do ½ damage. EXAMPLE: A fire ball cast by a 6th level magic-user will burst for 6-36 (6d6) points of damage.

How concise and elegant this version of the spell seems (the above is the amalgamated version from the Basic and Expert rule books). Note the presentation - it is identical to the fire ball spell listed in the D&D White Box, including range (24" = 240'). The instantaneous duration makes sense given the length of a basic combat round (10 seconds). There is no explanation of how the explosion occurs in a confined space - that's up to the DM to decide. It also states nothing about items being set on fire - again, this is the DM's prerogative. It simply gives the information necessary to run the spell as a combat spell cast during a combat round. Pure, simple, and uncomplicated. That's pretty much all I have to say about this version of the spell. It's included only to show the difference between Advanced D&D and regular D&D.

2nd Edition AD&D (1989)

Fireball (Evocation)

Range: 10 yards + 10 yards/level
Components: V, S, M
Duration: Instantaneous
Casting Time: 3
Area of Effect: 20-foot radius
Saving Throw: ½

   A fireball is an explosive burst of flame, which detonates with a low roar and delivers damage proportional to the level of the wizard who cast it - 1d6 points of damage for each level of experience of the spellcaster (up to a maximum of 10d6). The burst of the fireball creates little pressure and generally conforms to the shape of the area in which it occurs. The fireball fills an area equal to its normal spherical volume (roughly 33,000 cubic feet - thirty-three 10' x 10' x 10' cubes). Besides causing damage to creatures, the fireball ignites all combustible materials within its burst radius, and the heat of the fireball melts soft metals such as gold, copper, silver, etc. Exposed items require saving throws vs. magical fire to determine if they are affected, but items in the possession of a creature that rolls a successful saving throw are unaffected by the fireball.
   The wizard points his finger and speaks the range (distance and height) at which the fireball is to burst. A streak flashes from the pointing digit and, unless it impacts upon a material body or solid barrier prior to attaining the prescribed range, blossoms into the fireball (an early impact results in an early detonation). Creatures failing their saving throws each suffer full damage from the blast. Those who roll successful saving throws manage to dodge, fall flat, or roll aside, each receiving half damage (the DM rolls the damage and each affected creature suffers either full damage or half damage [round fractions down], depending on whether the creature saved or not).
   The material component of this spell is a tiny ball of bat guano and sulphur.

Alright, this spell is pretty much the same as the 1st edition with just a few edits. The first is the range - now expressed in yards, not feet (or scale inches)! This means that the range is 3x the range of an AD&D 1st edition fireball indoors, and the same outdoors. They corrected the "M" omission in the Components line! However, they put a cap on the damage that the fireball can do - limited now to 10d6 maximum. How dare they? I don't know many magic-users that ever made it past level 12, but this is a deal-breaker for me (I like liches being able to cast high damage dice fireballs, thank you very much!). They did a good job of explaining the volume a bit better. And the spell still melts soft metals and causes everything in the radius to catch fire (except, of course, those characters who manage to save vs. Spells). They spell out the item saves a bit better too. The rest is pretty much the same.... until that last bit about the DM rolling the damage for the spell! When did that become a thing? A player should ALWAYS get to roll their own spell damage! It's one of the perks of being a wizard!

3rd Edition D&D (2000)

Fireball
   Evocation [Fire]
   Level: Sor/Wiz 3
   Components: V, S, M
   Casting Time: 1 action
   Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
   Area: 20-ft. radius spread
   Duration: Instantaneous
   Saving Throw: Reflex half
   Spell Resistance: Yes

A fireball spell is a burst of flame that detonates with a low roar and deals 1d6 points of fire damage per caster levels (maximum 10d6) to all creatures within the area. Unattended objects also take this damage. The explosion creates almost no pressure.
   You point your finger and determine the range (distance and height) at which the fireball is to burst. A glowing, pea-sized bead streaks from the pointing digit and, unless it impacts upon a material body or solid barrier prior to attaining the prescribed range, blossoms into the fireball at that point (an early impact results in an early detonation). If you attempt to send the bead through a narrow passage, such as through an arrow slit, you must "hit" the opening with a ranged touch attack, or else the bead strikes the barrier and detonates prematurely.
   The fireball sets fire to combustibles and damages objects in the area. It can melt metals with a low melting point, such as lead, gold, copper, silver, or bronze. If the damage caused to an interposing barrier shatters or breaks through it, the fireball may continue beyond the barrier if the area permits; otherwise it stops at the barrier just as any other spell effect does.
   Material Component: A tiny ball of bat guano and sulfur.

Ah, I swear this version of the rules is a rules lawyer's wet dream. All the fiddly rules and sub-types that are explained in only one place in three books... tell me again how AD&D was the worst organized rules set...? Anyway, this version of the spell has some tweaks based on how 3rd edition differs from 1st and 2nd edition AD&D. We now have a fire subtype which interacts with spells that grant resistance to fire attacks and creatures that are fire resistant or vulnerable to fire attacks. Most of the rest is just like in previous versions, but WHOAH! That range is ridiculous! How can one even see that far to target a spell? I mean, sure, outside in the wilderness, you "might" be able to see that far in a desert, a plain, or on top of a hill, but never in a dungeon! Instead of a save vs. spells for half damage, it's now a Reflex save for half damage. (See what they did here? They took a save based on a type of attack and made it into a Dexterity-based saving throw automatically, without telling you that a Dex bonus will help with the save. How clever...) The area of effect is no longer a sphere, but a 20-foot "spread." This means that the effect spreads around corners and other barriers, but will only extend to the maximum distance of 20 feet from the origin point. In other words, it no longer conforms to the space and there is no calculating how many 10' cubes of volume the fire engulfs. [See image below.]

Forgive the poor scan... This diagram shows the spread of a fireball in a corridor intersection (amazingly just missing the caster... ah metagaming). This is completely different from the expanding fire burst in 1st and 2nd edition, making this spell more "player friendly" and "useful" in crowded dungeons with their 10'-wide corridors. The rest of the spell is pretty much the same as the 2nd edition version, with the crappy 10d6 maximum as well. We now have rules, however, for shooting a fireball through a small opening in a wall (and now I'm picturing photon torpedoes entering the vent shaft to blow up the Death Star...). We're back to the fireball spelling as one word (which remains constant from here on in, so I won't keep mentioning it). For something that creates minimal pressure, it sure can burn through things quickly - as stated in the final lines of text above. I don't think that an instantaneous spell can burn through a wooden door in a single round, no matter how hot it is, so this is basically a moot point, door hit points aside. We have to be grounded in reality or the fantasy doesn't really work for the game. Either a fireball EXPLODES (meaning that there is pressure from rapidly expanding gases busting through stuff) or it just expands quickly from a point of origin (or SPREADS in this case). I for one vote for the explosion!

4th Edition D&D (2008)

Fireball (Wizard Attack 5)
A globe of orange flame coalesces in your hand. You hurl it at your enemies, and it explodes on impact.

Daily * Arcane, Fire, Implement
Standard Action        Area burst 3 within 20 squares
Target: Each creature in burst
Attack: Intelligence vs. Reflex
Hit: 3d6 + Intelligence modifier fire damage
Miss: Half damage.

That little bit of text gets me all the time. Basically, it's saying that the Wizard has to be level 5 to acquire this attack power (essentially the same as being a 3rd level spell in "normal" D&D). It's a daily power, however, so it can only be used once per day. Period. It's an arcane spell (not available to clerics), has the Fire descriptor (just like in 3rd edition), and can be augmented by using an implement (wand, orb, focus) to increase chance to hit or other bonuses. It's cast on your turn as a standard action and bursts with a 3 square (15') spread from the origin point somewhere within 20 squares (100') of you. Each creature in that burst area is attacked with an Intelligence attack against a Reflex defense (which acts as Armor Class here). The damage is pitiful - I hope there was a way of improving it in this version (have to admit, I don't know much 4th edition). If the attack misses, the target takes only half damage. The cool part about this is that if the attack roll scores a crit, the damage is double normal! Also, high Intelligence actually means something here, because the modifier is added to the damage roll (and is used as a modifier in the attack roll as well). Still fairly pathetic since it's a daily power with minimal damage potential.

5th edition D&D (2014)

FIREBALL
3rd-level evocation

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 150 feet
Components: V, S, M (a tiny ball of bat guano and sulfur)
Duration: Instantaneous

A bright streak flashes from your pointing finger to a point you choose within range and then blossoms with a low roar into an explosion of flame. Each creature in a 20-foot radius sphere centered on that point must make a Dexterity saving throw. A target takes 8d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
   The fire spreads around corners. It ignites flammable objects in the area that aren't being worn or carried.
   At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 3rd.

YAY! Back to rules that make sense to me! Everything in the above text is the same as the other spells from 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd with a few exceptions. That range just keeps changing. It's back to a static number (150 feet) which seems to be less than the earlier versions of the game, but much less than 3rd edition! I can live with that range - it seems plausible. Notice the Dexterity Save here (5th edition version of the Reflex save) that works in the Dex bonus for the saving throw - nice work guys! The damage is fixed at 8d6 for the base level of the spell (3rd) which is much better than a 5th level wizard could achieve in previous versions of the rules! However, the upper limit for the damage is based on casting this using a higher spell slot, so 6 slots higher (basically a 9th level spell slot) nets you a total of 14d6 damage. Nothing to sneeze at! But probably still not enough to damage a legendary creature very much (especially with legendary saving throws). The mechanics of the spell work very closely to other versions, but moreso with 3rd edition, as it spreads around corners (but not in the manner of 1st and 2nd edition AD&D). It apparently only damages items that people don't have. Aww, poor little PCs must have complained about losing all their kewl magic items to spell attacks... Well, it's a nerf; not one I agree with, but it's very obviously a nerf for the players. After all, you can't loot a creature you just blew up with a fireball!

FINAL THOUGHTS

OK, so the spell has changed very little since it's first appearance in D&D rules. The most variable thing about it has been the Range, going from 24" to 10" + 1"/level, to 10 yards + 10 yards/level to 400 ft + 40 ft./level, then down to 20 squares (100'), and finally 150 feet. I'm not counting the original and Moldvay versions as these are divergent descriptions. The damage was universally 1d6/level of the caster until 2nd edition capped it at 10d6 maximum, then 4th edition reduced it to 3d6 + Int modifier. The 5th edition really boosted it back up by setting the minimum at 8d6 for a 5th level caster!

Fireball was a dangerous spell to cast in the days of 1st and 2nd edition AD&D. One had to have enough space to cast it properly or it would backwash towards the caster and/or have undesirable results (and targets)! It can still be unpredictable if casting it at a target behind an invisible barrier. Later versions take the spell and make it more tame to use, especially in a dungeon setting. Suddenly, it becomes easier to avoid your own fireball since the effect is not a set volume, but rather expands from a point to a set distance (either a 3rd edition spread, 4th edition burst, or 5th edition sphere that spreads around corners). Even though no version says it literally "explodes" outwards, that's how I always envisioned the spell working - like Hollywood pyrotechnics in an action movie or spy thriller. It's a pity it doesn't work that way... I remember casting this spell often in my youth, but later my spellcasters would stop and consider the dimensions of the area before even trying to cast this spell, for fear that it would affect my party.

It really irks me that the reason for removing the item saving throw is likely to prevent characters from damaging the loot the villains are carrying. Most DMs equip their villains so that they can escape and continue to use their magical items against the party later on, not die to a well-timed fireball and have all the items looted and dispersed among the party members. Heck, that's why Gygax's drow used non-magical magic items that disintegrated in sunlight - to arm their foes against the party with items that could not be used against anyone else! Also, hearing the players groan as a fireball goes off around them was part of the fun for the DM. Having to stop and check each exposed item meant that some of those powerful items might disappear and make the characters adventure some more to find new ones to replace those that they lost. Spells like fireball were like a reset button when the DM found it was time to remove an item he or she may have inadvertently allowed the players to keep.

The pure visual of the fireball is very iconic for fantasy wizards. Throwing around balls of fire is definitely not a very scholarly pursuit, but damn it feels good to burn stuff up! One constant throughout all the versions of the game is that fireball is a 3rd level spell. Third level is the game-changing level of spells that starts a wizard on a power-trip. Third level spells are universally available to 5th level magic-users/mages/wizards. By 5th level you effectively become the "glass cannon" that you were meant to be - taking out large groups of creatures with a single spell. Sure, you still may only have 5d4 (or 5d6) hit points, but when you cast your spells, you cause more hit points in damage than you yourself can take! That is the very definition of a badass adventurer!

No matter what version of the game you prefer, fireball is one of those iconic wizard spells that is almost always useful to have. Sure, some versions of the spell are a bit quirkier than others, but so long as you have a tiny ball of bat guano and sulfur at hand, you know your wizard can get the job done!