Need More Power - giving fireball more boom

[Drakenbow]

I have been looking at how TFT spells shift from having a one hex effect to a 7-hex effect cost-wise for the caster's ST.

• *Fire 1 > 4
  *Illusion 2 > 5
  *Wall 2 > 6
  *Sleep 3 > 8
  *Avert 2+1 > 3+1
  *Image 1 > 4
  *Shadow 1 > 3
  *Freeze 4 > 12

The average upgrade is about 3 times the base cost to make a 1-hex into a 7-hex. Now applying that to a Fireball, it seems like a nice upgrade to allow for a caster to power-up from hitting one hex to hitting a megahex but spending 3 ST per die rolled (maximum of 3 dice rolled).

Has anyone tried this as a House Rule or something like it?

[Bill_in_IN]

Originally Posted by Drakenbow

I have been looking at how TFT spells shift from having a one hex effect to a 7-hex effect cost-wise for the caster's ST.

• *Fire 1 > 4
  *Illusion 2 > 5
  *Wall 2 > 6
  *Sleep 3 > 8
  *Avert 2+1 > 3+1
  *Image 1 > 4
  *Shadow 1 > 3
  *Freeze 4 > 12

The average upgrade is about 3 times the base cost to make a 1-hex into a 7-hex. Now applying that to a Fireball, it seems like a nice upgrade to allow for a caster to power-up from hitting one hex to hitting a megahex but spending 3 ST per die rolled (maximum of 3 dice rolled).

Has anyone tried this as a House Rule or something like it?

I think that you landed on something that was actually published back in the 80's.

There was an article that posted a bunch of new spells. Most of the spells were high IQ at 20+. There were megahex versions of missile spells that cost about 2 or 3 times the ST.

On Edit:
I found an article in an old Interplay Issue with new spells.

IQ 20 FIRE BLAST (M)
This is a missile spell that affects any megahex (or 7 hexes in a cluster). It inflicts 1 die damage per hex for every 2 ST the wizard puts into it. Any multi0hex creature takes appropriate damage. Note that when rolling for the spell to take effect,a result higher than your dexterity would mean that nothing happens. On a roll of 16, a fire hex would appear at the center; a 17, a fire hex would appear in the wizard's hex; and 18, (heaven forbid!) the Fire Blast appear around the wizard. COST: 2 ST for each die.

Keep in mind that in Classic TFT, it was easier to have more than a 40 point attribute total and wizards with High IQs. This spell would probably need to be modified in some way to fit into Legacy TFT.

[David Bofinger]

Originally Posted by Drakenbow

The average upgrade is about 3 times the base cost to make a 1-hex into a 7-hex. Now applying that to a Fireball

You could do that. You could throw in 3-hex fireballs as well. You could have rules for the explosion setting things alight and creating fire hexes.

My version has always been 1d-1 per die in the hex, 1d-2 in adjacent hexes, 1d-3 two hexes away, etc. The lack of a clean edge feels to me more explodey, and avoids gamey placement to exclude your friends by the barest margin.

[timm meyers]

Originally Posted by Drakenbow

I have been looking at how TFT spells shift from having a one hex effect to a 7-hex effect cost-wise for the caster's ST.

• *Fire 1 > 4
  *Illusion 2 > 5
  *Wall 2 > 6
  *Sleep 3 > 8
  *Avert 2+1 > 3+1
  *Image 1 > 4
  *Shadow 1 > 3
  *Freeze 4 > 12

The average upgrade is about 3 times the base cost to make a 1-hex into a 7-hex. Now applying that to a Fireball, it seems like a nice upgrade to allow for a caster to power-up from hitting one hex to hitting a megahex but spending 3 ST per die rolled (maximum of 3 dice rolled).

Has anyone tried this as a House Rule or something like it?

A logical addition.
I would just write a fire blast multihex ball spell as you described and add it to the spell list at a higher IQ.
Using the comparison of the above spells greater IQ requirements seems like a +5 level or IQ 17 would be appropriate. This would also give the low-level wizard that learns fireball to get the expanded version (same as 1 hex spell to 3 hex to 7 hex) for free when they reach their higher IQ.

[Drakenbow]

Originally Posted by timm meyers

A logical addition.
I would just write a fire blast multihex ball spell as you described and add it to the spell list at a higher IQ.
Using the comparison of the above spells greater IQ requirements seems like a +5 level or IQ 17 would be appropriate. This would also give the low-level wizard that learns fireball to get the expanded version (same as 1 hex spell to 3 hex to 7 hex) for free when they reach their higher IQ.

I consider Blast to a degree as an IQ 12 spell when looking at this 7-hex missile spell bump-up. For a max damage of 1+0 at a cost of 2 ST and a range zero for the MH the caster is standing in but does not harm the caster. It is the same IQ as Fireball. It does slightly better than what a one-die Fireball-ball would at 3 ST - more like a one-die Lightningbolt-ball. As a House Rule, I would consider allowing Blast to be increased in the number of dice.

But yes, the question of an appropriate IQ.