Ye Olde Inn

Under SE rules the Ball of Flame and Fire of Wrath spells use a non-standard mechanism for damage which is inconsistent and therefore more complicated than just using the existing damage mechanism that is already familiar to players.

In addition the damage mechanism doesn't scale very well when you introduce multiple BP monsters, either through the recommendation from the International Gaming Magazine 1989 or through the North American Edition

In a world of 1 BP monsters, the percentage chance of eliminating the target using the Ball of Flame or Fire of Wrath spells is as follows:

Ball of Flame = 2BP lost, target gets to roll two red die, each six blocks 1 BP loss = 97.221% chance of eliminating target
Fire of Wrath = 1BP lost, target gets to roll one red die, a six blocks the BP loss = 83.33% chance of eliminating target

This demonstrates that these are very potent spells, against 1BP monsters, but under a system with multiple BP monsters (or Heroes as these spells are available as Chaos Spells also) assuming you are unlikely to be wasting such spells on Goblins or other 1BP monsters then these odds become the odds of causing 1BP loss on a multiple BP monster which will still be standing, so the spell effects become underpowered.

To remove this inconsistency in the mechanism and to better reflect their power against multiple BP monsters I would recommend.

Ball of Flame – 3CD of damage, target loses 1BP for each skull rolled, no defend
Fire of Wrath – 2CD of damage, target loses 1BP for each skull rolled, no defend

No defend in either case as armour isn’t designed for protection from fire, so any defence that you have will not be proportional to any armour worn.

Whilst the odds of an outright kill (and even the loss of 1BP) are lower than under the original, there is still a chance that you can kill 1-2BP monsters with the Fire of Wrath and 1-3BP monsters with the Ball of Flame.

Expanding on this further...add the following to the odd fire spell mechanism problem

Victim rolls # combat die, losing a Body point for each rolled

• Wand of Fire: #=2 (different from a standard short bow 2AD- as that can be reduced by defenders defend dice, this can’t)
• Ball of Flame: #=2 (with area effect - 9 squares*)
• Fireburst Trap: # = 2 (with area effect - 9 squares*)
• Skulls of Doom: #=2 (with area effect - 9 squares*)

• Fire of Wrath: #=3 (distinct from others as no LOS required)

• Lightning Bolt: #=3 (distinct from others as area of effect - 6 squares*)
• Death Bolt: #=3 (same as Lightning Bolt area of effect - 6 squares*)

*WoM introduces the concept of template use for area of effect into Second Edition, for the Lightning Bolt spell and Earth Quake spell, both of which use a 1x6 square template, so 6 squares in terms of area of effect.

Add this and other WoM templates to component list along with this one from WFB Flame Templates

I would suggest adopting a circular template 2” diameter template (1” in radius, 2” in diameter) like the one available free below, which when placed centrally on a single square partially covers that square and the surrounding 8 squares a total of 9 squares (other ones depicting gas cloud are also available)

This gives us another dimension to include in spells and spell-like items and I would recommend converting the following to use that template that I’ll refer to as a “Flame Template”

“Flame Template” use (round 3 square diameter – 9 squares covered – stopped by walls)
• Ball of Flame: #=2 (Flame Template)
• Fireburst Trap: #=2 (Flame Template)
• Skulls of Doom: #=3 (Flame Template)

“Lightning Bolt Template” use (1x6 squares – 6 squares covered – blocked by walls)
• Lightning Bolt: obviously that is what it is designed for
• Death Bolt: same template and effects as Lightning Bolt

The added benefit of using this is it allows us to get rid of the awkward…"affects all in room", method which is stretched as rooms vary from as small as 6 squares in area to 30 squares in area and these spells typically add “cannot be used in passageways” which is something of a cop-out

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To remove this inconsistency in the mechanism and to better reflect their power against multiple BP monsters I would recommend.

Ball of Flame – 3CD of damage, target loses 1BP for each skull rolled, no defend
Fire of Wrath – 2CD of damage, target loses 1BP for each skull rolled, no defend

No defend in either case as armour isn’t designed for protection from fire, so any defence that you have will not be proportional to any armour worn.

I like this. Fire of Wrath now does 1BP damage in average instead of 0.67, and the chance of killing a 1BP monster is increased from 67% to 75%. Ball of flame now does 1.5 BP damage in average instead of 1.33, and the chance of killing a 1BP monster is about the same (before 88.9%, now 87.5%).

In your calculation you assumed that only count. However, the defense roll was changed to or in US edition.

The strength of these 2 firespells is their ability to ignore armor, much like traps. With your change you roll exactly like for traps. Very consistent and clear.

I had the same idea of changing these 2 spells, but my plaxers are so used to the or defense, they don't want to change