Flame On! The Best D&D Spells For Fiery Doom
There’s something about the arrival of the second Tuesday in November that makes you yearn for fiery doom. Maybe it’s these five spells!
Not sure why, but lately, the last few years, every November seems to coincide with an increased yearning for fiery doom. While we can’t speak to the reason, we can say that D&D is happy to deliver. When you want to deliver fiery doom, there are plenty of amazing options. And these are five of the best spells for unleashing fiery doom and maybe a little of that frustration, champ.
Fireball
An iconic classic. Fireball has been around since before the dawn of D&D. Originally developed in the fantasy rules for use with the Chainmail miniatures rules system, this spell has been the milestone that all Wizards (once magic-users) have reached across the decades.
In older editions, the explosive might of a Wizard, when unleashed like this, could expand to fill its volume, meaning a fireball cast into a narrow corridor might create a backdraft. And not the Kurt Russel kind either. Nowadays, it’s simply one of the most damaging third-level spells, and one of the best “blast” spells in the game, delivering more damage per spell level than most other contenders.
This is one of the best fiery doom spells because it gives fiery doom to everyone equally. Sure to be a crowd-pleaser.
Fire Storm
Want to rain fire down upon your foes but somehow leave innocent plant life out of it? That’s awfully considerate. And while it’s not as damaging as an upcast Fireball, the 7th-level Fire Storm spell is just as dramatic. It gives you a massive area, ten 10-foot cubes in all, arranged as you wish, stack ’em high, stack ’em wide, and make cool shapes!
Each creature in one of these cubes takes 7d10 damage on a failed save, half as much on a successful one. This fire ignites anything it can — except plants if you’re feeling particularly green-thumbed.
Meteor Swarm
If you prefer to be a little more liberal with where you’re bringing fiery doom, then you might consider Meteor Swarm, which rains down fire in an even bigger area and doesn’t care who gets caught up in the crossfire.
Four different blazing orbs of fire that explode into 40-foot-radius spheres, each one dealing 40d6 total damage to any creature caught in the burst? It’s impressive and showy, but it takes a lot of effort to get to the point where you can cast the spell.
Wall of Fire
If you’d rather be a little more guarded with your use of fiery doom, consider the Wall of Fire spell. It’s a handy strategy: create a blazing wall of fiery doom. Sure, the wall is only 60 feet long, 20 feet high, and a foot thick, but it will deal 5d8 damage to any creature that’s caught in its area, or one approaching within 10 feet of one side of it.
Heat Metal
If you prefer your fiery doom to be a lot more focused and precise, consider the Heat Metal spell. This spell hoists your enemies by their own, metallic petards. You cause a metal weapon or suit of heavy or medium armor to glow red-hot, dealing damage to any creature in physical contact with the object.
As it takes time to take the armor off, if you catch an opponent, firmly entrenched in heavy armor, they will take progressively more and more damage as you use a bonus action to cause the damage and still can cast spells.
No save allowed, either, so the only way to win is not to be wearing metal armor.
What’s your favorite spell for raining fiery doom?
