Arson

[Travis]

I think there should be a way to set areas on fire if appropriate IC. For instance, if someone starts a fire in a particularly dry forest, possibly to flush out some rangers, the fire would spread randomly from room to room and do damage. *shrugs* I'm not sure if it's actually able to be done, but it sounded like an interesting idea.

[Keltorn]

Hey, I'm a ranger! How dare you try to set me on fire!
I'm not very certain of how doable that would be, either. I'd certainly hate to see n00bs using it to torch all of Waterdeep. It might be a real stress for the people that have to make those areas, too. After all, a forest looks real different if it's been burned to the ground.

[Argentia]

I don't think there is any way to change the actual room description to reflect fire damage. That would involve making the room become another room with all the same attributes, just a different description.

The way it is done now, there are ways to start fires and I've seen and heard of just normal fires being used to start RPs in certain woodland areas. I think this a creative way of using what you have to work with, so to speak, and I like the way it is already done.

[Kirkus]

I have wanted something like this for quite some time..... I have my personal reasons, but this chould actually add rp for groups like the Waterdeep Watch and rangers and what not. But what Argentia said is true. It probabily would be too hard to change room descriptions. But I just had a thought. What if we just added an object and an echo and maybye a flag. Why all of that? because I know when I walk into a room that has one of those fires in it I picture in my mind something smaller than a camp fire. I forget what all can be done with flags but what about something that simply tacks onto the end of the room description, like when you enter a room with a fountain it says there is a fountain here, it would say " the room is on fire".
Now why an echo? Because if your in a house and its burning you see the effects before you are smack dab in the middle of it. There is smoke and heat and light from the flames. All of that could be done with an echo couldn't it?

Or maybye all we need is a new fire object that says " Hey, Im a big fire notice me! Look at me, look at me!"

[Lathander]

How would you guard against someone going from forest to forest during those wee hours when only a few people are logged on and setting every wooded area all across Faerun on fire? I can see some small rp benefit; However, I see a larger potential for abuse.

[Kirkus]

Log it. As far as I see it, that is a strikeable offense. And an easy one to spot. If one character covers thousands of miles in a short ammount of time setting fire to stuff there is no way you can say that he/she would not be confrunted for the act. And to do so at an hour that noone is there to confront you is taking advantage of the situation. You have to play stuff like this out like there is the whole population of toril to deal with.

So if someone covers a large ammount of ground with fire give 'em a warning if its only slightly rediculous. But if its really really rediculous strike them.

Plus I don't think this is going to be a skill or ability that many are going to use a lot. I think a lot of people might think it is a cool addition, but I don't think we are going to have mobs of people lineing up to set the world on fire.

[Hviti]

Hm, this is related to big roarin' fires, so I'm going to put it in here...

Perhaps to allow differentiation between campfires and infernos, the description of "a fire" could be altered by the following?

An initial fire (1 piece of wood) could be a small (camp)fire (or something similar in size)

adding flammable materials (the ones that "burn well and feed the fire") could make the fire bigger (as far as I know, addition of flammable materials doesn't do anything to the fire, except for RP...maybe it adds to the time it lasts?)

There could be levels of bigger fires...something like:

fire
blaze
bonfire
conflagration
inferno
roaring inferno

As these got larger, the person adding to the fire could suffer damage if it got too big...and the fire would have an increasing chance of 'catching' (presumably onto some sort of flammable material in the area) and growing another size. Fire resistance could play into this as well.

The reverse could also work, with dumping water on it (pour waterskin fire?) or tossing earth on it (bury fire, which currently seems to put a fire out in one shot) lowering the size of a fire...maybe something like:

fire
campfire
small blaze
flickering flame
heap of glowing cinders
sparking heap of tinder
ashes


Ick, those lists aren't so good. Oh well.

Annnnd...if the coders got enough off their collective plates to be able to consider such alterations ,the remains of fires (ashes) could remain, leading to stuff like-"Ooo, someone camped here, let's try to find out who."

[Travis]

Yar, I like the idea of being able to know how big your fire's getting.

[Kirkus]

I really like your suggestions and adendems Hviti. The levels of the fire is exactily what I was looking for. And this brings a reason to look for ways to increase your resistances. I do not think I have yet run into a situation that depended one way or another on resistances.