Robert Plamondon
| Dragon 40 | - | AD&&D | - | Dragon |
Festus the Dwarf kicks open the wide door of the
bandits’ dun-
geon home and throws in 2 molotov cocktails,
burning 1 of the
12 bandits to death and wounding two more. Right
behind come
Rangers Smith and Jones and Cleric Lucretia,
who each lob 2
smoking oil flasks. Before the bandits can react,
over 1/2 receive
serious bums and several are dead. The pools
of flaming oil prevent
them from regrouping. With sword and bow, the
INVADERS pick
off
the survivors and TAKE
the room. None of the adventurers has taken a
hit.
Many players, like those mentioned above, have
realized that
flaming oil is the most powerful weapon available
to a low-level
player in AD&D. A flask of oil burning
on a monster (or player) does
3-18 points of damage in the space of 2 rounds,
and can be used
by all character classes except Monks.
Compare this to a “paltry”
1-10 points of damage done by each hit of a two-handed
sword.
Because the players in my dungeon were using
so much oil and
frying monsters so consistently, I decided to
investigate the use of oil
in AD&D. I wanted to simplify the
combat system for oil, and I
wanted to “burn” my players a little.
A common technique for using burning oil is to
first toss an oil
flask onto the target, then light it with a torch.
This method is useful
when you need a wall of flame between you and
the monsters, but
takes a long time to set up—grab oil, throw it,
grab a torch, throw
it--and requires 2 hits to torch 1 target.
Molotov cocktails are a more elegant method of
creature crisp-
ing. In its simplest form, a molotov cocktail
is an oil flask with a rag
stuffed in the mouth. The rag is lit before the
oil is thrown, and the rag
lights the oil when the flask breaks. Instant
monster flambee!
The stout-hearted can manufacture molotov cocktais
during me-
lee by opening oil flasks and stuffing rags into
them. Those with more
18
foresight will have some made in advance. Preassembled
molotov
cocktails can be used more quickly, but tend
to soak their immediate
surroundings with oil, endangering whomever carries
them.
Classier models have a cap over the wick which
prevents oil
leakage. These caps can be of metal, which can
be pulled off or
unscrewed, or of waxed paper or parchment, which
can be burned
or torn off. Molotov cocktails assembled with
wicks going into the oil
are preferred because they can burn for hours
and be used as lamps
or incorporated in a delayed-action booby trap.
The best molotov cocktais have their paper caps
and wicks
impregnated with saltpeter, so they will light
from a spark or a hot
coal. Saltpeter is what makes gunpowder burn
faster than other
smelly charcoal fires. It can be obtained from
nitrate deposits in
caves; alchemists
use lots of it. Molotov cocktails of the most elabor-
ate sort will cost from $30-40.
If your players are suicidal or use lots of traps,
they’ll love
self-igniting oil flasks. Alchemists in most
universes (including this
one) discover phosphorus at one time or other.
White phosphorus
has the charming property of burning spontaneously
in air but not in
oil. Thus, when a flask of oil and phosphorus
breaks, the phosphorus
is exposed to air and everything bursts into
flame.
These devices are extremely dangerous. A fall,
a fumble, or an
attack can break the flask and torch the user.
This danger makes
alchemists reluctant to make phosphorus-oil flasks.
Those who
agree to make them will charge from 20-50
gp each.
Torches, the most common source of flame, will
quickly light
even a reluctant wick. They are, however, bulky
and almost impos-
sible to shield, hindering weapon readiness and
stealth.
Lanterns can be used to light wicks if plenty
of time is available. In
melee it is more practical to use the lantern
itself as a molotov
cocktail rather than trying to light things from
it.
2 non-bulky, easily concealed fire sources are
punk and slow
match. Punk is fungus-decayed wood; slow match
is specially treat-
ed rope or cord. Both smolder without flame at
the rate of 30
inches per hour (5 inches per turn).
Saltpeter-impregnated wicks light immediately
from smoldering
material; lanterns and simple molotov cocktails
will light after a few
seconds of blowing on the match or punk to heat
it up.
Various sorts of shields and holders can be made
for punk and
slow match to hide their glow and leave both
hands free. Wind does
not blow out the burning ends, but care must
be taken to shield them
from dampness.
Punk is available everywhere, but slow match is
used mostly in
cities to light street lamps. Both are cheap,
about 1 penny
per foot.
The number of oil grenades that a character can
throw in a round
depends on the complexity of the operation. Thus,
oil flasks, self-ig-
niting flasks, and lit molotov cocktails can
be thrown at the rate of
3 per round. Unlit molotov cocktails can be lit
and thrown at the
rate of 2 per round. Stuffing a rag into a flask,
lighting and
throwing it can only be done once a round, as
is also the case for
throwing a flask and then throwing a torch.
These rates of fire assume that the oil grenades
are thrown singly
at a distinct target and that the grenades are
close at hand. Obvious-
ly, dumping a backpack full of oil flasks down
a stairway will dispose
of more than three flasks in a round, while groping
through loot and
laundry for a flask will slow the rate of fire.
Combat using flaming oil as given in the DMG
is unnecessarily
complicated. Here is a simplified system:
First, roll the usual d20 “to hit.” If the grenade
misses, pick a
convenient direction as “12 o’clock” and roll
a d12 for the direction
of the miss, counting clockwise from “12 o’clock,”
in relation to the
target. Then roll a d6 for short range, d12 for
medium range or 2d12
for long range to find the distance from the
target of the point of
impact.
Second, roll another d20. A “1” means the flask
didn’t break, a
“2” means the flask broke but didn’t light (for
molotov cocktails and
oil-phosphorus flasks). Any other result means
the grenade did what
it was supposed to. Unbroken grenades can be
thrown again; broken
ones can, of course, be lit later on.
A direct hit with any oil grenade does 2-12 points
of damage the
first round and 1-6 the next round, provided
it gets lit.
Splash hits occur when a creature is within 3
feet of the point
of impact of the grenade, and the creature misses
its saving throw vs. <x=grammar>
poison. Splash hits do 3 points of damage (the
DMG spreads this out
as 1 point per segment for 1-3 segments, but
it can be applied all at
once for simplicity).
Armor doesn’t help reduce damage, because although
plate
mail, for instance,
would keep most of the oil out, what did get
through would be where the character couldn’t
reach, so it couldn’t
be smothered or scraped off.
When a successful attack is made on a person holding
an oil flask,
there is a 1 in 6 chance that the flask will
be dropped and
broken. A person rendered unconscious or killed
while holding a
flask has a 2 in 6 chance of dropping and breaking
it.
Falling into a pit or down an incline will cause
flasks located
between the person and the point of impact to
break 95% of the
time. Flasks located elsewhere will be unharmed.
For instance, a
flask in a backpack
would remain intact if a character fell forward
onto his chest or face.
Although flaming oil is a very potent weapon,
it is not appropri-
ate in all dungeon
situations, some of which are examined below:
Some dungeons have wooden floors, thick carpets,
layers of
straw, or other flammable surfaces. Using oil
under these circum-
stances can cause a party to bum important treasure,
block off their
only escape route, or even destroy whole sections
of a dungeon.
Destroying the dungeon is not a very bright plan,
since the area
around the fire will suddenly be filled with
monsters. Some of these
will be trying to escape the blaze, some hoping
to scavenge a hot
meal, and a few will try to fight the fire. None
of these creatures will
be well disposed towards the arsonists.
Additionally, rumor has it that pyromaniac players
are some-
times attacked by a huge bear
in a flat-brim hat who fights with a +6
shovel.
Using oil in poorly ventilated areas can kill
everyone involved
because of heat, smoke
inhalation, and/or lack of oxygen.
Use of oil in well-ventilated areas will bring
the aroma of roasting
meat to creatures in rooms connected to the same
air shaft, thus
attracting scavengers.
Players should try not to educate the opposition.
Relatively intelligent monsters will learn from
experience with
oil. Although ogres,
lizard men and trolls
dislike using flame wea-
pons, orcs, goblins,
hobgoblins and kobolds
will gleefully use flam-
ing oil on adventurers once they learn how potent
a weapon it is.
