3.5 Wall of Fire spell question

[TDB Lady]

My ninth level wizard is in a dungeon of undead (Crypts of Arcadia re-worked for 3.5) with her party. This question came up right at the end of our session last night, and we are trying to find an answer before next week's session.

The GM (also my DH) and I were discussing the 'wall of fire' spell, which my character wants to use to clear a corridor and then have the hasted party run like hell to get out.

When we were looking at it, it was not clear to either of us if you could run it along a curved wall or did it have to be a straight line. It says sheet of fire in the rulebook, unlike 'wall of ice' which says anchored plane of ice. However it is not marked shapable. But it can be the sheet or a ring.

When we looked it up on a couple of other gaming forums, we got very mixed responses. My best suggestion was that the 'sheet of fire' would follow the line of the wall around, turning at corners unless directed to go only in a straight line. In other words, the caster could direct the 'sheet' to follow the wall, and it would do so exactly, changing direction with intersections, etc. or the caster could send it in a straight line, but not both.

How do you play it in your games?

Thanks, TBD Lady

[KillianHawkeye]

I always assumed you could choose a ring or a straight line. It certainly doesn't say anything about conforming to existing terrain.

[gbprime]

There's no provision for it hugging the existing terrain, no. Wall spells are straight unless the spell description allows for something else, and in the case of Wall of Fire it can also be circular. If the corridor curves, then your wall will be useful for only part of it.

[TDB Lady]

That's really what we thought, too, but as there were so many different descriptions in the various wall spells, (anchored plane of ice, rock wall that merges into other rock, flat verticle iron wall, etc.) we wanted to see what others interpretations' of sheet of flames was.

I have another good idea of a way to use the wall of flame, and can use a couple of lightning bolts to help clear the hallways. We'd never get out if our fighter and rangers had to try to hack their way through - the undead never stop coming:smalleek:. Against the goblinoids and dire wolves, I'm happy to have them to save my skin:smallsmile:.

TDB Lady