Is there any actual use for Delayed Blast Fireball?

[Flame of Anor]

It just seems so useless, especially for a seventh level spell.

[Ssalarn]

I usually see it combined with time stop. Freeze time, litter the room with a couple fireballs, time starts and they all go off.

[Troacctid]

Since it takes 5 rounds to explode, you can fire them off during a Time Stop and watch them all blow up at once when you return to normal time.

Also, the damage cap is higher, so it's kind of like applying Enhance Spell to your Fireball without having to spend an epic feat.

[Curmudgeon]

It's got tactical use when opposing forces are moving. You're being chased by enemies a couple moves behind you? Delayed Blast Fireball with a 2-round delay. Delayed Blast Fireball has a cap 2x as high as Fireball, which makes it approximately as powerful as Fireball + Maximize Spell (a 6th-level spell), except with more control.

Delayed Blast Fireball is also a classic paired with Time Stop.

[Mystral]

It just seems so useless, especially for a seventh level spell.

It's an alpha strike spell. Cast one at 5 rounds timer, then one at 4 rounds timer, then one at 3 rounds timer, then one at 2 rounds timer, than one at 1 round timer and finally a damage spell of your choice.

Your way of staying unmolested is is either timestop, or the enemy not realising you are there.

Is it op? Of course not, it's a damage spell.

[TheBrassDuke]

I usually see it combined with time stop. Freeze time, litter the room with a couple fireballs, time starts and they all go off.

Now even YOU can pull an "Ultimecia" whenever you want!

[Mystral]

Now even YOU can pull an "Ultimecia" whenever you want!

You might as well just cast Meteor Swarm.

[TheBrassDuke]

You might as well just cast Meteor Swarm.

How about three Contingent ones for when Time Stop ends?

Ouch.

(If only it could actually work, what with Contingency limitations. :/ )

[Segev]

Since the bead is explicitly "handleable" in DBF, you can also coat it in quintessence to create a portable fireball. 2-round timer, coat it in quintessence on round 1. Have unseen servants walk up to your targets with a DBF bead each and scrape off the quintessence. Round 2 hits...

[Valwyn]

This spell makes for killer snacks (http://www.antiheroescomic.com/comic/163).

[Flickerdart]

Get your rogue to slip the bead into an enemy's pocket, hilarity ensues.

[Keltest]

Now even YOU can pull an "Ultimecia" whenever you want!

Yeah, but I bet you cant prevent forest fires this way.

[illyahr]

This spell makes for killer snacks (http://www.antiheroescomic.com/comic/163).

I saw this done in a Salvatore book. Drow wizard cast it into a person's mouth and then sealed their mouth shut. A drow psionicist used a manifestation that allowed you to absorb the damage you take as a charge and touch someone else so they take it. The third, a warrior, then slashed him up with his swords (doing no damage because of the manifestation). They then turned over control of the spell to the victim and let him run away.

He lost control of the manifestation and fell to ribbons in the middle of a crowded street, then blew up from the fireball. Terror ensued.

[Keltest]

I saw this done in a Salvatore book. Drow wizard cast it into a person's mouth and then sealed their mouth shut. A drow psionicist used a manifestation that allowed you to absorb the damage you take as a charge and touch someone else so they take it. The third, a warrior, then slashed him up with his swords (doing no damage because of the manifestation). They then turned over control of the spell to the victim and let him run away.

He lost control of the manifestation and fell to ribbons in the middle of a crowded street, then blew up from the fireball. Terror ensued.

Servant of the Shard. Don't mess with Bregan D'aerthe.

[illyahr]

Servant of the Shard. Don't mess with Bregan D'aerthe.

That's the one. Thanks, Keltest. :smallsmile:

[atemu1234]

Since the bead is explicitly "handleable" in DBF, you can also coat it in quintessence to create a portable fireball. 2-round timer, coat it in quintessence on round 1. Have unseen servants walk up to your targets with a DBF bead each and scrape off the quintessence. Round 2 hits...

Enemy go boom.

[ericgrau]

If you have an unseen servant then it basically lets you deal Xd6 damage to your foes during the buff round. If you have 3 buffs rounds, then you get 3Xd6 damage. If they have fire resistance then, lol. If they are fire immune then it's less helpful but that's not that common.

It's a classic for all kinds of random tricks like that.

[marphod]

If they are fire immune then it's less helpful but that's not that common.

Energy Substitution

(Seriously, is there an Evoker or Warmage who doesn't take this or some similar ability?)

[noob]

Eat the delayed blast fireball and explode.
The GM might even house rule that you do not have the right for a reflex save when the fireball explode inside of you.

[ericgrau]

Energy Substitution

(Seriously, is there an Evoker or Warmage who doesn't take this or some similar ability?)

True, also some form of shaping is nice to exclude allies so that you can get more enemies in the blast without fear of collateral damage. Point was fire immunity is pretty rare, while fire resistance still isn't that common and not that effective. I'd be more worried about SR. And there are ways around that too with varying levels of cheese. Or simply alternate SR:yes and SR:no spells as the situation requires.

[noob]

You can also use furnace spell metamagic who allows you to ignore any resistance and to deal half the damage on immune to fire targets.

[Tvtyrant]

It just seems so useless, especially for a seventh level spell.

But you can use them as hilarious, genre warping traps. Cover one in quintessence and place it in a dungeon. Locked door with two pedestals, it is on one of them and the other is empty. When they go to move it it explodes. The door has no way to open of course, because by this point you can just become impermeable and fly through it.

[Extra Anchovies]

Cover one in quintessence and place it in a dungeon.

You're thinking too small. With Delay Spell (somehow that one's a +3, but you can use Metamagic Effect to apply it without using a higher spell slot), you can have ten of them covered in quintessence. They make for nice bombs - prepare a large number of these fireball clusters on your off-days, store them in an extradimensional space in case one of them goes off, and throw them at your enemies (or drop them behind you to discourage and/or kill pursuers).