I Don't like Fireballs

I don’t like Fireballs:

An Essay by Dr. Canto





I don’t like fireballs.To those of you who don’t know me, this may strike you as odd. After all, Evocation is perhaps one of the most flashy of schools of magic. It is certainly the most direct. Magic Missile. Gust of Wind. Lighting Bolt. And the ubiquitous Fireball. When fighting a foe, it removes them in the most violent and direct way. And it's that I have a problem with.

Of course, Violence is inevitable. One only needs to walk around in the world to know that it is not a coincidence that everyone keeps at least a Rondel by their side nowadays. (Discounting the utility is such a tool.) It is not so much that everyone expects to be assaulted in a tavern by a drunkard, rather it is a fact of life that violent outbursts, while not common, are certainly not a rare sight. And that, under life-and-death circumstances, it is better to be armed then not.

While I agree with the above statement, I also agree that a sizeable portion of said violence simply stems from the fact that people are allowed to carry weapons openly in cities and towns. While the argument could be made that outlawing the carrying of weapons to anyone but law enforcement would result in “Only the criminals having swords” I maintain my thesis that the hypothetical drunken knife fight would become much less common in a world where lethal force was much less common.

But back to fireballs. I have received many comments over the years, both good and bad, due to my dislike of the Evocation school. While I have never gone so far as to outright ban Evocation from my studies, I have always prefered a Color Spray, Grease, or Sleep spell to the standard magic missile. And among more conservative battlemages, I have always received confused looks for this. I am often asked what the point is of such a spell. After all, is it not better to have a defeated opponent then a dazed one? And to that I concede.

But as a counterpoint, I ask: Is not using evocation magic as a first result the same as carrying a knife around, ready to quick-draw at the first sight of danger? While Evocation does offer a quick, and sometimes simple solution to most violent situations, I argue that, not only does this rampant use of first-response evocation magic not help the public image of those who practice more peaceful magic, but it actually CONTRIBUTES more to the violent aspect of society. Violence begets violence, after all, and has countless histories have shown us, threatening and intimidation through force are only short term solutions to conflict.

And so I propose a different solution. While a Color Spray spell may be less overall useful than, say Burning Hands, especially to those of our profession who deal with constructs, undead, and other mindless foes, the ultimate purpose of the spell is not be to disrupt a target in a single strike...rather its intended use is to attack and subdue, allowing the target another chance at life, and to those religiously minded, perhaps even redemption. Even to more amoral wizards, it is much easier to extract information from a live target then a dead one, and any victim not killed is a mark that “cleans itself.”

Am I advocating a universal ban on evocation, and to show elemental magic entirely? God's no. Such a move would be foolish at best, and suicidal at worst. Evocation spells are a tool to be used, just like any other school of magic. They simply should not be used as a first-response option when other, cleaner pacification tools are available.

After all. Murder is a messy business, and presents, at least some, ethical qualms for anything but the most vile of cultist and fiends. Evocation is, after all, perhaps the best tool one has when trapped in a tomb full of horrors, or stuck in a room full of assassins, indeed it is often the only tool.

Finally, I argue that consistent use of Evocation magic has triggered a sort of “arms race”, biologically. While I cannot confirm this, the rampant “burning at the stake” of tieflings in years old is often thought of as the reason that modern tieflings are all but immune to mundane fire. Similarly, the common countryside troll, once thought to be vulnerable to both fire and acid, has evolved into many different subspecies over many generations, many of which are no longer weak against, if not outright resistance, to fire, including the dreaded War Troll which, if records are to be believed, is burnable only with sufficient corrosivity of acid, far beyond mundane alchemy. Mother nature is a cruel mistress at times, and more and more wonton fireballs will cause even more unregulated and unexpected evocations, until said monsters are all but immune to magic. I shudder at the thought of a War troll breeding with a black dragon to create a murderous beast.

In summary: Evocation magic should not be used as a first-response threat except in abnormal circumstances. Murder is an uncomfortable subject to even the most dogmatic religions and personal codes, and continued use may cause an unexpected ecology boon. As a result, I recommend mages around the world use more non-lethal methods whenever possible, not only does this often make cleanup easier, it is easier on both the soul and environment, at least, for some of us.

-Aquor Von Canto