Firestorm on a Tzimisce elder in Orsi International
So good, the developers gave the players two of its tomes. Other than Serena, who gets it after the Tremere Chantry, only available as a tome. Serena receives this ability for free after Ardan is defeated; the player may well prefer to save XP for this, rather than spending points on her physical attributes to make up for their low starting levels. The Ivory Bow found in Arden's Chantry level 3 makes this easier. Tomes are in Teutonic Knight Base 3 and Society of Leopold level 2.
More than one dot in the lesser skills is unnecessary; save it all for Firestorm. Spot enemies before they spot you, and it is half over. Wait until they are close to melee range, and it is a rare one that can survive the full duration of Firestorm (with the exception of all Setites, who have considerable Fire resistance).
Torch[]
- Minimum Intelligence 25, blood 5 cost at one dot
No more than one dot in Torch is needed, and the illumination it casts is rarely needed for longer than that anyway. Adjusting the illumination level in the Options menu is much more effective
Fireball[]
- Min Intelligence 35, blood 10
Fireball flies in a straight line towards where a single target was when the skill was cast. It costs only ten blood, which is the second cheapest class of skill-pretty decent for direct(ish) damage. As with bolts and arrows, is possible to hit moving targets, but they tend to zig-zag. Targets that have run away to heal will offer a standing target when they heal.
- At one dot, Fireball does a random amount of damage: 2-10 damage, with an average of six or seven
- Two: 4-18 damage, with an average of ten or eleven
- Three: 11-25 damage, average 16 or 17
- At four dots, 14-34, average a bit under 25
- At five dots, 13-43, avg about 30
- Three: 11-25 damage, average 16 or 17
- Two: 4-18 damage, with an average of ten or eleven
Flame Ring[]
- Min Int 50, blood 15
- At one dot, Flame Ring does about 30 damage to surrounding targets
Immolate[]
- Min Int 60
At two dots, Immolate does about 40 damage to a single target on touch.
Firestorm[]
- Min Int 70
Any character who can survive one or at the most two attacks in close melee range combat can kill just about everything with one or two castings of Firestorm. It can be targetted on the ground, or at characters; if it is targeted on the ground ahead of running characters, it can even do a bit of damage as they approach or flee. Like Drawing Out the Beast, it has a range which is untested by most areas-only a few places in the game have line of sight further than it can be cast. Only Setites, which can have seemingly infinite vision, will be aggroed before it is cast, even if the caster is out of the open. Most will not aggro until the caster is closer than half Firestorm's maximum range. Most opponents will attempt to run towards the caster, but will give up if the caster is nowhere in sight, and return to their previous position. Even with the Firestorm only hitting them for as long as it takes for them to stagger and move, two casts will be enough for most. Or just meet them at close range and kill them in one shot.
Challenge[]
Players who are bored with multiplayer characters who damage with physical skills alone, or those with Firestorm that can kill anything in one shot, may be interested in a lower-level challenge, with the Lure of Flames skills more balanced.
- Four dots for around 30 Fireball damage cheaply
- One dot of Flame Ring for 30 damage to surrounding targets
- Three dots of Immolate for about 40 damage to a single target at close range.
- Leave Firestorm out altogether