The Fireshield (Red) spell surrounds and shrouds the caster with a shield of flame.
Description[]
| “ | Fireshield (Red) The red Fireshield protects the user from fire damage by surrounding the caster with a shield of flame. This shield not only grants the user 50% Fire Resistance, but also protects the caster from attacks made within a 5-ft. radius around the caster. An opponent that hits the caster with any weapons or spells within this radius suffers 1d8+2 fire damage. |
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Gameplay[]
The caster applies this spell to oneself only.
When the spell is finished, the spell roars to life and renders a 3D graphic effect upon the caster's sprite - a flaming ring of fire, for the spell's duration.
When the spell ends, there is also a sound effect that audibles indicating the expiration of the spell.
A party member who casts this spell will display an icon (No. 68) titled "Fire Shield Red" on their portrait.
The flaming shield provides +50% Fire damage resistance, which is cumulative with most other spells, abilities or items that also provide fire damage resistance - the exception being that this spell doesn't "stack" with another fireshield.
Most attackers that strike a creature with an active fireshield will trigger the spell's retaliatory ability to inflict 1d8+2 fire damage upon the attacker - this damage is applied to the attacker for any and all successful hits (weapon or spell) - for example, a warrior who strikes and hits three times in a single round against the fireshield will suffer 1d8+2 fire damage three times.
For this retaliatory damage effect to occur, the attacker must be close enough to the fireshield to trigger it - the spell's description indicates this is a 5 feet range, but in actual practice it is difficult to really see that distance playout exactly during gameplay.
Attacks that are "touch" range, or with melee weapons with a 1-foot range seem to trigger the effect almost always - while attacks with a weapon with a longer reach might not do so reliably.
Spells and missile weapons launched at near point-blank range can also trigger the retaliatory fire damage.
This reach distance trigger can come into play when a large creature, such as a dragon, attacks a fireshield - the dragon's sprite "circle" is so large that it often won't affect the beast, even if a party member is as close as they can get to the dragon.
The fireshield retaliatory damage is unaffected by Magic resistance, and it isn't deflected/turned by personal spell protections such as Spell Turning, but it is blocked by a Globe of Invulnerability and "Spell Ineffective" is displayed on the combat log.
A fireshield can be removed by any Dispel Magic effect or a Breach spell.
Where to obtain its scroll[]
Baldur's Gate[]
The Black Pits[]
- Dinguer the Mad (×3)
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn[]
- Cutpurse's Shop, Bridge District
- Caravan Merchant, Trademeet
- Trademeet Smithy
- Ust Natha Bazaar
- Random treasure
Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal[]
The Black Pits II: Gladiators of Thay[]
- Book Merchant (×6)
Notes[]
- Frequently used by mages; also a frequent defense of efreet.
- A counter to this spell is to raise fire resistance.
- Another way to avoid this spell's effect entirely is to outrange it by attacking the caster using long weapons (halberds, quarterstaves, spears and two-handed swords). Just make sure that your character stands outside of the fiery circle when attacking. Ranged weapons (bows etc.), of course, can do that even more easily.
- Similarly, dragons and other enemies that attack from a considerable distance (even if technically still being considered "melee" attacks) will hardly ever be affected by this spell (though it's possible).
- A fireshield red can be active at the same time as a Fireshield (Blue) - both shields act independently and are fully functional.
The fireshield bug (below) is a potential gameplay Exploit, see the link for the Fireshield Hot Potato section.
Bugs[]
A bug introduced in EE v. 2.6 has a quirky interaction that can occur when two creatures with fire shield-like effects (including Keldorn's Hallowed Redeemer) engage in combat.
These effects may initiate a vicious circle as they instantly (yet endlessly) trigger retaliation damage upon their opponent until one of the combatants is dead. In effect, a character's own fire shield may end up causing their death.
See also[]
Trivia[]
The Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition Wizard Fire Shield spell lets the caster choose a "warm" or "chill" shield. The behavior of these two types differs significantly from the BG game's spell implementation. See the External links for further reading.
Gallery[]
Mod content[]
This section is about unofficial content that is only available via fan-made mods.
Spell Revisions mod has replaced Fireshield (Red) with this arcane spell. See below for description:
Fire Shield
Level: 4
School: Evocation
Range: Personal
Duration: 3 rounds + 1 round/level
Casting Time: 4
Area of Effect: Special
Saving Throw: None
This spell protects the user by surrounding the caster with a circular wall of flames. This shield not only grants the user 40% fire and cold resistance, but also protects the caster from attacks made within a 5’ radius. Opponents that hit the caster with a weapon or spell from within this radius will suffer 1d6 points of fire damage plus one for every two levels of the caster (up to a maximum of 1d6+10). Multiple castings of this spell are not cumulative, but it can be used in conjunction with similar spells. Tiny and small flying creatures cannot pass through the flames. Magic resistance does not affect this spell.
External links[]
- Fireshield (Red) on the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting Forgotten Realms.
- Fireshield (Red) on the Icewind Dale Wiki, a wiki for the first Icewind Dale game.
- Advanced D&D 2nd Edition Wiki - Fire Shield (Wizard Spell)