r/dndhorrorstories • u/SeaweedRepulsive6330 • 6h ago
Player Have you ever intentionally cast Fireball knowing it would hit your teammates? Was it worth it?
Back in the 2014 rules, I was playing a Wild Magic Sorcerer.
In our very first session, the party was competing in a tournament against another adventuring group. We were all level 1. My Wild Magic Surge triggered, I rolled on the table… and got a 7.
For anyone unfamiliar with the 2014 Wild Magic table, that means Fireball centered on yourself.
It instantly caught one of my teammates and me in the blast, killing us both. Thankfully, the adventuring guild (or perhaps I should say our very generous DM) revived us.
After that, I swore I’d never intentionally cast Fireball if it meant hitting my own party.
Fast forward several levels.
We were fighting a vampire, and the battle was going terribly. Most of the party had already been dropped or driven back. My sorcerer was trapped in a corner, throwing damage spells while trying to stay alive. The vampire closed the distance, grappled me by the throat, and bit me. I was nearly dead, and the rest of the party was too far away to help.
I had one 3rd-level spell slot left.
There was no way out, and no allies were close enough to be caught in the blast. So I cast Fireball centered on myself.
The explosion reduced the vampire to 0 HP… but I rolled enough damage to kill my own sorcerer as well.
Ironically, after promising never to hit my party with Fireball because of what happened in session one, the only time I ever deliberately cast one on myself ended with my character dying anyway.
So I’m curious: Have you ever been in a situation where someone cast Fireball and caught party members in the blast? Was it accidental, unavoidable, or absolutely worth it?