Spellfire

One of the most awesome magical topics, even to archwizards, is the subject of spellfire. Spellfire is viewed by most Faerunians as a ravening, all-consuming fire that the gods allow one person at a time in all the world to wield in order to humble kings, dragons, and great mages alike—a fire that is currently being hurled at the Zhentarim and others by a young woman named Shandril Shessair, who was born in the Dales and seems to be heading west. She is reported to have slain no less a personage than Manshoon, leader of the Zhentarim, and even more astonishingly, an entire ring of beholders, who had her trapped deep in Zhentil Keep.
While such tavern tales are grounded in truth, it should be made very clear that talk of the deities allowing only one mortal at a time to wield spellfire is so much fancy, though the ability is very rare and kept as secret as possible by those who have it. (Shandril's ability first mani¬fested spontaneously in the midst of an adventure that revealed her powers to the Zhentarim and made her a marked, hunted person before she could learn control over spellfire or hope to hide it.) My investigations have led me to suspect that at least three rulers I have met—and several mages, too—have the power of spellfire, but I have been warned that to reveal their names means my sure demise, so I will merely say that these were folk I have met while engaged in writing my series of guidebooks to the Realms—as well as during a recent whirl¬wind tour of Toril involving certain magical jewels and much unpleas¬antness. I leave further investigations to the bold—not to say foolhardy—reader.
In Realms campaigns, only the DM can decide if a character is going to manifest spellfire ability (which may occur at any time and is usually trig¬gered by direct contact with magic or a even the touch of an enchanted or magic-using being). This ability is hereditary, but also crops up at random, and some sages believe that it is a form of wild magic sent by the gods to forewarn mortals of great upheavals (such as, in Shandril's case, the Time of Troubles). It is very rare; while it is not true that only one spellfire- wielder can exist in Faerun at a time, known spellfire talents attract a lot of unwanted attention, as Shandril unwittingly did, and are very few and far between. Only in very rare cases—such as a low-level character being transported into the Outer Planes, for example—should a player character ever be given the ability to wield spellfire.
Inevitably, of course, some will, and so notes and rules on spellfire follow. Spellfire is one of the interests that have fascinated priests and
wizards down through the centuries, but no deific power has ever granted spellfire to a mortal who asked for it. (Elminster and the other Chosen of Mystra wield a similar silver fire, and at least Elminster and Khelben can also use spellfire itself, but these are abilities Mystra gave to them, not things they requested.). No mage seeking to gain the ability to hurl spellfire by means of the Art is known to have managed anything more than a ravening fire spell that superficially resembles certain spellfire blasts.
The Nature of Spellfire
Briefly defined, spellfire is the ability to use one's body to absorb life energy from diverse sources on the Prime Material Plane and later to release that energy either as uncontrolled bolts of silvery fire that can penetrate most defenses and wreak awesome damage or in a variety of ways controlled by silent act of will. Experience in the use of spellfire determines how much control a wielder has over his or her spellfire. A wielder's Constitution determines how much energy she or he can absorb and then release to power it the spellfire. Most of those who have observed spellfire in action have seen a blue-white, ravening flame that can melt or consume almost anything it touches, but the true nature and properties of spellfire remain largely unexplored mysteries at this time of writing.
Empowering Energy
For play convenience, spellfire energy is measured in spell levels (in other words, a 3rd-level spell such as fireball represents three spell lev-els). A creature with the power of spellfire can gain one spell level's worth of energy from the surroundings in 2d4 days given exposure to the sun and the ability to move about. Even if sunlight and movement are not available, if the creature remains in proximity to powerful dweomers (from wards, untriggered spells, or magical items), the rate of charging rises to one spell level in 1d4 days. (And adding sunlight and movement to magical proximity does not further increase this rate.)
Spellfire users often power themselves up for battle by absorbing magic directly. A 3rd-level spell cast at a spellfire wielder gains him or her three spell levels. A magical item discharge or spell-like power such as dragon breath can be absorbed without harm (preventing normal manifestation of its effects) and yield a spellfire wielder the spell levels of an equivalent spell. The DM must adjudicate what spells most closely resemble magical item functions or spell-like powers; in general, be conservative. If the spellfire user can directly touch magical items, they can be drained permanently, temporarily, or, if they use charges, simply have some of the charges transferred out of them.
A magical item charge equals one spell level, regardless of what the item does. A temporary draining of the item (causing it to be dormant and unfunctioning for 4d8 days) yields one spell level per weapon bonus or item function and more if the DM rules a function is extremely pow¬erful. A permanent draining of an item yields double spell levels; regardless of the spellfire wielder's desires, items with special purposes, sentience (in other words, a talking sword), and artifacts cannot be per¬manently drained. Attempts to do so yield the double energy rate but merely cause the item to lie powerless but physically undamaged for 1d2 years. The sole exception to this is an item designed to discharge completely by being destroyed (the retributive strike of an enchanted staff, for example such items yield the double rate and are perma¬nently exhausted. 

SpeLLftee Experience
For game purposes, spellfire wielders are treated as if they have two classes. Experience points are awarded normally for adventures when no spellfire is used, but whenever spellfire is employed, all experience is split evenly between the character's real class and a phantom "spellfire class" that advances without training or recognition and is used purely to determine the degree of control over spellfire the wielder possesses. The Wizard Experience Levels table given in the Player's Handbook is used to measure a wielder's "spellfire level."
It should be noted that unlike true character classes, a spellfire wielder can advance in level during an adventure, and use his or her improved abilities instantly, feeling the augmented control. Refer to Spellfire Unleashed, later in this chapter, for details of what powers each level in the spellfire class gives a user.
For the first adventure in which a spellfire wielder successfully mani¬fests and uses a crown of fire (see Spellfire Unleashed), the "spellfire class" half of the experience points gained by a spellfire user are quadrupled. This only applies to the spellfire half-share, and only occurs for the initial use of a crown of fire - not every time this power is used.
Immunities to SpeLLftee
So few Spellfire exist and so stormy are their lives once their powers have been discovered that no organized experimentation has been done on the subject of what magic can withstand spellfire. Excep¬tions to the broad rules outlined here may soon be discovered-and it should be noted that no immunity to spellfire can withstand the effects of spellfire overloading (see below) if the spellfire wielder has a suffi¬ciently strong Constitution.
Effects that absord or dissipate magic without storing it or using it to power an alternative effect are normally immune from a draining by a spellfire user and also absorb spellfire without taking harm from it (unless overloaded). Some examples of these are a ring of spell turning (which dissipates spellfire, being unable to redirect it at anyone-includ¬ing back at its source), a rod of cancellation, a wand of negation (but only if the beam strikes the spellfire), a sphere of annihilation, and a dispel magic spell (but only if cast in the same round as the spellfire is used).
Spells and items that take in and store magical energy, such as a ring of spell storing and certain ioun stones (pale lavender ellipsoids, laven- der-and-green ellipsoids, and vibrant purple prisms), absorb spellfire but can also be drained by a spellfire user.
Spells or item effects that are barriers to magic are immune to spellfire fire or blast destruction but can be absorbed by a spellfire user. This sort of magic includes the spells wall of force and anti-magic shell, and the effect of a scroll of protection from magic. For some unex¬plained reason, prismatic effects can be readily destroyed by spellfire, but only one hue or layer fails per round.
Body Effects
A spellfire wielded s capacity for spellfire energy is determined by his or her Constitution. Up to 10 times the wieldeds Constitution score (in spell levels) can be held in the body, but only half that can be handled risk-free (Constitutionx5). Thereafter, the wielder and adjacent surroundings are at increasing risk as the amount of stored energy increases, as follows:
(Constitution*5) + 1 through Constitution*6: The spellfire wielder can feel the stored energy surging and roiling within, and his or her eyes glow slightly. Every 24 hours of continuous existence at this storage level forces a Constitution check on the spellfire wielder; failure indicates an surge of the stored energy that burns the wielder for 1d6 points of internal damage and expends one stored spell level.
If a being or a magical item touches the spellfire wielder during this state, 1d6 spell levels of stored energy are involuntarily released into them, doing 1d6 points of damage per spell level. Magical items must make an item saving throw vs. magical fire. Failure means the item erupts with an uncontrolled discharge of a random function at a ran¬dom target area, and forces the item to make a second saving throw. If it also fails, the item is destroyed, releasing 1d4 more random discharges and pouring the rest of its energy into the spellfire wielder in a single raw surge. Magical items without charges must make the same saving throws, but if they have no magical effects to discharge (such as long sword +2), they discharge none but still risk destruction and the absorption by the spellfire wielder of their magical energy.
(Constitution*6) + 1 through Constitution* 7: The spellfire wielder feels restless discomfort from the stored energy surging and roiling within, and his or her eyes glow brightly. The wielder's skin tin¬gles, and a Constitution ability check (with results as above under (Con- stitution*5+1 through Constitution*6) must be made every hour. Contact with the spellfire user deals out a discharge of 2d6 spell levels and forces magical items to make an item saving throw vs. magical fire at a -1 penalty, with the results given above.
(Constitution*7) + 1 through Constitution*8: The spellfire wielder feels a burning sensation racing about within, and his or her fingertips feel numb. Small, delicate objects are readily dropped, which the DM should adjudicate. The wielder's eyes blaze enough to be noticed as light sources even when she or he stands in full sunlight, and even the wielder's skin glows faintly. The wielder must make a Constitution check (with results as above) every turn. Direct contact with the spellfire wielder causes 3d6 spell levels to be released and forces magical items to make an item saving throw vs. magical fire at a -2 penalty, with the results given above. Even nonmagical items are affected by direct contact and must make item sav¬ing throws vs. magical fire (with no penalty) or be destroyed. Items worn or carried by the spellfire wielder are not affected, as the wielder's body shields them against energy surges.
(Constitution*8)+1 through Constitution*9: The spellfire wielder's skin glows brightly, and his or her eyes are as bright as lanterns. The wielder is wracked with pain and feels as if she or he is on fire inside. The wielder must make a successful saving throw vs. paralyzation to suc¬cessfully initiate any action except releasing spellfire energy. Failure indi¬cates an immediate release of 4d6 spell levels of energy A Constitution check (with results as above) must be made every round. Direct contact with the wielder releases 4d6 spell levels and forces magical items to make an item saving throw vs. magical fire at a -3 penalty, with the results given above. Nonmagical items involved in such contacts must make an item saving throw vs. magical fire at a -1 penalty.
(Constitution*9)+1 through Constitution*10: The spellfire wielder's own clothing and items ignite and are swiftly consumed, doing possible fire damage to surroundings, but none to their wearer (unless magical items discharge, as noted earlier). The wielder's skin glows brightly, emitting heat that can be felt up to 30 feet distant and causing dis¬comfort, but not damage, to other living things. The wielder must make a successful saving throw vs. paralyzation at a -2 penalty to successfully initi¬ate any action except releasing spellfire energy. Failure indicates an imme¬diate release of 5d6 spell levels of energy. A Constitution check (with results as noted earlier) must be made three times per round. Direct contact with the wielder causes the release of 5d6 spell levels and forces magical items to make an item saving throw vs. magical fire at a -4 penalty, with the results given above. Nonmagical items involved in such contacts must make an item saving throw vs. magical fire at a -2 penalty.
Above Constitution*10: For effects of more spell levels of energy than Constitution*10, see Spellfire Overloading, below.
Side Effects: Prolonged spellfire use (defined as attaining 3rd level as a spellfire wielder) has some side effects on the body of the wielder, as follows: 
. Normal fire of any sort ceases to harm the wielder, save to scorch or bum away body hair, regardless of how fierce the conflagration: One spellfire wielder was seen to walk into a forest fire and travel through the entire flaming forest unharmed. This immunity includes immunity to all ill effects of smoke inhalation and burning or corrosive gases, including magical effects such as cloudkill. If a spellfire wielder is of 8th level or higher in spellfire use, she or he can burn spellfire in a slow, controlled manner to create a nimbus of spellfire about his or her per¬son that keeps normal, magical, or even dragon breath fire at bay. Such a wielder can walk through a forest fire or a red dragon's breathing and keep his or her clothing, gear, and even companion creatures unharmed by sheltering them within this nimbus of spellfire.
. Magical fire is automatically absorbed by the spellfire wielder upon contact without the wielder needing to exercise any deliberate will— or even to be conscious. If this stored energy reaches Constitutionx7, it awakens a sleeping or comatose spellfire wielder, regardless of magical or psionic compulsions to the contrary.
. A spellfire wielder can detect magic as far as she or he can see, per¬ceiving dweomers as faint glows, and detecting flows of energy (drainings and operating magics) as streams of sparkling motes of light. This perception overlies normal vision but does not obscure it.
. A spellfire wielder can feel the direction and approximate distance of any spellfire use within 100 miles instantaneously and for as long as such use occurs. She or he can also know by touch if spellfire has ever affected an item or been active in a locale; however, the spellfire wielder must be in the locale and move about in it, not merely view¬ing it from afar or scrying it magically.
. Disintegrate magics automatically fail when directed against a spellfire wielder's body or anyone or anything in direct bodily con¬tact with him or her, even if spellfire is not active at the time.
. A spellfire wielder can purge his or her own body of diseases, parasites (including molds and other external creatures), paralysis and petrifica¬tion alterations, and all other magical effects that alter his or her body from its normal state by releasing 4 spell levels of spellfire internally. This causes wracking pain, and the wielder can do nothing else in the two rounds this process takes. It also deals the spellfire wielder 4d6 points of damage, but it purges the body completely. Charms, tracers, and geas magics are also be destroyed, even if the spellfire wielder is unaware of their existence. Note that the ability to wield spellfire is nor¬mal for a spellfire wielder and is affected by this purging.
Spellfire Overloading
A spellfire wielder can be overloaded by taking in more than Constitution x10 in spell level energy. This causes the wielder excruciating pain and forces an involuntary release of the excess energy, so a foe who deliberately overloads a spellfire wielder in an attempt to make them explode faces a deadly counterattack. (The explosion of an overloaded spellfire wielder is an occurrence, it should be noted, that no one has yet managed to cause; it may well be impossible.) Save for very emotional, exceptional circum¬stances, such as avenging the death of a loved one, spellfire wielders never willingly overload themselves; the pain and risk are simply too great.
If a spellfire wielder exceeds his or her absorption limit, she or he involuntarily releases one spell level of spellfire energy 10 times per round; this is the only time spellfire can be emitted at this rate. The wielder suffers 2d6 points of internal damage for each such gut-ripping release, as well as dealing damage to others and the surroundings with the unleashed spellfire at the usual rate of 1d6 points per spell level of spellfire energy. How controlled this release of energy is depends on the spellfire user's spellfire level; the varying degrees of control are detailed under Spellfire Unleashed, hereafter. (A completely uncontrolled release would be a spherical blast radiating out evenly in all directions from the wielder's body.) These involuntary releases continue only until
one of them causes the total energy stored in the spellfire wielder to fall back into the Constitutionx10 category.
If the damage taken by a spellfire wielder ever brings him or her to the brink of death (0 hit points or beyond) when his or her spellfire is active, and the wielder is 5th level or higher in spellfire use, the spellfire instantly and automatically turns to healing mode and keeps the wielder alive, raising him or her to a positive total of at least 12 hit points before restoring control over spellfire to the wielder (unless available energy runs out before then). If the wielder is of 1st to 4th spellfire level, death does mean death, but all stored spellfire bursts out of the corpse in an uncontrolled fiery blast release.
Any uncontrolled release is spherical and centered on the wielder's body with a radius equal to 10 feet for every two stored spell levels of spellfire (round down). All creatures within that radius suffer 1d6 points of damage per spell level of spellfire released (no saving throw), and all items must make a successful item saving throw vs. magical fire at a -5 penalty or be destroyed. Magical items save at a -7 penalty, but receive three saving throws. If all three fail, the item is simply destroyed. If two fail, a wild magic release —use the wand of wonder percentile effect table in the DUNGEON MASTER Guide- occurs, draining the item of 2d4 charges (or if it lacks charges, making it dormant for 2d4 days), and hurling the item far away. If only one saving throw fails, the magical item is teleported without error to a random location elsewhere in Faerun. Artifacts cannot be destroyed, but still make two item saving throws at a -3 penalty. If both are failed, they issue a wild magical release (as explained above) and are hurled far away; if one is failed, they are teleported without error to a ran¬dom location elsewhere in Faerun.
Spellfire Unleashed
A spellfire wielder can ordinarily release a maximum amount of spellfire in a round equal in spell levels to his or her Constitution score (Constitutionx1). If used as a fiery weapon, this spellfire does a base 1d6 points of damage per spell level to target creatures. However, the nature of spellfire effects and the precision of control the wielder has over them are determined by the wielder's spellfire level.
Spellfire use is limited by the wielder's line of sight, not by distance. The wielder must make a successful attack roll (using the normal attack score for his or her character class) whenever a destructive bolt of spellfire is released at any mobile target more than 10 feet distant. Spellfire bolts that miss harm something else (including surrounding terrain), but the intended target is unscathed.
Targets struck by spellfire take the same damage whether the con¬tact is slight or square-on, but damage is modified as follows: Nonmagi-cal targets are allowed a saving throw vs. spell for half damage. Undead beings that drain life energy (experience levels) make this save at a +2 bonus but are not allowed a saving throw at all if their life forces are sustained by magic and not by the life forces they drain. (In other words, a vampire is allowed a saving throw, but a lich is not.) No crea¬ture that is created or sustained by magic (such as most undead beings) is allowed this saving throw—and neither are enchanted creatures, such as nonmagic-using warriors who have had protective spells cast on them, or beings who are bearing active magical items. Armor, shields and the like are for this purpose always considered "on," even if any special powers are not currently being used; wands and the like are considered active if they have been fired within a previous turn.
Spellfire use does not prevent the wielder from also exercising magic if the wielder is a spellcaster; the two do not interfere with each other in any way, though the user can either cast a spell or wield spellfire in a given round, not both. Ongoing spells or unchanged, continuing spellfire releases can occur in the background, following on from previ¬ous rounds, without harming or being harmed by the spellfire wielder undertaking the other activity in a particular round. 

The spellfire level of a wielder is used exclusively to measure the wieldeds control over spellfire. In ascending order, these levels impart the abilities outlined below.
At 1st Level: The wielder can release spellfire only as bolts of flame spraying straight out from one of hand. Only one bolt can be unleashed per round, and the wielded s control over its intensity is shaky. If the player of a player character spellfire wielder states that the character will emit a certain number of spell levels, the DM should roll 1d4, subtract two points from that roll, and apply the resulting modifier (even if it is 0 or a negative number) to the stated spellfire release amount to determine how many spell levels actually erupt. The resulting total must still be within the mini¬mum of one spell level per bolt and the maximum of the wielded s Consti¬tution score. (That is, the roll can never cancel a bolt entirely..)
At this level of spellfire ability, absorption of magical energy from spells, breath weapons, and magical item discharges is involuntary: The character drains any active magic she or he comes into contact with, including useful magic and healing spells. Only rest or nonmagical heal¬ing can restore lost hit points to the character. The wielder can neither sense nor drain, either automatically or deliberately, dweomers existing in items or untriggered spells. A lst-level spellfire wielder who snatches a wand from a hostile wizard cannot drain it but can drain its effects as they are emitted from the wand when it is triggered, thus preventing them from manifesting and gaining their energy to be stored in the wielded s body. Stored energy never dissipates without a cause —neces¬sary healing of the wielder, for example—and can remain in the wielder's body for years, if need be.
At 2nd Level: The wielder gains firm control over how many spell levels are in each released spellfire bolt and can now bend, angle, or even turn (around corners) an unleashed bolt, if desired. The bolt must still come from the wielder's hand, and a maximum of one bolt can still be fired per round. Absorption of magic becomes entirely voluntary, but item dweomers and cast-but-not-yet-unleashed spells still remain beyond the wielder's powers of perception and draining.
At 3rd Level: The wielder can either fire a single bolt of spellfire in a round from any body part and apply Dexterity benefits (reaction adjustments) or fire two spellfire bolts per round from the hands only without Dexterity benefits. The spell levels powering each bolt are under the wielder's firm control but can never add up to more than his or her Constitution score. The side effects described under the Body Effects section (earlier in the Spellfire section) are now gained, and the wielder can both see and drain the enchantments on or in quiescent items and untriggered spells.
At 4th Level: The wielder acquires enough precision over spellfire use to perform delicate tasks requiring the release of less than an entire spell level of energy, such as lighting a candle. Though an entire spell level is not actually expended, the unused excess dissipates harmlessly into the surrounding fabric of the Prime Material Plane, not triggering magic or giving energy to items or beings, but resulting in the loss of the entire spell level of energy from the wielder. Spellfire can be released deftly enough to warm or thaw food rather than cook it—or blast it to ash! —and melt ice within a frozen lock without warming the lock too much for it to be comfortably handled.
At this level of spellfire ability, the wielder can for the first time use a beam of spellfire (costing at least one spell energy level per 60 feet in length) to drain energy from a magical item, rather than a direct touch. A successful attack roll is required to make contact with items more than 10 feet from the wielder, and beams can only reach as far as the spellfire wielder can actually see.
At 5th Level: The wielder gains the power to heal with spellfire for the first time, and realizes his or her ability to do so when the character first thinks about using spellfire for healing after this level is reached. Direct flesh-to-flesh touch is required, and each spell level of spellfire expended restores 2 lost hit points to the target creature, who may be
the wielder. (Spellfire cannot give a being extra hit points once it is fully healed.) The wielder can, instead of healing, fire either three spellfire bolts per round from the hands with no Dexterity benefits or two spellfire bolts from any extremity with Dexterity benefits.
At 6th Level: The wielder gains precision enough in the hurling of spellfire bolts or the aiming of spellfire beams to deflect missile weapons in a desired direction. Successful attack rolls are required to strike the missiles, and projected missiles such as arrows, crossbow quarrels, and ballista bolts are considered to be AC 2, while hurled weapons such as rocks, spears, and daggers are AC 5. Missile deflections are not precise enough to become attacks rolled for by the spellfire wielder, but they can be treated as grenadelike missiles by the DM at the DM's discretion.
At 7th Level: The spellfire wielder gains the ability to fly at MV 12 (C) by projecting spellfire at the ground and blasting off. An initial liftoff requires burning 10 spell levels and taking no other activity during the round, but flight can be maintained at a cost of one spell level per round thereafter (two if a pronounced change in direction or an evasive maneuver must be performed). If the wielder runs out of stored energy or turns off the flight discharge in midair, she or he falls and suffers normal falling damage. A ground burst intended to slow such a plunge by firing spellfire at the ground just before impact reduces falling dam¬age by 3d6 per spell level expended.
The strain of maintaining flight reduces the spellfire wielder's other activities during flight to nonspellfire activity, two released bolts per round with no Dexterity benefits, or one with Dexterity benefits.
At 8th Level: The wielder gains the ability to make three releases of spellfire in the same round (with Dexterity benefits if blasts are flung), though his Constitution score still governs the total spell levels that can be expended in a round. These uses of spellfire can be very different without sacrificing precision or power; for instance, the wielder can fly, light a flask of oil with one hand, and fire a burst of spellfire from his eyes or knee with Dexterity benefits all in the same round.
At this level, spellfire wielders also become able to drain life energy from living creatures by direct touch. A successful attack roll is required, and a saving throw is allowed to withstand the draining attempt; if it fails, the spellfire wielder takes away one experience level or Hit Die from the being, and gains one spell level of spellfire energy. Note that using this ability on a being that is unconscious, unwilling, mind-controlled, or in any way not freely consenting to donate life energy may be an evil act in many circumstances.
At 9th Level: The wielder gains the ability to summon a crown of fire, the most spectacular known manifestation of spellfire. A crown of fire is raised by draining the last life force from a sentient living creature who willingly gives up its life—or who fails its saving throw against a hostile draining attempt on its last experience level (and previously, of course, any other experience levels it possessed). Creatures completely drained in this way die, but never rise as undead unless they are gov¬erned by previously established contingency magics that assist them in becoming a lich or otherwise achieving artificial—as opposed to nat¬ural, spontaneous — undeath.
For the next three rounds, the spellfire wielder must release his or her maximum spellfire energy (his or her Constitution score's worth of spell levels) into a flickering nimbus around himself or herself. She or he can take no other spellfire action during this time or the energy is wasted, and the crown cannot form.
On the fourth round, the crown of fire appears and a halo of brilliant spellflames encircles the wielder's head. It forms an anti-magic shell (as the wizard spell) around the wielder and causes any unenchanted weapon that strikes the wielder to melt away without doing harm. (Mag¬ical weapons do their normal damage and can survive being vaporized if they succeed at an item saving throw vs. magical fire.)
The crown can be maintained without penalizing other wielder activi¬ties (including other spellfire uses, such as flying), so long as the wielder continues to expend his or her maximum spellfire energy per round on the crown and/or other spellfire uses. It can be ended instantly if the wielder wills it, and it dies away automatically at the end of the round in which the wielder runs out of stored energy. If the wielder ends the crown before all his or her energy is expended, she or he can (at no extra cost) cause it to destroy itself in a burst that emits nine spellfire bolts.
These streaking conflagrations deal 4d6 points of damage each and strike at up to nine different targets of the wielded s choice. They strike at THAC0 2, regardless of the wielded s normal THAC0.
At 10th Level: The wielder becomes able to irresistibly drain life energy: An attack roll is still required, but victims (unless themselves able to employ spellfire) are not allowed a saving throw to prevent the draining. This allows a spellfire wielder to raise a crown of fire by drain¬ing an unwilling, hostile foe. The rate of draining does not increase.
At this level, a spellfire wielder also gains the ability to release sta¬tionary whirlflames of spellfire from his or her body. These spinning balls of flame as big as the casted s head remain behind (lasting 1 day per spellfire level of their creator) after the wielder has left the vicinity or even the plane. Such whirlflames are created to do two set things— usually to drain any magic or fire that contacts them—and cannot do anything else. They are usually left in doorways or narrow passages in front of a place that must be protected; in this way, a party of injured adventurers could shelter from the breath of an angry red dragon. A whirlflame can only have two tasks, but it can be so precisely controlled as to discharge energy slowly and evenly enough to heat a cave or to cook things without doing any harm or using up all the air. (Spellfire never creates smoke when it melts things, but smoke can come from flammable objects that it sets alight but does not entirely consume.)
If a being comes into contact with a whirlflame (either direct body contact or by passing a held weapon into one), the whirlflame exhausts 1d4 spell levels into the touching being, dealing 1d6 points of damage per level. Whirlflames can in this way be destroyed by repeated contacts with creatures. Missile weapons and other nonliving or undead things do not normally cause a whirlflame discharge, but a whirlflame could be set to destroy just undead creatures or to melt all solid items that come into contact with it.
Magical energy drained by a whirlflame does not prolong its exis¬tence—only energy directly bestowed upon it by its creator at a visit subsequent to its creation can do that—but is added to its to-be- discharged energy total. A wielder can have only one whirlflame in existence at a time.
At 11th Level: The wielder gains the ability to transfer spellfire into a magical item to recharge it without harming the item (no saving throws required). Due to the nature of their enchantments, certain sorts of items cannot be renewed. This can only be discovered by trial and error, wherein to-be-transferred spellfire energy dissipates and is lost. Direct contact with the item is necessary, and the spellfire wielder can-not perform any other spellfire activity during the round. Generally, one spell level of spellfire energy equals one item charge, and the wielder can transfer any amount up to and including his or her Constitution score maximum in the round.
At this level, a spellfire wielder also becomes able to have two cre¬ated whirlllames (with all the properties described in the 10th-level entry) in existence at the same time.
At 12th Level: The wielder gains the ability, if desired, to create whirlflames (as described under the 10th-level entry) that are linked to him or her so that magical energy drained by a whirlflame can be instantly transferred into the spellfire wielder as stored spellfire energy. Such augmentations do not increase the wielder's capacity to store spellfire and can well have harmful effects (see Body Effects and Spellfire Overloading earlier in this Spellfire section). If a whirlflame is destroyed by contact with a physical attack (in other words, by burning a creature making contact with it), the spellfire wielder who created it

also takes 1d4 points of damage through the expiring link—but there is no known means of otherwise harming a spellfire wielder through such a link. The allowable simultaneous whirlflame total remains at two.
At this level, a spellfire wielder also gains the ability to alter the light intensity of spellfire from almost invisible (87% undetectable in darkness and 97% undetectable under average sunlit conditions) to blinding (equal to a blindness spell—including allowing a saving throw vs. spell to prevent its effect—when used on or near creatures that see by means of eyes). Creatures of greater than eight levels or Hit Dice that are blinded gain a saving throw to end this blinding effect at the end of every unsighted day. Also, creatures that use gaze attacks—such as basilisks, beholders, and catoblepas—lose the use of these eye-related powers for the same length of time as they are blinded. Creatures of any level or Hit Dice may be cured of this blindness by a cure blindness or deafness, heal, or regenerate spell, but not by a dispel magic.
At 13th Level: A spellfire wielder gains the ability to control energy transferal from remotely located whirlflames, so that she or he can call on them at will or force them to keep their energy in storage. The allow¬able simultaneous whirlflame total rises to three.
At this level, a wielder also gains the power to boost spells she or he casts or those cast by another being in bare flesh-to-bare flesh contact with him or her by transferring spellfire energy into the spell. Certain spells cannot be aided, and no saving throw, attack roll, or random- effect-choice alterations can be made in this way, but duration can be extended by 1d3 rounds per spell level of spellfire energy, and damage can be augmented by one die (of whichever dice the spell normally uses) per spellfire spell level. No other spellfire activity can be under¬taken while this spellfire use is being performed.
At 14th Level: The wielder gains the ability to create meteor swarms by means of spellfire discharge. Each swarm costs nine spell levels and must be fully paid for. A wielder, limited as usual by his or her Constitution score, must possess a current Constitution of 18 to pro¬duce two meteor swarms in the same round, but there is no other limit to the number of swarms that can be hurled in the same round, or how many other spellfire activities can take place during that round. An overall lapse of restriction on spellfire use occurs; a wielder can now undertake as many spellfire effects as she or he can fuel—so a wielder with an 18 Constitution could unleash 18 separate bolts of spellfire causing 1d6 points of damage each at up to 18 separate targets (and apply Dexterity benefits to all of them).
At 15th Level: The wielder gains the ability to simultaneously wield the energy from his or her own previously created whirlflames (only) as well as personally stored spellfire energy. In other words, the whirlflame energy can be controlled and unleashed in the same round as personally stored energy, in addition to the wielder's Constitution score maximum release in a round, and it not counted as personally stored energy, so overloading cannot occur because of it.
Control over whirlflame energy is as precise as over personally stored spellfire energy and must travel through the spellfire wielder. A spellfire wielder cannot cause a whirlflame that is halfway around Toril to discharge spellfire blasts from itself, nor can the wielder see through the whirlflame to observe its surroundings; all spellfire energy must flow instantly from a whirlflame to the spellfire wielder and be dis¬charged from him or her.
In any round in which remote whirlflames are being called upon as well as personally stored energies, no other spellcasting or other activi¬ties can be performed by the spellfire user, who must remain stationary.
At this level, a spellfire user willing to do nothing else during the round can also choose to teleport without error to the vicinity of any one of his or her whirlflames at a cost of four spell levels of spellfire energy (which must come personally from the spellfire wielder, not from any whirlflame).
At 16th Level and Above: A spellfire wielder becomes able to take along other creatures on such teleport without error trips, which must still 

be to a whirlflame created by the wielder. All creatures touching the wielder are transported along with all worn or carried items at a cost of four spell energy levels per being. If this cost exceeds the spellfire wielded s personally stored energy, a randomly chosen being is left behind.
At 17th Level and Above: Additional powers gained by such pow¬erful spellfire wielders are as yet unknown.