Table of Contents
Fire
Fire is an Elemental path of magic. Among the four Elements, it governs plasma/flux and supports heat. Its kings govern fire's appearance and heat, with its burning nature having fallen to Death's hands.
Of the four Elements, Fire is the easiest to Evoke and the hardest to Alter. In Thaumaturgic tradition, the path is choleric, resembling a more-negative sort of activity. In the Way of Five Elements, it is dynamic and emotional.
Like Water, Fire remains mostly consistent across the three Ages, though not quite as so. The great Fire Mages of ancient times leave an indelible mark in the legends and psychology of Mankind, resulting in the path "spreading out" and being nurtured across the realms. God-like "firepower" is even present in the Late Ages, unlike with Air, Earth, Nature, and Glamour, though not right at the start of a Late-Age game.
Fire Spells
Fire burns. It can do this in a variety of ways, however, and it does have a few tricks; these include bolstering Attack Skill and disorienting foes.
Fire is the element-of-choice for Fire's damaging spells, of which there are many. Fire is typically Armor-Piercing, so it ignores half of the target's Protection. Likewise, Fire Resistance may pose an issue, but it rarely comes in quantities needed to negate them.
The four Elements have a variety of checks and balances against each other, even against themselves. Likewise, Fire is rather-infamously countered by itself, Water, and Earth. Water in particular has counters for most of its tricks, including the infamous Rain (which Air can also use); fortunately for Fire Mages, the counterspells are also largely negated in their countering, and Dominions 6 nerfed Rain quite a bit.
Pure Fire
| Skill Level | Early Research (0-3) | Middle Research (4-6) | Late Research (7-9) |
|---|---|---|---|
 1 (a dabbler) | Burning/Spark Projectiles Lesser Alchemy Melee Fire Damage Personal Fire Resistance Limited Burning Personal Cold Resistance Lesser Fire Entrapment Lesser Fire Elementals Personal Fire Shield | Lesser Burning Will-o'-the-Wisps Limited Blindness | |
| 2 (average) | Lesser Long-Ranged Fire Damage Lesser Short-Ranged Fire Damage Lesser Fire Arrows Limited Prowess-Boosting Lesser Cold Resistance Self-Exploding Path-Boosting Mid-Ranged Fire Damage Lesser Fire Resistance Site-Searching Limited Rage | Tiny Combat Snakes Fire Drakes Hot Jellyfish Lesser Prowess-Boosting Greater Alchemy Greater Fire Resistance Big Hot Snakes | Explosive Extra Lives Burning Greater Long-Ranged Fire Damage Rage |
| 3 ("mastery") | Long-Ranged Fire Damage | Fire Entrapment Greater Fire Elementals Fire Spirit-Lions Greater Cold Resistance Fire Damage Sniping Showering Fire Greater Fire Arrows Greater Prowess-Boosting Disease-Cauterizing Mage-Summoning | |
| 4 ("god-like") | Blinding the Eyes of God Ranged Army-Burning Weaponized Unrest Battlefield Heat | Fire Elemental Spam Supreme Fire Arrows Domes of Fire Supreme Cold Resistance Supreme Fire Resistance |
|
| 5 | Utilizing Energy Ringing Forts with Fire | Water-Dispelling Battlefield Fire Showers Fire Kings Greater Self-Exploding Greater Ranged Army-Burning Supreme Fire Damage |
|
| 6 | Gem Generating | Anti-Undead Global | |
| 7 | |||
| 8 | Making Another Sun |
Crosspaths
The following effects have Fire as the primary path.
- Fire/Earth: Terracotta soldiers, fire-spewing Iron Gryphons, Scorpion Beasts, and Volcanic Eruptions.
- Fire/Astral: "Solar" magic, such as Solar Eclipses, unusual flames, and giving yourself an Inner Sun.
- Fire/Death: Nothing with Fire as the primary path, unfortunately.
- Fire/Nature: Fire Ants and Furies/Erinyes.
- Fire/Glamour: Nothing with Fire as the primary path, unfortunately.
Indirect Magic
A Fire Mage with 3 has 5 points of Fire Resistance, due to their greater attunement with that path. One with 4 or higher has 10 points of Fire Resistance, instead.
Having the fire inside of you causes you to "burn out" a little quicker; each level reduces the unit's Max Age by an additive 5%. This doesn't apply to Demons, Undead, or Inanimates.
Lastly, aside from the typical 10 points of Magic Leadership per level, Fire Mages get 10 points of regular Leadership as well. The fire makes them far more noteworthy.
Path Boosting
There are eleven items that boost Fire, but five are Artifacts, and only three require Fire as one of the forger's paths. The Skull of Fire requires 1
1 and Construction Level 7, the Flame Helmet requires 4 but only Construction Level 5, and one form of the Staff of Elemental Mastery requires 4
4 and Construction Level 7.
Summon Phoenix Power is the path-boosting spell for Fire. It requires 2.