Draft:Orb of Fire

Omega 0.90.4

Orb of Fire&TypeArtifactBase value (Au)2000Item level9Weight50Unidentified appearanceMysterious OrbCursed nameOrb of Fire

The Orb of Fire is an artifact that can teach firebolt, grant fire immunity and release a firebolt immediately. Using it spends its identity as an elemental Orb: keep it unused if you want it for the Orb of Mastery instead.

Generation

The Orb can recur in ordinary random loot, including eligible random monster treasure. Its item level of 9 makes low-level generation less likely, not impossible. Artifacts are excluded from normal acquirement and automatically generated pawn-shop stock.

The Elemental Lord of Water carries it on the third Astral level. This is not the Fire Lord's possession. A normal death drops carried items; successful player pickpocketing can take the Orb without killing the lord, but uses the ordinary Dexterity, thief-rank and level check and is not guaranteed. The command ignores the lord's listed theft immunity. A summoning scroll can also generate its carrier at random, including outside the Astral Plane; blessing that scroll does not select a lord or make it friendly.

Activation

Identify the Orb before choosing: the four elements and Mastery all look like a Mysterious Orb. Use A → a from accessible inventory and answer f for fire. The effect does not require recorded identification or mana, and a curse does not reverse a correct answer. At the element question only f, w, e, a and m are accepted; Escape is not a cancellation there.

Result of answering f	Effect
Spell knowledge	Learn firebolt; an already known spell keeps its existing mana cost
Experience	+10,000
Protection	Add 100 to fire immunity
Immediate attack	Choose a target for a firebolt, with attack strength twice current Dexterity plus level and a damage roll of 0–74
Remaining object	A Burnt-out Orb

The attack follows the bolt path and ordinary hit and fire-immunity checks; 75 is not guaranteed damage. It can remove an ordinary hedge or vaporize water, but trifids absorb it. These are effects of the immediate bolt, not a new reusable power in the burnt-out object.

The immunity remains while its accumulated value is positive and does not normally expire as a 100-minute timer. The special all-damage invulnerability countdown also decrements other immunity values, so this is not a promise of protection that can never be lost.

Wrong answer and burnout

Any other accepted answer creates a fireball centered on you, with fire damage rolls of 0–249 across its affected area. Existing fire immunity can protect you from that damage; the correct-use immunity is not granted on this branch. If you survive, the Orb still becomes burnt out.

Separate one Orb from a stack before activation: the replacement leaves a single Burnt-out Orb, so a selected stack is not preserved as unused spares. Once the correct elemental answer has been accepted, the benefits and commitment to burnout precede targeting. Choose a valid target rather than relying on Escape to undo the use. Enchanting the result cannot turn it back into Fire.

Strategy

An early random Fire Orb can provide fire protection and a substantial experience award before you reach the Astral Plane. Using a spare is less costly than spending the only copy reserved for Mastery. The taught spell remains useful after the immediate shot, but later casting still costs mana; repeated Orb use does not reduce that cost.

Fire protection is relevant to the fourth Astral level's fire terrain and Fire Lord, but does not protect against every attack there. Keep the full five-Orb plan in view: Mastery requires an unused Fire Orb, and presenting Mastery to the Duke before consuming it preserves both rewards.