Area Attacks Hit Everyone
A fireball doesn't care whose side you're on, so clear your allies first.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- Design focus
- Spatial · Risk · Planning
No.139Baldur’s Gate 301The core loop
Action → feedback → next choice- 01Find a cluster
- 02Check ally positions
- 03Adjust position or angle
- 04Cast and live with it
↻Feedback changes the situation — the next round starts from there.
Walk through one round
A simplified design example. Situations and numbers illustrate the mechanic, not exact rules from a reference game.
- T1
Turn 1 · The situation
Four enemies surround your fighter; a fireball would hit all of them and the fighter for about 24 damage.
- T2
Turn 2 · The player chooses
The player spends the fighter's turn backing off, then casts.
- T3
Turn 3 · The feedback
The fireball hits three; the fourth followed the fighter out of range.
- T4
Turn 4 · The next decision
The player plans to root enemies in place next time before bombing.
How it plays
Area abilities hurt everyone inside, allies and summons included. Players must move teammates, shift the target point or settle for a smaller payoff. Some classes or perks let spells spare allies, making that an important upgrade.
What the player weighs
- Maximize enemies hit vs. spare allies
- Melee holds the line vs. leave room for the caster
02Start small
Scope is an editorial estimate for the minimum prototype, not the reference game or a production schedule.
03One mechanic, different implementations
Baldur’s Gate 3
Fireball and similar spells hit allies in range, with affected units previewed; an Evocation wizard's Sculpt Spells protects allies.
Dragon Age: Origins
Friendly fire is tied to difficulty; as far as I recall, area spells hurt allies on higher settings but not on lower ones, so the same tactics carry very different risk.
The difference worth noticing
Baldur's Gate 3 mitigates friendly fire through class features; Dragon Age toggles it with difficulty.
Case notes are Yoroll editorial summaries; rules may change between versions.
04What could you combine?
Pair with reactive surfaces: a fireball igniting oil spreads over turns, so you must predict where the fire reaches and evacuate allies in time.
Prototype this combo in Yoroll→Follow the next idea
Cover and Flanking
Cover keeps you safe until someone walks around it.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Check where cover faces
- 02Move to a flanking angle
- 03Gain an accuracy bonus
- 04Guard against counter-flanks
Blow Up the Cover
If the enemy is well hidden, blow up the wall; the battlefield keeps changing.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Find the cover they rely on
- 02Destroy it with explosives
- 03Enemy is exposed
- 04Follow up the attack
Shove, Pull, Knock Back
Push enemies off ledges or into fire; position itself becomes the weapon.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Find hazardous terrain
- 02Plan the push direction
- 03Shove or pull
- 04Hazard does the work