Phoenix bloodline and Catching on Fire

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How does the healing from the phoenix bloodline work with spells and effects that cause targets to be on fire? Spells such as Touch of Combustion or Alchemist's Inferno Fireball Trick? The fireball trick has a fair argument that the fire it produces are magic as they use the spell save DC.

I have seen various discussions on reddit and other posts that claim by raw it works! Or that it doesn't work at all. I have not seen anything conclusive, or a good argument for either side.

Best Answer

Catching on Fire is an Environmental effect; Phoenix Blood Arcana does not apply*

*usually, see below

The rules for Catching on Fire are in the Environmental Rules section and an exception to the normal rules that instantaneous fire spells do not light fires nor deal continuing damage. If a spell references adding that condition (and does not have a duration), then the Catching on Fire is not part of the "damage the spell would normally deal".

There are exceptions; for instance, Touch of Combustion references also dealing 1d4 "damage" (with a Reflex Saving throw) to any creatures adjacent to ones on fire. This is damage the spell does in addition to the environmental effect of being caught on fire. The 1d4 would be healing (while the poor person on fire would still take 1d6 damage from the very real fire).

Alchemist Inferno is not an exception because it is still inflicting the environmental rules for catching something on fire; it just increases the DC because honestly DC 15 is a joke by the time the Magic Trick is available.

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