The
Dungeons and Dragons equivalent of Quake's
rocket launcher.
Fireball is a level three sorcerer/wizard arcane spell. The spell creates a ball of fire with a twenty-foot radius, doing 1d6 damage per caster level to a maximum of 10d6, and is of instantaneous duration. The material component is a small ball of sulphur and bat guano.
The most kick-ass property of this spell is its ability to take out an entire group of enemies in a single shot - or at very least, damage them enough that your fighter can send them to the next dimension with ease. If your DM allows, Fireball might also allow you to set the enemy's clothes on fire, which is always fun.
Newbie spellcasters have a foolproof habit of forgetting that fireball has a twenty-foot blast radius the first time they use it, with hilarious consequences. Unlike burning hands, attempting a fireball at point blank range in melee combat is not recommended.
The elven name for this spell is Koron en’ naur.