When a druid casts this spell, he or she causes a blazing ray of red-hot fire to spring forth from his or her hand. This blade- like ray is actually wielded a: were a scimitar, and if the druid scores a successful hit while employing the flame blade, the creature struck will take 5-8 points of damage — with a damage bonus of +2 if the creature is of the undead class or is especially vulnerable to fire, or a -2 penalty to damage if the creature is protected from fire. No damage can be inflicted upon a creature which is a fire-dweller or which uses fire as an attack form. The flame blade will ignite combustible materials such as parch- ment, straw, dry sticks, cloth, etc. However, it is not a magical weapon in the normal sense of the term except with respect to undead monsters, so creatures that can be struck only by magical weapons are not harmed by this spell unless they are of the undead class. In addition to mistletoe, the druid must have a leaf of sumac in order to cast this spell.