How to get burn damage?

[Saiko Kila]

I wanted to test healing of burn damage. However, I can't really get my character burnt. Is there a trick to it? Maybe like giving a lit torch to a guy and attacking him? Are there enemies using fire (some have torches,  but unlit)? Characters cannot enter fire tiles, and fire doesn't seem to spread easily to an occupied tile.

[Ara D.]

Set a bunch of branch piles on the ground maybe a 3x3 or 4x4 grid patern stand in the pile and start lighting branches around you. The fire will spread, according to others you can zoom out to escape if needed.

[Saiko Kila]

Thanks. I did a pattern of 5x5 and stood in the centre. Each tile had several spruces and a slender trunk, without trunk they were unable to burn long enough for the central tile to catch fire. Actually before it caught fire the off-side tiles were mostly finished, so after getting too burned to move I crawled to one of these places, there was no need for zooming out. Also I had to remove armour, because apparently it protects heavily against fire.

[PALU]

You've got a useful answer already, but I'll add mine as well: The time I accidentally burned my character I'd set fire to a line of branches for a future set of farm plots, while standing at a tile beside the line cutting new branches, with one lot already at my character's feet. Apparently the process of cutting branches (and thus being occupied doing something) prevented the character from immediately jumping away (dogs get out of the way when I've set fire to branches underneath them, and do not get injured in the process).

[Dungeon Smash]

Standing inside a burning building would also probably work

[Saiko Kila]

So it is possible to actually get burns by accident?
I think this is the rarest type of injury, even less frequent than frostbite (which requires no clothing on a body part and a really low temperature).

As for dogs, I'm not sure they would be burned at all. I frequently call forest maidens, which requires a burning stack. Since my char is always surrounded by animals, and they cannot move aside (because of crowding), they often land on the burning tile when my char goes to sleep. They never get damaged. Maybe this is handled separately by game code.

Anyway, I found out that burning injuries are the most convenient ones for training Physician skill. This is because they give opportunity to either apply a compress (minor wounds) or both clean and apply a compress (serious wounds). Applying a compress has a +2 bonus to learning. Cleaning doesn't have such bonus, the same with treating frostbite. Another one treatment which has such high chance of learning is stopping bleeding, but bleeding injury is both difficult to obtain and dangerous.

Using cheap armour allows to protect selected body parts (except eyes, unfortunately) against too much burn damage. It works for every type of damage, but is easier for burns.

Previously I used bruises from falling off trees, but they apparently always have only the compress treatment available, never cleaning (because they are blunt damage) and even though cleaning is just a standard chance to learn, it's still better to have two chances per injury per day than one.

The only inconvenience is that all burn damages, including minor, are yellow level status at maximum when treated by player (even with all-healing herbs), and can be upgraded only to celadon level by sage,  the same as frostbite. Which means than it won't heal so quickly if unlucky. But that could be the point, if used for learning.

[krikkit war robot]

You can get burned by accident. I've never done it, but I can foresee it happening if you get careless while prepping fields.

[MigrantWorker]

I can't really get my character burnt. Is there a trick to it?

Yes. You can reliably set your character on fire by following these 4 easy steps:

1. Stand next to a tree of any type;
2. Build at least two fires right next to your character. They don't have to be big - a handful of branches will do just fine;
3. Use the Timbercraft skill to gather branches/spruce twigs. Do NOT pick them from the ground once the action is completed;
4. Repeat point 3 above until the fires you have built around yourself go out. At this point flames will spread to the pile of branches which have accumulated at your feet, and you will get burned. Once you've had enough, move aside.

Damage from burns accumulates surprisingly quickly. Expect each injury to do about 15-20% damage. This may be a good thing from the point of view of your experiment, but keep in mind that it is possible to lose the use of a limb from just a single burn. With a disabled leg, you will be forced to crawl; with a disabled hand you will be unable to perform some actions, while others will take several times longer to complete. Your character can also pass out from pain (and be promptly woken up by another burn occurring while they were unconscious). So stock up on food and don't push your luck. But other than that, enjoy!