Flamedisc

When cast, flamedisc calls forth a ring of fire which flashes outward for 10 feet. The disc itself hovers at about waist height, surrounding the caster and making it impossible for anyone to approach him in melee. (Actually, it's shaped more like a donut than a disc, but hey, I'm not one to quibble.)

Anyone caught by the flame's radius is burned for 3D8 points of damage and continues to take 1D4 points of damge each round thereafter as the person's clothes, hair, etc. begin to burn. The victim may save for 1/2 damage. Short creatures such as halflings, kobolds, etc. get a +2 to their save due to the fact that the flames usually pass right over their heads.

As you can well imagine, this spell is quite useful in close combat conditions. Mostly, it's good for clearing out a large amount of relatively weak creatures which have decided that the optimum method for killing you is to just overwhelm you.

A word of warning: The disc is stationary, so don't get any foolish ideas about casting and then running amok, scything through your enemies willy-nilly. You'll just end up burning your own tuckus and, trust me, a burnt tuckus is not fun. (Especially not when you have to sit through 3 days worth of Council hoo-hah.)