D&D 5E Any interest in the not-quite-so-wild mage?

[Nebulous]

I'm thinking of lifting the DCC magic system right out of the game and making it a subclass of warlock. DCC spellcasters already have patrons, so it fits right in. Plus, every spell has a manifestation and corruption table built in, so there are hundreds of wonky effects that can happen, some benign, some really, really bad. Again, this isn't the kind of thing for everyone, but i think it could slide into 5th edition fairly easily for a DM and players willing to try it.

for example:



Wizard Sense
Range: 60’ or more (see below) Duration: 1 round per caster level Casting Time: 1 round Save: None
The caster extends his senses beyond the normal human range to observe distant events or glimpse thetruth.

Manifestation: Roll 1d4: (1) caster’s eyes turn dead white; (2) a third eye opens in the caster’s forehead; (3) fleshy anten-nae extend from the top of the caster’s head; (4) caster’s eyes vanish completely from their sockets.


Corruption: Roll 1d6: (1) caster’s eyes permanently vanish (sight is unaffected); (2) caster gains a permanent third eye;(3) caster’s ears become bat-like; (4) caster’s eyes never close, even in sleep; (5) caster sees meaningless vi-sions from time to time that may interrupt his concentration (judge’s discretion); (6) strange events fromdistant lands can be seen in the caster’s eyes.


Misfire: Roll 1d4: (1) caster observes false events, believing them to be true; (2) caster struck blind and deaf for 1d4hours; (3) caster broadcasts embarrassing or dangerous secrets to those under observation; (4) caster’seyes literally fall out of his head and roll away, blinding him until they are placed back in their sockets.




(i left out the actual spell results)

 

[Quickleaf]

It'd be pretty neat, and a less "wahoo!" table could lead to wild surges happening more often.

One of the easiest ways to add a touch of chaos to the wild mage is to allow for random damage types, including bludgeoning, slashing and piercing. For instance, a wild surge fireball could conjure an explosion of whirling blades that deal slashing damage instead of fire damage, while a wild surge lightning bolt could become a titanic chain that deals bludgeoning damage along the line of effect.

I agree. There's a difference between random and wild. The current wild mage feels more like a random mage!

What I like about your suggestion is that the wild surge is still based on what the wild mage was trying to do. It's a permutation, an unexpected variation, not a totally frickin random event just for the LOLZ. There's nothing wrong with magic that turns you into a potted plant randomly, but that's a very limited conception of what a "wild mage" is.

 

[WitchyD]

I've a player that is playing one, and I made a few house rules for the sub-class. No idea if this is going to break my game later, but we really enjoy that d100 table. Here they are:

I ask for the d20 check after every spell using a slot the Wild Mage has cast. If the Wild Mage is out of slots, it goes for every cantrip, too.

The player rolls the d100 if the d20 is a four or lower.

 

[CapnZapp]

The wild mage is probably my biggest disappointment with 5e. I am not sure why one would play it over the dragon sorcerer. The DM can just decide to never/rarely let you roll for a chance at chaos. And if you do roll there is only a 5% chance that you'll get to the table and a good chunk of the results are just whimsical fluff (your hair falls out...hee hee) rather than do anything mechanically interesting. And a rather large (in my opinion) chunk of the mechanically interesting stuff could end up killing your party.

The dragon sorcerer is getting armor, flight, resistance, reliable bonus damage, and an aura.

You get:

the DM might let you roll for chaos

You can get advantage on a roll once a day. Maybe again if the DM lets you roll for chaos.

Spend points to alter other rolls (This is cool)

You can roll twice on the chaos chart..,if you ever get to roll for the chance and you happen to roll a 1.

Sometimes you get a little bonus damage.

Would it be so bad to automatically roll for a chaotic effect whenever you cast a spell and just have most options be minor benefits with a few big benefits and some rare catastrophes thrown in?

The way I understand it is that...

...but first, let's get the elephant out of the room:

Yes, you do need your DMs approval to play a Wild Mage. Do not choose this subclass unless you're given free reign to create lots and lots of Wild Surges!

Then, it goes like this:

1) You gain advantage
2) You cast a spell
3) There's a Wild Surge
4) Go to #1. Repeat

The power of this (sub)class is getting advantage on lots of rolls. If the DM isn't ready for that, saying perhaps one or two surges a day feels about right, don't take this class. To compete against Dragon Sorcerers or other classes, you need a Surge after each and every spell you cast.

If you have six spell slots at a certain level, then that means not one, not two... but six Surges, and seven rolls at advantage.

At a higher level, you might be able to cast twenty spells, and you should make sure to gain advantage twenty times that day.

The Wild Surge table is roughly neutral in that bad happens, then good happens. You need to ignore Wild Surges and not allow the weird from spamming surge after surge, or you lose the endless advantages that form the core strength of the subclass.

 

[ppaladin123]

The way I understand it is that...

...but first, let's get the elephant out of the room:

Yes, you do need your DMs approval to play a Wild Mage. Do not choose this subclass unless you're given free reign to create lots and lots of Wild Surges!

Then, it goes like this:

1) You gain advantage
2) You cast a spell
3) There's a Wild Surge
4) Go to #1. Repeat

The power of this (sub)class is getting advantage on lots of rolls. If the DM isn't ready for that, saying perhaps one or two surges a day feels about right, don't take this class. To compete against Dragon Sorcerers or other classes, you need a Surge after each and every spell you cast.

If you have six spell slots at a certain level, then that means not one, not two... but six Surges, and seven rolls at advantage.

At a higher level, you might be able to cast twenty spells, and you should make sure to gain advantage twenty times that day.

The Wild Surge table is roughly neutral in that bad happens, then good happens. You need to ignore Wild Surges and not allow the weird from spamming surge after surge, or you lose the endless advantages that form the core strength of the subclass.

When I made this post I was operating under a misconception about Tides of Chaos. I thought you still had to roll a d20 and get a 1 before going to the wild surge table and you didn't get advantage back unless you got a wild surge.

Now I see that you get a wild surge roll after every spell as long as you have already used Tides of Chaos (and the DM is cool with this). If you haven't used Tides of Chaos yet (or have already refreshed it), you have to roll a d20 and get a 1 before going to the surge table.

Most of the effects are beneficial or neutral with a few negative ones in there. If you want to cast a spell without much risk of something awful happening you can wait until Tides of Chaos is refreshed (i.e. don't use Tides of Chaos before casting your next spell). That is good when you don't really need advantaged and a bit of chaos would likely do more harm then good. So you actually have some control over the surges and can use them strategically.

I agree that the wild sorcerer is not going to be much fun/very interesting unless your DM is cool with rolling after every spell. However, if she is, it is probably a lot better than I initially feared. So I think I was wrong.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I thought about following:

To regain the use of tide of chaos, the DM can have you roll a d20 against DC 10+spell level. If you fail, a wild surge happens and you regain the use of tide of chaos.

This way, it does not seem like a dick move to always have you roll on the table or never roll on the table.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

I've been contemplating putting together a new wild surge chart, one for use in more serious campaigns where things like turning into a potted plant in the midst of combat might feel out of place. Would anyone be interested in seeing such a thing?

Definitely! I love wild mages but I have a difficult time developing a non-wacky personality/demeanor for a wild mage sorcerer that gels with wacky stuff like turning into a potted plant.

Once you're done with the new wild surge chart are you going to start on the 5E Binder class or is it finished already? (Please say finished already.)

I thought about following:

To regain the use of tide of chaos, the DM can have you roll a d20 against DC 10+spell level. If you fail, a wild surge happens and you regain the use of tide of chaos.

This way, it does not seem like a dick move to always have you roll on the table or never roll on the table.

The only thing about this that strikes me as unideal is that I think most wild mage players want to roll on the table.

 

[CapnZapp]

The only thing about this that strikes me as unideal is that I think most wild mage players want to roll on the table.

What I believe most wild mage players want, is getting something out of their class.

This something is "lots of rolls with advantage".

Wild Surges is only a means to an end.

That doesn't mean I'm saying Wild Surges aren't fun

 

[CapnZapp]

I thought about following:

To regain the use of tide of chaos, the DM can have you roll a d20 against DC 10+spell level. If you fail, a wild surge happens and you regain the use of tide of chaos.

This way, it does not seem like a dick move to always have you roll on the table or never roll on the table.

But this changes nothing.

Either you both surge and get back your Tide. Or you don't surge and don't get back your tide. Only difference is that the DM leaves it up to the dice.

My point is that you should always want back your Tide. If you can talk your DM into giving it back to you without Surging, so much the better, but Surge or no Surge, it is the Tide that provides the oomph of your subclass - any time you cast a spell without getting it back, you're losing out.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

What I believe most wild mage players want, is getting something out of their class.

This something is "lots of rolls with advantage".

Wild Surges is only a means to an end.

That doesn't mean I'm saying Wild Surges aren't fun

Good point, I never really considered that. For me it's all about the wild surges. If the class had a more mundane means to regenerate rolls with advantage (regenerates after a rest, or something), I would probably would gloss over it.