Magic missile too strong?

[3d6]

I've heard the idea that magic missile is too strong bandied about quite a bit. Tome and Blood said that magic missile was too strong for its level. Monte Cook designed the Arcana Unearthed spell list to weaken 1st level attack spells so that there wasn't a magic missile equivalent.

I don't understand this line of thinking. A 1st level wizard with magic missile is not a very useful addition to the party. He has 6 hit points. He does a 1d4+1 damage twice per day. The human fighter with a greatsword, on the other hand, has 12 hit points and the ability to deal 2d6+4 damage every round (and probably will deal that damage about one every other round or so).

How is the character with half the hit points and much less damage per round the overpowered one? It seems like magic missile would be more balanced if it did 3d6 damage or so, the same as the like-leveled fighter. Am I the only one who thinks that 1st level spells are miserably underpowered?

It seems to me that 1st level spells would be more balanced if they looked more like this.

MAGIC MISSILE
Evocation [Force]
Level: Sor/Wiz 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: 1 creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes

A missile of magical energy darts forth from your fingertip and strikes its target, dealing 3d6 points of damage.

MISSILE OF PATIENCE
Evocation [Fire]
Level: Sor/wiz 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target: 1 creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes

A small bolt of fire streaks from your hand to strike your target, dealing 1d6 points of fire damage per two caster levels, to a maximum of 5d6.

That way, you've got a damage-dealing spell at 1st level that makes you somewhat competitive with the fighters and barbarians of the world.

 

[Bad Paper]

MM is too powerful because it's an automatic hit, not because of its damage. There are so few automatic hit spells out there (even 8th-level Polar Ray requires an attack roll).

MM has that weird can't-target-an-object rule:
"Is that thing over there a golem or merely a statue?"
"Dunno. Let's see what MM does..."

Too powerful, not too weak. Your piddly first-level spell makes the fighters look like chumps when fighting incorporeal opponents.

 

[3d6]

It's an automatic hit, sure, but for pathetic damage. It is less than 1/3 the fighter's damage. I fail to see how a tiny amount of assured damage twice per day is better than that fighter's greatsword.

 

[green slime]

Its autohit, scaling with level, means that it supercedes even 2nd level spells in effectiveness at later levels. Many is the time my sorcerors have run out of first level slots, and continued to cast magic missile with 2nd level spell slots. The only possible drawback is the existance of shield.

 

[3d6]

You're casting magic missile in preference to scorching ray? Magic missile is a 17.5 damage auto-hit, while scorching ray is a 42 damage ranged touch. You'd have to be missing more than half the time to make that a good idea. (Except at 5th and 6th level, where you'd have to be missing more than 25% of the time, and 9th and 10th level, where you'd have to be missing more than 40% of the time).

 

[ThirdWizard]

Remember force damage is also not resistable and can hit incorporeal enemies with no miss chance. Some creatures have high Touch ACs or are harder to hit because of being in melee (+4 AC). Magic missile is also long range. It's a really good all-around spell with no drawbacks.

 

[3d6]

Magic missile is medium range, and it does have one big drawback--it deals very small amounts of damage compared to like-level characters with no usage limit on their abilities.

Magic missile aside, would people feel that a spell like this is problematic?

Burning Beam
Evocation [Fire]
Level: Sor/Wiz 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect: Ray
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes

A beam of searing flame leaps from your hand to strike your enemies. If you succeed at a ranged touch attack, you deal 3d6 points of fire damage.

It's not a force effect, so it only works half the time against incorporeal opponents. It is a ray, rather than a targeted effect. This spell would allow a 1st level wizard to deal as much damage as a 1st-level fighter does, albiet at range with a touch attack, but only twice per day.

 

[Sir Brennen]

I substituted Arcane Bolt for MM in my campaign. Even this is a little on the high end for a 1st level spell.

Scorching ray - you still have to take into consideration the average damage times the frequency of making the to Hit roll to get the true average. But then, scorching ray is often considered on the high end of powerful for 2nd level.

 

[Victim]

Magic Missile isn't really that great in terms of damage, as 3d6 shows. The main difference between magic missile and most other spells is that MM scales up slowly but remains useful, while stuff like burning hands maxes out early and becomes subpar even faster. Damaging spells usually degrade in impact pretty quickly.

At low levels, sleep and color spray are the main powerhouses anyway. At higher levels, 17.5 damage is nothing to write home about.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Magic missile aside, would people feel that a spell like this is problematic?

Compare it to burning hands. Burning hands is an area spell that does 1d4/lvl max 5d4 damage but you have to be within 15 feet of your enemy. I would say that the range of the spell balances out with the are. I'd say 1d6 per level maxingo out at 3d6. Perhaps make it 1 ray/level each doing one die of damage and max it out at 3 rays so that multiple enemies can be targeted.

But 3d6 damage at 1st level is right out, IMO.

EDIT: For the record, I consider scorching ray on the same power cusp as magic missile.