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Time to bring back the prose?
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 5902584" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>Looking through the AD&D PHB, most spells are one paragraph in explanation/description, generally of 10 or so lines.</p><p></p><p>The longest descriptions that I noticed are for Find Familiar, Identify, Spiritwrack, Cacodemon and Antipathy/Sympathy. And that long description is not a sign of great flavour or fiction, it's a sign primarily of mechanical complexity (unnecessary in the case of Identify, in my view) - Cacodemon being an exception here, as one of the more flavourful f the AD&D MU spells, although I would guess one of the least frequently used.</p><p></p><p>AD&D PHB, p 94:</p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><u>Wish</u></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Level:9</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Range: Unlimited</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Duration: Special</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Area of Effect: Special</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Components: V</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Casting Time: Special</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Saving Throw: Special</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Explanation/Description: The <em>wish</em> spell is a more potent version of <em>limited wish</em> (q.v.). If it is used to alter reality with respect to hit points sustained by a party, to bring a dead character back to life, or to escape from a difficult situation by lifiting the spell caster (and his or her party) from one place to another, it will not cause the magic-user any disability. Other forms of <em>wishes</em>, however, will cause the caster to be weak (-3 on strength) and require 2 to 8 days of bed rest due to the stresses the <em>wish</em> places on his or her body. Regardless of what is wished for, the exact terminology of he <em>wish</em> spell is likely to be carried through. (This discretionary power of the referee is necessary to maintain game balance. As wishing another dead would be grossly unfair, for example, your DM might well advance the spell caster to a future period where the object is no longer alive, i.e. putting the wishing character out of the campaign.)</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p></p><p>Limited Wish adds the following relevant information (the bits I've cut out all pertain to the <em>limited</em> nature of a limited wish (PHB p 88:</p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>A <em>limited wish</em> is a very potent but difficult spell. It will fulfill literally . . . the utterance of the spell caster. Thus, the actuality of the past, present or future might be altered. . . Greedy desires will usually end in disaster for the wisher. Casting time is the actual number of seconds - at six per segment - to phrase the <em>limited wish</em>.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>These could be combined together to create a fairly succinct spell description:</em></p><p><em></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em><u>Wish</u></p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em></p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Level:9</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Range: Unlimited</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Duration: Special</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Area of Effect: Special</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Components: V</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Casting Time: Special</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Saving Throw: Special</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em></p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Explanation/Description: <em>Wish</em> is a very potent but difficult spells. It will fulfill literally the utterance of the spell caster. Thus, the actuality of the past, present or future might be altered.</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em></p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Casting <em>wish</em> will cause the caster to be weak (-3 on strength) and require 2 to 8 days of bed rest due to the stresses the <em>wish</em> places on his or her body, unless the <em>wish</em> is used to alter reality with respect to hit points sustained by a party, to bring a dead character back to life, or to escape from a difficult situation by lifiting the spell caster (and his or her party) from one place to another.</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em></p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Regardless of what is wished for, the exact terminology of he <em>wish</em> spell is likely to be carried through. Greedy desires will usually end in disaster for the wisher. (This discretionary power of the referee is necessary to maintain game balance. As wishing another dead would be grossly unfair, for example, your DM might well advance the spell caster to a future period where the object is no longer alive, i.e. putting the wishing character out of the campaign.)</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em></p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Casting time is the actual number of seconds - at six per segment - to phrase the <em>wish</em>.</p><p></em></p><p><em>Looking at this, we could then:</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>*delete the first line, which is somewhat redundant (in particular, the claim that the spell is difficult is not borne out by the actual mechanics, which make it easier to cast than many spells because it has only a verbal compoenent);</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>*clarify the disability clause - is the weakness permament and <em>in addition</em> to the bed rest, or is it cured by the bed rest? Most players eeem to assume the latter.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>So here is a revised spell description:</em></p><p><em></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em><u>Wish</u></p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em></p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Level:9</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Range: Unlimited</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Duration: Special</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Area of Effect: Special</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Components: V</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Casting Time: Special</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Saving Throw: Special</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em></p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Explanation/Description: Speaking a <em>wish</em> will fulfill literally the utterance of the spell caster, altering the past, present or future.</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em></p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Casting <em>wish</em> will cause the caster to be weak (-3 on strength) due to the stresses the <em>wish</em> places on his or her body, unless the <em>wish</em> is used to alter reality with respect to hit points sustained by a party, to bring a dead character back to life, or to escape from a difficult situation by lifiting the spell caster (and his or her party) from one place to another. Recovering from such weakness will require 2 to 8 days of bed rest.</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em></p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Regardless of what is wished for, the exact terminology of he <em>wish</em> spell is likely to be carried through. Greedy desires will usually end in disaster for the wisher. (This discretionary power of the referee is necessary to maintain game balance. As wishing another dead would be grossly unfair, for example, your DM might well advance the spell caster to a future period where the object is no longer alive, i.e. putting the wishing character out of the campaign.)</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em></p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Casting time is the actual number of seconds - at six per segment - to phrase the <em>wish</em>.</p><p></em></p><p><em>Suppose we had a general mechanic for being weakened by casting a spell, and for spoken word casting times, we could abbreviate the stat block like so:</em></p><p><em></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em><u>Wish</u></p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em></p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Level:9</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Range: Unlimited</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Duration: Special</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Area of Effect: Special</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Components: V, weakening (but see below)</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Casting Time: Special</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Saving Throw: Spoken word</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em></p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Explanation/Description: Speaking a <em>wish</em> will fulfill literally the utterance of the spell caster, altering the past, present or future.</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em></p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Casting <em>wish</em> will weaken the caster unless the <em>wish</em> is used to directly aid the caster and/or one or more members of his or her party against harm (<em>without</em> thereby directly harming or hindering any other person).</p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em></p></em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Regardless of what is wished for, the exact terminology of he <em>wish</em> spell is likely to be carried through. Greedy desires will usually end in disaster for the wisher. (This discretionary power of the referee is necessary to maintain game balance. As wishing another dead would be grossly unfair, for example, your DM might well advance the spell caster to a future period where the object is no longer alive, i.e. putting the wishing character out of the campaign.)</p><p></em></p><p><em>That seems a respectable sort of spell description, comparable to some of the more complex of the 4e spells. The idea that Wish needs a long description seems to be a later thing. I don't have a 2nd ed AD&D PHB, but in the Rules Cyclopedia the description of the spell is about 2 columns on a 3-column page.</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 5902584, member: 42582"] Looking through the AD&D PHB, most spells are one paragraph in explanation/description, generally of 10 or so lines. The longest descriptions that I noticed are for Find Familiar, Identify, Spiritwrack, Cacodemon and Antipathy/Sympathy. And that long description is not a sign of great flavour or fiction, it's a sign primarily of mechanical complexity (unnecessary in the case of Identify, in my view) - Cacodemon being an exception here, as one of the more flavourful f the AD&D MU spells, although I would guess one of the least frequently used. AD&D PHB, p 94: [indent][U]Wish[/U] Level:9 Range: Unlimited Duration: Special Area of Effect: Special Components: V Casting Time: Special Saving Throw: Special Explanation/Description: The [I]wish[/I] spell is a more potent version of [I]limited wish[/I] (q.v.). If it is used to alter reality with respect to hit points sustained by a party, to bring a dead character back to life, or to escape from a difficult situation by lifiting the spell caster (and his or her party) from one place to another, it will not cause the magic-user any disability. Other forms of [I]wishes[/I], however, will cause the caster to be weak (-3 on strength) and require 2 to 8 days of bed rest due to the stresses the [I]wish[/I] places on his or her body. Regardless of what is wished for, the exact terminology of he [I]wish[/I] spell is likely to be carried through. (This discretionary power of the referee is necessary to maintain game balance. As wishing another dead would be grossly unfair, for example, your DM might well advance the spell caster to a future period where the object is no longer alive, i.e. putting the wishing character out of the campaign.) [/indent] Limited Wish adds the following relevant information (the bits I've cut out all pertain to the [I]limited[/I] nature of a limited wish (PHB p 88: [indent][I]A [I]limited wish[/I] is a very potent but difficult spell. It will fulfill literally . . . the utterance of the spell caster. Thus, the actuality of the past, present or future might be altered. . . Greedy desires will usually end in disaster for the wisher. Casting time is the actual number of seconds - at six per segment - to phrase the [I]limited wish[/I].[/I][/indent][I] These could be combined together to create a fairly succinct spell description: [indent][U]Wish[/U] Level:9 Range: Unlimited Duration: Special Area of Effect: Special Components: V Casting Time: Special Saving Throw: Special Explanation/Description: [I]Wish[/I] is a very potent but difficult spells. It will fulfill literally the utterance of the spell caster. Thus, the actuality of the past, present or future might be altered. Casting [I]wish[/I] will cause the caster to be weak (-3 on strength) and require 2 to 8 days of bed rest due to the stresses the [I]wish[/I] places on his or her body, unless the [I]wish[/I] is used to alter reality with respect to hit points sustained by a party, to bring a dead character back to life, or to escape from a difficult situation by lifiting the spell caster (and his or her party) from one place to another. Regardless of what is wished for, the exact terminology of he [I]wish[/I] spell is likely to be carried through. Greedy desires will usually end in disaster for the wisher. (This discretionary power of the referee is necessary to maintain game balance. As wishing another dead would be grossly unfair, for example, your DM might well advance the spell caster to a future period where the object is no longer alive, i.e. putting the wishing character out of the campaign.) Casting time is the actual number of seconds - at six per segment - to phrase the [I]wish[/I].[/indent] Looking at this, we could then: *delete the first line, which is somewhat redundant (in particular, the claim that the spell is difficult is not borne out by the actual mechanics, which make it easier to cast than many spells because it has only a verbal compoenent); *clarify the disability clause - is the weakness permament and [I]in addition[/I] to the bed rest, or is it cured by the bed rest? Most players eeem to assume the latter. So here is a revised spell description: [indent][U]Wish[/U] Level:9 Range: Unlimited Duration: Special Area of Effect: Special Components: V Casting Time: Special Saving Throw: Special Explanation/Description: Speaking a [I]wish[/I] will fulfill literally the utterance of the spell caster, altering the past, present or future. Casting [I]wish[/I] will cause the caster to be weak (-3 on strength) due to the stresses the [I]wish[/I] places on his or her body, unless the [I]wish[/I] is used to alter reality with respect to hit points sustained by a party, to bring a dead character back to life, or to escape from a difficult situation by lifiting the spell caster (and his or her party) from one place to another. Recovering from such weakness will require 2 to 8 days of bed rest. Regardless of what is wished for, the exact terminology of he [I]wish[/I] spell is likely to be carried through. Greedy desires will usually end in disaster for the wisher. (This discretionary power of the referee is necessary to maintain game balance. As wishing another dead would be grossly unfair, for example, your DM might well advance the spell caster to a future period where the object is no longer alive, i.e. putting the wishing character out of the campaign.) Casting time is the actual number of seconds - at six per segment - to phrase the [I]wish[/I].[/indent] Suppose we had a general mechanic for being weakened by casting a spell, and for spoken word casting times, we could abbreviate the stat block like so: [indent][U]Wish[/U] Level:9 Range: Unlimited Duration: Special Area of Effect: Special Components: V, weakening (but see below) Casting Time: Special Saving Throw: Spoken word Explanation/Description: Speaking a [I]wish[/I] will fulfill literally the utterance of the spell caster, altering the past, present or future. Casting [I]wish[/I] will weaken the caster unless the [I]wish[/I] is used to directly aid the caster and/or one or more members of his or her party against harm ([I]without[/I] thereby directly harming or hindering any other person). Regardless of what is wished for, the exact terminology of he [I]wish[/I] spell is likely to be carried through. Greedy desires will usually end in disaster for the wisher. (This discretionary power of the referee is necessary to maintain game balance. As wishing another dead would be grossly unfair, for example, your DM might well advance the spell caster to a future period where the object is no longer alive, i.e. putting the wishing character out of the campaign.)[/indent] That seems a respectable sort of spell description, comparable to some of the more complex of the 4e spells. The idea that Wish needs a long description seems to be a later thing. I don't have a 2nd ed AD&D PHB, but in the Rules Cyclopedia the description of the spell is about 2 columns on a 3-column page.[/i] [/QUOTE]
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