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General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Why the HP Threshold on Spells is a Bad Idea
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<blockquote data-quote="Falling Icicle" data-source="post: 6021195" data-attributes="member: 17077"><p>I disagree.</p><p></p><p>Why shouldn't a low level spell work against a high level creature? The higher level spells should almost always be the better option, but lower level spells shouldn't be useless! They should just be less effective than the higher level spells are in most cases. One of the things about vancian casting is that wizards have daily spells that cover a wide range of power levels. Once they have used up their highest level spells, then what? Are they supposed to just throw in the towel for the rest of the day? That's what they'd have to do if their remaining low level spells were of no use at all at that level. Also, players may choose to use lower level spells to conserve their higher level spells. That should be a valid strategic choice.</p><p></p><p>Also, one of the big goals of bounded accuracy is that players can not only fight low level monsters at higher levels and have them remain relevant, but also so that lower level players can have a chance against higher level monsters. You can't really do that when magic using classes can't participate because their spells are useless, but the fighting classes can still contribute just fine. That's just not right. In this system, a low level fighter can hit a high level monster, he just won't do as much damage or otherwise be quite as effective as a higher level fighter with higher combat expertise dice and more/better maneuvers. By the same token, a low level spell should work on a higher level creature, it just shouldn't do as much damage or be as debilitating as a higher level spell.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Falling Icicle, post: 6021195, member: 17077"] I disagree. Why shouldn't a low level spell work against a high level creature? The higher level spells should almost always be the better option, but lower level spells shouldn't be useless! They should just be less effective than the higher level spells are in most cases. One of the things about vancian casting is that wizards have daily spells that cover a wide range of power levels. Once they have used up their highest level spells, then what? Are they supposed to just throw in the towel for the rest of the day? That's what they'd have to do if their remaining low level spells were of no use at all at that level. Also, players may choose to use lower level spells to conserve their higher level spells. That should be a valid strategic choice. Also, one of the big goals of bounded accuracy is that players can not only fight low level monsters at higher levels and have them remain relevant, but also so that lower level players can have a chance against higher level monsters. You can't really do that when magic using classes can't participate because their spells are useless, but the fighting classes can still contribute just fine. That's just not right. In this system, a low level fighter can hit a high level monster, he just won't do as much damage or otherwise be quite as effective as a higher level fighter with higher combat expertise dice and more/better maneuvers. By the same token, a low level spell should work on a higher level creature, it just shouldn't do as much damage or be as debilitating as a higher level spell. [/QUOTE]
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Why the HP Threshold on Spells is a Bad Idea
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