GrinningBuddha
First Post
Hello ENWorld denizens. It's my first time posting a thread here, and there's something I'd like to address.
There is one thing that bothers me significantly about at-will spells in common society. In a world of 4 hp commoners and 5 hp town guards, a wizard who has access to a 2d4 + 2 at-will damage spell essentially has the equivalent of an infinitely loaded crossbow at his disposal. I can't really think of a fantasy world where there are wizards running around with this kind of unchecked power having just completed their apprenticeships.
The debate about daily resource management has been raging since before Next was announced. Many like the Vancian system, while others are fans of the AEDU system of 4e. I would like to address it from a different angle.
Long ago, dungeon design began to ask how the inhabitants of the area managed to meet their daily needs. Providing access to food, water, and other basic needs became a staple of good dungeon design, evolving from Gygaxian mystery rooms with vastly contrasting monsters behind each door.
I think it's time we took a look at giving PC development in the same framework. 1st level characters, while cut from a different cloth than commoners, are still not all that different than the common folk. A little stronger, a little smarter, and more capable of taking a jab from a sharp stick without crumpling to the ground (other than the wizard, of course.) It hurts my sense of immersion when I run a wizard who has the capability to shoot up a small town on his own, or a cleric that can pick archers off a battlement one by one the day after receiving his holy symbol.
Here's where I'd like to see the magic system go. I would like to see the return of the specialization/domain system, and I would like to see damage-dealing spells limited to daily use only, or spell slots in a Vancian system (since we all know that's what we're getting, at least in part.) Here's an example of what an Abjurer would look like:
- Extra cantrips from the Abjuration school (Resistance, Alarm added to the general at-will cantrips)
- Casting Mastery feat: Choose any 1 spell from your school 3 levels below your current highest spell level to cast at-will.
- Example 1st level Abjuration spells: Endure Elements, Hold Portal, Protection from Alignment, Shield
- Additional spells can be taken from any school. Spells cast from other schools do not benefit from implement or level bonuses since the caster has not devoted the study required to master the intricate movements and subtle incantations that maximize the magical energy available to the caster. e.g. A 16 Int. Abjurer casts Magic Missile with a +2 to hit and 2d4 damage. An identical Evoker casts Magic Missile with a +4 to hit and 2d4+4 damage.
So what does this do for us? Here's what I feel we gain:
- Casters are still powerful and deserve respect. They are not, however, walking turrets of destruction, at least at low levels.
- Casters feel much less homogenous. An Abjurer feels vastly different from an Evoker and Transmuter.
- Casters who prefer at-will spells have the opportunity to perfect their craft as they gain levels at the expense of other options via the feat system.
- The fantasy society that the DM has built is not overpowered by 1st level mages running around blasting everything in sight. Even a specialist Evoker has to be at least level 5 or 7 (needs testing) before he can begin to run amok with at-will damage spells.
- The 15-minute workday effect can be reduced by allowing specialist wizards and clerics to still pursue their craft with their school/domain-specific at-will spells (cantrips) even after their daily spells are used up.
And so I ask of you, what are your thoughts about the system as presented? The objectives are primarily to address verisimilitude and the short work day. Is this a step in the right direction? Does it appeal to YOUR sense of what D&D is or should be?
There is one thing that bothers me significantly about at-will spells in common society. In a world of 4 hp commoners and 5 hp town guards, a wizard who has access to a 2d4 + 2 at-will damage spell essentially has the equivalent of an infinitely loaded crossbow at his disposal. I can't really think of a fantasy world where there are wizards running around with this kind of unchecked power having just completed their apprenticeships.
The debate about daily resource management has been raging since before Next was announced. Many like the Vancian system, while others are fans of the AEDU system of 4e. I would like to address it from a different angle.
Long ago, dungeon design began to ask how the inhabitants of the area managed to meet their daily needs. Providing access to food, water, and other basic needs became a staple of good dungeon design, evolving from Gygaxian mystery rooms with vastly contrasting monsters behind each door.
I think it's time we took a look at giving PC development in the same framework. 1st level characters, while cut from a different cloth than commoners, are still not all that different than the common folk. A little stronger, a little smarter, and more capable of taking a jab from a sharp stick without crumpling to the ground (other than the wizard, of course.) It hurts my sense of immersion when I run a wizard who has the capability to shoot up a small town on his own, or a cleric that can pick archers off a battlement one by one the day after receiving his holy symbol.
Here's where I'd like to see the magic system go. I would like to see the return of the specialization/domain system, and I would like to see damage-dealing spells limited to daily use only, or spell slots in a Vancian system (since we all know that's what we're getting, at least in part.) Here's an example of what an Abjurer would look like:
- Extra cantrips from the Abjuration school (Resistance, Alarm added to the general at-will cantrips)
- Casting Mastery feat: Choose any 1 spell from your school 3 levels below your current highest spell level to cast at-will.
- Example 1st level Abjuration spells: Endure Elements, Hold Portal, Protection from Alignment, Shield
- Additional spells can be taken from any school. Spells cast from other schools do not benefit from implement or level bonuses since the caster has not devoted the study required to master the intricate movements and subtle incantations that maximize the magical energy available to the caster. e.g. A 16 Int. Abjurer casts Magic Missile with a +2 to hit and 2d4 damage. An identical Evoker casts Magic Missile with a +4 to hit and 2d4+4 damage.
So what does this do for us? Here's what I feel we gain:
- Casters are still powerful and deserve respect. They are not, however, walking turrets of destruction, at least at low levels.
- Casters feel much less homogenous. An Abjurer feels vastly different from an Evoker and Transmuter.
- Casters who prefer at-will spells have the opportunity to perfect their craft as they gain levels at the expense of other options via the feat system.
- The fantasy society that the DM has built is not overpowered by 1st level mages running around blasting everything in sight. Even a specialist Evoker has to be at least level 5 or 7 (needs testing) before he can begin to run amok with at-will damage spells.
- The 15-minute workday effect can be reduced by allowing specialist wizards and clerics to still pursue their craft with their school/domain-specific at-will spells (cantrips) even after their daily spells are used up.
And so I ask of you, what are your thoughts about the system as presented? The objectives are primarily to address verisimilitude and the short work day. Is this a step in the right direction? Does it appeal to YOUR sense of what D&D is or should be?
