D&D 3E/3.5 3.5e Magical Offenders - Most Overpowered Spells & Fixes

[ExploderWizard]

1) Leave spell effects alone for the majority of them.

2) Get rid of the RAW magic item economy especially cheap and plentiful wands and scrolls.

3)Ditch turn based initiative and require casters to declare spells before rolling.

4) Enjoy casters not dominating play.

 

[Dandu]

Wouldn't that end up hurting melee classes more?

 

[kitcik]

I think the key is #3, properly applied. Force casters to declare their spells before initiative each round. Have a casting time like 1E (shorter for weaker spells, longer for stronger). Nerf Concentration.

In my 1E games, about 50%-60% of spells (both by PCs and bad guys) were interrupted (and lost) as a result of being hit during casting.

Then casters (particularly armorless wizards) had a proper appreciation for the protection of tanks.

Of course, adventures were very different too - much more focussed on multiple encounters between resting. Sometimes as many as 10-15 encounters or more. This also nerfed casters as they ran out of spells.

But I think the biggerst difference was the frequency of spell interruption, at least in my experience.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Wouldn't that end up hurting melee classes more?

I don't believe it would.

We have seen the ultimate destination for nerfing and banning powerful magic as the answer and that is 4E.

If magic is brought down to a certain level along with "mundane" abilities being increased to be on par with the magic we get a 4E powers system.

It is certainly more balanced and casters don't overshadow the martial classes but IMHO the casters no longer feel like workers of magic. If the martial types can produce results similar to magic by merely using different keywords or power souces then every class feels roughly the same.

In order for magic to retain the feel of D&D magic it needs to remain powerful in effect. What it does not need is to be plentiful and completely reliable in every situation.

The ease of spell disruption in combat was an important check on the power of magic. Sure Mr. Wizard might have a trick up his sleeve to bring a quick end to a fight but if the ability to pull off that trick is in doubt then the fighters value is increased considerably.

 

[the Jester]

Mind blank and true seeing are the worst imho, simply because they shut down entire schools of magic.

 

[Jacob Marley]

I have found that eliminating the following lines has done wonders at lessening the power level of wizards. (It doesn’t solve the imbalance of Clerics and Druids, however.)

A wizard begins play with a spellbook containing all 0-level wizard spells (except those from her prohibited school or schools, if any; see School Specialization, below) plus three 1st-level spells of your choice. For each point of Intelligence bonus the wizard has, the spellbook holds one additional 1st-level spell of your choice. At each new wizard level, she gains two new spells of any spell level or levels that she can cast (based on her new wizard level) for her spellbook. At any time, a wizard can also add spells found in other wizards’ spellbooks to her own.

Edit: Apparently the strike-through-text does not work on Enworld; I bolded the parts to strike.

 

[ExploderWizard]

I have found that eliminating the following lines has done wonders at lessening the power level of wizards. (It doesn’t solve the imbalance of Clerics and Druids, however.)



Edit: Apparently the strike-through-text does not work on Enworld; I bolded the parts to strike.

So this does what exactly? Forces the wizard to spend money on scrolls to build the spellbook?

 

[Jacob Marley]

So this does what exactly? Forces the wizard to spend money on scrolls to build the spellbook?

Partly, yes. It also allows the DM a greater measure of control on which spells enter the game via treasure and the ubiquitous magic item shops.

The biggest problem -- and I use that word as lightly as I can -- is not with the overall power level of any individual spell but with the breadth of options that the Wizard (and Cleric and Druid) have. Free access to new options is an awfully powerful ability, IMHO.

Second, I prefer having one simple rules change rather than trying to adjust a few dozen spells. A fool's errand, in my opinion.

 

[Dandu]

Perhaps you could make all the gods huge dicks and refuse to grant clerics their spells until Twelve Labors (for each spell) have been completed? Sorcerers could go on huge journeys and quests at the behest of outsiders or dragons to learn theirs, while Druids must... save a forest or something.

 

[Hunter99]

Has anyone thought that instead of bringing down casters to the level of fighters, to raise fighters to the level of casters?

From what I've heard, (not an expert on the Bo9S) Tome of Battle does this really well.