D&D 5E What Level is the Wizard vs. the Fighter?

[FrogReaver]

Let's make it clear

1. Armors, shields, and weapons appear twice as often as rods, staves, and wands in the treasure tables
   1. Adventure writers hand out ASW more often than SRW.
2. Armors and weapons often appear in generic untyped forms. Rods, staves, and wands rarely do.
3. The DMG puts choosing weapons and armor type mostly in the hands of the DM.
   1. So it's up to the DM whether the magic weapon or armor matches fighting style
   2. Adventure writers are notorious longsword, dagger, bow, and greatsword biased
   3. Fighters can still use unmatching ASW and often do want backup ASW of a different style..
4. The DMG puts choosing rods, staves, and wands in the hands of luck
   1. Wizards have to share their rolls of RSW with bards, clerics, druids, sorcerers, and warlocks.

Therefore, a fighter is more likely to get ASW and they are more likely for their ASW to match their style than a wizard is to get RSW and match RSW with their class.

Your 3 isn't clear. What does the DMG actually say about choosing weapon and armor types when using the magic item tables?

 

[Minigiant]

Your 3 isn't clear. What does the DMG actually say about choosing weapon and armor types when using the magic item tables?

DM picks

 

[FrogReaver]

DM picks

thanks.

 

[FrogReaver]

Let's make it clear

1. Armors, shields, and weapons appear twice as often as rods, staves, and wands in the treasure tables
   1. Adventure writers hand out ASW more often than SRW.

Agree

• Armors and weapons often appear in generic untyped forms. Rods, staves, and wands rarely do.

Agree

• The DMG puts choosing weapons and armor type mostly in the hands of the DM.
  1. So it's up to the DM whether the magic weapon or armor matches fighting style
  2. Adventure writers are notorious longsword, dagger, bow, and greatsword biased
  3. Fighters can still use unmatching ASW and often do want backup ASW of a different style..

Agree

• The DMG puts choosing rods, staves, and wands in the hands of luck
  1. Wizards have to share their rolls of RSW with bards, clerics, druids, sorcerers, and warlocks.

Agree

Therefore, a fighter is more likely to get ASW and they are more likely for their ASW to match their style than a wizard is to get RSW and match RSW with their class.

The conclusion doesn't follow from the premises. If magic weapon type is in the hands of the DM then we cannot say that the DM would make them more likely than luck. He could very well make them less likely than luck or use a luck based method for generation.

 

[Maxperson]

Well monk is specifically called out as the class that is not dependent on mundane equipment, magical equipment, feats, multiclasssing, or anything else outside of the class itself. It's one of the design goals. Monks only need food and water (and alcohol).

All of the classes are specifically called out as not dependent on magical equipment, feats, multiclassing or anything(other than mundane equipment) outside of the class itself.

Feats and multiclassing being optional rules that have to be added into the game means that every class is not expected to have those. And no class is built to face monsters needing magic items. Not one.

 

[tetrasodium]

The claim is that the difference between using a regular greatsword that does 2d6+mod damage and a flametongue that does 4d6+mod damage is 2d6 damage.

Do you agree with that?

You are going further than that when you compare it to a fireball. You aren't comparing a greatsword to a greatsword flametongue, your comparing part of a multiattack chain with a flametongue to a fireball. If you wanted to compare the greatsword/flametongue % boost to the percentage boost of fireball from a wand over firebolt cantrips it would at least be a meaningless apple to meaningless apple comparison with no relevance to gameplay but you aren't doing that either.

 

[FrogReaver]

You are going further than that when you compare it to a fireball. You aren't comparing a greatsword to a greatsword flametongue, your comparing part of a multiattack chain with a flametongue to a fireball. If you wanted to compare the greatsword/flametongue % boost to the percentage boost of fireball from a wand over firebolt cantrips it would at least be a meaningless apple to meaningless apple comparison with no relevance to gameplay but you aren't doing that either.

I fully plan to address the rest. But let's take one step at a time. You didn't actually specify whether you agreed.

 

[Maxperson]

IMO That's a very odd way to define 'does more'.

Agreed. More useful would be a better description of the sword.

The wizard is using that wand to replace his firebolt with a fireball.

I don't see it.

The wizard is replacing 2-7 cantrips with fireballs over an adventuring day and it will eventually(within 20 days of use) shatter and be gone. And there's no guarantee that the fireball will hit more than 1 target and it won't exclude party members. The sword is useful round after round after round after round, fight after fight after fight after fight, won't be hitting allies, and won't break through use. The sword will do boatloads more damage.

 

[Maxperson]

They don't give a way to do it randomly

They don't have to. They can still suggest random to the DM and let the DM figure out the method. The lack of a table doesn't mean that the game doesn't want random to be a thing.

 

[Lanefan]

Not so sure about fighters - but there's some dang good wizard items.

Staff of Power and Robe of Archmagi. Not sure what the fighter gets thats anywhere near comparable.

Perhaps due to sheer random chance, I have yet to ever DM either of those items.

The only time I've ever seen one in play - someone once had what amounted to a wand version of the Staff - she managed to blow it up at the first opportunity (failed save vs AoE, wand then failed as well), nearly killing herself and kissing goodbye the 60K g.p. she had just sunk into acquiring the thing.