D&D General Why Do You Think Wizards Are Boring?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I think a lot of these problems would be solved by going to Dungeon Crawl Classics but what do I know??

That depends on how many corruption rolls you've made.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I think a lot of these problems would be solved by going to Dungeon Crawl Classics but what do I know??

While I have a great deal of respect for some of the creative design that went into DCC, I am simply not interested in the extensive and deeply-rooted old-school design elements that playing DCC would enforce. Race as class, for example, is a hard no for me, other than as a one-off experiment to say I actually tried something. (Which, to be clear, I did actually do in someone's Labyrinth Lord game.) And I am given to understand there are many more elements of DCC that would be equally "hard no" impediments.

It's a bit like saying that all the issues I've had with an MMO I'm playing would be solved if I just terminated my subscription and went back to playing easily-modified single-player games. I'd rather not throw out the baby, though, and instead hold out hope for some clean water!

 

[Vaalingrade]

I think a lot of these problems would be solved by going to Dungeon Crawl Classics but what do I know??

And let a whole new wave of problems wash o'er the land!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

And let a whole new wave of problems wash o'er the land!

Broken feet when the rulebook falls off the table, for starters.

 

[Tonguez]

Although I disagree on the particulars, I like the idea of giving wizards a smaller core spell list and moving a lot of their other spells to subclass features. (And for the folks who balk at that, there could be a generalist subclass that just gives a lot of additional spell choices, but few or no other subclass abilities.)

I like the magic system in Beyond the Wall with its split between
no-damage Cantrips, low level Spells per day and powerful Rituals, skill based with chance of backfires

 

[Aldarc]

Having too many classes is part of the problem. A lot of the cool flavor that wizards have in fiction resides in 5E with the warlock and, to a lesser extent, the sorcerer.

If there was one arcane magic user class, they could be using metamagic, making deals with strange entities for forbidden knowledge and so on. As it is, rolling any of that back to the wizard would screw over those other classes. And merging the three classes together -- even if all three playstyles still existed inside the new class -- would lead to outrage that make the loss of the warlord and pure psionics classes seem like an afterthought.

I'm not sure if this is the approach that I would take - and there are a handful of different ones that I would consider - but I do think that, overall, the classes could use a reshuffle across the board.

One complaint that I would contribute this thread is that I find that the actual mechanics for a lot of spellcasters to be kinda bland. Like you say that the cool flavor resides in the warlock. I say that the warlock honestly doesn't mechanically feel like its flavor would suggest. I would want to play a warlock that actually summons angels, demons, fey, spirits, and otherworldly beings through rituals to bargain for favors as an active part of play and not just some off-screen thing that everyone handwaves.

 

[Incenjucar]

Incidentally, I'd be much more on board with cantrips if they were something you burned a spell slot for. Being able to turn any spell into eldritch fire or something because you are a true master of flame sounds rad, and still gives you a reason to carry a weapon.

 

[MichaelSomething]

While I have a great deal of respect for some of the creative design that went into DCC, I am simply not interested in the extensive and deeply-rooted old-school design elements that playing DCC would enforce. Race as class, for example, is a hard no for me, other than as a one-off experiment to say I actually tried something. (Which, to be clear, I did actually do in someone's Labyrinth Lord game.) And I am given to understand there are many more elements of DCC that would be equally "hard no" impediments.

It's a bit like saying that all the issues I've had with an MMO I'm playing would be solved if I just terminated my subscription and went back to playing easily-modified single-player games. I'd rather not throw out the baby, though, and instead hold out hope for some clean water!

I think you could import the DDC wizard and magic right into your 5E game. Best of both worlds!

 

[jmartkdr2]

Incidentally, I'd be much more on board with cantrips if they were something you burned a spell slot for. Being able to turn any spell into eldritch fire or something because you are a true master of flame sounds rad, and still gives you a reason to carry a weapon.

13th Age had an interesting way to handle this: a cantrip takes one of your preparation slots, but once prepared can be cast any number of times. So you could prep all cantrips and have a variety of at-will options, or no cantrips and throw darts when a spell isn't called for, or some level of balance in between.

 

[Incenjucar]

13th Age had an interesting way to handle this: a cantrip takes one of your preparation slots, but once prepared can be cast any number of times. So you could prep all cantrips and have a variety of at-will options, or no cantrips and throw darts when a spell isn't called for, or some level of balance in between.

This is good, too, and how I look at warlock invocations.