Yes. To me magic missile is not really Cantrip material due to the auto hit. I would much rather it be returned to being a level one spell and something else be made the cantrip, say Lesser Acid Orb for example.
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At-Will Magic and Arrows
- Thread starter Campbell
- Start date
Yes. To me magic missile is not really Cantrip material due to the auto hit. I would much rather it be returned to being a level one spell and something else be made the cantrip, say Lesser Acid Orb for example.
Doug McCrae
Legend
Yes. It's quite weird that D&D's core rules - class, level, hit points, alignment, combat, saving throws - are so abstract, while other aspects of the game - money, ammunition, equipment, encumbrance, experience points, distance measurements - are tracked to the nearest copper piece, or foot.
I'm planning to run an old school D&D game, and these issues are troubling me. There really need to be ways to track these values in less detail, particularly money, once the PCs become wealthy.
Raith5
Adventurer
Agree, or a simple firebolt spell. I also like the idea of Magic Missile as a first level spell having some more dramatic effect like pushing the target back or staggering them etc
Didn't d20 modern have abstract wealth rules?
Burning Wheel uses an abstract resources mechanic. And abstract gear - if its consumable, after the first use roll a d6: on a 1 you've run out.
Connorsrpg
Adventurer
Savage Worlds has a very basic ammo tracker for NPCs.
I found it too abstract or limited more to the point. I believe we added a level or two to it.
I also came up with House Rules for a Savage Worlds Conversion of Star Wars, where ammo/power packs ran out based on the roll of the die (and whether or not you were fully auto, semi auto or normal shooting).
I could see an easy adaptation for DnD, but is tracking arrows that big of a deal? I guess it is for some, so why not simply go with you are out of arrows when you roll a '1'? Easy. (This could be applied by the quiver, but wouldn't really make sense if it happened early on would it? Hmm).
I found it too abstract or limited more to the point. I believe we added a level or two to it.
I also came up with House Rules for a Savage Worlds Conversion of Star Wars, where ammo/power packs ran out based on the roll of the die (and whether or not you were fully auto, semi auto or normal shooting).
I could see an easy adaptation for DnD, but is tracking arrows that big of a deal? I guess it is for some, so why not simply go with you are out of arrows when you roll a '1'? Easy. (This could be applied by the quiver, but wouldn't really make sense if it happened early on would it? Hmm).
Campbell
Relaxed Intensity
In the biweekly AD&D game I play in they do. Didn't really happen when I played or ran 3e.
Not as often as the Fighters run out of hit points, but occasionally.
Mercutio01
First Post
The even better question is if they run out of useful spells. I rarely see Vancian casters run out of spells completely, but they do frequently get to a point where their spells are not useful.Ahnehnois said:
As for the topic of the thread - yes, sometimes people run out of arrows (or daggers, or nearly any other consumable). Just like they run out of any consumable that is consumed. Does it happen often? No, but it happens.
I wouldn't mind an abstraction for ammunition provided it was done well, but I'd object to Gauntlet/Diablo-style neverending quivers.
CM
Adventurer
In regular high-fantasy D&D, my groups have never tracked food or mundane ammunition. It gets bought at first level and written on the character sheet, and never looked at again. I don't feel we're missing anything.
I also run a heavily modified 4e game in the Fallout: New Vegas setting where we track food and ammunition closely because that is an intrinsic feature of the post-apocalyptic theme. You should see the faces light up when they find a stash of rifle ammunition, or when the super-mutant gets some radscorpion to cook.
One key difference between the two is in Fallout, generally everybody carries at least two firearms (except the super-mutant berserker). If one person runs out of ammo they can switch weapons or borrow from another player. In regular D&D you're unlikely to have an entire party of archers, so ammunition is generally only an issue for one or two characters.
I also run a heavily modified 4e game in the Fallout: New Vegas setting where we track food and ammunition closely because that is an intrinsic feature of the post-apocalyptic theme. You should see the faces light up when they find a stash of rifle ammunition, or when the super-mutant gets some radscorpion to cook.
One key difference between the two is in Fallout, generally everybody carries at least two firearms (except the super-mutant berserker). If one person runs out of ammo they can switch weapons or borrow from another player. In regular D&D you're unlikely to have an entire party of archers, so ammunition is generally only an issue for one or two characters.
