d20M - maximise?

[Plane Sailing]

OK, the magic user advanced class gets as his 10th level class feature the ability to prepare a "maximised" version of a spell... So what ones can he do? Let's just have a little look at the spell list for a moment...

His max spell level is 5, so he can only maximise 1st and 2nd level spells. That gives him, lets see, magic missile and sleep? No 2nd level spells that could be affected, can't affect 3rd level spells...

What is the plan here? Why are they given such a functionally useless ability as their 10th level class ability? Empower would have been a much more reasonable choice, surely - at least you could perpare a couple of empowered 3rd level spells. Being able to reliably sleep 2x 4HD creatures when you are 15th level doesn't seem particularly useful, and 25 points of magic missile damage is a bit ho-hum.

What am I missing here?

Regards

 

[Psychotic Dreamer]

It was probably given in preperation for a PrC. Since that is the next step after a Advanced Class. Granted there are none in the core D20 Modern book, but thats neither here nor there, I suppose. Just my random guess.

 

[Plane Sailing]

d20M - improvised weapons curiousity

oops - hit reply instead of new thread!

 

[Plane Sailing]

It was probably given in preperation for a PrC. Since that is the next step after a Advanced Class. Granted there are none in the core D20 Modern book, but thats neither here nor there, I suppose. Just my random guess.

Ummm, I hope that's not the reason, since that sounds extra-cheesy... It still looks like a purely bad design decision to me. I've posted the same question on the Wizards boards to see if Charles Ryan has a clarification

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

It still looks like a purely bad design decision to me.

I do generally trust Charles, so please let me know his answer. Because it also seems to me like they just ran out of steam at the end and threw something in there.

Even a CHOICE of metamagic feats would have been better.

I wasn't real happy to see Improved Critical relegated to an advanced talent either...


Wulf

 

[Plane Sailing]

No answer from Charles yet. I'm sure that there must be a rationale, but I can't spot it yet. With the "bulls str" and equivalent spells giving a flat rate +5 you don't even have that as a possible candidate for maximising!

I agree that some kind of choice or *something* might have been better.

I'll let you know if I hear anything back.

Cheers

 

[Trainz]

No answer from Charles yet. I'm sure that there must be a rationale, but I can't spot it yet. With the "bulls str" and equivalent spells giving a flat rate +5 you don't even have that as a possible candidate for maximising!

Here is how I intend to house-rule it:

All those abilities for casters (like maximise) can only be used once per day each, but do not cost higher spell slots.

This way, it WOULD be a useful ability (it has to be the best too, only accessible at 10th level of the class, like Critical Strike for Soldier).

 

[Plane Sailing]

Here is Charles' reponse from the WotC boards

The magic system in the d20 Modern core book is the bare-bones center of what we'd like it to become. There will be additional spells, as well as the ability to increase caster level above 10th, in Urban Arcana and other products.

It's an unfortunate side effect of having to cram an entire game into 384 pages that some class abilities will not be as flexible as we ultimately envision them.

Hope that sheds some light on it!

--------------------
Charles Ryan
Editor, RPG R&D
Wizards of the Coast

I don't find it entirely satisfactory - basically saying "yes, we gave them a 10th level ability which is worthless at the moment but in a future product there will be other classes and stuff so you can have higher caster levels and make use of it".

I don't suppose its a big deal since I won't be using the urban arcana setting anyway; I was really after an answer for my sense of completeness.

Cheers