How Come There Is No "Wish" Spell?

[Nifft]

IMHO a wish should be a rare and magical thing -- not something that you can plan on casting 5/day once you hit level 17.

Maybe that was okay back when nobody ever hit level 17, but it's practical to run games at that level in 3.5e, so wish needs to be fixed.

Cheers, -- N

 

[hectorse]

I really think wish should be limited to rare epic artifacts, like aladdin's lamp or something like that. It's just not the type of spell I see every wizard preparing day in and day out.

There still exists the possibility of having "wish" like effects where players have to carefully word their commands, but I would rather have them as an adventure hook than a player's resource

 

[Drammattex]

I'd rather see a dozen powerful high level spells that accomplish specific effects than one multipurpose "bend reality" spell that can (supposedly) accomplish anything you can imagine, but really can't.

 

[Maggan]

Is anybody sad there's no "wish"? The ultimate spell, the most powerful thing you can cast, the expression of supreme power that every wizard aspires to is... gone?

I'll miss it. For about the minute it takes for me or someone else to write a new one ...

Seriously though, the Wish spell is one thing that makes me wax nostalgic about BECM D&D. That's the first time I encountered it, and it was way cool!

Haven't used the spell in twenty years or so, so it won't have any effect on my game.

/M

 

[Aloïsius]

of course I'm a little sad...

favoring mechanism over flavor... Some of the greatest moment I know of 2e was about those wishes : depending of the DM world, the alignment and divine patron of the character, the wording of the wish, anything could happen. A good DM was able to make those events realy greats.
In fact, wishes and this kind of stuff is one of the reason why there is a DM in the first place.

Anyway, I think creating the "wish" spell will not be that hard in 4e... House rules for the win !

 

[hectorse]

of course I'm a little sad...

favoring mechanism over flavor... Some of the greatest moment I know of 2e was about those wishes : depending of the DM world, the alignment and divine patron of the character, the wording of the wish, anything could happen. A good DM was able to make those events realy greats.
In fact, wishes and this kind of stuff is one of the reason why there is a DM in the first place.

Anyway, I think creating the "wish" spell will not be that hard in 4e... House rules for the win !

You know you can still have those moments with artifacts the DM creates? It's better that way I think.

Plus, the way it is now, it takes any mystery out of Wish. Prepare it like just another Fireball and you can shape Rreality. 5 times a week. Yeah, I know, XP, 5000 to high levels is next to nothing.

Compare it with breaking into the 40 thief's maw and stealing alladin's lamp to make a wish.

Plotwise, it's better

 

[Professor Phobos]

I imagine it will still be in the game, but as a plot device, not something you can just use all day long.

 

[Stormtalon]

Yep, count me in with those glad to see Wish gone as a spell, but hoping to see it as a very rare plot-device sort of reward attached to items or genies (or talking golden fish, or the severed hands of small arboreal primates or any of the other mythological sources for it).

IMO, it should never have been a concrete spell that mere mortals can research and cast simply with a bit of effort and personal cost.

 

[Baby Samurai]

I also forget to mention that in my 20 years of DMing, I have yet to cast, or have a player cast a wish.

 

[victorysaber]

Wow. Why so little love for Wish?

I understand the arguments, but still... Wish seemed like an unlimited exercise in power and creativity, to me at least. I can see how it can be used as a maximising tool, but still, was it really all that bad?