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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Raven Crowking" data-source="post: 5511985" data-attributes="member: 18280">Nah, my best 1e magic-user had a 15 Intelligence.Once you got your starting spells (random ala the DMG), you were stuck learning what you could find.  If you topped out before you found the spells you wanted, too bad.  If you didn't learn the spells you found, then you could save the spots for the spells you wanted, but there was no guarantee of ever finding them.  And even if you found them, you might not be able to learn them.The method by which PCs were made could make a difference, sure.  I always allowed 4d6, subtract the lowest die, arrange as desired.  That's the method I allowed in 1e.  And in 2e.  And in 3e.  And in RCFG.  So you can tell it has resonance with me!The DM could make a real difference.  There is a world of difference between a well-run campaign and a mediocre one, and an even greater difference when one takes the possibility of a craptacular DM into the mix.Oh, yeah, and you didn't have the huge number of castings per day that you got in 3e, so most casters had to marshal their spell resources carefully, IME.  When I was playing a magic-user, the ability to give intelligent advice during exploration + whatever uncast spells I had left were always of greater value than whatever spells had already been cast.IOW, it wasn't what I had already done that I had to be prepared for, it was what was yet to come.  With wandering monsters and the potential for wilderness encounters en route home, it was always wise to have a few spells reserved.Which is another thing -- in 1e, a magic-user had to have access to his spellbooks to regain spells, and regaining spells took a loooonnnngggggg time.  The more spells you had, the longer it took.  The NPC wizard who was also exploring the dungeon probably didn't have his spellbook with him for the same reason you didn't -- carrying it around was foolish, and there was almost no chance to regain spells until you reached a base of operations anyway.The need for uninterrupted rest meant that a single wandering monster spelled doom for our spellslinger's recovery, too.  For the magic-user, that allotment of spells was most often what you had for the adventure.  If you were lucky, you could replenish some of your lower-level spells the next day.Counting on being able to do so was a good way to get yourself killed.RC</blockquote>

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