D&D 5E I can haz WILD MAGE and the first DRAGONBORN art?

[the Jester]

Oh dear...

And the Wild Surge table is *always, always* trite. If I were going to allow it-- and I'm not-- I would like at least 10,000 different results. For the level of quality evident in the results previewed, I think a crowd-sourced internet database would be just fine.

Dragon #147 has 4 random result charts. Originally for the wand of wonder, but can be repurposed for wild surges.

I'm pretty sure there will be some alternate Wild Surge tables in no time. Once Dragon articles come back and other interested parties emerge, a bunch of alternate Wild Surge tables are sure to come out. After all there needs to be something like: "An enraged giraffe bursts out of the ground carried by a mob of purple monkeys..."

For you Chaos-lovers, and forgive me if you've seen this before, I present my insane Chaos effect charts: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?20108-chaos-generator

It isn't quite a wild surge chart, as it assumes a single creature is gaining a... actually, gaining or losing... well, is being affected in some way.

BEWARE!! These charts require that you generate a number from 1 to 500 to start with, with the possibility of rolling on one or more of 25 subtables, including the Leg Replacements subtable, the Radom Battlecries subtable and the infamous Chaos Babies subtable.

Also, there are several references to a "d34". That is a real die, and I have possession of one that a friend loaned me long-term some years back because I made some d34 subtables just so there would be a need to use it once in a while.

There is a 4e conversion done by [MENTION=9327]Halivar[/MENTION] over here, and in that thread I clarify what the term "semiclone" means.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

I had some more thoughts, and it sounds like some others were coming up with similar ideas. But here is my take on it.

During character creation I'll let each wild mage player choose how he wants me to call for wild surge rolls for his character. The three most basic options will be:

One Wild and Crazy Guy: "The DM can" means the DM always does. For the player who wants to maximize his chaotic potential.
Not That Kind of Sorcerer: "The DM can" means the DM never does. For those who aren't really interested in wild magic, but also aren't interested in turning into a dragon, so they can fluff whatever sorcerous origin they like.
The Vagaries of Fate: "The DM can" means that it happens 50% of the time (rolled randomly). This will be my default. It makes surges less often than always rolling for them, and makes Tides of Chaos more unpredictable.

In addition, more custom options are available, such as the DM arbitrarily deciding based on agreed upon considerations, or using a percentage other than 50%.

As far as I can tell all of these are balanced and RAW (and even RAI). However, I still hope the book suggests this sort of thing so we immediately know they had it in mind when they were writing it.

 

[the Jester]

During character creation I'll let each wild mage player choose how he wants me to call for wild surge rolls for his character. The three most basic options will be:

One Wild and Crazy Guy: "The DM can" means the DM always does. For the player who wants to maximize his chaotic potential.
Not That Kind of Sorcerer: "The DM can" means the DM never does. For those who aren't really interested in wild magic, but also aren't interested in turning into a dragon, so they can fluff whatever sorcerous origin they like.
The Vagaries of Fate: "The DM can" means that it happens 50% of the time (rolled randomly). This will be my default. It makes surges less often than always rolling for them, and makes Tides of Chaos more unpredictable.

In addition, more custom options are available, such as the DM arbitrarily deciding based on agreed upon considerations, or using a percentage other than 50%.

That is awesome, and highly accommodating.

 

[Zaran]

Anyone think the level 18 ability is kind of lame? So if I cast an 8d6 damage fireball and I get a 6 , I get an extra d6. Hold me in case I pass out from the awesomeness!

 

[jadrax]

Anyone think the level 18 ability is kind of lame? So if I cast an 8d6 damage fireball and I get a 6 , I get an extra d6. Hold me in case I pass out from the awesomeness!

All the Class Abilities/Feats that add damage to spells do all seem a bit on the conservative side so far. I suspect it is more caster balancing.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Anyone think the level 18 ability is kind of lame? So if I cast an 8d6 damage fireball and I get a 6 , I get an extra d6. Hold me in case I pass out from the awesomeness!

It's potentially extra damage with every spell. Less beneficial on the spells with lots of d6's, but with d8s and d10s it could be helpful. With cantrips at that level there's a very good chance it'll come up often too.

 

[evilbob]

Any chance that one of my fellow party members kills us all is too high of a chance.

Yeah, that's kind of my take, too. I mean: I know people love this stuff, and that's awesome; it's just not so much for me. A 2% chance (not sure why anyone was saying lower than 2%) any time you cast (and the GM feels like it) that you can kill yourself - or worse, the party - is just a little too random, in my book. (Of course, once you start to gain a few levels this will go from being instant-death to just a huge disadvantage.) Some of the positive ones are great and some of the neutral ones are funny (a charm-based sorcerer should probably not be a wild mage) but the chance to end the game for the whole group is just a little too much "why is this player stopping fun for everyone" for me.

Maybe it should just be replaced with casting some sort of petrify on the character, and also the player is not allowed to speak while their character is petrified. That would be WAY better.

 

[steeldragons]

Maybe it should just be replaced with casting some sort of petrify on the character, and also the player is not allowed to speak while their character is petrified. That would be WAY better.

Not to call you out, specifically, but the similar sentiment being repeated here by several posters is starting to get on my nerves...
"Yes. I want to make a character who's entire basis is access to huge unpredictable power...But I want it with completely predictable outcomes that don't at all infringe on my having cake and eating it too."

For those that don't like it (individuals or entire groups/tables alike) DON'T PLAY A WILD MAGIC SORCERER! [or -if you are DM- allow them at your table or everyone agree among your group "we just won't do/use this"]

Easy as that.

 

[Mistwell]

Yeah, that's kind of my take, too. I mean: I know people love this stuff, and that's awesome; it's just not so much for me. A 2% chance (not sure why anyone was saying lower than 2%) any time you cast (and the GM feels like it) that you can kill yourself - or worse, the party - is just a little too random, in my book.

If you're not sure why people said it was less than 2%, here is the calculation. First, you need to roll a 1 on a d20. So that's a 5% chance. If you don't roll a 1, you don't trigger a surge.

Next, if, and ONLY if, you triggered the surge, then you roll on the wild surge chart. On that chart, it's only a 2% chance of rolling that fireball.

So it's 5% x 2% = extremely small chance of triggering it (I think it is 0.1% chance, though others have said lower than that).

Now if you meant the Tides of Chaos ability - the DM can only use it if the sorcerer has already spent his roll. So, it's probably not very common, and it's definitely not every spell you cast.

 

[tuxgeo]

5% as a pure number is 0.05.
2% as a pure number is 0.02.

Multiplied together, you get 0.0001.

Converting that back to %, it's 0.01%: One-Hundredth of a Percent.

Edit to correct:
Multiplied together, you get 0.001. That's a thousandth, not a ten-thousandth.
Converting that back to %, it's 0.1%: One-Tenth of a Percent.

(Mistwell, the guy posting above me, had it right. Darned EN World won't let me MENTION Mistwell.)