D&D General I'm a Fighter, not a Lover: Why the 1e Fighter was so Awesome

[Zardnaar]

If you think Spirit Guardians is bad you should try Yolanda!

Conjure celestial

 

[mixmastashizz]

It is not as good as you think. If I remember correctly it was randomly generated .... so you could get to level 5 and pick up Feign Death instead of Fireball.

The starting spells are randomly generated, nothing I've read in the DMG suggests the follow on level up spells need to be random.

It  does need to be on their list of known spells, so random chance comes in with the percentile roll to know it to copy it in the spell book. So while you can choose fireball, if you failed the percentile roll when going through the list of level 3 spells, then you'd have to pick something else.

Ive personally let the PC pick the spell without penalty or chance to miss it so they have some control and just count it towards their min/max for the spell level

 

[Voadam]

The starting spells are randomly generated, nothing I've read in the DMG suggests the follow on level up spells need to be random.

It  does need to be on their list of known spells, so random chance comes in with the percentile roll to know it to copy it in the spell book. So while you can choose fireball, if you failed the percentile roll when going through the list of level 3 spells, then you'd have to pick something else.

Ive personally let the PC pick the spell without penalty or chance to miss it so they have some control and just count it towards their min/max for the spell level

I don't think it specifies one way or the other or give anything that would suggest one way or the other.

I believe a DM has to decide whether it makes more sense for their game either narratively or for game flow purposes which works better for them, to have mages taught by their training mentor picking from anything on any spell MU spell list in the campaign, or to get taught something from their mentor, or to do out the NPC mentor's spell book and have the PC choose or to roll randomly from that list. If you are not using training then do the same considerations for the character's level up spell research, is it completely directed and they choose or is it experimental and they see what they get.

I ran it as random. I remember the MU in my long term campaign getting Sepia Snake Sigil as his first 3rd level spell. He got fireball and fly from an enemy's spellbook soon enough.

 

[Lanefan]

The starting spells are randomly generated, nothing I've read in the DMG suggests the follow on level up spells need to be random.

It  does need to be on their list of known spells, so random chance comes in with the percentile roll to know it to copy it in the spell book. So while you can choose fireball, if you failed the percentile roll when going through the list of level 3 spells, then you'd have to pick something else.

I do the percentile roll when they first try to learn each individual spell (except for those given by training), rather than go through the whole list when they reach that spell level.

Thus, if you're a 6th level MU but have never tried to learn Identify before, you'd have never rolled d% for it until now, when you roll d% on trying to learn it from a scroll or whatever.

Ive personally let the PC pick the spell without penalty or chance to miss it so they have some control and just count it towards their min/max for the spell level

With rare exceptions I roll training-granted spells randomly, on the rationale "that's what your trainer decided to teach you". If and when you get to the point of self-training, you get a bit more choice in the matter.

 

[Maxperson]

I do the percentile roll when they first try to learn each individual spell (except for those given by training), rather than go through the whole list when they reach that spell level.

Thus, if you're a 6th level MU but have never tried to learn Identify before, you'd have never rolled d% for it until now, when you roll d% on trying to learn it from a scroll or whatever.

Yeah. The roll was when the wizard tried to learn it in the game I ran and played in.

With rare exceptions I roll training-granted spells randomly, on the rationale "that's what your trainer decided to teach you". If and when you get to the point of self-training, you get a bit more choice in the matter.

When I used training in my games, and we did eventually stop using it, I did a mix. I determined the trainers spells known, and the PC wizard could select spells from that list to try and learn. It wasn't completely random, but it also didn't allow the player to have his PC try for any spell of that level that he felt like trying to learn.

 

[EthanSental]

Just reading the first post and knowing that for 6 levels I get to swing once in combat as a fighter and I can’t go back to that type game other than a 1 or 2 shot session and play a fighter.

 

[Azzy]

Just reading the first post and knowing that for 6 levels I get to swing once in combat as a fighter and I can’t go back to that type game other than a 1 or 2 shot session and play a fighter.

I get you. All of these threads about 1e have served to remind me why I can't go back to it.

 

[kermit4karate]

I get you. All of these threads about 1e have served to remind me why I can't go back to it.

It's definitely a different vibe, a lot less comic book Asgardian and a lot more Dragonslayer.

 

[Mannahnin]

It's definitely a different vibe, a lot less comic book Asgardian and a lot more Dragonslayer.

Kind of depends. By the mid levels you're typically carrying a lot more magic items than a comic book Asgardian.

 

[Voadam]

Kind of depends. By the mid levels you're typically carrying a lot more magic items than a comic book Asgardian.

Yeah, no magic rings in sight on fantasy Errol Flynn, Falstaff and Charles Bronson.