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Is D&D (WotC) flaming out?
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<blockquote data-quote="ProfessorCirno" data-source="post: 5419534" data-attributes="member: 65637"><p>I'll limit my response to two quotes <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue :p" data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>If magic is rare and powerful and beats everything, <strong>a PC should not have it</strong>.</p><p></p><p>Magic counters magic, certainly. But magic also counters steel. In fact, magic counters everything. The only thing that counters magic is <em>more magic</em>.</p><p></p><p>Incidentally, magic is beaten by the sword in basically <em>every source of literature or mythology ever</em>, so this idea of wizards being unkillable is utterly bizarre. The most common cause of death for wizards in Hyboria is due to Conan Threw a Chair at Him. Mouser and the Grey Fafner murdered about a billion wizards. Pretty much every mythological hero ever has a scene where they fight or wrestle some horrible supernatural creature and defeat it. The Bible has a dude wrestling <em>God</em> and holding his ground. The D&D wizard is utterly and completely alien as far as narrative function goes - he simply <em>doesn't exist</em>. You know that thread asking what makes D&D unique? The God Wizard does. He's something that exists nowhere else.</p><p></p><p>Narratively speaking wizards hold two roles - the Wise Old Sage, and the Deus Ex Machina. The problem with the D&D wizard is that he embodies the second, not the first - and the Deus Ex Machina <em>isn't a playable character</em>. It's the hand of Plot. It's you, the DM.</p><p></p><p>Imagine you got all set to play a cool game based vaguely on the Illiad and the Odyssey. You tell your players to make crafty, strong, valiant, and intelligent warriors. Their fights will be deadly, and they'll need to use their wits to escape from all manner of monsters and environments.</p><p></p><p>Then one guy says "Ok, but I call dibs on playing as Poseidon."</p><p></p><p>That's the D&D wizard</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I'm going to point something out here, though:</p><p></p><p><em>Everything listed here can be done by a wizard</em>.</p><p></p><p>Nothing that you listed is a fighter only thing. Or a barbarian or rogue only thing.</p><p></p><p>In the grand scheme of things, you have class abilities, and they're specialized. Then, you have non-spontanious casting, which can be specialized, or not, or it can be specialized towards one thing one day and another thing another day, and it can devour most class abilities.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ProfessorCirno, post: 5419534, member: 65637"] I'll limit my response to two quotes :p If magic is rare and powerful and beats everything, [B]a PC should not have it[/B]. Magic counters magic, certainly. But magic also counters steel. In fact, magic counters everything. The only thing that counters magic is [I]more magic[/I]. Incidentally, magic is beaten by the sword in basically [I]every source of literature or mythology ever[/I], so this idea of wizards being unkillable is utterly bizarre. The most common cause of death for wizards in Hyboria is due to Conan Threw a Chair at Him. Mouser and the Grey Fafner murdered about a billion wizards. Pretty much every mythological hero ever has a scene where they fight or wrestle some horrible supernatural creature and defeat it. The Bible has a dude wrestling [I]God[/I] and holding his ground. The D&D wizard is utterly and completely alien as far as narrative function goes - he simply [I]doesn't exist[/I]. You know that thread asking what makes D&D unique? The God Wizard does. He's something that exists nowhere else. Narratively speaking wizards hold two roles - the Wise Old Sage, and the Deus Ex Machina. The problem with the D&D wizard is that he embodies the second, not the first - and the Deus Ex Machina [I]isn't a playable character[/I]. It's the hand of Plot. It's you, the DM. Imagine you got all set to play a cool game based vaguely on the Illiad and the Odyssey. You tell your players to make crafty, strong, valiant, and intelligent warriors. Their fights will be deadly, and they'll need to use their wits to escape from all manner of monsters and environments. Then one guy says "Ok, but I call dibs on playing as Poseidon." That's the D&D wizard I'm going to point something out here, though: [I]Everything listed here can be done by a wizard[/I]. Nothing that you listed is a fighter only thing. Or a barbarian or rogue only thing. In the grand scheme of things, you have class abilities, and they're specialized. Then, you have non-spontanious casting, which can be specialized, or not, or it can be specialized towards one thing one day and another thing another day, and it can devour most class abilities. [/QUOTE]
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