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<blockquote data-quote="Brother MacLaren" data-source="post: 1542828" data-attributes="member: 15999">Well, first of all, I think many games have the fighters swing their swords and try to kill things &quot;only when absolutely necessary.&quot;&nbsp; It just happens that life-and-death situations come up with considerable frequency in a D&amp;D game, so even with a tendency for restraint, mages would still turn to magic fairly often.&nbsp; And outside of combat, the wizard's great intellect and knowledge (plus the awe or fear he inspires in non-magic-users) should make him more useful than most fighters.&nbsp; See, I think a wizard should have *much* more than their spells.&nbsp; This game is much more than a CRPG, after all.&nbsp; If you're going to make magic less of an always-useful tool, then it is important to play up what wizards do have - knowledge.&nbsp; The role of a wizard is often just to know stuff, in cases where knowledge greatly increases the chance of survival (Gandalf finding out about the Ring; Tim the Enchanter knowing about the bunny).&nbsp; A campaign in which magic is less of a tool and more of a last resort should have plentiful opportunities for knowledge and spellcraft checks to resolve or shortcut problems, plus the occasional craft (alchemy).&nbsp; Give the wizards more skill points, and make the whole range of knowledge skills useful.&nbsp; Increase the use of non-magic counters to certain effects (gold crown protecting against mind control; line of salt protecting a house against incorporeal undead; gorgon's blood preventing teleportation; hammering iron nails into a warlock's footprints to injure him) so that wizards can do a lot more without actually casting spells.&nbsp; A wizard's reputation is also not a bad thing to have, especially in a game where magic is feared.It's a good point you raise, and it's important to adjust the game so that playing a mage is fun even when magic is rare, wondrous, and awe-inspiring.&nbsp; My solution would be to give the wizard more to do than just spellcasting.&nbsp; (And, as it happens, Midnight does the same.)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Brother MacLaren, post: 1542828, member: 15999"] Well, first of all, I think many games have the fighters swing their swords and try to kill things "only when absolutely necessary." It just happens that life-and-death situations come up with considerable frequency in a D&D game, so even with a tendency for restraint, mages would still turn to magic fairly often. And outside of combat, the wizard's great intellect and knowledge (plus the awe or fear he inspires in non-magic-users) should make him more useful than most fighters. See, I think a wizard should have *much* more than their spells. This game is much more than a CRPG, after all. If you're going to make magic less of an always-useful tool, then it is important to play up what wizards do have - knowledge. The role of a wizard is often just to know stuff, in cases where knowledge greatly increases the chance of survival (Gandalf finding out about the Ring; Tim the Enchanter knowing about the bunny). A campaign in which magic is less of a tool and more of a last resort should have plentiful opportunities for knowledge and spellcraft checks to resolve or shortcut problems, plus the occasional craft (alchemy). Give the wizards more skill points, and make the whole range of knowledge skills useful. Increase the use of non-magic counters to certain effects (gold crown protecting against mind control; line of salt protecting a house against incorporeal undead; gorgon's blood preventing teleportation; hammering iron nails into a warlock's footprints to injure him) so that wizards can do a lot more without actually casting spells. A wizard's reputation is also not a bad thing to have, especially in a game where magic is feared. It's a good point you raise, and it's important to adjust the game so that playing a mage is fun even when magic is rare, wondrous, and awe-inspiring. My solution would be to give the wizard more to do than just spellcasting. (And, as it happens, Midnight does the same.) [/QUOTE]

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