magic missle house rules?
- Thread starter dema
- Start date
jgsugden
Legend
The big problems with this spell are that it never misses, it does force damage that typically can not be resisted and that it does too much damage for a 1st level spell when the wizard gets up in levels. These problems, however, were considered when the spell was put into 3.0. The fact that it is too strong is a 'perk' of the spellcasting classes.
They assume that wizards and sorcerers will throw a bunch of these around over a few combats. If arcane spellcasters have to resort to weaker spells, they become weaker classes.
That being said, I used to try to weaken the spell before I understood its place. Here are some things I tried at various times.
1.) Regardless of caster level, the spell fires 3 1d6 force missiles that never miss.
2.) The spell fires 1 d6 electric ray attack. At every other level, the number of rays increases by one until there are 5 rays at 5th level.
3.) The spell summons and fires 1 +1 arrow that attacks using normal arrow attack rules (d8+1 damage). At every other level, the number of arrows increases by one until there are 5 arrows at 5th level.
They assume that wizards and sorcerers will throw a bunch of these around over a few combats. If arcane spellcasters have to resort to weaker spells, they become weaker classes.
That being said, I used to try to weaken the spell before I understood its place. Here are some things I tried at various times.
1.) Regardless of caster level, the spell fires 3 1d6 force missiles that never miss.
2.) The spell fires 1 d6 electric ray attack. At every other level, the number of rays increases by one until there are 5 rays at 5th level.
3.) The spell summons and fires 1 +1 arrow that attacks using normal arrow attack rules (d8+1 damage). At every other level, the number of arrows increases by one until there are 5 arrows at 5th level.
I never saw a problem with this spell. It caps out pretty early, and lets arcane casters have a cheap spell with some punch but it never really gets out of hand. Even maximized its only 25 pts of damage. So what if it never misses, not like they get that many of them and compared to what most melee can do in a round its not unbalanced.
Jeremy
Explorer
I have watched many a powerful opponent, creature, and even party member gunned down by these ignoble specks. On trick I saw was an incredible AC monk machine gunned when a avoral was summoned in one round, another in the next, and then magic missiles cast by all three casters the next. That was 4+8+13=25d4+25 unavoidable damage for the poor monk of which 8d4+8 was unlimited usage.
I've watched PC's get nickel'd and dime'd down to nothing with them round after round. And I've even seen powerful creatures brought to heel by a single round's bevy of 10-15 max'd missiles.
But in the end, its just kinda one of the things that makes D&D D&D.
I've watched PC's get nickel'd and dime'd down to nothing with them round after round. And I've even seen powerful creatures brought to heel by a single round's bevy of 10-15 max'd missiles.
But in the end, its just kinda one of the things that makes D&D D&D.
Lord Pendragon
First Post
Well, you are talking about two or three 4th-level spells there.Jeremy said:
I've never found Magic Missile to be too powerful. Yes, it's stronger than other 1st-level spells, but it's also the wizard's bread and butter.
Hypersmurf
Moderatarrrrh...
Jeremy said:
So a monk was brought down by a caster who used two seventh level spells to summon creatures with at-will spell-like abilities?
And this says... what, exactly, about a 1st level spell?
Given that one seventh level spell could have been the no-save, no-SR Forcecage instead...
-Hyp.
jgsugden
Legend
Probably.dcollins said:
One issue with this spell, is that it is the only core attack spell at level 1 that is worth quickening. A 13th level caster (or so) that has a few quickened MMs gets a huge advantage. You get about 17.5 points of damage that you can split up into subgroups and split amongst various enemies after you cast your main spell.
As a side note, this spell can be used by a low level character to deal damage to an epic level foe. I almost killed a party when I had an NPC wizard with the leadership feat instruct all his follower apprentice wizards to keep 1 magic missile spell prepared at all times in case of an attack. When I realized that the wizard's apprentices could deal an average of 637 damage in a round - with no chance of missing - to any PC without a shield spell or spell resistance, I was dumbfounded. The 4 PC party of 19th level adventurers had fewer than that number of hit points in total! The monk with SR would have survived ... and perhaps the wizard, but the rogue and fighter would have died with no chance of survival.
Nifft
Penguin Herder
My analysis is that it's balanced up to level 5. By lagging behind Burning Hands and Shocking Grasp in raw damage potential, it's perfectly balanced. The problem comes in at levels 7 & 9, when it starts to out-damage other 1st level spells.
So, my solution is to cap damage at 5th level (3d4+3), instead of at 5 dice.
My PCs are up to level 8, and they're still using Shocking Grasp some of the time. Also, when a high-level Necromancer hit them with some Quickened Magic Missiles, it wasn't overpowering. Thus, I consider it a successful House Rule.
-- N
So, my solution is to cap damage at 5th level (3d4+3), instead of at 5 dice.
My PCs are up to level 8, and they're still using Shocking Grasp some of the time. Also, when a high-level Necromancer hit them with some Quickened Magic Missiles, it wasn't overpowering. Thus, I consider it a successful House Rule.
-- N
Spatzimaus
First Post
Once upon a time, a thread like this came up on this board (I know, you're shocked), and someone made a great suggestion, which I've since swiped for my own use.
Basically the problem was this: Magic Missile is a great spell, because it's simply raw damage with no drawbacks. Almost nothing can stop it, and the damage is respectable even at higher levels (3.5 per missile, up to 5 missiles per volley). Not enough to bring down the bad guy by itself, but enough to make a difference.
The suggestion was, reduce the damage but compensate in other ways. For example, drop the damage to 1d3 (average 2), just over half the old damage, but have Magic Missile act as "continuing damage" for the purposes of Concentration checks. That is, any spell cast in the next round requires a successful Concentration check with DC 10 + (half of the MM damage taken); obviously, the more missiles you use on each target the more likely you'll interrupt.
There. You still have an auto-hit unstoppable damage source for when you really need it, but the damage is low enough that it's not a good primary attack form. On the other hand, it now has a great anti-caster secondary effect that keeps the spell useful at high levels.
(If you add higher-level versions, have them do the same; a DC of 11-15 may not seem that bad, but when it gets into the 20s and 30s it gets rough).
Basically the problem was this: Magic Missile is a great spell, because it's simply raw damage with no drawbacks. Almost nothing can stop it, and the damage is respectable even at higher levels (3.5 per missile, up to 5 missiles per volley). Not enough to bring down the bad guy by itself, but enough to make a difference.
The suggestion was, reduce the damage but compensate in other ways. For example, drop the damage to 1d3 (average 2), just over half the old damage, but have Magic Missile act as "continuing damage" for the purposes of Concentration checks. That is, any spell cast in the next round requires a successful Concentration check with DC 10 + (half of the MM damage taken); obviously, the more missiles you use on each target the more likely you'll interrupt.
There. You still have an auto-hit unstoppable damage source for when you really need it, but the damage is low enough that it's not a good primary attack form. On the other hand, it now has a great anti-caster secondary effect that keeps the spell useful at high levels.
(If you add higher-level versions, have them do the same; a DC of 11-15 may not seem that bad, but when it gets into the 20s and 30s it gets rough).
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