New Design: Wizards...

[Elphilm]

Videogames for the win!

 

[Elphilm]

Oh, and did anyone catch this:

Tomes are also often important for spells of teleportation, summoning, shapechanging, and a few physical enhancement effects.

The text specifies physical enhancements; does that mean no mental enhancement spells like Fox's Cunning? If so, it kind of reminds me of AD&D where you only had the Strength spell...

Or am I reading too much into it?

 

[Plane Sailing]

First up, I think this is great.

Back in 1e I had a campaign were I'd ditched material components, but all wizards as part of their apprenticeship created a focus - either a staff, a wand, an amulet or a ring - which was virtually indestructible and had to be available to cast any spell with a material component. If it was lost or stolen you could only cast spells without Material components until you found it and retrieved it (you could never create a new one).

No prizes for spotting the inspiration there!

I really like this change, it seems to me that it is removing a pointless vulnerability which wizards have always had (the spellbook - which (a) doesn't fit in with almost all fantasy wizards outside of D&Dland and (b) is such a horrific vulnerability that DMs can't take advantage of it without utterly screwing the wizard over, so it doesn't ever actually get stolen or burnt up.)

The only one that stands out as a little strange to me is the Tome, because I find it more difficult to see that being used in the midst of battle.

 

[Plane Sailing]

One bit of the flavour text that could be problematic is this

This arcane energy source is difficult to understand and even tougher to master. Those who do so through years of study, practice, and apprenticeship to accomplished masters are called wizards.

So what happens when someone wants to multiclass into a wizard then? Do you throw away the flavour text in those circumstances, or require someone multiclassing into a wizard to go off and spend some time with an accomplished master or what?

 

[Maggan]

Videogames for the win!

Care to elaborate, cause I'm not seeing the "videogame" in this.

/M

 

[Simia Saturnalia]

Arcane strikes, power words, and spells.

Anyone think those are the names for the at will/per encounter/per day abilities?

My theory is that the sentence is specifically constructed that way. "They call upon arcane strikes, power words, and spells to unleash raging torrents of cold, fire, or lighting, confuse and enthrall the weak-minded, or even turn invisible or walk through walls." Arcane strikes for blasting, power words for more specifically 'control' effects, and spells for utility, perhaps?

But I definitely like this. The shape of focus objects is easy to change, or even their effects, as the Mouse suggests, and it's full of flavor.

You're a smart man, Ari.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Moderator/
Don't let this thread get distracted by 'videogame' discussions, thanks.

 

[AllisterH]

One bit of the flavour text that could be problematic is this



So what happens when someone wants to multiclass into a wizard then? Do you throw away the flavour text in those circumstances, or require someone multiclassing into a wizard to go off and spend some time with an accomplished master or what?

I would assume the same thing that has been done since 3.x multiclassing and AD&D's dualclassing. Handwave it away or say that "During the non-adventuring time, the fighter Piel has been studying the textbooks/scrolls of his wizard friend Regal" or "During the non-adventuring time, Regal has completed his training that he had started a few years earlier".

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Well it does change the wizard, I always saw the more traditional wizards carrying wands and staffs. But I already think it's just too narrow to have only those four as implements.

And I can see that the first thing out of the gate, after PHB1 would be alternate implements for wizards. Because I'd like the ideas for athames and chalices for wizard implements over some staffs and orbs.

For other wizards based on non-western cultures, I could see a juju bag or bones being used as implements, though many other things are generally the equivalent of a wand, staff, orb or tome anyways.

 

[Li Shenron]

Weird idea...

I don't dislike it, but I'd prefer much more if these orb-staff-wand-tome wizardry tools were totally optional. And I don't mean optional in the sense "can choose which one to have" but instead "can choose also to have none, and be equally effective".