ZSutherland
First Post
Necessary Controller Abilities
We’ve heard a surprising amount about the 4e wizard in the last few weeks, such as the removal of wish, but the most interesting tidbit to me is the confirmation that the class will fill the arcane controller (and likely only PHB I controller) role. I’ve been mulling that over along with the other things we’ve been hearing about other roles and how they will likely play out, and I come up with some pretty specific opinions about what I think the wizard will need to fill that role properly within the context of an adventuring party and as a potentially adversarial NPC. I’ve also come up with some things that need to be avoided. I wonder what peoples opinions are on these notions, and if anyone has any to add.
1. Persistent effects – While it’s pretty clear from some of the play-test reports that the wizard is retaining at least some of his instantaneous blasting potential, I think that to adequately act as a controller, wizards should have access to a variety of multi-round duration effects at any given level. Most of the 3e arcane control spells fit this requirement pretty well as is, but a couple jump out at me as problematic, especially at first level. Summon Monster I seems like the worst offender. You spend a full round just begging someone to pop you while you cast, just to get a weak, extra ally for one round. Except in very rare circumstances, I would think the best you could get out of this at level 1 is to set-up a 1 round flank for the party rogue so he can get SA. That’s not persistent, and it doesn’t do much to control the battle. At higher levels, the SM spells work better, but they’re still sub-par in my mind.
2. Priority shift effects vs. Option reduction effects – Keeping in mind that these abilities could potentially be used against the PCs and that part of the DM’s fun is playing his half of the combat well, I think WotC should focus on effects that shift the targets priorities rather than limit or remove options. In 3.5, I see Baleful Polymorph, and any spell with an incapacitating effect (sleep, Power Word Stun, etc.) as strong examples of the sorts of spells to avoid. Certainly, those are control effects that can dramatically affect the encounter, but they’re not much fun when applied to players, and can seriously suck the fun out of an encounter for the DM, too. Slow is a middle of the road spell. It doesn’t completely take the target out of the encounter, but it certainly limits their options from round to round. Mirror Image, on the other hand, is a great priority shift spell. It forces the attacker to consider that while the caster may be the most important target overall, the spell effect may result in a wasted turn which could have been better spent in other ways. Imagine a spell that says “For X rounds, each time the target makes an attack roll that results in damage, it takes half the damage it deals (rounded down).” This doesn’t actually limit the targets actions at all, but whomever controls it may re-evaluate how he wants to spend the next X rounds.
3. Force the caster to make smart choices – Part of the fun, to me, of playing a wizard (rather than a sorcerer) has always been the challenge of choosing my spells each day. It involved smart projections about what was likely to happen that day, making a plan for how to deal with those events, and planning some contingency spells in case my projection or plan was flawed. With the introduction of per-encounter abilities for the class (which I’m fine with), I want to avoid the “use your best ability first and then march down the line” style of play. Make sure to write the abilities so that I have to think about which ones to use, in what order, and who to target with them if I want to optimize my results.
Any one else have any they’d like to add (or subtract, or change)? Wizard’s always been my favorite class, even if I do rarely get to play instead of DM, so I’m very interested in where they go with the class.
We’ve heard a surprising amount about the 4e wizard in the last few weeks, such as the removal of wish, but the most interesting tidbit to me is the confirmation that the class will fill the arcane controller (and likely only PHB I controller) role. I’ve been mulling that over along with the other things we’ve been hearing about other roles and how they will likely play out, and I come up with some pretty specific opinions about what I think the wizard will need to fill that role properly within the context of an adventuring party and as a potentially adversarial NPC. I’ve also come up with some things that need to be avoided. I wonder what peoples opinions are on these notions, and if anyone has any to add.
1. Persistent effects – While it’s pretty clear from some of the play-test reports that the wizard is retaining at least some of his instantaneous blasting potential, I think that to adequately act as a controller, wizards should have access to a variety of multi-round duration effects at any given level. Most of the 3e arcane control spells fit this requirement pretty well as is, but a couple jump out at me as problematic, especially at first level. Summon Monster I seems like the worst offender. You spend a full round just begging someone to pop you while you cast, just to get a weak, extra ally for one round. Except in very rare circumstances, I would think the best you could get out of this at level 1 is to set-up a 1 round flank for the party rogue so he can get SA. That’s not persistent, and it doesn’t do much to control the battle. At higher levels, the SM spells work better, but they’re still sub-par in my mind.
2. Priority shift effects vs. Option reduction effects – Keeping in mind that these abilities could potentially be used against the PCs and that part of the DM’s fun is playing his half of the combat well, I think WotC should focus on effects that shift the targets priorities rather than limit or remove options. In 3.5, I see Baleful Polymorph, and any spell with an incapacitating effect (sleep, Power Word Stun, etc.) as strong examples of the sorts of spells to avoid. Certainly, those are control effects that can dramatically affect the encounter, but they’re not much fun when applied to players, and can seriously suck the fun out of an encounter for the DM, too. Slow is a middle of the road spell. It doesn’t completely take the target out of the encounter, but it certainly limits their options from round to round. Mirror Image, on the other hand, is a great priority shift spell. It forces the attacker to consider that while the caster may be the most important target overall, the spell effect may result in a wasted turn which could have been better spent in other ways. Imagine a spell that says “For X rounds, each time the target makes an attack roll that results in damage, it takes half the damage it deals (rounded down).” This doesn’t actually limit the targets actions at all, but whomever controls it may re-evaluate how he wants to spend the next X rounds.
3. Force the caster to make smart choices – Part of the fun, to me, of playing a wizard (rather than a sorcerer) has always been the challenge of choosing my spells each day. It involved smart projections about what was likely to happen that day, making a plan for how to deal with those events, and planning some contingency spells in case my projection or plan was flawed. With the introduction of per-encounter abilities for the class (which I’m fine with), I want to avoid the “use your best ability first and then march down the line” style of play. Make sure to write the abilities so that I have to think about which ones to use, in what order, and who to target with them if I want to optimize my results.
Any one else have any they’d like to add (or subtract, or change)? Wizard’s always been my favorite class, even if I do rarely get to play instead of DM, so I’m very interested in where they go with the class.
The controller just needs a big varied list of spells/effects to do everything he can immagine 
