D&D 5E (2024) Updated Expanded d100 Tables - Wild Surge, Wand of Wonder, etc

[Frankie1969]

Google Sheets - D&D 5F Expanded d100 Tables -
An overview:

• Cosmetic Surge effects are confined to a randomized sub-list in a single table cell (1/200).
• Where PHB 2024 has several "up to 3 creatures" surges, I turned them into "3 creatures" which makes them a mixed blessing depending on who's around you.
• A bunch of my surges scale based on the surging spell's level. If you prefer flat results regardless of tier, replace {slot level} with 4.
• Most of my random durations are exponential rather than linear. The narrowest range goes from 2 rounds to 30 minutes, the widest goes from 2 minutes to 2 years (that one is used sparingly).
• Calculations of random damage types, creature types, humanoid species, languages, magic types, and vibrant colors are now baked into cell formulas so they update the main sheets automatically.

If any of the effects seem too weak, too strong, or too boring, I welcome suggestions.

 

[Lanefan]

One thought on looking at the chart: as wild magic surges are supposed to be unpredictable and therefore uncontrollable, the targeting of the effects needs to be way more random. As it stands, the caster seems to get a fair bit of choice/control over where or on whom the surge effect manifests.

Were it me, I'd replace every instance of "a creature you choose" with "a random creature in the area", then add a footnote to mention that "'random creature' includes the caster, the target (if a creature), and anyone else in the room (or within x-feet distance if outdoors or if the room/cavern is very large)".

 

[Li Shenron]

It's a good idea. I always thought of the PHB table as a list of examples that were meant to be expanded by each DM.

If it's not too burdensome, I would also replace any effect that has already happened with a new one, so that no effect ever happens twice. I have yet to have any Wild Mage player in my games, but this is what I always planned to do with them, so that for example if the player rolls for Fireball, I would then wipe it from the table and replace it with something similar.

 

[Frankie1969]

Were it me, I'd replace every instance of "a creature you choose" with "a random creature in the area",

FWIW in PHB 2024, 12% of the options say "up to 3 creatures you choose", vs under 5% with "a random creature".
When I have time, I'll work on modifying the table so each cell with targeted creatures can fluctuate between "random" and "you choose".

 

[Lanefan]

FWIW in PHB 2024, 12% of the options say "up to 3 creatures you choose", vs under 5% with "a random creature".

Remember, though, the PHB can get it wrong. They really all should be random.

Re @Li Shenron 's idea of only allowing each option to occur once: while fine for a short campaign, if the campaign goes on for any length of time then eventually you'll run out of options. That, and the same supposedly-random thing happening twice in relatively short order can make people stat wondering in-character if greater forces are at play.

Also, the thread title tells us this table is also intended for Wand of Wonder use, where results in theory are supposed to be able to repeat if random chance so dictates.

If not too much work, I'd split it out: have one table of maybe 25-50 fixed options for Wand of Wonder, and a second open-ended table for wild magic surges where anything can happen (and at least one result on the w.m.s. table should be "DM choice - make s*** up!".

 

[Frankie1969]

Also, the thread title tells us this table is also intended for Wand of Wonder use,

Wand of Wonder, Bag of Tricks, Reincarnate, and Deck of Illusions are other sheets in the same workbook with expanded options.
Wand of Wonder in particular I tried to make into something a 2nd tier PC might actually use in combat. It has a lot of offense-oriented spells, then some situational spells, with only a few percent of backfires. So it's still a gamble, but if you're feeling lucky or desperate it's not a terrible bet.