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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Neonchameleon" data-source="post: 6075345" data-attributes="member: 87792">That was Hussar who assumes normal treasure.  At ten encounters per level you can afford to use a couple of scrolls per encounter and be extremely well set.  You are.  As usual.  One of the points I made was with the number of spells a 7th level caster gets, let alone a higher one, one nova in a day will not burn through all your spells.  So novaing isn't a problem here.  (It is at low level).  As for the level 13 caster, that was from a previous conversation where I was bringing up the GiantITP duels between a level 13 wizard and a level 20 fighter.  And the situation there.  That's where the level 13 came from - and the Solar Simulacrum.Indeed.  That's a partial point - mostly because we haven't gone into the larger point.In pre-4e D&D there are two basic roles rather than four.  Those who take the world on head on and those who try to adjust the world to better suit them.  Either is stronger than the other.And two of the four core classes have always been in each of these roles.  The hallmarks of the classes that take the world on head on are the heaviest armour they can find, serious toughness, and the ability to bring the hurt.  The hallmarks of the classes that try to adjust the world are light armour, the ability to hide, and the ability to bypass things.  In category 1, of course, are the fighter and the cleric and in category 2 the wizard and the rogue.Now in oD&D they were almost balanced.  Of the four, the fighter was the underpowered one - largely because it was Robilar's class, and so the most experienced and highest level player played a fighter.  Whcih slightly skewed the playtesting.  (oD&D is probably the most playtested RPG in history; several years and with a large wargaming community).I'll start with wizard and rogue because the story is simpler here.  The wizard has literally had a significant power boost in every edition other than 4th.  1e gave the wizard more spells.  2e gave us specialist wizards - so the wizard could cast more spells - and merged the wizard and illusionist to the benefit of the wizard.  3e removed the soft cap on the levels, gave the wizard even more spells, let the wizard cast even more spells gave the wizard free spells every level, and half a dozen other things.  By contrast the rogue has been abused over the years.  Some time in AD&D the spirit of the rogue's skills changed.  Scale sheer surface was downgraded to climb wall.  Hide in shadows was the rogue's chance of hiding where no one else could.  It was intended to be an almost supernatural ability and if anyone else could do the job the rogue didn't have to roll.  And then 3.X managed to hamstring the rogue on skill points - 8 rogue skills became 8+Int skill points per level, whereas no fighter skills became 2+Int skill points per level.  The rogue should be on ten or twelve and the fighter four.  Also the rogue used to have a very favourable XP track and the wizard an unfavourable one, again for balance purposes.The cleric vs fighter role on the other hand has been much swingier.  The cleric has always been tougher than the fighter - they levelled first, and they had Cure Light Wounds.  On the other hand the fighter has always hit harder - the fighter had better weapons (which was especially obvious against large foes) and a better to hit chart.  Before Unearthed Arcana it wasn't enough.  After Unearthed Arcana/Weapon Specialisation fighters rocked at what they did, and did throughout 2e.  3e on the other hand nerfed fighters savagely (especially on the defensive front - 3.X fighters arguably have the worst saves of any PC class) and buffed clerics (and their druidic cousins) enormously through a massive range of ways.Therefore 3.X is the edition of Caster Supremacy.  Wizards are massively dominant over their mundane rivals, and Clerics over theirs.  If the wizard is acting solo, the wizard should engage only when he or she has no other choice.  This, incidently, is what is pathetic about the level 13 wizard being a match for the level 20 fighter. The wizard has to engage and can't pick the battlefield.  If you want something killed, the preferable classes to do it are the head-on classes.  Preferably the two that contribute rather than leech spells - the cleric and druid.  The wizard's job is to make this as easy as possible if it needs doing in the first place.</blockquote>

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