Why does't magic missile have a save?

[MythandLore]

Okay let's put this into persective here:
1st level
A wizard can fire 1 magic missle and hurt a fighter.
The Fighter CAN Fire an arrow, crit, and kill the wizard in a shot.

2nd level
A wizard can fire 1 magic missle and hurt a fighter.
The Fighter CAN Fire an arrow, crit, and kill the wizard in a shot.

3rd level
A wizard can fire 2 magic missles and hurt a fighter.
The Fighter CAN Fire an arrow, crit, and take out the wizard in a shot.

4th level
A wizard can fire 2 magic missles and hurt a fighter.
The Fighter CAN Fire an arrow, crit, and take out the wizard in a shot.

Etc, etc, and etc.

 

[Darkness]

Okay let's put this into persective here:
1st level
A wizard can fire 1 magic missle and hurt a fighter.
The Fighter CAN Fire an arrow, crit, and kill the wizard in a shot.

2nd level
A wizard can fire 1 magic missle and hurt a fighter.
The Fighter CAN Fire an arrow, crit, and kill the wizard in a shot.

3rd level
A wizard can fire 2 magic missles and hurt a fighter.
The Fighter CAN Fire an arrow, crit, and take out the wizard in a shot.

4th level
A wizard can fire 2 magic missles and hurt a fighter.
The Fighter CAN Fire an arrow, crit, and take out the wizard in a shot.

Etc, etc, and etc.

Plus, the fighter can do it more often unless he's spent all his gold on ale and whores. 20 arrows = 1 gp.

 

[Tiefling]

It doesn't scale as well as other spells. At ninth level you have an autohit spell that does an average 17.5 damage, divided among multiple targets, that can be negated by a 1st level spell. At ninth level you could also cast a fireball or lightning bolt that does 31.5 average damage on a failed save and 15.75 on a successful one to each target it hits, not including evasion.

It's slightly more powerful than other spells at low level and less powerful than others at mid to high levels. Fine by me. In fact, unless the game is sure to not last to mid levels I wouldn't have a sorceror take the spell, personally.

 

[Darkness]

It doesn't scale as well as other spells. At ninth level you have an autohit spell that does an average 17.5 damage, divided among multiple targets, that can be negated by a 1st level spell. At ninth level you could also cast a fireball or lightning bolt that does 31.5 average damage on a failed save and 15.75 on a successful one to each target it hits, not including evasion.

...except that you need a 3rd-level slot for a fireball or lightning bolt.

 

[Tiefling]

...except that you need a 3rd-level slot for a fireball or lightning bolt.

Yeah I know.
It still seems not bad to me though, considering that, done properly, one of those two will get so many creatures. I suppose that against a lead villain or single enemy you could load up on magic missiles and do more damage. But then it takes more time and it's more vulnerable to spell resistance. Also, FB and LB both work better with maximization and enlargement meta-magics than MM does.

 

[Number47]

Clearly better than other first level spells? I think not. Out of three spellcasters in my game in 3E, none of them took it. Didn't take it at first level, or at second, or at third. The wizard found a spell book that had it and learned it, but hasn't memorized it even once. At low levels, sleep and color spray are the big boys.

 

[Utrecht]

I guess the thing that bothers me the most about it is that it is garaunteed damage (unless the appropriate counter is up of course). Even rogues with Improved Evasion will still take damage...... and that seems wrong.

This coupled with the fact that every mage *should* be carrying around a cross-bow makes this reach-out-and-touch-someone magic less necessary than it was in prior versions of the game.

After all (assuming DEX is the same). The mage is only 1 BAB at first level (after deling the 1d4+1 for the MM) - so MythandLore, your analogy looses a lot more of its value (especially when facing a 3rd party like the ubiquitous orc or goblin)

 

[Rashak Mani]

I go for the Holy Cow thing... Magic Missile and Fireball are classics as are and not possible target of modifications

I must say Magic Missile is a very practical spell but is usually a backup or finish em up spell... havent ever seen it abused in any way... its a classic Mage vs Mage interrupting spell...

 

[CRGreathouse]

On magic missile:

It's slightly more powerful than other spells at low level and less powerful than others at mid to high levels. Fine by me. In fact, unless the game is sure to not last to mid levels I wouldn't have a sorceror take the spell, personally.

Magic missile is just the opposite of what you described - not worthwhile on low levels, but useful on high levels. When you only have a few fireballs and vampiric touches and you need to save them for the powerful enemies, magic missile is one of the only spells worth casting on higher levels. Sleep won't affect anything on those levels, color spray isn't too good, etc. The only spell that can compete is burning hands - and that's risky.

 

[hong]

Magic missile is powerful and useful, but at the end of the day, it's still a _first level spell_. It isn't so nifty that it shades out things that wizards/sorcs can get at higher levels. It also doesn't shade out the stuff that the other character classes can do. Because of these considerations, I've never had a problem with magic missile.