Wild Mage

[Tale]

Why do houserules have to abide by WotC's flow? If the group likes it that's what is important. Which is, granted, a big if.

WotC isn't even all that against breaking that flow for things such as supplemental material. Look at the Kobold victory chart. Though, it would help your group like it if such things were limited. Victory charts aren't likely something a group would want to use in every encounter of a campaign.

 

[StarFyre]

wild mage

we have a wild mage in the party I DM.

We ended up not liking the 4E cleric or Wizard...(the cleric, didn'tliek how they do them in ANY edition though).

So we created massive rewrites for the wizard, and partial rewrite for cleric.

The wild mage we decided to capture the flavour (something the house rules we see here for darksun, etc all do NOT do at all), so we agreed on doing what we have always done....create what we like for our game.

THe wild mage we made, is truly wild, random (like the 2E version, but even more so)...with some very good benefits but drawbacks as well.

As well, I designed him so the player never needs to look at a PHB again

If you want to see other ideas, and are ok with changing rules to fit the campaign, I can send you what I have.....

Sanjay

 

[Falling Icicle]

Here's a new version of the Reckless Dweomer and Wildstrike powers, for those who would prefer a simpler, more 4e-like style for these spells.

Reckless Dweomer - Wild Mage Attack 11
You unleash a kaleidoscopic torrent of arcane energy.
Encounter * Arcane, Implement, and Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Thunder
Standard Action - Area burst 3 within 20 squares
Target: Each creature in burst
Attack: Intelligence vs. Reflex
Hit: roll a d4 to determine the effect:
1 - 3d6 + Intelligence modifier fire damage and ongoing 5 fire damage (save ends).
2 - 3d6 + Intelligence modifier cold damage and the target is immobilized (save ends).
3 - 3d6 + Intelligence modifier lightning damage and the target is dazed (save ends).
4 - 3d6 + Intelligence modifier thunder damage, you slide the target 2 squares and it is knocked prone.

Wildstrike - Wild Mage Attack 20
You surround a creature in an aura of chaotic arcane energy that twists any magic he uses to create unpredictable results.
Daily * Arcane, Implement
Standard Action - Ranged 10
Target: One creature
Attack: Intelligence vs. Will
Hit: Until the end of your next turn, each time the target uses a magical attack power (one from the arcane, divine, elemental, primal, psionic or shadow power sources, or any other power the DM determines to be magical), the target makes an immediate saving throw. On a success, the power works normally. On a failure, roll a d6 to determine what happens:
1 - the spell fizzles. Nothing happens and the action and use of the power are wasted.
2 - the spell backlashes against the caster. Treat the caster as the target or his square as the target square.
3 - the spell hits a random target within range (other than the caster).
4 - the spell is reshaped into a random effect. Randomly choose another power of the same type (at-will, encounter or daily) and level from the same power source, and treat it as if the caster had used that power instead.
5 - the spell lapses in power, inflicting minimum damage.
6 - the spell surges in power, automatically critting, as if the caster rolled a 20 on the die.
Sustain Minor: The wildstrike persists.

 

[Falling Icicle]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

If you gain a daily power from the Wild Magic ability, can you still only use it once? Thats what the rules say now. That actually makes the higher rolls on the table less useful, so I guess that's not what you intended.

No matter which kind of power you get, you can use it only once. It remains in your mind *until you cast it* or until you take an extended rest, whichever comes first. I put in the extended rest thing because I didn't want people stocking up on extra spells from one day to the next.

I miss the old 2e Wild Mage. Where the randomness was in every spell he cast, not just the Wild Mage specific ones. And I definitely don't like the reliance on Wisdom. If anything, Wisdom should hurt a Wild Mage. If they were wise, they wouldn't be Wild Mages! This isn't a criticism of your design, just my preference. I may try putting one together myself.

I see where you're coming from. I chose Wisdom because it is, as far as I recall, the stat that governs intuition, instinct and gut feeling, which is how I think wild mages use some of their powers. If that doesn't work for you, you could always switch it to Charisma instead.

I think the largest problem we run into with this build is that it is going to break the "Flow" that WotC is trying to accomplish in combat. Every time a Wild Mage does something (and this is true of my beloved 2nd ed Wild Mage) you have to look things up in tables. I don't mind tables, but it does get away from what WotC is trying to accomplish with 4E.

I see what you're getting at here, though I'd like to point out that you're hardly consulting tables every single time you do something. Reckless Dweomer is usable only once per encounter, and Wildstrike is once per day. So you really won't be looking at those tables constantly.