D&D General Wild Magic, Yea or Nay?

[Sacrosanct]

That's because it's scripted "randomness" in fiction and genuinely random in a game. And the two aren't anything alike, even if they seem to be on the surface, and things rarely translate well between them.

Fun fact. In video games, like BG3, the die rolls aren't random either. Not truly. They have code to prevent things like a nat 1 coming up more than twice in a row, or too many failures in a row.

 

[CreamCloud0]

if anyone has a wild magic caster i'm placing my character as far as feasibly possible away from their character.

 

[AnotherGuy]

I'm a fan all around. It can take the game in interesting directions as it should. The table comes together to interpret the how Wild Magic result bests plays out in the fiction. It can provide story hooks for both players and DMs. It is fun mechanic that should be expanded upon by an enterprising player of a character who creates Wild Magic and/or the DM.

 

[Gradine]

Fun fact. In video games, like BG3, the die rolls aren't random either. Not truly. They have code to prevent things like a nat 1 coming up more than twice in a row, or too many failures in a row.

BG3 any% RNG manip run is happening when?

 

[Lanefan]

Part of it also depends on how you see the physics of magic working in the setting.

For me, I see magic as a force of physics similar to gravity etc. only it's malleable by living creatures who know (or have been taught) how to do so; thus the casting of any spell involves three steps:

1 - summoning or gathering magical energy
2 - shaping that energy such that it does what you want it to do
3 - releasing it to do that thing.

Enchanting an item changes step 3 to read "binding it into the item you're enchanting".

An interrupted spell-casting means one of those steps (probably #2) is shot, and the summoned energy is going to release itself however it feels like. Sometimes it'll just disperse passively. Other times, boom: wild magic surge.

Breaking a magic item releases that bound-up magical energy to similar possible results.

 

[DEFCON 1]

For those who really want to have fun with Wild Magic... rather than the 100 choices of wild magic effects found in the PHB, you should use the 10,000 choices of wild magic effects available in the The Net Libram of Random Magical Effects v2.0 by Orrex. It's a lot more fun!

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I love it in principle, or at least in theory. In implementation, I think it generally leaves a lot to be desired.

Part of the problem is that it works great in a movie or whatever, where a random effect invariably comes at a low stakes moment or happens to save the day at a high stakes moment. In a game where it's actually random its just not going to consistently work out in a satisfying way.

Part of the problem is that this is a shared game where someone made a choice to be the wild unpredictable class. In character they are who they are and maybe they're the only mage the group could recruit, but out of character choosing to forgo all the many predictable mage builds for the random unpredictable one that might fireball the group or something is probably at some point going to rub someone the wrong way.

But the bulk of the problem is just that it's hard to design one class, subclass, or whatever around randomness in a game where the others aren't. If major features, positive or negative, are randomly triggered then trying to balance the class is simply intrinsically difficult.

I think wild magic is best suited to a game where all magic is inherently wild and magical mastery involves taming that wildness to varying degrees.

 

[el-remmen]

I’d love to see them!

So with the caveat that these were made for homebrew 5E ruleset that merges wizard and sorcerer as subclasses of a Mage class and that shrinks everything to 10 levels, here they are (followed by the draft version of guidance for using them).

Notes for Running Wild Surges​

Wild Surges not only represent a breakdown of the rules of magic, but they are also a potential breakdown of the rules of the game, as the results of a wild surge can often require off the cuff rulings by the DM in order to adjudicate those results. While the way to apply the wild surge will often be obvious, at other times it will require finessing combinations of spells or effects that appear contradictory but nevertheless need to play out in-game. However, here are some basic guidelines to follow when applying these results.

1. Targets and Spell Placement. Before rolling to see if there is a Wild Surge, you should make all choices for the intended spell as if it went off as normal. Then, roll to see if there is a surge, and what the surge’s effect will be. If at this time the spell’s range, area, or number of targets changes, adjudicate those changes.
2. Usually, the Intended Spell Still Goes Off. Unless the rolled result says otherwise, the wild surge result is in addition to or modifies the spell that is being cast. Occasionally, some results supersede the spell itself, but the result description will make that clear.
3. Range. If not otherwise stated in the wild surge result description, any reference to range refers to the intended spell’s range.
4. Saving Throws. If the intended spell allows for a saving throw, the wild surge effect also allows for a saving throw to avoid or lessen the effect, unless the result says otherwise. This is also true if the intended spell allows for a repeated saving throw to end the effect or condition. The type of saving throw, however, may change if the surge effect is emulating a specific spell or simply states otherwise. Furthermore, unless the caster is specifically denied a save by the surge or spell description, they can choose to save against their own effect.
5. Target. Unless the wild surge result description says otherwise, the surge effect occurs or is centered wherever the original spell goes off (or was expected to go off).
6. Duration. Unless the description reads otherwise, the wild surge effect lasts as long as the intended spell’s duration. Furthermore, when a wild surge effect manifests in the form of a spell that normally requires concentration, the spell does not require concentration and automatically lasts its full duration.
   
   As mentioned above, sometimes the wild surge directions do not seem compatible with the original spell. In this case, lean into the randomness and wildness and be creative in how the spell or surge manifests. For example, it may be hard to know how to adjudicate the “Spell effect has a 20 feet radius centered on caster instead” when the sorcerer was attempting to cast mage armor. The DM might rule that all creatures within 20 feet of the caster gain the mage armor spell, that anyone within 20 feet of the caster gets the benefit of mage armor while there, or that the armor’s benefit only works for attacks from greater than 20 feet away because anyone else is within the armor’s effect, or some combination. Rather than attempt to codify how such a wild magic results works, consider choosing a different kind of ruling each time the situation comes up to make it truly unpredictable.

 

[el-remmen]

This is the second time this week I've had to explain this here. Is my discourse style really that different, or is everyone just on edge?

There is this phenomenon I have noticed on these boards (and elsewhere), that I call "Argument as Agreement," in which someone rhetorically frames their agreement as an argument. I am not saying you are doing this (I have not seen enough of your posts to say you), but your response to Umbran did seem at least initially framed as disagreement, even if it didn't turn out to be. I personally find that approach very frustrating, but it might be better to take that discussion of posting styles to another - more appropriate - thread and I'll participate.

 

[bloodtide]

I love random chaos in a game.

My game houserules always make magic dangerous and wild. I'm not a fan of the "things always work exactly as the rules say"

Most rules don't do good wild magic. Like the 5E wild magic sorcerer gets a 'wild surge' once in a while...and, odd, "luckly abilities" and....um..."do more damage". So dull.