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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
 Posted - 06 Jan 2016 : 03:22:57
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As far as your concern with the wish spell and the thought to make it a "10th level" spell.
There is simply no need. Why? Because the wish spell is not the "cast this spell and get anything you want" that some people treat it as. It is the most difficult and dangerous spell to cast and it has specific limitations. Properly wording a wish spell is not easy, and it is the DMs job to make sure that it stays that way.
Instead think of the wish spell like this. It is basically a genie in a bottle just waiting to screw with the next wizard foolish enough to tempt fate and hazard a wish. If you can interpret the words in any way to mean something other than what is desired, good. Do it. Was the caster unspecific about anything at all? Did he misplace a modifier?
In short, DMs should abuse their power here. {insert Ed's pseudo-diabolical laugh here} |
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valarmorgulis
Learned Scribe
112 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jan 2016 : 04:38:01
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Welp. I got dragged back in.
Lord of Bones, what you say is true for a 3.5 game with players who like to optimize. But, it doesn't apply nearly as much to a 1e/2e game or a 5e game, or the system I am using (Castles and Crusades). There's no WBL, and far less opportunity to optimize. Also, my players don't like to optimize, so it's even less of a worry for me. This is one reason why I mentioned that game balance is not a factor for me. I don't think you'd ever catch me DMing 3.5e in this day and age.
Similarly, I am not making Wish a 10th level spell because of game balance reasons. I'm doing it because it is the epitome of high-level magic, and I feel like only a few people in all the Realms should have access to such magic -- for "fluff" reasons. In C&C at least, Wish can replicate any spell the caster has used that is 9th level or less, and any spell he/she has seen of 6th level or less. It truly is the most powerful spell, even though it has major drawbacks. |
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LordofBones
Master of Realmslore
1482 Posts |
Posted - 06 Jan 2016 : 05:52:20
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| Uh...actually, I was responding to Ayrik. I was just too lazy to quote him/her. |
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Roseweave
Learned Scribe
Ireland
212 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2016 : 00:01:44
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This is why I kinda prefer 4E's philosophy - anyone can be epic.
Sure Magic will tend to be the most obvious path to great power, but a lot of people are just going to become More Real, inflicting themselves on reality in a more direct fashion.
Think about all the Legendary heroes, or comic book & anime characters that are basically massive badasses without being spellcasters. |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3802 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2016 : 00:15:15
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A good number of them may as well be, though, since they have superpowers or some equivalent abilities, which can be basically considered magic.
The thing is, even if someone is the best swordsman or archer ever seen, that won't help him/her shape the world. Even a lousy fighter, who is also a formidable tactician or leader, has more chances than them of doing something big. |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
Edited by - Irennan on 12 Jan 2016 00:19:05 |
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Roseweave
Learned Scribe
Ireland
212 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2016 : 00:36:38
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| Part of the problem too is that it relies too much on powered tiers - in Marvel comics people who are just really trained with weapons can potentially make a difference. I like that better. |
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Irennan
Great Reader
Italy
3802 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2016 : 00:49:39
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From the perspective of a player, sure, that is more fair. But then, in D&D-worlds, spellcasters can heal anything (even resurrect people, or themselves, with the right spell: see Manshoon), create whole planes from nothing, see glimpses of the future, protect themselves incredibly well from threats, and so on. They can shape the world to a degree that no weapon-user could, because they can bend the laws of nature almost as they please.
In a fight, a warrior and a mage would be able to contribute equally, and I could even picture a legendary warrior be more epic and awesome than an equivalent caster. However, fights are only a lesser part of the whole life, and if we consider the utility of the different skillsets for the general purposes of life (and therefore, as you put it, how they can inflict themselves on reality), the reason why casters have more influence becomes clear. |
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. |
Edited by - Irennan on 12 Jan 2016 00:50:47 |
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LordofBones
Master of Realmslore
1482 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2016 : 08:15:17
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The epic fighter can deal a ton of damage. That's about it, and even then it depends on the enemy. Flying creatures make trip fighters cry.
The epic wizard can shut down battlefields.
Or, the epic fighter can cut through a balor army; the epic wizard has Malcanthet, Lynkhab and Shami-Amourae doing a striptease while Orcus refilles his glass and Demogorgon fetches his newspaper. |
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Owesstaer
Acolyte
Luxembourg
30 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2016 : 19:56:59
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quote:
Originally posted by LordofBones
... and Demogorgon fetches his newspaper.
Why would an epic mage have need for a sheet of paper that tells of events in the past!
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bloodtide_the_red
Learned Scribe
USA
297 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jan 2016 : 06:23:11
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| More so then any published world, the Realms does have a high number of high level characters, |
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Do only mages reach the highest levels?
