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Magic-user

Magic-user

What do you think about this Character Class in the Dungeon & Dragons system of role-playing? Consider the following:

1. Fighting ability (attack skills, use of weapons)
2. Unique skills (thievery, bless, talk to animals, etc.)
3. Magical skills (ability to use and acquire magic)
4. Tendency to progress (easy to go up in levels)
5. Limitations (cannot carry or use certain objects)

Magic-user

Magic-user Reviews RPG & Card Board

Here's a quick comparison of two main arcane spell-casting classes, the wizard and the Sorcerer

1. Fighting ability - To be frank both them are very poor at fighting best just to stand off and use spells and fire crossbow bolts
2. Unique skills - Both have ability to summon familiars which are really neat though not immensely practical generally
3. Magical skills - Where diff lies. Same level spells except a wizard can cast any spell as long as he prepares, while a sorcerer has a very limited pool of spells he can cast, however he can cast many more times
4. Tendency to progress - the same, do well in groups but like thief aren't immensely good on their own
5. Limitations - Terrible at melee, both classes limited by pre-selected nature of spells

In my opinion the sorcerer is the better choice in part because of the spell selection process. Though they can only pick a certain number of spells which they know, these spells can be cast as many times as you want as long as you have a spare spell slot. Wizards much wider range is a serious hindrance, as often or not you may pick to memorise a spell that will turn out to have no application and invariably you end picking similar spells to the sorcerers small selection anyway because they tend to be the most practical. Pick your spells known carefully with sorcerer and you will find the campaign more fun and generally do better. Also being able to cast more often the same spell means that Sorcerers generally lie down more magical firepower

Edited: Roehug on 1st Mar, 2006 - 9:30am

Magic-user

Roehug knows what he is talking about. It is true that characters who dwell on the mystic arts are usually weak in the beginning, but in the long run they become the most powerful and unstoppable characters at higher levels. The idea behind this is to foresee the future and stay in the background in the beginning.

Magic-user

Having played a magic user in both the lower levels and at the higher level it is hard not to play a magic user. I think of how a GM plays can make a magic user stronger or weaker than others. Other GMs are more neutral in the game styles they play. I know if you want to play a magic user as a starting out character you have to be very good at talking your way out of peril is good. This is where good role playing skills come in handy.

It is the style of your play that makes a magic user stronger as they advance in levels. The quest for power and knowledge is what makes the magic user a strong character at high levels but they are still pretty weak when you compare them to some of the other characters of like level.

Magic-user

Those are good points. I believe the magic-user class of characters are for the more experienced player. Someone new to role-playing should settle for the fighter class until they understand the concept.

Magic-user

Wizards know more spells because of spells books, sorcerers know less spells because their memorized. I always choose sorcerer because he can cast spontaneously and I don't need to prepare spells everyday. When I played a wizard (I've done this twice, besides the times I've played modded illusionists) I generally picked the same set of spells everyday anyway so being able to choose from a larger pool never really helped me. Wizards do get bonus feats every once in a while though, while sorcerers get only one class benefit; the familiar.

Magic-user Board Card & RPG Reviews

Spellcasters are generally given the short shrift for any players that don't get to start at a medium or better level.

They are woefully and unnecessarily restricted on a sluice of facets, and a lot of this is broken system mechanics which either directly embrace, or by virtue of being derivative of D&D, imitate, Vancian and/or Tolkein magic systems, which are essentially the most worthless, game-unfriendly magic systems one can find, like the Holy Grail of bad magic systems.

Quicker, more intuitive, simpler and more user-friendly and sometimes abstract magic systems really beat the snot out of "traditional" ones, and for fantasy novel readers, an example would be David Eddings' "Will and the Word" type of Sorcery discipline, vs. The usual D&D spell memorization, spells per day arbitrary nonsense. Basically almost more "psi" treatment, a matter of creativity, natural inherent ability and will, rather than dusty old scrolls and tedious ceremonies and spell components.