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Giving A Magic Based Character A Fighting Chance - Page 2

I get what Txtrpg and Malcolmshaw are pointing out with the benefits of being a warrior / fighter class but seeing how my question is how to give the magic based character a fighting chance I'm not sure how to take it. Are we just saying its hopeless for magic classes because they cannot fight? If we are then that's wrong because they can fight just not as good. I also think there is a constitution adjustment for some games of how many rounds you can go without starting to feel tired which would apply to how many times you can swing your sword.

Chance Fighting Character Based Magic Giving

Wizard,

There is no reason to give up playing a spell caster. Anything involving a spell caster is going to take time. Starting with Character Generation/Creation.

A spell caster has to understand that if you want to be the big damage spell guy, you have to start as the small damage spell guy first. Coordinating cantrips and first level spells around the ideas of either support/buffs or spell combat. You know that they aren't wearing heavy armor which should free them up for oddities (A ball of twine, some shells, maybe pieces of glass or pottery). Inventory selection should be considered in conjunction with spell selection.

Use Spell A with Item B and C get Hopeful Result D.

Spell casters are the true problem solvers in Role-playing Games. They tend to consider combat, conversation, and intellectual avenues, all at the same time. They do well at formulating plans and observing the rarest of details. Because they are meticulous and exact, there is rarely an room for error.

For a decent comparison, spell casters are like MacGyver.

Giving A Magic Based Character A Fighting Chance Reviews RPG & Card Board

Malcomshaw I do not think I have heard a better description for a mage. Often you are not the one who slays the beast but you might be the one who sees it first or finds that special combination that uses the groups talents best to inflict severe damage.

Page 2 Chance Fighting Character Based Magic Giving

If I really wanted to be a good magic user I would be a fighter first and then branch off. At least that way I had a fighting chance and the added bonus of magic would make my character a real hero.

Chance Fighting Character Based Magic Giving

Magic users only have issues at low levels. They dominate at mid and high levels. Look at power tier guides for D & D 3.5 and D & D 5e. The top tier has one thing in common. They are all full casters. 5th edition has balanced it out some. Magic users are still at the top but it is closer and they need help from other characters. In 3.5 magic users could do it all better than the melee fighters. I don't care how powerful a melee character is they can't compare vs a wish spell, time stop or polymorph. Those are I win buttons pretty much. I'm glad that they are balanced out more now. I don't like to see classes that are overpowered.

Giving A Magic Based Character A Fighting Chance

I don't believe in bending things to make sure a weak character survives, at least not any more so than I do to avoid cheap deaths. Removing the possibility of death removes tension.

What I do instead is try to make it possible for a character to ensure their own survival via their wits. Full casters are one way or another supposed to be the more mental classes around. That doesn't mean they're all macguyvers of battlefield survival, but it does mean that some manner of forethought and clever tricks are warranted, and I do my best to be fluid when it comes to allowing players to be clever.

For instance, one of my characters, Elymas, has a particular trick he likes. Cast a Light cantrip on a rock and toss it into any unknown spaces. It costs him absolutely nothing to perform, can set off some traps, often induces a reaction from hidden nasties, and at the very least sheds some light in the room so the party can see inside without entering.

Another trick he makes use of got featured in my campaign recently. The Mold Earth cantrip is often maligned as of… limited use. I for one find the ability to replace entire teams of men with shovels, without any significant resource cost, to be quite useful. Nearly instant, if temporary and not the most solid, fortifications are nothing to be sneered at.

Edited: daishain on 13th Jan, 2017 - 1:06am