70 lines
2.9 KiB
Plaintext
70 lines
2.9 KiB
Plaintext
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Article 1293 of rec.games.frp.dnd:
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Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
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Path: nntp-server.caltech.edu!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!sdd.hp.com!cs.utexas.edu!torn!watserv1!watmath!undergrad.math.waterloo.edu!napier.waterloo.edu!l2wang
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From: l2wang@napier.waterloo.edu ( Lei Wang )
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Subject: 2nd Ed. Spell Memorizing Process
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Message-ID: <BqutnB.6uL@undergrad.math.waterloo.edu>
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Sender: news@undergrad.math.waterloo.edu
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Organization: University of Waterloo
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Date: Sat, 4 Jul 1992 07:47:33 GMT
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Lines: 56
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As in all editions of the D&D game, according to rules, every spell
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user(mage or priest) must, after a full night of rest, spend a large
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amount of time memorizing each spell that he plan to cast at the beginning
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of the day, preparing every spell in advance.
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Of course, this means that in order to cast Any spell, you must have
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memorized that spell earlier. In the case of priests, you must have
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prayed for that exact power in your meditations.
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It makes for careful planning, true. But it forces players to always
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choose the common, generic spells, like fireball or lightning bolt or
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cure light wounds or magic missile, with no cause for variety.
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I find this all very boring. What I'd like best(and what is most often
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shown in fantasy fiction), is for a player to be creative. You can't be
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really be creative with a fireball: You either blast your enemy with it
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or you don't.
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There are a few ways to avoid the above scenario:
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1. Allow the player to spend the time studying/praying in the mornings,
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but allow to cast any spell in a situation, provided they have the spell
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components.
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This is good, but it's too much freedom. It also consumes much of
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a campaign's time, when during a melee round a mage flips through his
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Player's Handbook for half an hour looking for the right spell.
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3. (My idea) Allow the player to select, beforehand, as many spells
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as his intelligence allows, then cast only from those spells. If you
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want to cast two fireballs, you must have devoted two or more slots
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to fireball.
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This is a bit better, but it doesn't allow for the level of the caster.
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A 20th level mage has as much freedom as a 1st level mage, if their
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intelligences are the same.
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4. (My better idea) Allow the player to select, beforehand, twice
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the number of spells that he can normally memorize, and he can cast
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from this increased pool of spells.
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This is very good, in my opinion. It allows for variety, but also
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makes for planning. Allowing three times the normal number is also
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acceptable, though perhaps a bit too many.
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5. (Your idea) What is your opinion? Any house rules that you prefer?
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What do you normally play on?
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--
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l2wang@napier.waterloo.edu
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ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
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ME: Univ. of Waterloo YOU: Huh? o=> ME: in Canada, YOU: Huh?
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ME: in Ontario, YOU: Huh? /o/ ME: up north! YOU: Aaaaaahhh...
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ME: near Toronto, YOU: Huh? ==o Huh??
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