Re: (TFT) Magic in combat and TFT...

[ErolB1@aol.com]

In a message dated 8/24/2006 1:30:26 AM Central Daylight Time, 
rsmith@lightspeed.ca writes:


>   Short spell life?  I generally find wizards 
> keep getting more and more powerful and 
> increasing 5 fold their effectiveness is not
> the way I would jump.
> 
>   Out of curiosity, why do people feel they
> need to beef up wizard's power so significantly?
> 
> 
>   My last campaign put several restrictions on
> wizards and I did a lot to beef up heroes to 
> try to keep the two classes about equal at high
> levels.


>From my point of view: 

1. Increasing a wizard's *endurance* by increasing spell durations by 5 fold 
has very different effects from increasing the raw per-casting power of 
wizards. For one thing, it helps defensive magic use more than offensive, and like 
almost all rpgs TFT tends to overemphasize offense when played by the book. It 
also reduces the tendency of wizards to "go bang and drop" in an encounter (or 
to maneuver, maneuver, maneuver, go bang, and drop if an attempt is made to 
play them with intelligence.) 

2. My experience with by-the-book spell durations is that wizards mostly 
defeat themselves rather than being defeated by their opponents. They weaken and 
knock themselves out with their own spells, rather than falling to the spells 
and blows of the enemy. Wizards who are "warrior wizard" types can avoid this 
by casting far fewer spells, but I don't want warrior-wizards to be the only 
viable adventuring wizard type.

3. I think I play a lower-attribute-total game than you. An attribute total 
of 50+ is "hero of legend" in Etan. I build characters like Robin Hood and 
Conan on 50-60 attribute total. 

4. I have pumped up heroes in pursuit of a more "cinematic" style of play. A 
swordmaster type hero with an attribute total in the 40-45 range might well 
have two attacks per turn with adjDx in the 20-25 range. Partly this is from new 
& modified talents, but mostly it comes from heroes in Etan basically having 
twice the skill points of by-the-book TFT characters.

(One result of this that I consider a feature but that I suspect that many on 
the list would consider a bug is that a 32 point hero is different from - and 
much more competent than - a 32 point "mundane" class NPC who doesn't get 
doubled skill points.) 

5. I've mostly avoided boosting the raw per-casting power of wizards: No 
talents that boost the adjDx of spells, and essentially no new & powerful high IQ 
spells. 

Can you give an example or two of a high-level wizard who would be 
over-powered without the restrictions you put on them to keep them about equal to 
heroes?

Erol
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