Eleventh Hour Preview: Wizard

[shiinx]

Ah, I wanted to write such a nice and long reply to Roth, but Kasbak stole a lot of my thunder. So here is the short version:

Why do *you* think everything we talk about has to be always about combat? I can think of a lot of reason why a character would not have precast certain spells. The following reasons are all meant to be in character (i.e. the he addresses the character not the player): He simply forgot to do it as he tends to be forgetful, or as a similar reason, maybe it is not in his character to preplan all of his actions, or he does not want to bother with recasting his spells every other minute as Kasbak laid out? Then there are multiple story reasons for not doing so. I'll go along with the Climbing spell vs talent in my examples: You stroll through a town and suddenly you are robbed and chase the thief, that happens to be a very good climber (okay, if you are picky this could be counted as a combat situation, but I don't think so), or maybe there are people/orbiting spies/... on the watch for the use of magic, so you can't recast your spells when they run out, or to also give three examples, you didn't expect that there will be walls around (e.g. illusionary walls).

So you see, there are a lot of reasons for characters not to have spells precast, both character-driven and story-driven. And these are just some I thought of while writing these words.

But to also chime into the discussion about how to look at spells: In my opinion they are somewhat weaker talents (especially in the lower circles, not so much in the higher ones). Picturing them as better equipment is also an interesting thought. But I'd say the difference between tools and spells is much larger than between spells and talents.

Finally, I want to conclude with the following: From what I have read here on the forums, I believe you, Roth, are very passionate about Earthdawn and only want its best for the future. But that said, it seems that your vision does not readily align with the direction the game is heading. Therefore, I'd suggest to stick with the version of ED you are happy with (I assume 1e), plus any house rules you may have installed, and only pick from the new version what you like in terms of mechanics and setting.

[Slimcreeper]

That said (and there is a lot said!), buffs with durations have always been a little awkward, because there is no mechanical reason why a wizard could constantly cast mage armor or whatever whenever it runs out - but I certainly don't want to keep up with that or spend the die rolls. I don't have a clear idea about how to fix that, so that's all I have to say.

[Roth]

[Utsukushi]

[Slimcreeper]

Yeah, but I'd rather have a system other than 'after a bit it becomes annoying,' you know?

As for the drama - a little tiresome. I'm sure pretty much everyone here runs an ED game that their players love; and we are all here because we love earth dawn. Hug it out, you guys. I sure as Death can't figure out what point any given participant is trying to make.

[Stormcrow]

[Tanthalas]

[Kasbak]

[Mataxes]

Is the general feeling then that granting a second free Standard Matrix at Third Circle isn't sufficient? Do people think it would be better to give the two free matrices up front, rather than making the caster wait?

[Gkeckley]

I got to admit I do not see the point in making the wizard wait until 3rd for that second free matrix.