Gammadoodler
Hero
Because sickened isn't a 5e condition ?Come to think of it, why isn't a sickened wizard worse at casting spell?
Otherwise, yeah, I'm with you.
Because sickened isn't a 5e condition ?Come to think of it, why isn't a sickened wizard worse at casting spell?
I would think cuffing would make the hands not free to use for somatic components.Cuffing the Wizard does not, AFAIK, prevent spellcasting in any way.
I'd be inclined to agree..logically.I would think cuffing would make the hands not free to use for somatic components.
PH p. 263:
SOMATIC (S)
Spellcasting gestures might include a forceful gesticulation or an intricate set of gestures. If a spell requires a somatic component, the caster must have free use of at least one hand to perform these gestures.
That's good! I also like the idea that spell slot progression is slower but starts with more slots. I think it's kinda silly that they start with only 2 slots but grow to 22. That's by a factor of ten!Assuming I am tasked with keeping the wizard looking something like the wizard of yore, but with some more modern updates.
Classic wizards started out squishy and ended up gods. I don't think that is a good progression. A wizard should start out competent but not progress to utter insanity. Raise the floor, dramatically lower the ceiling. So, for me, calls to make wizards glass cannons are less appealing than keeping them viable but not dramatic. That said, I would want to change the ramp of magical scaling and effects. I would do this in a couple of ways.
1.) I retool magic to focus less on spike damage and more on consistent output. I would smooth outlier spells (fireball) and allow more interesting types of effects added to damage spells to make them viable. Fire applying burning, cold reducing speed, acid doing damage over time.
2.) I would adjust save-or-suck spells to be less encounter-ending. Yes, it's fun when the wizard shuts a fight down in one spell, but it also ruins tension and fun when a climatic encounter ends up a curb-stomp or a TPK.
3.) Higher level magic would not ratchet up so quick. I would carefully rebalance effects like flight, teleport, invisibility, divinations, and such to beter allow for martial or skill-based characters to shine. I don't want magic to be an "I win" button, but a tool to do things.
4.) I like the idea of moving certain spells to subclass-only. Give necromancers access to animate dead, illusionists to major image, transmuters to polymorph. Make the specialists feel unique and give them signature spells no other caster gets. The current design is basically "pick the best spells for each level" rather than go by theme and I'm tired of wizards all being 5-color goodstuff.
5.) Cantrips are fine, though some of the better ones should move to specialists.
why shouldn't they?Re: risk of failure.
1. Neither saves nor attack rolls apply to buff spells, heal spells, or quite a few environment manipulation type spells. Those can be executed perfectly..every time..everywhere.
spell slots are limited resource, and on a miss/save they should do something.2. Perhaps there is a difference in narration, but I think there's a bit more. Typically attack roll that do not succeed result in a "miss". Saving throw spells are "resisted" (and typically deal 1/2 damage to the target regardless. In neither case do you see the caster fail to produce the desired spell effect, or risk any danger whatsoever in manipulating the fundamental elements of existence.
disabling Verbal components removes about 90% of wizards spells and removing Somatic and Material removes also about 90%.Re: Conditions and the wizard..
Cuffing the Wizard does not, AFAIK, prevent spellcasting in any way. Gagging them prevents 1 component, but not the 2 others, and is not a condition that is readily available through any ability in the PHB (maybe the monsters have it IDK?). Same with silence spell, but it is only applicable to caster-type creatures. So to fully prevent casting, they'd need to be gagged (or under the effects of a fairly uncommon spell), and bound in a way the rules do not describe.
Sure, there is room to reduce power of offensive spells with certain conditions.Compare this with the Frightened condition on martials (especially melee) where it, at a minimum, meaningfully debuffs attacks, but has the potential to wholesale prevent them from participating in the fight. Poisoned applies a debuff wizards can ignore by casting save or buff spells; Grappled and Restrained have zero impact upon casting; Prone doesn't either..etc. Some/most/all of these should impact caster effectiveness somehow. We can do better.
this would be a good use of Sleight of hand skill.I would think cuffing would make the hands not free to use for somatic components.
PH p. 263:
SOMATIC (S)
Spellcasting gestures might include a forceful gesticulation or an intricate set of gestures. If a spell requires a somatic component, the caster must have free use of at least one hand to perform these gestures.