Casters and spells

Quote :

Justin wrote:
All I really want to see is casters as viable as melee at front game. A starting melee going for one weapon fighting could start with one prof and one strength (not including any racial).

Although with as much as you want a column to cost, and the short duration of buffs, I am not sure how viable casters are long term either. But I guess that is what alpha is for.


Well how I look at it is that casters are not supposed to be front line fighters. Now we haven't Posted all the Advantages, yet (because there are skill based advantages as well) and we have options there for you. Casters are squishy but hit hard, the reason they are called "Glass Cannons" To make up for the staying power of the Fighters, the casters have the ability to put them down quicker. In essence like in all games i've played, casters are not supposed to have the stamina, otherwise the larp would just be casters and nothing else.

Now If your looking into a caster with the staying power of a fighter, I would Suggest The Warlock Advantages From the Skill Advantages Sections that I am going to put up. (Since Chris Recently Gave me back My logistics Binder) The Warlocks will have staying power at the expense of casting power, and that is the route you want to go if you want the stamina. Also Since the core casting system runs off of prepared spells, There is a second Option for casters for Versatility, Sorcerer. Though The Downside of Taking either of those Builds is the Loss of gaining metamagic.

That is right You hear it, We are doing metamagic In this game for prepared casters. To give them a little extra oomph. But like all good wizards, Preperation is everything (D&D and Phoenix has taught us this.)

First, you misread what you quoted me saying. I said "I want to see casters as viable as melee", meaning I want caster characters an equal power level as melee characters. You read it as if I had said "I want to see casters as viable melee" (leaving out that second as).

Second, you say you want casters to be glass cannons. I propose that you have greatly failed at this. Just from lack of time, I am only going to use the Black spell list as and example. I am assuming that Black is meant to be the "damaging" spell list. Let me break down your spells here.
Buff Spells: seven
De-buff Spells: Fourteen
Resist/disspell: Three
Damaging: Three
Summon: one

If you were going for glass cannon, why so few damaging spells and so many buffs? Honestly looking over your spell lists, it seemed as if you wanted casters to be able to buff themselves up and fight along side melee characters. Not saying that is what you really intended, but with so many magic schools having so many buff spells, that's just what it looks like to me.

And as for balance, it is way off. For the cost of pre-reqs and a full column, a melee character can pick up a weapon, seven profs, two strength, and two Mortal Strikes. That's a grand total of calling weapon plus nine, plus two hits for 75 damage. A Black caster would only have four 5 damage, four 25 damage, and four 50 damage. And if the buff spells were not meant for the caster to cast on themselves, but on melee character instead, well that is just one more step you guys took to make melee characters that stars of your show.

To be honest I dont know why Chris Wanted to give them so much Less on the damage out put. At some point,Chris Just pretty Much Took over the system creation from me, and kinda proposed as this is how it is. Chris and I had alot of heated discussions about game creation (and a few other things), pretty much because of that reason. So I look at this As a chance to fix things that i should have been being guided to create.

But thats neither here nor there. This is Alpha and Things will most likely change, Its why we are having alpha to begin with.

Based on the example of given by Justin, I can see where this is going.

What must be understood however, is that Black Magic is not about killing your opponent. It is about weakening them in order to subdue them enough to enslave their body, mind, and soul. Black is meant to be scary and oppressive, not highly lethal. It is also meant to sustain the caster and allow them to maintain some melee bearing because that makes them all the scarier.

The same can be said about every magic list in the sense that each is geared towards particular specific aspects and most of them are not what they are assumed to be upon first glance. That being said.

Going back to Black...those 4 50 damage spells should be more than enough to waste that fighter before he gets close. And why even waste that damage when you can throw a Cower?


On that note, Shawn is right. We are still in Alpha. Pre-Alpha actually. So everything is subject to change, system-wise anyway.