The Wizard Clearing House of House Rules

[cynthialee]

A Proposal to Repair the Wizard Hero
Many of us are of the opinion that the Wizard is flawed and not on par with the other heroes. Some do not see the hero as flawed. This post is directed at those EWP who do think the Wizard is flawed and wish to fix the issue.
When we consider that after some time the heroes all tend to buy the best equipment they can get we end up with every hero save the Wizard capable of 3 dice ranged attacks (crossbows) and at least 3 dice melee, the Wizard is very flawed. His best attack is a 5 dice Genie (if he has the air spells) that may be cast once, twice if the spell ring is in play and Genie is chosen as the spell in the ring. And the genie could roll a grip of shields and be a waste of time and a spell. Sure the crossbows can roll all shields on an attack also, but at least there will be another chance to use the weapon next turn. Once the spell is cast it is over.
Even when we get to the point where the heroes are acquiring Artifacts, the Mage does not come up to the same power level of the rest of the party when we stay within the rules. Why play the Wizard when the rest of the group seriously out powers you by the time you get through a quest book?
There have been numerous proposed fixes to the Wizard, but they are spread around the Inn’s forums in many different posts. Some fixes are too generous, while other fixes not generous enough.
So let us put them all in one place I thought!
My fix over the years has been to use Mind Checks in the game whenever possible. I limit trap searches to the amount of squares equal to the Heroes Mind and for the Dwarf, current Mind +4. The player must point out which squares are searched for traps. Also I require the Heroes to make ‘Mind Checks’ to figure out secret doors they still find them just as easy, but figuring out how to open them without the Barbarian bashing down a false wall (thus alerting half the dungeon) can be a challenge. Player rolls combat dice equal to the Heroes Mind score looking for a black skull to figure out the door. As a result the Wizard becomes very useful when Mind checks are needed to continue. Some traps I use the same mechanic. If there is a chance I can put a Mind roll into the game I do so. This has been an effective fix that doesn’t require mew cards or stats, the Mind trait is already on the character sheet and it is a much underused part of the hero.

Here are some ideas for fixes I have not tried but I think would work.

*Each time a Wizard kills a bad guy with a spell the Mage may retain the spell in their deck. If the Spell fails to net a kill, then the spell is used and no longer available. The idea being the Wizard captures some of the life essence of the victim thus refreshing his power.

*When another spell caster casts a spell in the presence of the Wizard the Wizard has a chance to copy the spell. This is simulated by rolling the Wizards mind score and he must score two Skulls to learn the spell. If the spell is ‘learned’ then the card is passed to the Wizard Player. So any time the Wizard sees the Elf or a Chaos caster use a Spell the Wizard has a chance to copy it and use it later. These ‘learned spells’ are only available in the dungeon they are learned and lost between missions.

*Print off the Elf Spells and only allow the Elf to use these spells and give all four Elemental spell groups to the Wizard. But this doesn’t help with progression issues in the long run as 3 extra spells for the Wizard sorta pales in comparison to the rest of the group in armor, wielding crossbows and using long swords…

*Issue the Wizard an artifact or two after the end of a booklet. These items can be considered to be crafted by the Mage or gifts from Mentor. It won’t help until the next booklet, but it will be an improvement to the Wizard.

*Issue the Wizard three random potions before the start of every dungeon. These are considered to be crafted by the Wizard in his off time or gifts from Mentor. I would not allow the banking of potions as it could get to be a game rape in the wrong player’s hands. If there are left over potions, then the hero starts the game with the potions unused from last mission plus a random potion for any blank potion spaces. The reason for random is that this rule assumes the Wizard is collecting various potion ingredients as he goes about his day. If you find the ingredients for potion X but not Y then you make potion X.

*This upgrade is not useful until the Mage gets a Staff. Allow a mage with a Staff in hand to roll one extra combat dice with damage dealing spells, and 2 extra dice for the Wizard staff Artifact.

*Print off the extra schools of magic here at the Inn and every 10 quests the mage gains another school.

*More powerful Spell Storing Rings as the heroes progress. For 1000 Gold and his lesser ring, the Wizard gets a new ring that can store 1 more spell than the last ring…This is actually a really good plan I think as it allows the Hero Wizard to continue to gain more power. I am not really sure on the Gold Price though.

[sajungzak]

I still haven't played it yet, got distracted. But don't forget Wardoz's Circlet

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=1584

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0hObo ... sp=sharing

http://www.yeoldeinn.com/images/posting ... irclet.pdf

[Sotiris]

Here are some ideas for fixes I have not tried but I think would work.

*Each time a Wizard kills a bad guy with a spell the Mage may retain the spell in their deck. If the Spell fails to net a kill, then the spell is used and no longer available. The idea being the Wizard captures some of the life essence of the victim thus refreshing his power.

I like it very much!
But make it happen only when he casts 1 spell per turn and not 2 (Wand of Magic).


Another couple of skills that would make him more usefull:
1) "open" his Line of Sight (i read it somewhere else that) to the maximum degree.
All monsters figures in the same room or corridor can be visible to the Wizard, regardless of who's standing in front of him. And..
2) alchemy's knowledge: between quests he gains gold equal to his Mind Points x10.
This will help him to buy at least a couple of daggers per quest and use'em for range atacks.

edit: if those skills are OP modify the 1st one to spend 1 M.P. for using its effect.

[slev]

In HQR the Wand/Rod of Magic/Recall allows an extra cast action each turn, rather than it's original effect. This is a lot more versitile.

I also added a "Sling" weapon, as a perminant 1CD ranged attack.

I also created a Wizard's Quest Pack which added four Elemental Rods, each allowing one of three spells to be cast each Quest, the Circlet of Scorcery (+2MP, +1 Spell Group), and a couple of other trinkets. Further, I created wo additional Spell Groups, Control (mucking about with MPs and "stealing" monsters), and Wizardry, the Wizard equivilent of teh Elf Spells.

[Schmidt]

Here are some ideas for fixes I have not tried but I think would work.

*Each time a Wizard kills a bad guy with a spell the Mage may retain the spell in their deck. If the Spell fails to net a kill, then the spell is used and no longer available. The idea being the Wizard captures some of the life essence of the victim thus refreshing his power.

Genie kills a goblin and can used again?

[Tott]

an idea i had was to print off multiple copies of each card (3 or 4 of each) mix them together and place them face down (you'd need to change the reverse of the card so they all look the same) at the start of his turn, the wizard draws a number of cards equal to his mind points. at the end of his turn he may discard as many unused spells as he likes. once he has cycled through all his spells, he takes his discard pile, shuffles it and starts again. this gives him an unlimited pile of spells ( a barbarian can swing his sword as many times as he likes, an elf can fire an unlimited number or arrows from his bow etc) but stops him simply casting genie each and every turn.
spells would need to be defined as active or passive, only one active spell can be cast each turn, but several passive spells can be cast the same turn. some spells can be ongoing, staying in play over several turns (courage for instance) but they still count towards the number of cards drawn each turn. i.e. a normal wizard - mind points 6- has a courage and a rock skin in play, but has discarded all his other cards. this turn he can only draw 4 spells, for a total of 6 spells per turn.
wand of recall would allow two active spells per turn, the talisman of lore increases the size of his hand and the number of spells in play.
additional spells are needed. a wizard that knows a grand total of nine spells - I feel embarrassed for him.

[slev]

additional spells are needed. a wizard that knows a grand total of nine spells - I feel embarrassed for him.

Given that this was beased off of Jack Vance's "Dying Earth", the magic is fairly reasonable.

[cornixt]

Create a series of equipment cards for the wizard, but instead of weapons it has reusable spell scrolls that can be bought. The spells should not be attack-based like the genie or fireball, but generally useful. They could help out in combat, like briefly nerfing the attack of a monster or beefing the defense of a character, or have a chance of disarming traps. The scrolls can't be as good as the base spells, so maybe they have a lower chance of success, like need to roll a skull to work.

[Gold Bearer]

Combined spells/Components to cast without discarding/Fate points

[cynthialee]

Here are some ideas for fixes I have not tried but I think would work.

*Each time a Wizard kills a bad guy with a spell the Mage may retain the spell in their deck. If the Spell fails to net a kill, then the spell is used and no longer available. The idea being the Wizard captures some of the life essence of the victim thus refreshing his power.

Genie kills a goblin and can used again?

Why is that a big deal?
Any Hero can squik a goblin and be ready to do it again the next round with as many dice as before. But the Mage...nope.