AD&D: Magic Armor, Spellcasting and Movement Rates

There are many rules in the 1st edition AD&D books that contradict themselves, or make no sense. This is one of the main reasons why the initiative section and other parts of combat are such a mess. It seems that the rules were written over such a long period of time that impressions of how those rules should work changed during the writing. None of these contradictions are more glaring than when it comes to magical armor and how much or how little it affects movement rate and/or spellcasting.

In order to understand some of the problems with this rule, one has to first appreciate how Encumbrance was explained to the players. On page 101 of the PLAYERS HANDBOOK, we have a short section on encumbrance and what it means for the player character overloaded with armor, weapons, and adventuring gear. However, nowhere in this section does it differentiate between man-sized characters (humans, elves, half-elves, and half-orcs) and smaller-than-man-sized characters (dwarves, gnomes, and halflings). It is assumed by reading this section that all characters move at the same base movement rate of 12" and can carry the same amount of equipment (which, of course, is patently absurd). Imagine a 3' tall gnome carrying around the same weight of gear as a 6' tall human and being able to move at full speed! Now, remember, that 12" is a scale movement -- it does not mean that the character only moves 12 inches in a turn, but rather moves 120 feet (as 1 "scale inch" = 10 feet on the map). This means a character only moves at 120 feet in 10 minutes of exploration, or 120 feet in one round of combat. This is pathetically slow and has been criticized over the years as being "unrealistic." Compare it with the movement rate of 3rd edition which had characters moving at 30' per 6 second round. However, using this slow, methodical rate allows for all the precautions that most adventurers are known for: checking for traps, watching all directions, careful mapping, etc. It also allows tall folk and smaller folk to move at roughly the same rate! However, I would state that this should not be the case, since if the smaller folk are also moving at a reduced rate, then they should be scaled with the humans accordingly. (Also note that Gygax only uses this slow rate for exploring unknown areas - when moving through mapped or known routes, the rate is 5x faster!)

One must remember that the better the armor, the slower the movement rate. A character in leather armor (non-bulky) is not restricted in movement rate, but one in chain mail (fairly bulky) is moving slower (9" base speed), and one in plate mail (bulky) is slowed even more (6" base speed). Human base speed is set at 12"; I've stated over the years that the smaller humanoids are shown to have a base speed of 9" while giants are shown to have a base speed of 15" or greater depending on size. Therefore, if a suit of armor reduces 12" to 9" or 6", this is a reduction of one or two 3" increments (one could argue for 3/4 or half instead). Since the armor chart in the DUNGEON MASTERS GUIDE (page 27) only deals with 3" increments, let's assume that this is the correct usage of movement reductions for armor. So, a halfling in plate mail is not moving at 4½" but rather at 3" (base speed of 9" reduced by two 3" increments). A human in plate mail is moving at 6", and this seems to make sense. It is not written into the rules anywhere, but still makes sense.

Now, let's take a look at page 28 in the DMG. Near the top of the page is a little section about magic armor. It reads as follows:

When magic armor is worn, assume that its properties allow movement at the next higher base rate and that weight is cut by 50%. There is no magical elfin chain mail.

This seems to work well with the base rate rules I've listed above! Accordingly, that halfling in magical plate mail can now move at the same rate as a human in normal plate mail, i.e. 6" base movement which is one 3" increment better than normal. Magic shields, on the other hand, have no bearing on movement and don't really cut weight, but are considered non-bulky.

Now here is where it gets confusing and contradictory. Normally, when the rules contradict themselves, it's because they were written at different times in different books (and possibly by different authors). However, this contradiction occurs within the confines of the same book and is likely written by the same author (dear old Mr. Gygax). If you look on page 164 of the DMG, under the section describing magic Armor and Shields (2nd paragraph), you find this little gem of a rule:

For game purposes all magical armor should be considered as being virtually weightless - equal to normal clothing, let us assume. This gives characters so clad a base movement speed equal to an unarmored man. Magic shields, however, weigh the same as a normal shield of the same size.

So, in the span of about 135 pages we've gone from "use the next higher movement rate" to "all magic armor is weightless." I really don't buy this - after all, players would argue that if their armor is weightless, they can go swimming in magic plate mail (which, I can assure you, is not the case according to any water-filled pit traps I've ever seen in any modules ever written). Why would the rule be changed so drastically from the beginning of the book to the end of the book? It's just one of those mysteries of the AD&D rules...

Now, in my campaign, this rule reared its ugly head and I had to address it head on. I opted to use the former rule regarding one 3" increment better, and the players agreed that it made more sense. Weightless armor should be reserved for elfin chain mail only, since this is the reason why elves are able to be fighter/magic-users and still wear armor (according to the original D&D rules, with a nod towards Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series). Now, do all fighter/magic-user elves have elfin chain? Probably not. So, should elven fighter/magic-users be able to cast spells in magical chain mail or plate mail? Again, probably not, but the multi-class rules seem to support this. On the other hand, if you are one of those DMs that removes the level limits for demi-human races, then perhaps you should consider enforcing a "no armor" policy for fighter/magic-users to make them less powerful. After all, if elves can run around casting spells in plate mail, you really can't expect the human magic-users not to be up in arms about not being able to wear some form of armor... 

Later editions of D&D (notably 3rd and later) made it possible to wear armor and cast spells, but with a spell failure chance unless they were proficient in the armor that they wore (and there were three levels of armor proficiency - light, medium, and heavy). Perhaps, if spellcasters gave up a weapon proficiency slot to learn an armor spellcasting "proficiency" (say non-bulky, fairly bulky, and bulky) with a prerequisite of having the previous lighter proficiency before a heavier proficiency can be learned, this would allow fighter/magic-users to wear heavier armor and still cast spells without unbalancing the system (there must be a cost that limits the characters in some way). This would prevent low level magic-users from learning more than non-bulky armor proficiency OR a weapon, not both. It would also mean that 1st/1st level fighter/magic-user elves who want to wear plate mail can do so, but at the cost of 3 of their 4 starting proficiencies, leaving them proficient in only one weapon (or they can opt to spend 2 slots to get as high as casting in fairly bulky armor, and have 2 weapon proficiencies). I see this as more fair and provides more choice at the cost of reduced effectiveness. If a human magic-user wanted to wear armor using this system, he would have no weapon proficiencies at all, but could wear plate mail by the time he was 13th level, and would be able to learn his first weapon at 19th level! Not really a good idea for a magic-user with only 1 slot and additional slots every 6 levels! besides, one must determine if it's worth being armored if you have to fight when out of spells with nothing but a non-proficient weapon at -5 to hit! I would also require that characters have a minimum Strength score to wear such armor (say minimum of 9 Strength, same as for fighters).

Rangers, who also cast magic-user spells at higher levels, are not restricted in the armor that they can wear. But at 9th level, they are assumed to be wearing magic armor of some sort. Should they too be required to spend proficiency slots on spellcasting in armor? Perhaps casting in armor is not the issue, but instead casting in magic armor! If this was the direction that Gygax was leaning towards, it's possible that he really meant for all magic armor to be weightless after all! But why then restrict magic-users to wearing no armor, while allowing all other magic-user multi-classed characters to wear whatever armor they want? There doesn't seem to be an equitable answer. All thief multi-classed characters are restricted to wearing only leather armor while performing their thieving functions; why not restrict all arcane spellcasters to no armor if they intend to cast spells? There just doesn't seem to be a good reason for it!

Trying to Understand the Forgotten Realms

Since the end of 1st edition AD&D I have been at a loss to understand the basic concepts behind the Forgotten Realms and what makes that setting so popular. Unlike the campaign settings of Blackmoor and Greyhawk that came before it, the Realms seemed to be nothing more than a mishmash of discarded or "forgotten" religions, cultures, and concepts from Earth's history - the Egyptian, Celtic, and Norse influences on the Realms are undeniable. The later inclusions of anything that TSR could dream up were obviously not of Ed Greenwood's design, so I won't fault him for that. However, the very things that made his campaign setting so inviting to others seem to be completely unrelated to the campaign that he ran for his original players and were, instead, the creation of other authors using his world setting as their play thing.

My disdain for the "one good dark elf ranger" aside, it seems to me that the Realms have no true identity. They are simply a conglomeration of various ideas that seemed interesting to their creator at the time. It may astonish some to know that some of the "original" deities of the Forgotten Realms had names of Earth deities like Tyche (later changed to Tymora) or Tyr (which was curiously left alone). The various locations of The North seem to be vignettes in a sea of wilderness without any real connecting threads. Now, I've read some of the novels written by others in the Realms (Douglas Niles, R. A. Salvatore, Elaine Cunningham, Jeff Grubb, James Lowder, etc.), but it seems that each takes a portion of the Realms to make their own personal playground and never step on the toes of the other authors. This makes the Realms feel even more disjointed, since there is little to tie all the novels together other than a brand name. In fact, it feels like the branding of the Forgotten Realms as the default campaign setting for 2nd edition AD&D was more of a corporate decision instead of any sort of actual, thought-out plan on the part of TSR, Inc. It seems that Ed Greenwood lost control of his creation from the start, and definitely after the popularity of the various new characters took off.

Now, I've read Ed Greenwood's material in Dragon Magazine for years before the Realms were ever produced. Even then, it seemed that the world he developed was more of a crazy quilt of cultures randomly woven together into some bizarre fantasy setting. Elminster was more of a "narrator" telling the story of the Realms (and I see him as Greenwood's alter ego in the Realms). When that character became more prominent in later books, his mysterious narrator role (where you weren't quite sure he wasn't a god in disguise) fell away and he became as trite and mismatched as the rest of his world. The inclusion of Kara-Tur, Chult, Maztica, and the Hordelands cemented my belief that TSR was going to take every form of fantasy campaign and set them all in one world. I was surprised that they didn't include Ravenloft and Dark Sun in the mix as well!

It wasn't all bad. I actually liked Ed Greenwood's novels about Cormyr, and the ones about the Knights of Myth Drannor weren't terrible. But these were rehashes of places he had developed fully. The Cormyr novels were about the fall of King Azoun and the politics of the kingdom. The Knights series was a retelling of the adventures of his first group in Cormyr, exploring the Haunted Halls and running afoul of the Zhentarim. The concepts in these stories are connected and make sense - if only the rest of the Realms were as cohesive...

So, in my attempt to understand the Realms better, I went back to the source material. I started re-reading the original boxed set developed under 1st edition rules. It was more cohesive than later campaign sets, but covered much less area. The original modules written in the Realms by Ed Greenwood were also enlightening to a degree, but I also saw a side of the Realms that turned me off completely. I am referring to three adventures written by Ed Greenwood in particular - Into the Forgotten Realms which was the first ever published tournament module set in the Realms (Dragon Magazine #95), the Haunted Halls of Eveningstar (his original campaign dungeon published much later at the height of 2nd edition AD&D), and Irongard published in Dungeon Magazine #18.

The first was written for mid-level characters in the Dalelands, and featured a nasty surprise waiting for the characters in the middle of the dungeon they were sent to explore. Lots of background information on the Dalelands was supplied as adventure background, but nothing could prepare the adventurers for the deadly foe that waited within. Now, I'm not going to spoil the surprise here, but let's just say that the characters really have no chance of survival. On the other hand, it was a tournament module from Gen Con 1984, and elimination is really the name of the game for tourney modules. This adventure shows the cruel side of the author in making his characters face a deadly threat that they really have no chance of overcoming without using tact and guile, and relying on good dice rolls. Exciting? Perhaps to some.

The second was the original campaign dungeon for his first players in the Realms. Set in the Kingdom of Cormyr, the adventurers set their home base in Eveningstar, a lovely little town on the northern borders of the kingdom in the Stonelands. The module is not very well executed and seems to be "padded" to increase the page count (and thus the profit). Half the module is fluff about the town and the NPCs therein. This is all very interesting material as backstory, but few adventurers would learn most of the material unless they lived in the town for a long period of time. And that won't happen if they enter the nearby dungeon... of course they have to FIND it first! And, like all old-school dungeons, everything is well hidden and requires a very competent group to locate the entrance to the place.  Once inside, the lack of monsters and preponderance of deadly traps which test the adventurers' courage as well as their knowledge of the rules led my D&D group to abandon the place out of sheer boredom and lack of treasure. It's hard to rationalize a dungeon that kills everyone that dares face its challenges as 1st-level characters in the first encounter. You have to ease players into the game, not kill them all off before they even get a chance to do anything.

The final straw was while reading Irongard. The whole premise of the module is infuriating. As the DM, you have to select one character (a wizard) to be the recipient of a horrible curse that basically makes that character useless for the entire adventure. It's bad enough when playing a wizard to survive past 1st level, but taking away their only ability (casting spells) at the START of the adventure is just plain cruel. "Here, your character is a mage and knows how to cast one spell for the day. Are you ready to play? Great. I curse you and now you can't cast your spell anymore. That was your only useful spell? Gee, that's too bad." The rest of the module then pits the party against a number of magical phenomena in a small dungeon that can only be overcome by trial and error, or BY CASTING SPELLS. Yeah, dick move there Greenwood....

Now, I've heard rumors about the deadliness of Castle Greyhawk or the deaths incurred in other campaigns, but it seems that Ed Greenwood just didn't want any new characters to survive his world or accomplish anything. All the original modules seemed to do was discourage play or piss off players. Not a very good introduction to the Realms, if you ask me. It didn't help that all the NPCs in the world were also of godlike power and seemed to roam every byroad and highway in the Realms! I've played in the Realms myself - under a very good DM who loved the Realms - but we made the place our own and avoided the major NPCs if possible (even though we were based in Shadowdale). I remember playing through N5 Under Illefarn (or at least part of that module) and being very impressed with the adventures we had. Of course, that might have been due to the DM and not the setting itself. It also helped that we were still using 1st edition rules at the time. When we switched over to 2nd edition, the campaign lagged a bit before finally ending with our party being captured and imprisoned in some gods-forsaken castle inhabited by humanoids and devils (Hellgate Keep or Dragonspear?).

Despite playing in the Realms, and exploring some of its secrets, I still don't understand why people love this campaign setting so much. It lacks cohesion and verisimilitude to me. It's cohesive only within the context of a module or novel, not across them. The events in the Realms change so fast, and so many stories were published about them, that I don't believe it's humanly possible to maintain all that information in one brain, no less write a cohesive adventure about the place. The more information there is on a place, the less mysterious and interesting it becomes. The Gazetteer series for Basic/Expert D&D suffered from this. Once those locations were all detailed, you couldn't really see a place to set a dungeon adventure or a bandit kingdom. All the hexes were pretty much detailed and "explored."

The original Forgotten Realms setting left one land completely undesigned for use by the DM to make it his or her own (Sembia?). One small nation on the map of a world would never be developed by TSR and was smack in the middle of the maps. I'm not sure if this was such a good idea for them to do. It would render that one nation trivial, since most adventurers would likely come from that place and then adventure elsewhere to explore the other, cooler regions of the world that the players read about in all the novels. Is that a good design idea? Did it ever really work for anyone's campaign?

In 5th edition, the Forgotten Realms is once more the "default" D&D campaign world. All these years later, and I'm still trying to understand why people love this setting so much. Guess it's just a mystery for the ages. I just don't get it...

Training in AD&D

 The concept of leveling the player character has changed somewhat from the early incarnations of the game. Originally, the character simply advanced a level, gaining all the benefits thereof immediately. This was fine when it came to things like game mechanics (hit points, spells per day, etc.), but made little sense for things that need to be learned or acquired over time (new spells, weapon proficiencies, completely new powers, etc.). So, Gygax added in Training in ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. It wasn't terribly well-executed, but it was a step in the right direction for giving the players a sense of advancement without breaking the verisimilitude of the campaign world. Later editions would return to the original form of skipping training by saying "don't worry, it's only a game." Let's take a look at how it all worked:

The rules for training in AD&D were appropriately listed in the DUNGEON MASTERS GUIDE after the section on EXPERIENCE (p. 86). The rules were tied to Experience Points in that every time the DM gave out XP, he also graded the characters based on their performance. It is also stated that "UPWARD PROGRESS IS NEVER AUTOMATIC." The gaining of experience points is merely an indicator that show eligibility for level progression. Whether or not an actual level is gained is up to the DM to decide. Now, I don't know about you, but withholding a level would have been grounds for a lynching back when I was learning to DM!

The DM's grading basis was given as a letter grade: Excellent (E) for few deviation from the norm; Superior (S) for minimal but noted deviations; Fair (F) for more deviations noted but not more than normal behavior; and Poor (P) for aberrant behavior not normally evidenced by the class or alignment in question. When XP was granted, the number was to be noted with the letter grade. For example, if a character earned 155 XP for killing monsters and gathering treasure during an expedition into the dungeon, and participated well but did not work to the best of his abilities or deviated from his alignment, he would receive an S grade, and asked to note his XP for that session as 155(S). The grades also had a numeric value, with E = 1, S = 2, F = 3, and P = 4. When a character achieved enough XP to go up a level, all the grades from his or her previous levels adventures were averaged. This gave the number of WEEKS that must be spent in training to make the new level. For example, if a character received five XP awards between his 2nd and 3rd levels, and achieved scores of E, S, E, F, S during those sessions, he would have to train for (1+2+1+3+2 / 5 =) 1.8 weeks. Since each 0.145 equals a game day, this equates to 13.5 days of training, during which the character is out of action.

Not only did a character have to spend time training, they also had to pay for this training. The amount to train was equal to the current level of the character x 1,500 gp per week. Therefore, in the example above, the 2nd level character training for 3rd level, taking 1.8 weeks, would cost (2 x 1,500 x 1.8 = ) 5,400 gp. As you can see, if the character had acquired that much gold, he or she could have already BEEN 3rd level by the amount of gold alone! Few low level characters have enough money to train when they become eligible, and thus they must adventure to gain MORE money.

Next, one must consider the trainer. In order to train, one must be tutored by someone of the same class. Now this trainer might accept some service in lieu of partial payment for their services (DM's option) and this may lead to further adventures as well (not to mention the role-playing opportunities of having a well-known NPC trainer in a town or city). A trainer is not required for any character with an average performance score under 2, however, the training time is doubled (and therefore, the cost is also doubled). If a character has a performance score of 2 or greater, they MUST have a trainer or remain at their current level until they are able to find one. Training under a tutor only applies to those characters below "Name level." Once you reach that high of a level, you merely spend money and time to train (and the money required becomes a function of class).

All training is conducted in game time, and the period must be continuous and uninterrupted. Any interruption requires the process to begin again from the start, with any money spent thus far being lost. As an added "gotcha" to the process, Gygax states the following: "Under no circumstances can a character gain additional experience points by any means until he or she actually acquires the higher level through  the required training/study course." What this does is prevent characters from  achieving multiple levels from a single adventure. Once the total crosses the threshold of the new level, no new XP is gained until the level is gained through training. If a character who is 4th level finds and slays a dragon and collects its entire hoard of precious gems with enough XP to now be 7th level, he will only gain enough experience to be 5th level and 1 point away from 6th level until he has enough time to train for 5th level. All the excess experience points are thus lost! Now, this applies to any circumstance, even if the character can't afford to pay, is stuck in the wilderness away from a trainer, or has to journey to find a trainer of the appropriate skill and class. The amount of XP over the level threshold does not matter, so long as the amount does not exceed the new level's cap. Thus, if the 4th level character just made 5th level by 1 point or 1,200 points, his new total is capped until training occurs.

This strange experience system results in some interesting considerations:

• If your character is the ONLY one to make a level during the adventure, you might find that your party members have left you behind in town while they return to the dungeon. It may be several days before they return, but your character is out of action for at least a week in any case, and maybe more! Unless there is another character to play (henchman or other NPC), you're done for the evening and will probably retire to another room to play video games or watch a movie (this prevents you from knowing things that you shouldn't know due to inactivity).
  
• Note that a Thief only requires 1,250 XP to acquire 2nd level, but how much of that XP is gold? A 1st level thief may have to steal quite a bit more gold on the streets of the local town before they can achieve the next level (especially if they require additional weeks of training)! The poor 1st-level magic-user who has to earn 2,500 XP, however, is more likely to be able to afford his next level when it comes time to train.
• What this system really does is promote role-playing and using one's class abilities to the best of their ability each and every session. Now, not everyone is going to be at the top of their game each session, but by putting forth the extra effort you can save a lot of time and money in the long run!
• The other consideration is the level spread of characters in the party. There is already disparity between characters of different classes. Clerics, druids, and thieves tend to level up very quickly, while magic-users, paladins, and rangers suffer from higher XP requirements. And don't get me started on how much XP a barbarian requires! Perhaps this is why most published modules have a level range listed...
  
• A lack of money at the lower levels (let's face it, copper and silver are more common and not worth much XP) promotes a longer time in the lower levels adventuring with fewer hit points and a greater chance of not surviving beyond 2nd level. A magic-user with 1-4 hit points is not likely to survive to see that 2nd level, and requires exposing themselves to multiple dangerous expeditions for little gain (monsters of lower level have less treasure unless encountered in larger numbers in a lair, which drastically cuts survivability).
• Increasing the number of adventurers in a party actually hurts XP gain and gold acquisition, unless those added are hirelings who are paid a standard wage for their services. Still, XP is split among all participants - regardless of whether they can actually gain XP or not. A party of 3 characters and 5 armed footmen hirelings are still splitting XP 8 ways (depending on the participation level) but survival of the PCs is thus at greater chances.
• There is no discussion in the rules as to how a multi-class character trains. Should the character train for each class separately at full price when enough XP is achieved? Should the price be reduced based on the number of classes (halved or thirded) so that they are not penalized in that regard? On the other hand, the multi-classed character is already penalized by slower advancement in each class, and thus reduced survivability at lower levels, so would it be fair to also charge them the same rates as single class characters? Also, they would have to spend more time in training as it would be unlikely for them to achieve their levels simultaneously. On the other hand, they are gaining all the benefits of each class with few restrictions. The greatest problem with being multi-classed is averaging hit points. Perhaps costs should be reduced to keep them in line with single-classed characters.

Once training is concluded (i.e. all expenses have been paid and time required is completed), the character gains all benefits of the new level. Hit points are rolled, new abilities are added to the character sheet, and magic-users get to add a new spell (of any level they can know) to their spellbooks (usually of the highest level they can cast, but not necessarily). This spell is assumed to come from the trainer, so it helps if the DM has the trainer's spell selections available. At this point, experience may once more be gained and the performance rating is reset until the character again is eligible to gain a new level. But what should this look like on a character sheet?

In the past we would keep track of XP in a small corner of the sheet and ERASE the previous total once we got the new total. For years we did this until we actually read the rules in the DMG. Now, we have elaborate spreadsheets on which to track our XP progression, noting each performance rating and the in-game date for when an XP amount was awarded. As the characters have gained (or lost levels), we try to keep the levels divided on the sheet by a thick line when a total crosses a level threshold. This means noting the XP NEEDED FOR NEXT LEVEL somewhere on the sheet. Since we're mostly old-school players, Experience Point entries are listed on a separate sheet of paper in ledger style. However, this system has kept us all in line and has allowed us to re-create XP sheets that are lost or damaged over time (my current campaign is 20 years old).

The higher in level the characters become, the longer the time between XP awards, and the larger the awards are based on the number of creatures killed and treasure amounts gained. Higher-level characters are no less susceptible to death, however. "No saving throw" spells or "Save or Die" traps or monster powers lead to an even higher chance of not walking away from the next combat. In 20 years our characters are just over Name Level and it doesn't look like the campaign will survive COVID-19 since social distancing keeps us old-schoolers from playing face to face. In fact, I haven't played in over a year now - so much wasted time and lost experience points!

AD&D: Creating an Adventuring Party

 It's been very nearly a year since my last game of AD&D. One full year without rolling a die! How depressing... Guess I'll cheer myself up by doing a little solo gaming and creating an adventuring party! Let's assume that I'm running a hypothetical game for my friends Steve, Nick, Tom, Jeff, Bruce, and Vinnie. I've run each of them for years through various adventures. I'm well aware of their tastes and preferences and can make a cohesive party using the choices I know they would make. We're all veterans of the game, but some of them never played in 1st edition. This will be a fun thought experiment as I get to imagine how my friends would create a party of characters from scratch.

STEP 1: Come up with a Party Theme or Common Goal

It's easy to just roll everything randomly, but I find that a good group starts out with some sort of theme or general goal that allows the players to form relationships before play begins. For example, the characters in my 2nd edition Greyhawk campaign were all from the Greyhawk City region and everyone decided to play Lawful Good characters! We ended up with a human cleric of St. Cuthbert, a ranger of the Gnarley Wood, a dwarven fighter from the Abbor Alz, and a gnome cleric/illusionist of Garl Glittergold. We had a fun time getting these characters leveled before converting to 3rd edition.

We don't know yet how to tie the characters together (or even what they are going to be) so we'll skip this step for now and circle back later when there's more information. If one player is dead set on playing a paladin, however, it's  pretty obvious that assassins are ruled out (and vice versa). At this stage it's a good idea to get the players talking about what they like to play, what they don't like, and who wants to begin the game knowing either someone else in the party or who wants to be the outsider/loner of the group. Again, talking this over before the dice are even rolled will prevent arguments and bad feelings if the party decides something that one player doesn't like. It's hard to accommodate all preferences in a large group, but most players are flexible and will join in as long as an idea sounds like it could be fun.

At this time, the DM (me) also needs to come up with a rolling method to use in character creation. It's suggested they run "old skool" and try 3d6-straight, but the players are not having it! So, the DM concedes and asks them if Method I from the DMG is more amenable (4d6 drop the lowest, arrange as desired). Everyone is on board with this. One snarky player asks about the Unearthed Arcana methods, but everyone else shoots this down as too overpowered for their tastes.

STEP 2: Rolling Ability Scores

Now to the meat and potatoes of character development! Everyone rolls for their ability scores and gets the following scores:

Steve: 14, 15, 12, 9, 15, 13
Nick: 7, 11, 11, 12, 12, 16
Tom: 10, 13, 15, 14, 8, 12
Bruce: 15, 13, 13, 15, 15, 10
Jeff: 15, 15, 11, 13, 14, 14
Vinnie: 12, 11, 13, 13, 14, 14

The Players Handbook states that the characters should have at least 2 scores in the 15+ range, and no more than one very low stat. The only character with a low score is Nick's, who also has only one score in the 15+ range. Vinnie has no scores in the 15+ range, but they are not very low either. Tom's stats are borderline, since he has a stat at 14. The DM asks Nick if he's OK with his stats and he agrees to play them as rolled. The others have no problems either.

STEP 3: Decide on Race and Class

Steve likes to play clerics (and elves), but can't in this system since elves can't be clerics as PCs. So he opts to be a half-elf cleric. Since he's a half-elf, he could also multi-class. His first question is "What campaign world are we using?" The DM responds that they'll be running in Greyhawk since he's most familiar with this setting. Steve looks over the list of deities while the others debate among themselves.

Nick only got one score above 15 - the rest of his scores are either average or slightly below. Nick likes playing fighters (and humans), but there's really no advantage to playing a human in 1st edition other than unlimited advancement. He tells the others that he's considering a fighter, but would also be willing to be a magic-user if no one else is going to play one. He'll be human regardless.

Tom looks over his scores and has two pretty good stats. He likes to play characters who are quirky loners so he leans towards being a thief, perhaps a demi-human multiclassed thief. 

Bruce rolled some nice scores - he's looking at being a ranger! He asks if he can be a drow ranger... Everyone groans! OK, if not a drow, then how about an elf? Bruce likes elves! The DM explains that only half-elves could be rangers in 1st edition unless using the Unearthed Arcana rules. The DM then asks the others if they have any problems with using Unearthed Arcana rules. No one objects, but one of the players asks if they will make things more complicated. The DM explains the changes - paladins become a cavalier sub-class, and there are other changes to level limits, permitted races, and playable classes. The others begin to seem excited at the prospect, so it's agreed that Unearthed Arcana rules are in. Bruce decides to be a wood elf ranger with a bow.

Suddenly everyone begins to change their minds. Steve could now be an elf as a cleric, so he decides to instead be an elven cleric of Corellon Larethian. Nick looks up Barbarian and finds that he just doesn't have the stats for it. Tom is looking at possibly running a deep gnome fighter/thief.... What have I done?!?

Jeff has been sitting quietly looking over his stats. He likes to play magic-users, and prefers playing gnomes. He looks over the illusionist and finds that he doesn't meet the requirements (needs a 16 score for his Dexterity). He decides instead to be a half-elven magic-user. Since the Unearthed Arcana rules are in play, and he's a single-classed character, he'll be able to increase his level limit from 6th to 8th.

Lastly Vinnie opts to go for a fighter. He likes to play humans, but decides instead on a half-orc since no one in the party has declared a dwarf yet. Half-orc fighters get some nice stat adjustments, and he can be as crude as he wants to be. A consummate role-player, he intends on coming up with a convoluted background and pre-game history that will make his half-orc fighter a memorable character.

Once all the players have decided on their final character selections, the party seems to consist of the following (final stats are modified for race):

Steve - CG high elven cleric of Corellon; S 15, I 9, W 15, D 15, C 11, Ch 13
Nick - CN human fighter; S 16, I 11, W 7, D 12, C 12, Ch 11
Tom - NG deep gnome fighter/thief; S 14, I 10, W 12, D 15, C 13, Ch 8
Bruce - CG wood elf ranger; S 14, I 14, W 15, D 13, C 15, Ch 10
Jeff - NG half-elf magic-user; S 11, I 15, W 14, D 15, C 13, Ch 14
Vinnie - N half-orc fighter; S 15, I 11, W 13, D 13, C 15, Ch 10

STEP 4: Noting Abilities and Generating Spells

The DM looks over the characters making sure that everyone adjusted everything correctly and met all the requirements for race and class. The end result is a fairly balanced party that is heavy on fighters. The DM then states that everyone will be 1st level and asks them to begin fleshing out their characters. He has them list all their racial abilities and class abilities for 1st level characters. He then sits down with the magic-user to generate his spell book: read magic (automatic), shocking grasp, ventriloquism, and erase. Not the most stellar assortment of spells ever, but manageable.

Everyone but the human fighter has infravision, so a light source will still have to be purchased.

STEP 5: Rolling Hit Points and Generating Funds

It's time to roll for hit points! Yes, that's right, ROLL for hit points. No one has a Constitution modifier except for the half-orc fighter and the wood elf ranger.

(Steve) Cleric (1d8) = 7 hp
(Nick) Fighter (1d10) = 4 hp
(Tom) Fighter/Thief (average of 1d10 and 1d6) = (7+1)/2 = 4 hp
(Bruce) Ranger (2d8+1) = (5+1)+(8+1) = 15 hp
(Jeff) Magic-user (1d4) = 2 hp
(Vinnie) Fighter (1d10+1) = 3 hp

Vinnie and Jeff both laugh out loud at their rolls. Nick is disappointed in his roll and doesn't see the character actually surviving for very long. Bruce is pleased with his rolls as he has the highest total in the party! Steve rolled decently as well. The party will have to be very careful in the beginning, and hopefully they can afford some nice armor!

Speaking of affording armor, it's time to roll for starting money:

(Steve) Cleric (3d6 x 10 gp) = 100 gp
(Nick) Fighter (5d4 x 10 gp) = 70 gp
(Tom) Fighter/Thief (average of 5d4 and 2d6 x 10) = (17+7)/2 x 10 gp = 120 gp
(Bruce) Ranger (5d4 x 10 gp) = 140 gp
(Jeff) Magic-user (2d4 x 10 gp) = 50 gp
(Vinnie) Fighter (5d4 x 10 gp) = 120 gp

STEP 6: Weapons, Armor, Gear, and Armor Class

Nick groans as his feeble starting gold amount means that he won't have much to spend on good armor or heavy weapons. He sighs and looks at what he can afford. He opts for ring mail and a small wooden shield giving him an AC 6. Steve goes for scale mail and large shield for an AC of 5. Tom buys leather and his Dex modifies this to an AC 7. Bruce buys chain mail for an AC 5. Jeff's magic-user can't wear armor, so his AC is a 9 with his Dex modifier. Vinnie goes for studded leather and small shield for an AC of 6.

Since Bruce's concept was for an archer-type, he looks over the bow prices and settles on a short bow with a quiver of 12 arrows. He also buys a long sword since elves have bonuses with both bows and swords. Nick can't spend too much, so he's going for hand axe as his weapon of choice, but he's also going to specialize in that weapon so he can get multiple attacks at an earlier level. It will also grant him +1 to hit and +2 to damage with the specialized weapon. Bruce and Vinnie could have their characters specialize also, but if the ranger is specialized in the bow he can't know any other weapons! Bruce opts to not specialize in the bow, but Vinnie wants to double specialize in his weapon of choice - the horseman's flail! This will grant him +3 to hit and +3 to damage in addition to the extra attacks. Steve buys a footman's mace and a staff. Tom buys a horseman's military pick, dagger and bunch of darts. Jeff opts for a simple dagger.

Normal equipment is purchased and weapons of proficiency are noted for all the characters.

STEP 7: Finalizing and Naming the Character

The DM mentions that it would be best to come up with some short name to be known by for now and develop the backstory of the character later as 1st-level characters have a very low survival rate. Characters select any languages they can know due to high Intelligence. Jeff and Bruce decide to make their characters female at the last minute. Finally, names are assigned:

Olvaron (Steve), high elven acolyte of Corellon (cleric 1)
Bosco (Nick), human veteran (fighter 1)
Vordrin (Tom), deep gnome veteran/rogue (fighter 1/thief 1)
L'ardrielle (Bruce), wood elven runner (ranger 1)
Palanna (Jeff), half-elven prestidigitator (magic-user 1)
Kor-Vek (Vinnie), half-orc veteran (fighter 1)

The characters are told that they are all meeting in the small village of Plunket on the northern edge of the March of Bissel, not far from the keep of Thornward. The region is having trouble with Kettite bandits raiding from the north. There is an old abandoned tower in the Bramblewood Forest that may be the lair of the bandits. Some rumors of orcs in the region and the possible lair of an ogre are also gained. They are also told to beware of dakon (intelligent apes) in the woods. With this information the characters can now be linked with each other.

Since the adventure is taking place not far from the Hellfurnaces, Vordrin the deep gnome could be a visitor from the underworld sent to establish connections with the surface as a fighting scout. Olvaron and Palanna are related in some manner, either as cousins or half-siblings. Kor-Vek met and befriended Bosco on his travels and the two are now a mercenary team looking for work. L'ardrielle was sent to hunt humanoid raiders at the border, and her knowledge of the Bramblewood will help the party in their adventure. The group likely met in Thornward and were hired by the lord of the land to deal with the raiding humanoids and bandits in the region. In return he offers a bounty of 500 gp to the party that can prove they have dealt with the problems there. The village they begin in has suffered raids in the past few days and needs to be defended. The village alderman wants the raids to stop and is sending the party into the Bramblewood in the hopes that they find the lair of the bandits and end the threat.

From here on in, the characters will be dealt with by character name only. The party elects Palanna as the group leader (caller), while L'ardrielle will be the outdoor (hex paper) mapper and Olvaron will be the indoor (graph paper) mapper. The party decides to pool whatever gold they have left in order to properly outfit themselves and buy a mule with pack saddle and saddle bags to haul out any treasure and keep them from becoming encumbered. Bosco is tasked with handling the mule and keeping track of the inventory. Palanna will be providing the light source (as needed) since she was the only character that could afford a lantern and oil. She'll also need the light to read her spell book when preparing spells. No one has enough money left to hire on henchmen or hirelings.

So that's it! The party is assembled, fully developed to the extent that it can be, and the DM has introduced them to the scenario. Next time we can see how the party faces off against their first encounter!

NOTE: I had to edit this post since the ranger's stats were calculated erroneously! The character did not meet the minimums with the first arrangement, so I had to rearrange a few scores. The end result is a not as strong, not as dextrous elf as Bruce would have wanted, but the character was not meeting the requirements for Wis and Con previously. Now the character is correct, and Bruce would have had to accept the adjustments - I believe he would have kept the character concept the same (he still gets +1 to hit with sword and bow being an elf).

Spell Evolution: Burning Hands

 A while ago, in another blog, I ran a series of articles regarding how spells evolved through the editions of Dungeons & Dragons. I only had three editions to work with then - I have five to work with now. Let's pick up at the 1st level magic-user (wizard) spell burning hands.

AD&D 1st Edition (1978)

Burning Hands (Alteration)

Level: 1
Range: 0
Duration: 1 round
Area of Effect: Special
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 segment
Saving Throw: None

Explanation/Description: When the magic-user casts this spell, jets of searing flame shoot from his or her fingertips. Hands can only be held so as to send forth a fan-like sheet of flames, as the magic-user-s thumbs must touch each other and fingers must be spread. The burning hands send out flame jets of 3' length in a horizontal arc of about 120º in front of the magic-user. Any creature in the area of flames takes 1 hit point of damage for each level of experience of the spellcaster, and no saving throw is possible. Inflammable materials touched by the fire will burn, i.e. cloth, paper, parchment, thin wood, etc.

The spell is basic and straightforward. The range of 0 means that the effect begins at the spellcaster and cannot be projected at any range from the spellcaster's body other than the area of effect. The duration of 1 round means that the flame jets last the entire 1 minute (10 segment) duration of the round. However, the casting time of 1 segment indicates that the magic-user begins casting at the beginning of the round and the spell comes off at the end of the 1st segment (and will thus continue until the end of the first segment on the following round. This is not intuitive to those who are not used to using segments by the book. Effectively, the magic-user has several blow torches emanating from his fingers to a distance of 3 feet! Also, what is not evidently clear to many casters is that once your spell is cast, you are free to move wherever you like, up to the remainder of your movement for the round. Assuming that you cast this spell on a bunch of goblins immediately in your path, you can now chase them if they flee or set a nearby tapestry aflame with the jets of flame from your hands. Although many balk at the low damage done by the spell, it is assumed that most targets would remove themselves from the area of effect as soon as possible (like jerking your hands away from a fire that suddenly flares up). Thus the low damage potential of 1 point per level of the caster. This spell is much more effective at higher levels as the lack of a saving throw guarantees that non-flame resistant creatures automatically take the indicated amount of damage. The 1 segment casting time also makes it hard to disrupt this spell unless an archer has the magic-user targeted and gets a shot off at the beginning of initiative. The real danger of the spell is that it sets combustibles on fire. It does not indicate that the items get a saving throw - thus, a person in normal clothing or a rival wizard in robes is in danger of catching on fire. How much damage that fire does and how long it lasts has been a matter of debate for years! For greatest effect, lob oil on a target and then have the magic-user cast this spell - instant roast!

AD&D 2nd Edition (1989)

Burning Hands (Alteration)

Level: 1
Range: 0
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
Casting Time: 1
Area of Effect: The caster
Saving Throw: 1/2

When the wizard casts this spell, a jet of searing flame shoots from his fingertips. His hands must be held so as to send forth a fan-like sheet of flames: the wizard's thumbs must touch each other and fingers must be spread. The burning hands send out flame jets of five-foot length in a horizontal arc of about 120 degrees in front of the wizard. Any creature in the area of the flames suffers 1d3 hit points of damage, plus 2 points for each level of experience of the spellcaster, to a maximum of  1d3 + 20 points of fire damage. Those successfully saving vs. spell receive half damage. Flammable materials touched by the fire burn (e.g., cloth, paper, parchment, thin wood, etc.). Such materials can be extinguished in the next round if no other action is taken.

This version of the spell is somewhat modified from the 1st edition version. The range and components of the spell are the same, but the duration now makes it more of a flash-effect lasting like a second or so. Casting times in 2nd edition are added to the initiative die roll to see when in the round the spell comes off, so it may happen very quickly if the initiative roll was a 1, or very slowly if the initiative roll was a 10 (initiative rolled on d10 in this edition). So getting the spell off is not a guarantee in this version. The area of effect is defined by the spell description - it is listed as "The Caster" in the stats sections which I find interesting. In essence, you are altering your own body to become a flame-thrower, but from your own fingers. Interesting.... The damage caused by the spell is much more than in 1st edition - but the duration and damage don't really match. If they had kept the 1 round duration it would have made more sense. A flash of flame is hardly that damaging (as anyone who has had flashover from a pan or grill know) and will hardly cause the indicated damage in a second (other than singing off your eyebrows). But it makes it a more viable 1st level spell. The maximum damage occurs at 10th level where a wizard can cause 21-23 points of damage (half if saved against). Not bad for a 1st level spell. Although it also allows combustible materials to be set afire, it still doesn't tell you exactly the ramifications of being set on fire, especially since it can be extinguished in a round (for the cost of losing your action). Does it do more damage? Is the item consumed by the fire? Still no indication on what the consequences are of being set on fire.

D&D 3rd Edition (2000)

Burning Hands
Transmutation [Fire]
Level: Fire 1, Sor/Wiz 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 10 ft.
Area: Semicircular burst of flames 10 ft. long, centered on your hands
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Reflex half
Spell Resistance: Yes

A thin sheet of searing flame shoots from your outspread fingertips. You must hold your hands with your thumbs touching and your fingers spread. The sheet of flame is about as thick as your thumbs. Any creature in the area of the flames takes 1d4 points of fire damage per your caster level (maximum 5d4). Flammable materials such as cloth, paper, parchment, and thin wood burn if the flames touch them. A character can extinguish burning items as a full-round action.

By this edition, the spell changed quite a bit. The Alteration school becomes Transmutation with a fire sub-type to interact with other creatures that are vulnerable to fire spells (or resistant). Clerics gain access to the spell through the fire domain, so it is not just a spell for wizards! The visual act of casting remains identical - apparently this is the "cool factor" of the spell that carried over from the origins of AD&D. The casting time had to change to reflect the new way that combat occurs. An action occurs on your turn and cannot be interrupted unless an action is readied against your casting. Otherwise it simply happens on your turn with or without a move before or after the casting. The duration remains instantaneous so it occurs on your turn and then goes away. The saving throw is still used, although here it is tied to Dexterity in a Reflex save, allowing fast-reflex opponents to avoid the brunt of the spell. The area of effect keeps enlarging - the AD&D 1E version only went 3 feet; the 2nd edition version went 5 feet, and this version goes 10 feet! With the enlarged area, more targets can be affected. But can they? Remember that distances in 1E were measured at 1" = 10 feet scale on a map. So long as two opponents were within 10' of each other they were considered to be in melee range. At most, a burning hands in 1E would affect 1 or 2 targets directly in front of you. In 2E the distance was measured straight in feet without the wargaming conversion. But at 5' range, the spell was not going to affect more than 1 to 3 close opponents. D&D 3E uses 5' squares on a map grid with their own rules for who is and is not considered in the area of effect. Refer to the diagram below to see what I mean: 

As you can see, those targets fully within the spell's area are affected. Those partially outside of the spell's area are not. The area of effect thus is limited by the square grid to affect up to 6 targets maximum: 4 in the front of the wizard and 2 behind the central part of the back line. Casting on a diagonal makes it even harder to figure this out. Basically, the math is constrained by the need to use the grid. Still, 6 targets is much more than 1 or 2 targets, so the increased area benefits the wizard greatly! The major alteration to the spell was the damage caused - 1d4 per caster level up to 5th level. Thus a 1st level caster could, in essence, match the damage done by a 1st level caster in AD&D 1E! However, the damage would go up higher as the wizard achieved higher levels. Damage at 5th level is 5-20 points of damage, compared to 5 points in 1E and 7-9 in 2E. However, the damage continues to increase in 1E and 2E. A 20th level archmage in 1E does 20 points of damage with no save! A 20th level wizard in 2E does 21-23 points of damage with a save for half. A 20th level wizard in 3E does 5-20 with a save for half. So although the damage increased for the lower level casters, the higher level casters would not bother with such as spell given the better saves of higher level creatures (ans spell resistance). So far, the spell is increasing damage potential for low-level spell casters and not much else.

AD&D 4th Edition (2008)

Burning Hands (Wizard Attack 1)
A fierce burst of flame erupts from your hands and scorches nearby foes.

Encounter * Arcane, Fire, Implement
Standard Action    Close blast 5
Target: Each creature in blast
Attack: Intelligence vs. Reflex
Hit: 2d6 + Intelligence modifier fire damage

I find it humorous that there is no descriptive text for spells in this edition other than a short blurb. You have to know all the nuances of the power descriptions in order to figure out what it all means. Wizards in this version have a number of encounter power uses that they can make each encounter. Once those are all used up, you can't use encounter powers again until you have had a short rest. So if you have the burning hands spell prepared for the day and you are fresh for an encounter, you can use 1 encounter power. OK, so the spell must be used in an encounter. It is considered an arcane spell, with a fire subtype, and lists an implement (orb, wand, or staff). This is different from previous versions of the spell in that they had no material component to cast the spell. You can still cast it without the implement, but using an implement apparently adds bonuses to the casting of the spell. You have to actually attack the targets in the blast area which is an area of adjacent squares up to the specified number of squares per side. Thus, the blast 5 area is an area 5 squares by 5 squares immediately adjacent to the caster. The Close range means that there must be line of effect from the origin point of your square to all other targets in the area of effect. In essence, we're looking at a 25' x 25' area of effect! Now each target creature in the area of effect has an Intelligence attack made on it by the wizard. Attack rolls are made by rolling d20 and adding the wizard's Intelligence modifier, base attack bonus, and any bonuses and penalties affecting the caster. This is compared against the Reflex save of the targets. The attack roll actually allows spells to score Critical Hits (which could not have occurred in the past systems)! If the attack succeeds, the damage caused is 2d6 + Intelligence modifier. This means that smarter wizards do more damage than not-so-smart wizards - also something that has never come into play before. Thus, ability scores are much more important to wizards in this version of the game. However, you're not likely to get more than one casting of this spell for a couple of levels, and by that time the Reflex saves have increased on your targets as well, preventing a hit and thus causing NO damage (as opposed to halving the damage) if you miss.

D&D 5th Edition (2014)

BURNING HANDS
1st-level evocation

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self (15-foot cone)
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous

As you hold your hands with thumbs touching and fingers spread, a thin sheet of flames shoots forth from your outstretched fingertips. Each creature in a 15-foot cone must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 3d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
   The fire ignites any flammable objects in the area that aren't being worn or carried.
   At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 1st.

This final version of the spell seems to be the most beneficial to a low-level wizard. It causes the most damage (3-18 points) and can increase in damage for each spell slot level above 1st (thus a 5th level wizard who uses a 3rd level spell slot can cause 5-30 (3d6 + 1d6 + 1d6) points of damage). Moreover, the spell once prepared, can be used as often as desired so long as spell slots are available for use! This is much better for a wizard than the 4th edition version, although probably not as good as scoring a critical hit. We're back to the saving throw paradigm though, so no more critical hits on spells. (Note that some spells DO need to make an attack roll to hit in this version). The spell unfortunately no longer sets targets aflame, but will allow an attack on an untended item to set it on fire (however useful this may seem). A Dexterity saving throw allows the damage to be halved for any target of the spell. Note that we are now up to a 15' cone for area of effect, but the width of the effect is thus 3 squares at the terminus of the cone, much more limiting for the number of targets affected. At most I would think that 5 targets could be affected if they are in an enclosed area, more likely though only about 2-3 targets if more spaced out. Much less than 4th edition, but more than 1E, 2E, and about on par with 3E. The type of magic was finally changed to what I believe it should have been all the time - Evocation!

FINAL THOUGHTS

As you can see, the spell has ramped up in damage potential for a 1st level caster from a lowly 1 point of damage without a save, to 3d6 save for half. The area of effect has increased from a 3' fan of flames, to a 25' x 25' square area, back down to a 15'-long cone. Damage potentials for maximum-level of casting (assume 20th, although no such limit occurs in 1E) are 20 points no save in AD&D1E to 11d6 with a save for half in D&D5E (minimum 11, Maximum 66). Saving throws for this spell developed to offset the increase in damage potential beginning with AD&D2E. Removal of setting items on fire happened after D&D3E - the mechanic was never fully explained and simply caused arguments at the game table. It's great to set your opponents on fire; it's not so fun when it's done to your PC. The results of being set on fire could be determined with an item saving throw in 1E and 2E, with a failure meaning the item was destroyed by the fire, and a success meaning that it was only singed but still usable (or partially damaged). But there is no mechanic described for what happens to the person in burning clothing or when engulfed in flames. In all versions of the game this is a 1st level spell (or power), with the ability to increase in damage potential with increasing level. The lower hit points of AD&D1E makes more sense to use a low-damaging spell, especially since you were supposed to roll your hit points. It made less sense when you started with max hit points at 1st level with D&D3E and beyond. The minute-long blow-torch version of burning hands is eliminated early on to be replaced by the flash-in-the-pan burst of flames of AD&D2E and beyond.

All in all, this is a poor spell for a 1st-level magic-user to have in AD&D1E. Unless you need to start a camp fire, the 1 point of damage (automatic or not) is not going to help with your character's survival when you have to be within 3' of the target (and will most likely be hit by them next round). It makes a great deterrent against creatures afraid of fire (charging horses, giant rats, giant insects, etc.), but after that initial round you better have an alternative or you'll be in danger of death! This spell is just fine for any 1st level character of AD&D2E through D&D5E, but I'm skeptical regarding its use in D&D4E. After all, against unarmored targets with good Dexterity scores it seems to suffer an inability to hit. All other versions of the spell allow at least half-damage on a saving throw and AD&D1E doesn't even allow a save, so it's guaranteed damage (no matter how small).

My only complaint about the spell is the lack of information regarding being set on fire. In the past we have used a house rule in AD&D1E that states that if the fire is not extinguished immediately, the fire burns for 1d6 damage each round thereafter. A person who has taken damage equal to their hit points is essentially dead at 0 hit points and will continue to burn until the body is reduced to ash (no hope for raise dead; requires resurrection). Anyone who extinguishes the fire with a blanket or other smothering implement with their own bare hands faces possible burns as well. Burns that caused at least half the character's hit points in damage require a System Shock roll or the character goes into shock and collapses from the pain. If this occurs and the flames are not extinguished, they continue to burn until the character is dead. Extinguishing flames can be done by dropping and rolling in dirt or snow, or jumping into water, or by smothering in sand. Others can smother flames, but as stated before they face burns unless they are wearing gloves or other flame protection (half damage at most for one round). In any case, only magical healing can prevent the disfiguring scars of being set aflame - otherwise the character suffers a permanent reduction in Charisma and Constitution as a result of the burns (and this penalty should be commensurate with the amount of time burning - 1 point per round of burning minimum). So if an unfortunate fighter wearing heavy furs and oiled leather armor in a dungeon is set aflame by a wizard casting burning hands and suffers 3 rounds of burning before he can be extinguished (and lives through the experience), he will permanently lose 3 points of Charisma and Constitution from his horrific burns and scars unless healed by magic (potion or spell). This penalty ONLY applies if the healing is done naturally. If using 2nd edition, this version of the house rule can apply without alteration. If using D&D3E, have the burning victim make a Fortitude save DC 15 in place of a System Shock roll once they reach half their hit points to avoid shock. Have the Constitution and Charisma loss be permanent as well, but restorable by magic. There may be rules for being set on fire in D&D3E that I've forgotten over the years, so this might not be the correct solution (but definitely a grittier one). There are no rules necessary for this in D&D4E or 5E as there is no chance of setting a person (or monster) on fire with this spell (although I would argue that oil could still be used to set someone on fire; just use the rules for burning oil in this case).

AD&D Combat: Encounter Reactions and Avoidance

 Lets assume that a party of adventurers has entered a dungeon and wandered around a bit, exploring some empty rooms and not finding much of interest. They come to a dark corridor that ends after 20 feet with a door on the right side. The door is closed but one of the characters is a ranger and notes a faint trail of footprints in the muck coating the floor. The party decides to approach the door as quietly as possible in armor and gear and ready themselves at the door for the possibility of combat. The thief is ushered forward to check the door (and corridor) for traps. He finds none. Approaching the door, the hooded lantern is held behind a draped cloak and the thief starts investigating the door to see if it's locked. Half the party is in the corridor or at the entrance to the corridor watching for wandering monsters. Listening at the door, the thief hears nothing. The thief declares the door to be unlocked and not trapped, then draws his dagger and takes position just to the side of the door. The resident strong fighter sheathes his sword and grabs the doorknob, nodding to the others to signify that he is ready to open the door. Succeeding in his Open Doors roll, the door is opened and a dark room is revealed. The lantern is exposed and shined forth into the room revealing a stone chamber lined with niches roughly 7 feet long and 3 feet tall contained within decorative stone arches. These niches are stacked one above the other, 2 per stone arch. Some contain bones, others wrapped humanoid forms, and others decorative pottery or bowls. Melted wax has dripped from the edges of some of these niches, likely burnt-out candles from long ago. Moldering skeletons begin to stir from their final resting places in these niches, pinpoints of red light glowing in their vacant eye sockets!

The party at this point would have to roll a surprise check as they would not be expecting such a thing as corpses rising in the shadowy catacomb beyond. The distance to the opposite wall of the chamber across from the door is 20 feet and the chamber continues to their left some distance into darkness. Since the skeletons are undead, they would not have made noise to be detected by the thief. The party cleric is actually down the corridor helping to watch for wandering encounters. The party members in the corridor all have slashing and piercing weapons, and the skeletons appear to outnumber those in the immediate doorway. Fearing that this encounter would cause problems, the party makes their surprise roll (scoring a 4) and they are not surprised. The skeletons are now standing in the room and armed with their rusty blades. The party is half in the corridor and half outside the corridor. They can't parley with the undead and the ranger's arrows are not likely to be much use here. They decide to shut the door and call the cleric forward. The party and skeletons both roll initiative - Party die = 4; Monster die = 5. The skeletons will thus be able to cross and be in the doorway before the party can slam the door shut. Since the first round was simply the skeletons crossing and the party rearranging themselves, the round ends. The skeletons are now in the doorway and preventing the party from slamming the door shut. The cleric has moved forward and drawn his holy symbol. The thief has slinked away from the door and the fighters across from the door have opted to draw melee weapons and prepare for a fight. The magic-user and the end of the corridor with a lantern is refraining from using his sleep spell since he knows its limitations against the undead.

The Dungeon Master knows that the undead here will attack any intruders who dare to violate the sanctity of their catacomb. Since they are undead, they do not have to check reactions and will not have to check morale - they will fight until destroyed. The second round of combat has the cleric declaring a turn attempt. Initiative is rolled - Party die = 4; Monster die = 2. The party has the initiative and the fighters wait to see if the cleric is able to turn the undead. A 1st level cleric has to roll a 10 or better on a d20 in order to affect the skeletons; he rolls an 18 and succeeds! A d12 is rolled and a 12 is the result! All the skeletons in the radius of the sound of his voice begin to shake and flee from the doorway, resulting in free attacks by the two fighters (who are both within the 10' melee range). The fighters attack but both miss the fleeing skeletons. Satisfied with the outcome, the party thief is called forth once more. As the cleric continues to hold his holy symbol aloft, both he and the thief enter the chamber. The cleric keeps his eyes on the undead while the thief begins to look about for treasures in the niches. One of the fighters enters the room as support while the ranger remains in the corridor. The strong fighter at the door has drawn his blade and is awaiting word to shut the door or support the others in combat.

[The DM has rolled 11 rounds for the turn duration but makes no mention of it to the players.] The DM states that it will take about 1 turn (10 rounds) to search a 20' square area of the chamber. The party decides to only check the portion they have immediate access to.  The DM knows that the skeletons have little personal treasure except for a silver funerary urn in one of the far niches outside the search area of the party. While searching among the scattered bones and moldering linens of the niches, the thief finds little of value, and no actual treasure but some family heirloom trinkets and prayers scrawled on clay tablets.

Meanwhile, outside the corridor, a random encounter is rolled at the end of the turn resulting in a band of 8 orcs! These orcs are coming down a dark corridor that the party has not yet explored and see the light in the corridor ahead. They thus cannot be surprised. The 2 party members currently on watch at the end of the corridor (the magic-user with the lantern and the dwarven fighter) could be surprised by the orcs' sudden appearance. A surprise roll of 1 indicates that they ARE surprised for 1 segment! Neither of them has any reaction adjustment due to dexterity, so they are both surprised for 1 segment. [NOTE: the ranger was not among the watchers so his surprise mitigation ability does not come into play.] The DM rolls a 2 (on 1d3) for encounter distance, meaning that they become aware of the surprising orcs at 20 feet away (probably as they emerge into the room where the corridor exits). They are unable to warn the others of the approaching orcs since they were surprised and the orcs can make attacks. Rolling for reactions (and adjusting the dice roll by -25% due to the presence of the dwarf, hated enemy of the orcs), the result is 13, modified to a negative number, indicating immediate, violent attack! Using their hand axes, 2 orcs throw them at the two guards - one misses the armored dwarf, but hits the magic-user for 3 points of damage, dropping him in one shot! The other orcs move into the room and begin to cross, but they can only get 9 feet in the 1 segment of time. With the surprise segment ended, the dwarf fighter faces 8 orcs alone while the orcs sneer and begin to hurl insults at the lone dwarf in orcish.

Only having 6 hit points, the dwarf fighter is unsure of what he will do. He is of Neutral alignment and has no compunctions about fleeing. Behind him is his party, but also about a dozen undead skeletons who will not remain turned forever. Seeing himself caught between a rock and a hard place, he decides that fleeing is his best chance at survival! He decides to scream out his warning as the fallen lantern begins to sputter near the magic-user's body at his side. Initiative is rolled - Dwarf die = 4; Monster die = 5. The orcs will be able to complete crossing to the dwarf before he is able to flee although they still cannot attack (since they started just outside the range of 10 feet for a melee attack). They are now all armed with hand axes and/or short swords (for the ones who already threw their axes), and have moved in such as way as to block off escape! Four orcs surround the entrance to the corridor with the other orcs taking up positions at the other corridors from the room (they too must be cautious in the dungeon). Without hope of escape, the dwarf takes a step back towards the party as he shouts out his warning. The other members of the party can now act, turning to face the new danger but unable to see them well since the lantern has fallen on the floor (and a hasty save vs. normal blow indicating that the lantern is intact and has not extinguished yet). The thief declares no treasure was to be found and spends this round exiting the catacombs, followed slowly by the cleric and fighter who keep their eyes trained on the skeletons. The round ends and the party is now surrounded - the orcs at one end of the corridor and the skeletons at the other. Unaware that the skeletons are no longer affected by the turning, the party reunites in the corridor and weighs their odds. A dozen skeletons soon threaten from one front while 4+ orcs threaten from the rear. One of their number was taken out and he had the best chance of affecting the orcs with his spell.

Intentions are declared for the next round of combat. The dwarf is looking for a way out but sees no option but melee. The fighters have to cross to the melee with the orcs. One of the fighters will shut the door to the catacombs and hold it as best he can. The thief is asking to locate a possible secret door at the end of the corridor - maybe they can better defend themselves or escape! The cleric is seeking a means to cross to the fallen magic-user and maybe heal him if possible. The orcs are just going to attack the dwarf (their hated enemy) and then deal with the others. Initiative is rolled - Party die = 5; Monster die = 4. The party is able to close the door to the catacombs, the cleric crosses to the fallen magic-user, and the dwarf attacks one of the orcs with his axe, but misses. The fighters cross, but only one may enter melee range as the cleric is now in the other fighter's way. Three orcs may attack with their weapons in the corridor. One strikes at the dwarf missing pitifully with a 1. One strikes at the fallen magic-user (an evil and dastardly act) and slays him! The last orc must wait for a target to complete their crossing before he can attack. The round ends. The cleric arrived at the body of the magic-user as he was slain, thus preventing the spell he would have cast next round. The thief found no evidence of a secret door on the one wall opposite the door. He will continue searching for next round since he cannot enter combat with the orcs (the corridor is full).

Intentions are declared for this coming round of combat. The fighter at the door feels the skeletons pounding on the closed door and calls for help. The cleric must withdraw to allow the fighter to move in. The orcs and other party fighters at the end of the corridor are engaged in melee. Initiative is rolled - Party die = 2; Monster die = 1. The party maneuvers into position and is able to fully engage the three orcs. The dwarf hits and injures his orc. The first fighter misses. The ranger hits and slays his orc with his sword! The DM asks the fighter at the door to roll an Open Doors check to keep the skeletons from breaking through. He rolls a 1 and succeeds in holding the door shut! The orcs attack, scoring a hit on the dwarf for 6 points of damage and dropping him to 0 hp. The other orc misses and a new orc approaches to take the place of the fallen orc. The cleric moves to help the fighter holding the door. The thief checks the back wall for secret doors and, despite the DM rolling a 1, finds none (as there were none to be found).

Things look grim for the party! With their magic-user and dwarf fighter slain or downed, the party is now fewer than they began the fight and the orcs still outnumber them. The skeletons, if they are able to break through the door, could be turned by the cleric again (since he succeeded last time), but that will only delay the inevitable. Some really lucky rolls will have to happen to get this party out alive! They have no option to appeal for surrender to the skeletons - the undead will attack mindlessly until they or the intruders are destroyed. They are unlikely to appeal to the orcs either since they entered the combat as violently hostile, and the presence of the dwarf hurt their possibility of negotiations. Besides, the orcs killed off two of the party members and only lost one of their own. They now held the upper hand, especially since it seemed that they caught the party unawares and in the middle of combat with some other foes. If the party is defeated and the skeletons released, it is likely that the orcs would have to roll morale or flee from the undead threat which outnumbers them.

If the dwarf had won initiative on his first round, he could have made a break for an open corridor before the orcs were able to move into position. The closest orcs could have gotten free attacks on him as he passed by, but then he could have escaped into the dark tunnels, relying on his infravision to steer him in the gloom. He would have survived the encounter but left the others to their fates. Note that the orcs winning initiative allowed them to cut off escape by moving to intercept. Once in melee range (10 feet), you have little options for escaping. The cruel blow to the magic-user just reinforced the evil nature of the orcs - it would really be unfair to do to a 1st level magic-user PC unless the player was mature enough to see the reasons behind the attack. DMs must remember to keep the game fun and exciting, not kill off characters on a whim. But, since this is an example only, I can be as dastardly evil as desired! If the dwarf had fled, some of the orcs could have chased after him! This leads to a pursuit, although it's unlikely that they would have caught him as they moved at the same speed (9") unless the dwarf made a wrong turn in the dark and found himself in a dead end! Remember that you can't reference a map in the dark while running for your life...

Let's take another example: A party of adventurers enters a dungeon and eventually finds a staircase leading down into darkness. The party is a bit more experienced than the first party (say 2nd to 3rd level), but they have encountered some monsters and are not at full strength. They decide to descend the stairs and see what lies below. The party cleric cautions that he has but one cure light wounds spell remaining and some members of the party are slightly injured. They agree only to explore and leave if they find any trouble.

They descend the stairs and find themselves in a large chamber with several doors and corridors leading away into darkness. They examine the corridors and find them to be empty and heading off in different directions. Some bend, others run straight beyond their sight range. The doors are all closed, but not locked. The thieves in the party declare that they are not trapped. The party decides to open one of the doors and finds an empty room with no exits. They note this on their map and continue exploring. The next room contains some broken furniture and the remains of a campfire. There are no occupants and exploration of the room reveals no hidden treasure. However, the last door is larger than the others and there is evidence of light shining from under the door. One of the thieves hears deep voices within. The party was warned of a tribe of ogres lairing in the lower ruins (one of the rumors they received at the inn in town), so they prepare for a battle. Unable to be surprised, the party rips open the door and reveals 4 ogres armed with huge clubs sitting around a fire pit roasting a kobold on a spit. The ogres are not surprised, but are in a compromised position (sitting about). The party, aware that they would likely lose some members to the stronger ogres, decide to flee back to the upper level. Since the ogres must spend their round getting up and grabbing their clubs, the party essentially has a free round of movement. They wisely decide to flee back to the stairs and out of the dungeon. Initiative is unnecessary since the ogres could do little more than stand on their round. With the party's head start, the ponderous ogres decide to give chase for a few rounds before calling it quits. The party manages to flee out of the dungeon and survives to tell their tale and spend their gold. The location of the ogres is marked on their map before they head back to town.

It's important to note that the party made their decision to flee before they even went down the stairs. The party kept to their plan to leave if they encountered any trouble. This is important to surviving a dungeon - always make a plan and stick to it. The party could have engaged the ogres and even perhaps killed one or two, but against 4 ogres even a party at full strength would have been hard-pressed to win. Avoidance in this case was the best option.

If, on the other hand, one of the party members decided to parley with the ogres (knowing the ogre languages and having a good Charisma reaction adjustment), he could have tried to convince them to give information about the other corridors, where they go, and what lives down on this level. A Reaction roll could be rolled for the ogres, modified by the Charisma of the speaker. I believe that something more would have to be offered to the ogres - perhaps food or treasure - to get them to listen and not eat the intruders. Assuming that the speaker offers a small sack of silver coins and four days of standard rations to the ogres, the roll is made. A result of 74% is adjusted by the speaker's Charisma adjustment of +10% to 84%. The result is "friendly, immediate action" which results in the ogres conversing with the adventurer and telling him all they know about the surrounding rooms and what else lives in their immediate vicinity. The ogres thank the speaker for the loot and food and the party could leave peacefully. However, if encountered later, the ogres might just decide that the adventurers must have more loot and food, and the ogres might take it by force. Such an interaction might lead ogres on this level to charge treasure and food before anyone can explore their level, since it worked out so well the first time!

Not every encounter has to end in mortal combat. Peaceful interactions can occur between groups in the dungeon, with truces and allegiances made with the more agreeable monsters encountered. Players can also play groups against each other - perhaps the goblins and orcs in the dungeon war over territory and resources. By allying with one against the other, the party may tip the scales in the war if they eliminate a threat and report it to the other side. They can also feed information about one area to the other side, allowing them to attack a strong point of enemies while the adventurers slip in from another side to capture the treasure they guard. Avoiding encounters is also a means to success. If a party can avoid fighting a monster to survive and gain their experience, then they have successfully lived through the threat the encounter posed. Some DMs might give base XP award for knowing when to run; others might simply allow survival to be the reward. A party should never receive full experience for an avoided encounter - only when the encounter is defeated. Defeat, in this instance, does not have to mean death. Sealing off a corridor by causing a rockfall and trapping a monster within is considered a defeat. Retreating to a location into which a monster cannot (or will not) follow might also be considered a defeat. Luring a monster into a location and trapping it there (by falling portcullis, pit trap, or magic wizard lock spell) also counts as a defeat. Don't always think that one must kill their opponent to defeat it. With such a limited hit point pool at lower levels, it behooves the characters to think up strategies to defeat their enemies, rather than blindly blunder into an encounter and face the consequences of their actions. Sometimes, despite careful planning, the monsters have the upper hand, as was seen in the first example above. Regardless of how careful you are, eventually the dice may indicate that your time is up. But the danger and excitement of the encounter are what keeps people coming back for more adventures! And stories of noble deaths facing incredible odds are still told at gaming tables around the world!

AD&D Magic-Users: Peculiarities of the System

 There are a lot of assumptions made regarding how Old School D&D was supposed to work. Most of these are based in a pseudo-Medieval, Tolkienesque, high fantasy sword & sorcery backdrop. But one can't help but notice certain other elements being drawn into the mix. The decisions of how the magic system functions, for example, is drawn from Vancian sources of science-fiction (the old fire-and-forget model of spell memorization). Such things were not part of English legends, Middle-earth, or Conan style gaming. Some rules had to be made wholecloth in order to "balance" the system for group play. This is why some character types are better at certain things than others. Players seeking a character to play that was able to do everything (or most things) very well were to be disappointed (and even discouraged). Only as a group can the game be enjoyed as it was meant to be, with every character in the game bringing something to the table.

Such limitations on the powers of the individual classes were further limited in what classes certain races were permitted to play (and how far they could advance in those classes). Players don't like to feel limited (in real life or their fantasy games), and this was one of the major reasons why later versions of D&D allowed all races to be all classes at unlimited advancement. But the balance reasons still exist, they've just changed. There are many strange decisions made by the game designers back in the day that don't seem to make much sense to me, and probably don't make much sense to a lot of people. We used the rules as written until such a time as our players began to balk at the restrictions that were holding them back or just plain didn't make sense.

One of these, in particular, is in regard to spellcasting. Now, one would say that the poor lowly magic-user has suffered enough abuse over the years. The ability at 1st level to cast a single spell doesn't really seem all that overpowering, but if they could survive to 5th level and gain the coveted lightning bolt or fireball spells, then they were a force to be reckoned with. But there were so many restrictions to these spellcasters that it really made it very hard to make it past 1st level! Unable to wear armor and unskilled in many weapons, the lowly prestidigitator was forced to make due with whatever spells his master kindly wrote in his spellbook (4 at 1st level, and no more). These spells were supposed to be generated at random from a list in the Dungeon Masters Guide. Then you were supposed to find a group of friends to enter the local dungeon with, and somehow survive several rooms of low-treasure-yield encounters, and possibly some random encounters which rarely (if ever) contain treasure, in order to get 2,501 experience points to make 2nd level and the ability to cast just one more spell. Assuming that you played your character well and did not complain overmuch about the lack of power and extreme danger you faced just going into the dungeon with your 1-4 hit points, then your bill for training would be 1,500 gp (so much for your ill-gotten gains). The system is meant to keep the characters lean and hungry for treasure by keeping them poor and preventing them from settling in one area for too long. Taxes, room and board, and training were the suggestions made to keep the players looking for new dungeons and treasure hoards. But with each expedition, the lowly magic-user faced mortality more so than the other classes. It was not blessed with martial prowess, the ability to heal its wounds, or even the ability to avoid detection or dodge attacks. Once a monster got in your face, your magic-user was likely dead unless you had a really soft Dungeon Master or your ability to twist probability could keep you alive long enough to run away!

Now, on top of these already significant hardships, one must take into account the preparation of spells. This was a further hardship heaped on the already beleaguered magic-user. According to the Player's Handbook, p. 25:

This spell book, and each book later added (as the magic-user advances in levels of ability, a book of spells for each higher level of spells which become usable will have to have been prepared through study and research), must be maintained by the magic-user. He or she must memorize and prepare for the use of each spell, and its casting makes it necessary to reabsorb the incantation by consulting the proper book of spells before it can again be cast.

Let's assume that your magic-user of 1st level is ready to go out into the world and make a name for himself. His spellcasting ability is tied to his spellbook - a randomly generated tome of 4 spells that the character begins the game with and must return to each morning to refresh his one spell each day. Let's generate a spellbook of 1st level spells by random rolls in the DMG p. 39. All magic-users know read magic (it's a given as one of the 4 spells one starts with), and random rolls result in the magic-user also knowing magic missile (offensive), hold portal (defensive), and a free choice for the miscellaneous spell (let's choose identify). So, every morning, the magic-user wakes after a restful sleep and prepares his one spell for the day from those listed above. He would be a fool NOT to memorize magic missile, as the others have limited usefulness in a dungeon (unless a specific area of the dungeon were being visited that required the use of such magic). Not every magic-user has the option of beginning with magic missile - I could have rolled push or sleep or burning hands. But these are the magic-user's only spell selections and he must deal with these until such time as he can locate or learn others.

Now, the lowly magic-user must have rested for a minimum of 4 hours before he can prepare his spell (DMG, p.40). Since we assume that he is beginning in a home base town, this assumption can be waived as most characters will get at least that amount with a full night's sleep. But what if the characters are trapped by a fallen portcullis in the dungeon and must rest there overnight to regain their strength before attempting to free themselves and escape to freedom? A spellbook is not something that you would want to take into a dungeon - there are too many dangers that could lead to the destruction of the tome and thus end your spellcasting career! Add to this the likelihood that the poor magic-user probably doesn't have the strength to lug such a tome around and still carry out treasure (or other necessities for dungeoneering), and one can see that the book is likely to be left behind in a safe location (home, locked inn room, etc.) and only referenced once the magic-user returned to safe home base. Later in the game, when the magic-user achieves 5th level, he would have to carry 3 large spell books to prepare his spells in the wilderness or if spending days in the dungeon (one for each level of spells he or she knows). Such a weight is likely beyond the magic-user to carry, but henchmen could be paid to do the heavy lifting. This takes money and charisma, something of which many magic-users have precious little.

Now let's take a look at memorization time. The established amount of time required to memorize each spell is 15 minutes/spell level. At 1st level, that one spell will take 15 minutes to prepare. At 2nd level, two 1st level spells will take 1/2 hour (3 turns) to prepare. At 3rd level, 2 1st level and 1 2nd level spell take 1 hour (6 turns) to prepare. And so on. Pity the poor 18th level magic-user who has to spend (5 x 15 minutes) + (5 x 30 minutes) + (5 x 45 minutes) + (5 x 60 minutes) + (5 x 75 minutes) + (3 x 90 minutes) + (3 x 105 minutes) + (2 x 120 minutes) + (1 x 135 minutes) = 1,985 minutes or a little over 33 hours preparing ALL his spells for the day. In essence, if an Archmage wants to wipe the slate clean and prepare all new spells, he needs about two days of prep time before he can even leave his wizard's tower! That's ridiculous! Sure, it's not so much a hardship at 1st-3rd levels, but once you get up in level and need to prepare or switch out all your spells for a certain situation, it becomes a major undertaking that other non-spellcasting classes don't have to worry about. Such an archmage would also need to lug around 9 spellbooks if an overland journey were taking place to even get to the dungeon, or else rely only on those spells in memory until they were all cast (and, by 18th level, one is assumed to have picked up a few potent magic items along the way so that one's spells are not the only source of one's powers).

Now let's look at the actual casting of spells. Spells are game cheats. They are magical ways of bending or breaking the rules of combat that other classes cannot do. For example, the magic missile spell hits without making an attack roll and cannot be dodged, deflected, or otherwise stopped from striking the target (with the exception of the shield spell or a brooch of shielding). Other spells, such as charm person, necessitate a saving throw vs. Spells in order for the target to fall victim to the effects. However, if the saving throw succeeds, nothing happens. Although such a wasted spell for a high-level magic-user is not much to worry about (they have other spells and magic items to resort to if need be), a saved-against spell is a catastrophe to a low-level magic-user who may only have one spell prepared for the day. Assuming then that this spell is wasted in the first encounter of the dungeon, that magic-user is now relegated to carrying a torch, watching the rear, or other non-combat functions (unless they have really good Dexterity and several throwing weapons).

Spells are also fairly easy to counter at low levels, or the damage is not as high as one would want. Take magic missile, for example. A great spell, fast to cast (1 segment) with no material components. So long as the magic-user can speak clearly and gesture with both hands free, they are likely to get the spell off in combat. However, the damage of the magic missile is only 2-5 hit points of damage. This is the equivalent of being struck by a magic light crossbow quarrel or a non-magical heavy crossbow quarrel. At 1st level, your one spell is now cast and you must remove from direct confrontation with melee combatants or else be targeted by attacks (and even a lowly dagger can end a magic-user's life with a single stroke). Some spells require material components to cast, and these must be fished from pockets and in hand while the spell is cast, resulting in a delay (a few segments to rounds). Some components are rather complicated, while others are simple. Our example magic-user from above needs to carry around a mineral prism for his read magic spell (which does not disappear once cast), and a 100 gp powdered pearl, owl feather, wine, and a live goldfish (miniature carp) for an identify spell. How many magic-users do you know carry such things into a dungeon? According to the rules as written, a magic item can only be identified with the identify spell, which has a low chance of success for a 1st level magic-user and must be performed within one hour after discovery of the magic item or else the readings become muddied. After casting identify, the magic-user loses 8 points of Constitution and this is recovered at the rate of 1 point per hour of rest. If their Constitution drops below 3, they fall unconscious for 24 hours when all their Constitution is restored. Obviously, the identify spell is not a good choice to take into the dungeon since it will not be useful unless the party locates a magic item and will debilitate the magic-user thereafter. How one is even supposed to be able to cast such a spell as written boggles the mind. However, the 1st-level magic-user above is most likely to select magic missile which has only verbal and somatic components, so there is nothing to worry about.

Now, players have complained for years about mid-level magic-users stealing the show from the other characters. I don't believe that a by-the-book magic-user is that much of a show-stealer. They have limited resources to draw from (limited spells per day), their spellcasting ability has little or nothing to do with their prime requisite ability of Intelligence (a 9 Intelligence or 18 Intelligence magic-user has the same number of spells per day and the same number of spells to draw from at 1st level). Compare this to a fighter whose higher Strength score nets them better ability to function in their class abilities to hit and damage monsters. Most low level spells are low-damage or a save negates; fighters only have to worry about overcoming Armor Class of their opponents to do damage. Fighters on average have twice the number of hit points that a magic-user has at 1st level, but will likely take several hits more than a magic-user in most circumstances. If using the "die at 0 hit points" rule from the Players Handbook, then both classes suffer similarly at lower levels, but if using the "die at -10 hit points" rule from the Dungeon Masters Guide, then magic-user's get a buffer that allows them to live beyond the first encounter more often than not, unless their entire party also falls. (Since the DMG was written after the PHB, it is assumed that the "die at -10 hp" is the de facto rule regarding death for player characters. Most DMs I know have monsters die at 0 hit points regardless, although NPCs could survive using the rule to -10 hp.)

So, the suppositions written into the rules regarding magic-users assume that most of them will not survive past 1st level, spells are very difficult to use in all situations equally, magic-users are meant as support characters not show-stealers, all character classes contribute what they can to the party dynamic, and spells are difficult and sometimes detrimental to cast. These assumptions are not spelled out plainly to the neophyte player who assumes that their wizard can lob fireballs ad nauseum from 1st level! The true power of the magic-user is not realized until they have achieved at least 5th level or higher and are not in danger of one-hit kills. Other classes have much better chances of survival or chances to avoid certain attacks. A magic-user has only his or her wits to combat the dangers they are likely to face in a dungeon - and not all of these are of the monster or trap variety. Keep in mind that the higher one's intelligence, the more languages are known. Taking certain languages for a low-level magic-user may make them more useful as a translator of spoken or written words. A high Charisma would also help magic-users in negotiations, outwitting their opponents by getting them to agree to terms that may seem beneficial by the fast-talking magic-user. Problem-solving was also a big component of old school gaming, and the higher intelligence of the magic-user makes them superb for overcoming such obstacles as tricks, riddles, or complex combat scenarios. The player may not know how to overcome such things, but the magic-user with a high intelligence should be given some hints even if the player has no idea. Intelligence checks on a d20 are what prompted the ability checks of later editions after all!