1st Level Magic-Users

I was checking out Lord Killgore’s recent postings on the magic-user and it reminded me of my own musings on the subject. Way back in the early days of this blog (ooo…11 months ago!) I was trying to figure out ways of making the magic-user “more magical” in order for the class to be more “viable” at first level.

I have since changed my tune on the subject.

At least in my head! For me, I consider the whole issue of the Poor Little Medium a matter of scale. Or rather, PERSPECTIVE, but perspective with regard to scale.

JB, what the hell are you talking about?

Well, it occurs to me that most of us long-time D&D gamers approach the magic-user class from the perspective of an advanced (or at least experienced) campaigner. Meaning, we look at the magic-user at 1^st level and say: “how weak is THAT?”

- AC 9 (sorry, folks, I’m only talking B/X and OD&D for the moment)

- A dagger

- 1D4 hit points

- One single 1^st level spell

Considering the experienced gamer knows what lies ahead (owl bears and purple worms and orcish archers and evil fighters and whatnot) it is perhaps forgivable that he (or she or me) looks at the 1^st level MU’s total package, shakes his head, and thinks, “well, maybe the DM will let me start off at 3^rd or 4^th level.” After all, the veteran gamer ALSO knows that the magic-user will definitely come into his (or her) own eventually, it’s just a matter of “leveling up.”

I know I have been guilty of doing this myself in the past.

However, that’s looking at the character with jaded eyes…I believe (now) that one has to look at the character from the character’s perspective…take a “pawn’s eye view,” if you will. If you do, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Give the 1^st level magic-user his swagger.

One-on-one, the Medium (that’s the level title at 1^st level) is a pretty even match for ANY adventurer, and more than a match for some. Even at 1^st level, the Medium’s single spell gives him a leg-up over most any mere mortal with whom he comes in contact.

For one thing, I’ve pointed out before that the rules as written make the MU a scrappy little fighter. In both OD&D and B/X (and BECMI) the default rules makes the dagger a 1D6 damage weapon, the equivalent of a mace, a warhammer…or a two-handed sword (all weapons doing the same damage). In B/X play, a reasonably fit magic-user (Strength 13+) has good chance of killing any other 1^st level character with a single blow. And don’t forget that the magic-user has the same chance to hit as any other character of levels 1-3 (yes, the Medium is just as accurate with his knives as a 3^rd level fighter).

But it’s the Medium’s spell…that single, stored pulse of power…that truly sets him apart from other characters.

In general, I think it’s safe to say that a good 75% of 1^st level player characters will choose Sleep as that 1^st spell. And why not? The ability of magicians and witches to put people to sleep has long been a part of story and folklore…it’s appropriate. Of course, in the dungeon setting it is the Uber-Spell, the whole reason a party of 1^st level characters will give the MU a full share of the treasure found. It is so good at pulling the party’s proverbial bacon from the fire, I just can’t believe anyone can question the Medium’s value. Though knowing when to use it can be a skill unto itself!

Example #1 (from actual play): a small party consisting of a cleric, a halfling, and a magic-user enters an abandoned dwarf mine. Although the magic-user is 2^nd level his 2^nd spell consists of Read Magic. The first couple encounters (a giant spider, small parties of kobolds…with javelins!) FEEL dangerous, but the non-wizards have plate mail and are able to rush and pummel without anyone getting killed; they tell the MU “hold off! hold off!” Proceeding deeper, beaten and weary, they come to the final chamber…to face the chief kobold (armed with a magic item), his shaman, and his hand-picked bodyguard of bruisers. “Now!” they shout, the Sleep is loosed and the entire cadre of enemies are defeated with but a single word of magic.

Example #2 (from actual play): the same party, now expanded by three additional fighters and a thief venture into a different part of the mine. Unfortunately, the magic-user is unable to make this game session. In their first (and only) encounter, the party stirs up a nest of troglodytes…half a dozen to be exact. The party (all 2^nd and 3^rd level characters) is demolished; only two members survive. Where was the Word of Power?!

I said Sleep was probably the spell taken 75% of the time. The other 25% of dungeon delvers probably take Charm Person. Incredibly useful for making those large ogres into your bitch/servant. And if you don’t think THAT’s useful you haven’t played Blizzard Pass.

Of course, finding an ogre can be tricky…but if you know where one is (B2), Charm is a godsend.

However, one doesn’t need to make the magic-user so one-dimensional. Especially in campaigns offering more than simple dungeon delving, other spells can be useful. Magic Missile is an excellent weapon for the assassin, body guard, or gladiator Medium. No? It’s auto-hit from range and does D6+1 damage. That’s going to kill a lot of 1^st level fighters despite plate mail, shield, and an 18 dexterity…the only protection is having more hit points than the missile. Shield is likewise excellent for the brawler/gladiator Medium, giving the MU a leg up over other lightly armored combatants while wading in with daggers (especially for MUs with high strength and constitution)…it’s also a good spell for magic-users that need to infiltrate areas that armored types are not allowed (in addition to being silent protection).

A 1^st level magic-user with Detect Magic or Read Languages can make a killing money-wise identifying true items from false for a local noble or adventuring parties, interpreting documents, and deciphering treasure maps. Such a character can put together enough scratch to hire mercenaries that guard him as he explores ruins and follows the treasure map’s TRUE directions that he did not provide in his translation!

Spells like Light, Floating Disk, and Hold Portal are all 2^nd tier spells, generally reactive and temporary in nature (unlike Continual Light or Wizard Lock, for example) and should probably be skipped by the 1^st level Medium. Even Protection from Evil is more of a stop-gap measure (for when one’s cleric dies).

However, these powers (even Ventriloquism!) can be useful for getting a party OUT of dungeon alive and intact. As with other spells, the main trick is knowing WHEN to use the spell (being pursued by monsters while trying to make it to the exit? Now’s the time to use that Ventriloquism and send ‘em down the wrong corridor!). It’s up to the Medium to sell himself to the adventuring party as a useful asset (in the latter case, as a possible escape aid/emergency back-up…no saving throw against Ventriloquism, after all).

Magic-users…even 1^st level magic-users…should have swagger and demand respect from their adventuring peers. They can do things no one else can. And even though you can only do that thing ONCE per day, it doesn’t mean we (including me!) should sell ‘em short. How many times has a 1^st level fighter been bashing away at an orc, only to have string of poor D20 rolls keep the thing alive and longer in combat than necessary? Wouldn’t it be nice if the party medium could just blast the damn thing with a magic missile?

If YOU could blast someone with a magic missile…even once per day!...wouldn’t YOU walk around the town square with a bit of a swagger? Who wants to fool with THAT guy?

[consider the classic movie scene where a single armed villain or hero holds off multiple members of the opposition with the line, ‘who wants to die first?’ Mediums can do that, too]

And, of course, this isn’t even accounting for the fact that in a particular campaign world, magic may be surrounded by fear, superstition, and ignorance…maybe the general populace (or monster population) has no idea of the limits of a magic-user’s power. One display of magic or one star-lined robe, plus the right amount of bluff and bluster, might be enough to cow enemies and make them pay tribute to the party.

This is what role-playing’s all about, folks.

If anything, magic-users, even at 1^st level, run the danger of being TOO powerful in scale to their same level/hit dice opponents. Yes, yes, dwarves and elves and human fighters can wear plate mail armor but it only takes one lucky roll by the DM to put you down…and against a group of multiple enemies (or a monster with multiple attacks) the chances of that “lucky roll” occurring increases. Plate mail won’t save you.

Meanwhile, a random encounter with 1D6 1^st level mediums is an absolute TPK for any adventuring party under 4^th level. It only takes one Sleep spell to go off, and the mediums will be slitting throats and looting bodies. The nightmare scenario would be attempting to break into some wizarding school (like Hogwarts!) and being slaughtered by those “weak” 1^st level guttersnipes, lurking in every classroom.

In my opinion, magic-users, even 1^st level ones, are nasty, dangerous, and powerful characters…and they just become moreso as they increase in power. At 15^th level, the average damage for a magic-user’s lightning bolt is the same as the average hit points of a fighter of the same level. Above 15^th level, the MUs fireball/lightning bolt out-paces the fighter’s rate of hit point progression…though it only takes an 11^th level wizard to disintegrate a fighter or a 7^th level magic-user to polymorph her into a toad.

Playing D&D (1^st level or not, magic-user or not) doesn’t have to be limited to stomping into a dungeon, in a particular marching order, and beating down foes as they present themselves. I mean, that may represent the most recent editions’ designed style of game play, but it certainly doesn’t need to with the older versions. In fact, not only is that a boring way to play (IMO), but a good way to see the party lose members in a war of attrition, magic-user or not.

POST SCRIPT: Um, so, regarding Lord K’s suggested “blasting power”…I vote NO.