New Starting Character Options

[Helborn]

I was looking at the discussions on Talents for Wizards and came up with this suggestion.

At the time of creation, a wizard character may take:
Option 1 1 Talent at base cost (if it is normally doubled)
Option 2 2 points in Talent(s) (which are normally doubled) at base cost
Option 3 2 Talents at base cost (if they are normally doubled)
Option 4 4 points in Talent(s) (which are normally doubled) at base cost
If their IQ is high enough to allow that Talent

These allow an Wizard Character to tweak their character to fit their notions. An IQ 11 Wizard could have Sword for 2 points and Physicker for 2 points (Option 3 or 4) or Knife, Quarterstaff and Physicker (Option 4) OR Quarterstaff OR Knife OR Physicker (Option 1), etc.

For Fighters;
At the time of creation, a fighter character may take:
Option 1 1 spell at base cost (normally tripled)
Option 2 2 spells at base cost (normally tripled)
Option 3 3 spells at base cost (normally tripled)
If their IQ is high enough to allow that Spell.
The staff spell (all varieties) CANNOT be learned using this method.
Higher Options also available with one restriction: the cost of Talents known must be greater than the cost of Spells known. An IQ 8 fighter can only know a maximum of 3 spells under this rule, An IQ 9 or 10 fighter, a maximum of 4, etc. (An IQ 7 fighter can know NO spells.)

Variant 1 for fighters:
Given the above rules (number of spells must be less than cost of Talents) ANY spell may be learned - even if the IQ is not high enough originally. However, the spell may not be used until the fighter gains an IQ equal to the spell IQ.
Under this variant, an IQ8 fighter can learn Weapon/Armor Enchantment (IQ14) at creation but cannot actually enchant anything until his IQ becomes 14.

[hcobb]

What I want in a starting wizard is mana.

[Helborn]

As in, if you have Staff 2. Manastaff at start, it comes fully loaded at ST value?

[Tenex]

Originally Posted by hcobb

What I want in a starting wizard is mana.

Off topic, my apologies to the OP.

I don't like the new Staff spell. I dislike it as a mechanism to let wizards cast more spells and won't be using it. I will be continuing with my old house rule:

Wizards have mana equivalent to their IQ. They recover mana at 1/15 minutes. They cast spells from mana not ST. When they are out of mana they can cast from ST, but it causes real ST damage, not fST. If they are going to power a spell with their own lifeforce it is hugely damaging.

Back to the thread...

[larsdangly]

My feeling is that the best options re. the Hero/Wizard divide are either RAW or complete erasure of the line between the two character types, perhaps replacing the concept of a 'Wizard' class with one or more talents that are prerequisites to spell casting and have appropriate IQ and talent point costs. For now I'm just playing RAW. I would not prefer a system with too many sub rules, options and moving parts, both for aesthetic reasons and because those systems often lead to 'grade inflation' or 'ideal build' syndromes, and TFT very much needs to protect itself against both of these things.

Regarding the mana reserve issue (mentioned above and in a couple of concurrently active threads), this feels to me like a very clear 'grade inflation' risk, and most suggested solutions to it strike me as grade inflation come true. In short, if wizards automatically start play with a pool of mana equal to their IQ (by whatever mechanism), in addition to their ST score (whether ablated as injury or fatigue), then only a fool or a hopeless romantic would choose to play a Hero, because they would be inferior in nearly every sense. Such a rule removes the pressure on new Wizard PC's to balance the values of the three stats, turning IQ into a stat with 'quadratic' value at the outset (i.e., it is functionally both IQ and ST). Given that the value of stats gets close to maxing out around 15-16, you would see wizards starting play near the greatest power they could achieve without items while Heroes are a couple years of play from that state.

[Helborn]

This really doesn't belong here but I can't find the right Thread right now - feel free to move it.

In general I agree that the new staff rule needs fixing. However, I don't think the principle is that off. So, since this is the house rules subforum, how about:

The Powerstaff (Staff 2 not to be confused with the Staff of Power (Staff 4)) operates as a ST battery, aka powerstone, for the owning Wizard only. It can hold as much ST as the Wizard has (not as much ST as the Wizard has IQ) (Staff 4 (Staff of Power) and Staff 5 (Staff of Mastery) can hold up to twice the ST characteristic)

Eliminate the Mana concept entirely.

Also, if the staff is an actual weapon (quarterstaff or club) capable of doing damage as a weapon, the wizard can choose to just use it as a weapon, doing 1+2 damage if a quarterstaff or the variable damage based on ST for a club, less whatever armor protection the opponent has, or, at a cost of 1 ST per hit, can add 1d of magic (occult) damage (1+2 at Staff 4 and 5). This damage does not bypass armor (worn, natural or magical) at Staff 1 or 2, does bypass armor (worn or natural but not magical) at Staff 3 and 4, and bypasses all armor at Staff 5. At Staff 5 (Staff of Mastery) the magical damage does not require 1 ST any more - the ST is inherent

Beginning with Staff 2 (Powerstaff) the 1 ST cost MUST come from the staff, it cannot come from the Wizard. If the Staff has exhausted all stored power then it cannot do additional magical damage until it is recharged, but if it is a weapon, it will still do weapon damage. A wizard knowing the Staff 2 spell does not HAVE to have a Powerstaff. He can choose to keep it a simple Wizard's Staff (and be able to supply the 1 ST for magic damage himself) until he has the XP to imbue a staff with ST. (It is perfectly acceptable to "save up" XP until several points of ST can be "purchased" at one time).

If the staff is not a weapon then it can only do magical damage but still requires a 3/DX roll to hit/touch the target before the damage is assessed.

Whether a weapon or not, the touch does not cause the staff to explode, nor does it do additional damage. A Staff will never explode if the owning wizard is in contact with it.

Beginning with Staff 3 (Staff of Striking), the 3/DX roll is replaced by a 3/IQ roll IF the Staff is not a weapon. If it is a weapon, the wizard may choose whether to use an Action and attempt to hit his opponent with a regular 3/DX roll doing both weapon and magical damage, OR use the 3/IQ roll to just do magical damage without the need to touch (only to point at) the target opponent. This is NOT a free action at Staff 4 and 5.

[JLV]

Originally Posted by Tenex

Off topic, my apologies to the OP.

I don't like the new Staff spell. I dislike it as a mechanism to let wizards cast more spells and won't be using it. I will be continuing with my old house rule:

Wizards have mana equivalent to their IQ. They recover mana at 1/15 minutes. They cast spells from mana not ST. When they are out of mana they can cast from ST, but it causes real ST damage, not fST. If they are going to power a spell with their own lifeforce it is hugely damaging.

Back to the thread...

That's pretty much exactly the way I ran it for the past 30-plus years. So obviously, I think your house rule is perfect...