Wizards without Staves

[JimmyPlenty]

It really comes down to mana storage doesn't it.

2000+xp to fully charge a staff. 2000+ xp once you get to Staff III. (and if you do not start there, 500 xp for each level to get there)

Lets assume just 5000 xp.

I know the immediate argument would be that 5000xp vs. getting a full staff is a no brainer...just go for the staff.

However, is a character going to stay stagnant that whole time? Adventuring without any real increase other than to increase a mana bank? That might be a logical gamey decision, but perhaps not one based on reality.

Real world example: people get tax refunds....they have a house....they could put it toward your house....but most people will buy something shiny instead.

[Steve Plambeck]

I agree with you JimmyPlenty, and for that reason just don't want or intend to use the XP for mana and new Staff rules -- that is, if I ever get a group together. Thought I had some folk lined up last January, and then, well, pandemic!

What I'm eager to try out is (1) reverting to the single, original Staff spell only, (2) giving wizards a Mana attribute (my original group in the 80's used that) and then (3) let every Staff store Mana, with the amount capped (for all practical purposes) by a formula taking into account the Mana and IQ attributes of the wizard. So as in original TFT all XP gets spent on increasing attributes, and if a wizard carries a Staff it will just gradually hold an increasing amount of Mana as the wizard improves him or her self. (The Staff Mana limit runs the course of 0, 2, 4, 6... up to fully equal to the wizard's Mana stat at high level, and double that amount at the super-high level. The latter two steps just happily coincide with where it would be anyway under RAW with Staff IV and Staff V, even though I wouldn't use/need those spells.)

Because I feel XP should improve the person, not the thing. Raising attributes would still have it's original benefits, with a Staff gaining more capacity as just a side effect.

But to bring it back to topic (haha) my original group's World had among its many countries a large empire, a theocracy, that forbade secular magic and burned all wizards. PCs never set foot in that empire proper, but if they had, any wizards would have to be suicidal to openly carry Staves. Our wizard PCs had plenty of run-ins with extremist NPCs that came from that empire though, and "fun" always ensued.

[hcobb]

In summary the reasons to have a staff are:

• Have a weapon in hand to attack or defend without restricting spell use
• It can mundanely cut or bash critters only harmed by magic weapons
• The occult zap can harm critters that magic items can't be used against or shouldn't touch
• Staff to Snake is a very cost effective Summon Snake spell
• It lets everybody know you're a wizard Harry
• Higher level staves have nifty powers

The reasons to not have a staff are:

• Have both hands free for your Unarmed Combat III talent
• The mundane strikes of a staff don't count as magical weapon attacks
• The occult zap can't actually harm much of anything
• Staff to Snake risks losing your fancy staff
• Conceal 5 is still subject to an accidental automatic success in strip searches or Detect Magic, letting everybody know you're a wizard Harry
• You'd rather spend the memory points on Charisma and Animal Handling to talk your way out of fights