Ardonirane - unoptimized NPCs

[pzmcgwire]

Every NPC written up so far has staff manna up to their maximum capability at least in the materials I've seen. I understand the manna limits. It seems odd for some of these experienced characters who face danger daily would not make sure they are as prepared as possible and Manna storage capability seems like something most experienced wizards would seek to obtain.

Aside from the below maximum staff manna with one wizard, what is more interesting that one of the leading experienced Red Robe Wizards only has Staff I and no manna storage at all.

Just wondering if these are oversights or mistakes like the upped IQ values that were published as errata.

[hcobb]

I'm surprised at how many wizards take five points of mana instead of two additional spells.

[pzmcgwire]

Life choices. :)

Still for an extremely experienced wizard, 41 points, to have just Staff I and no manna seems a bit dissonant.

If he were a classic Traveller system generated character, it would be more plausible. :)

[hcobb]

Originally Posted by pzmcgwire

Still for an extremely experienced wizard, 41 points, to have just Staff I and no manna seems a bit dissonant.

And it's a wand, but they do have a powerstone and one extra spell.

[phiwum]

Originally Posted by pzmcgwire

Every NPC written up so far has staff manna up to their maximum capability at least in the materials I've seen. I understand the manna limits. It seems odd for some of these experienced characters who face danger daily would not make sure they are as prepared as possible and Manna storage capability seems like something most experienced wizards would seek to obtain.

Aside from the below maximum staff manna with one wizard, what is more interesting that one of the leading experienced Red Robe Wizards only has Staff I and no manna storage at all.

Just wondering if these are oversights or mistakes like the upped IQ values that were published as errata.

Manna storage is especially important if you find yourself wandering in the desert for an extended period.

But when I create NPCs, they very rarely have spent enough XP to maximize Mana. For a piddling IQ 10 wizard, that's 2000XP, which would take a 35 pt character to a 38 pt character if spent on attributes. When writing out the character, I include (1) Attribute totals, (2) XP spent on mana and (3) XP spent on additional talents/spells to get an idea of how experienced he must be.

[hcobb]

Originally Posted by phiwum

For a piddling IQ 10 wizard, that's ....

zero XP as they have no mana. The Staff II spell is IQ 11.
If you want a quick readout of the minimum number of XPs for a character paste them in here then hit parse from text. https://www.hcobb.com/tft/tftcalc.html

[phiwum]

Originally Posted by hcobb

zero XP as they have no mana. The Staff II spell is IQ 11.
If you want a quick readout of the minimum number of XPs for a character paste them in here then hit parse from text. https://www.hcobb.com/tft/tftcalc.html

Okay, so 2200 XP for IQ 11 then. Enough to go from 34 attribute points to 38.

[Skarg]

Originally Posted by pzmcgwire

Every NPC written up so far has staff manna up to their maximum capability at least in the materials I've seen. I understand the manna limits. It seems odd for some of these experienced characters who face danger daily would not make sure they are as prepared as possible and Manna storage capability seems like something most experienced wizards would seek to obtain.

Aside from the below maximum staff manna with one wizard, what is more interesting that one of the leading experienced Red Robe Wizards only has Staff I and no manna storage at all.

Just wondering if these are oversights or mistakes like the upped IQ values that were published as errata.

I'm sure there's a mix among the published NPC wizards, where some have intentional and well-considered staff mana levels, and with others there may have been some sloppiness involved. A GM looking to use any published material should feel free to tweak the characters as they see fit.

But I quite disagree with the notion that any wizard would necessarily have fully developed their staff mana capacity to IQ (or 2 x IQ), because it takes significant effort to do so, which will take time and effort, and could be used to increase attributes or add spells. It's certainly a valid priority, but not the only one, and it takes thousands of XP to achieve.