DF Artillery Mages Noodling

[martinl]

Originally Posted by Kromm

You must choose your enhancements when you start casting the spell. If you change your mind, you must start over. If you've already created a Missile spell with a set of enhancements, they're "locked in" from that point on!

OK, I lied, I am a little interested in this, and I have an issue: the way that is designed gives big piles of options that can be chosen anew every time a spell is cast. Requires a lot of player and GM discipline to keep the game running fast.

[Nereidalbel]

Originally Posted by martinl

OK, I lied, I am a little interested in this, and I have an issue: the way that is designed gives big piles of options that can be chosen anew every time a spell is cast. Requires a lot of player and GM discipline to keep the game running fast.

"Until further notice, every missile I cast is [insert modifier here]" saves a good bit of time, and works for most situations. Just remember to say you're NOT doing explosive when you try to snipe the gnoll in your archer's face.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by martinl

OK, I lied, I am a little interested in this, and I have an issue: the way that is designed gives big piles of options that can be chosen anew every time a spell is cast. Requires a lot of player and GM discipline to keep the game running fast.

I see your point, but then I'm reminded that warriors have tons of options: Swing or thrust with my weapon, shove or slam using my shield, or maybe toss in a kick or a grapple just for fun? Use Attack, Move and Attack, or one of four flavors of All-Out Attack . . . or even bug the GM to let me try Committed Attack or Defensive Attack? Make the blow a Deceptive Attack? Aim for a hit location or try to disarm? Risk a Dual-Weapon Attack or a Rapid Strike? Invoke one of my combat power-ups?

This trait gives wizards a little more choice in combat. Yes, they already get to choose spells, but in practice they fall back on a few of those. I imagine that they would do the same with this advantage: settle on favorite enhancement bundles. However, spells crossed with enhancements could at least make combat less boring for mages. I personally think that "toss a blast of energy every turn" is terribly boring, which is why I'm not in love with an approach that goes in that direction.

[martinl]

Originally Posted by Kromm

I see your point, but then I'm reminded that warriors have tons of options...

Yep, there's an array of options, and to some extent those options layer and multiply.

This trait gives wizards a little more choice in combat. Yes, they already get to choose spells, but in practice they fall back on a few of those.

In your proposal the wizard is choosing a spell (+a number of rounds to build the spell, and possibly hit location, determined attack, etc.) and dividing some discrete but quite possibly large number of points between 8 different leveled options that cost a different number of points each on the fly. I'm not saying it's impossible, but even a cut down version of the advantage enhancement system is a bit much to juggle in combat.

settle on favorite enhancement bundles.

I'd actually lean towards strongly encouraging them, for the reasons mentioned above. Maybe you pay X points for each Y% worth of enhancement, and then allow a perk for a "combo bonus" for predefined allocations that doubles the total allowed Y for that combo.

I personally think that "toss a blast of energy every turn" is terribly boring, which is why I'm not in love with an approach that goes in that direction.

IME, scouts lurve "shoot an arrow every turn" in combat, so I'm not sure that swapping the fancy bow and quiver of trick arrows for a bandoleer of wands and bevy of missile spells will make it boring.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by martinl

OK, I lied, I am a little interested in this, and I have an issue: the way that is designed gives big piles of options that can be chosen anew every time a spell is cast. Requires a lot of player and GM discipline to keep the game running fast.

Pre-calculate. It's a GURPS tradition.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Pre-calculate. It's a GURPS tradition.

Yep.
I like Kromms idea and can see it as a style perk.
I can see the plinking niche too though and also something like Heroic Archer and Zen Archery for spells.
Mix it all together on enough points and you have some versatile and powerful artillery mages.

For plinking how about this.
Aetheric Dart Missile Spell
Cost 1 Acc 3 Damage 1d-2
This spell creates a small missile that does impaling damage.
The energy responds particularly well to Will and the attack roll is based off IQ rather then DX. It can be held and charged up like other missile spells but instead of increasing the power the accuracy is increased by 3 per turn to a max of ACC = Magery *3. Cost increases 1 per turn charged just like other missile spells.
The spell can be cast as a Blocking spell for 1 extra energy cost.

The Blocking part may be overpowered but we already have spells that can be an attack set up as Blocking spells so the precedent is there.
This gives a mage a good 0 cost plink spell at skill 15 and a nice Fast Draw type when needed but you need skill 20 to use it that way for free.
And give it some time and you have a very accurate long range attack.

[the_matrix_walker]

If you want to spend points on a "pew pew" mage...

Compartmentalized Mind (Magic PM, -10%; No Mental Separation, -20%; Missile Spells only, -30%) [20]

You can then throw a 1(M) point missile every turn, or a 3(M) point missile every other turn.