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Old 06-05-2020, 11:39 PM   #1
hcobb
 
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Default The Wonderful Wizard of OZ (Occult Zap)

High staff levels are turning around battle after battle for me.

What's been your results with Staff III or higher?
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Old 06-06-2020, 12:36 PM   #2
Shostak
 
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Default Re: The Wonderful Wizard of OZ (Occult Zap)

I've nerfed the staff because I've found it overbalanced things.
  • Staves used as physical weapons do damage according to rules for mundane weapons, e.g. staves would be treated as clubs while wands would do no damage.
  • Staves must be held ready in order to be used for any purpose.
  • Staff occult attack is treated as a thrown spell
  • Staff II+ is no longer immune to Drop Weapon, Break Weapon, or critical failures. If you want immunity to Drop and/or Break Weapon spells, add them as enchantments. Mana capacity based on wizard’s ST, not IQ.
  • Staff III+ occult attack to targets out of the wizard’s field of view are at a -6DX, consistent with attacking an invisible foe. No to-hit DX bonus.
  • Staff IV+ like Staff III but occult attack does 1d+1 damage. No free occult attack action. To-hit DX adjustment of +1.
  • Staff V merely adds extra mana capacity (based on ST) and does not break when “exploding.”
  • Rolling 17 on occult blast attacks results in occult blast being unavailable until the wizard spends one turn concentrating to re-attune with staff. Treat as “Ready Weapon” option.
  • Rolling 18 on an occult blast attack: does not break the staff, but results in loss of access to the occult blast and mana reserve until the wizard recasts the Staff spell.

Last edited by Shostak; 06-07-2020 at 06:49 AM. Reason: Clarification
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Old 06-06-2020, 11:07 PM   #3
Axly Suregrip
 
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Default Re: The Wonderful Wizard of OZ (Occult Zap)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shostak View Post
I've nerfed the staff ...

... Mana capacity based on wizard’s ST, not IQ.

Staff III+ occult attack to targets out of the wizard’s field of view are at a -6DX, consistent with attacking an invisible foe. No to-hit DX bonus.
I think your changes make sense. I have not tried the new staff but they look overpowered to me.

I definitely agree it should be based on ST, not IQ. It gives the wizards some balance in the value of his attributes.

Some questions about Staff III:

- so you kept the 2 hex range? How was your game experience with regards to this aspect?

- did you also keep the armor piercing aspect? Again, how was this?
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Old 06-07-2020, 12:24 AM   #4
hcobb
 
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Default Re: The Wonderful Wizard of OZ (Occult Zap)

If you don't like the fancy staves then use the Wizard version of the Staff spell. Casting Staff makes a "plus zero" magic weapon that doesn't interfere with spellcasting.
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Old 06-07-2020, 06:45 AM   #5
Shostak
 
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Default Re: The Wonderful Wizard of OZ (Occult Zap)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Axly Suregrip View Post
Some questions about Staff III:

- so you kept the 2 hex range? How was your game experience with regards to this aspect?
The 2-hex range seems fine. I neglected to note it, but I assign a thrown penalty to the occult attack if the wizard does not touch the subject with the staff. (Will edit my earlier reply to include that.)

Quote:
- did you also keep the armor piercing aspect? Again, how was this?
It's still early, but the armor-bypassing aspect might go.
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Old 06-07-2020, 07:09 AM   #6
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Default Re: The Wonderful Wizard of OZ (Occult Zap)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shostak View Post
It's still early, but the armor-bypassing aspect might go.
How else can wizards beat muggles over the head about the uselessness of armor while calling their Stone Flesh rings "My Precious"?
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Old 06-07-2020, 11:02 AM   #7
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Default Re: The Wonderful Wizard of OZ (Occult Zap)

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How else can wizards beat muggles over the head about the uselessness of armor while calling their Stone Flesh rings "My Precious"?
Freeze or Sleep to render them helpless, followed by leisurely dispatching them with a stiletto.
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Old 06-07-2020, 11:15 AM   #8
hcobb
 
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Default Re: The Wonderful Wizard of OZ (Occult Zap)

How long does it take a muggle to rest up 5 fatigue while tied up?
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Old 06-08-2020, 03:26 AM   #9
Steve Plambeck
 
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Default Re: The Wonderful Wizard of OZ (Occult Zap)

Quote:
Originally Posted by hcobb View Post
If you don't like the fancy staves then use the Wizard version of the Staff spell. Casting Staff makes a "plus zero" magic weapon that doesn't interfere with spellcasting.
Disliking the occult zap, I've still thought of a way to keep the concept while retrofitting it to the original Staff spell, which is the only Staff spell I ever thought we needed.

When the original Staff spell was cast on a small wand, the Wizard rules said it still did 1d damage. This can be rationalized to mean a free occult zap of 1d damage was always conferred on whatever piece of wood the Staff spell was cast on: wand, baton, cane, walking stick, stave or club -- maybe even a #2 pencil :) The bigger pieces would have done 1d damage anyway, but for the smaller pieces the distinction explains why they always worked the way they worked.

A bigger club or a stronger arm can still do more damage than 1d if it's turned into a Staff. The spell just confers a minimum damage of 1d6 for whatever it's cast on. A maul doing 1+2 damage would, as a Staff, do 1d of "magical" or "occult" damage, +2 hits of mundane damage on top of that (if you even cared to keep separate track -- I wouldn't bother).
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