Spell origins

[aldarron]

There's bound to be some interest in the list of spells. Some of them have obvious roots, and a look at this thread odd74.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=blackmoor&action=display&thread=3069 is a start. There are also some spells inspired by OD&D potions that show every sign of having Arnesonian origens. The majority of the spells however are drawn from the FFC dungeons and the magical ablilities listed in the sword matrix in the FFC. With one exception (Invulnerability), none of those spells or abilities are described therein, although some of them show up in AiF, EPT, and Powers and Perils. One spell however, Decay, is found listed in Temple of the Frog and the only source even remotely close to Arneson with a Decay spell is Powers and Perils. There are a couple of oddities like that. Anyway I'm game to talk about the spells for anyone who has questions.

[geoffrey]

Fireball and Lightning Bolt

The above two spells can be channeled as raw magical energy and can be thrown every round by a wizard without limit. Of course, the wizard's constitution will probably put a damper on that. Consider, though, a wizard who was lucky enough to have a constitution score of 10. He would have only a 1 in 36 chance of collapsing.

BAM! ZAP! KABLOOIE!

Even so, I think there are some mitigating factors involved:

First of all, the target gets to attempt a dexterity saving throw to avoid being hit by the fireball or by the lightning bolt.

Second, even if the target does get hit, the target gets a SECOND saving throw vs his armor class. A successful save indicates no damage.

So yes these two spells are powerful, but their intended victims get TWO saving throws, and they only have to make one in order to escape taking hit point damage.

My initial reaction to these spells being cast at-will was, "This is way too powerful!" But then I thought to myself, "Dave Arneson did it in this general way for close to 40 years. I must be missing something." I think it's the fact of getting two saving throws that keep these at-will powers from being too powerful.

Dan, how do you think my understanding of this is? Am I on the mark, or am I out in left field?

[aldarron]

Yes that's a good analysis. Of course,, most Wizards will not have a 9 or 10 but for those very rare ones who do (Gin of Salik comes to mind) they should be amazingly powerful. Yet even with these exceptional beings thier targets always get a dex saving throw and an armor one if appropriate. The other thing to keep in mind is that the area of effect of both these spells is not terribly large nor the distance very far - meaning a wizard facing a horde of goblins may very well electricute a half dozen of them before being overwhelemed. In play it has turned out to be very useful for wizards but not in any way making them invulnerable, particularly as they have low HPV. I'd say its often less deadly than a D&D sleep spell where a lucky roll could effectively take out all those goblins.