Random Spells or Choose your Spells

[Faust23]

I'm collecting opinions for the fantasy supplement to my man-to-man skirmish game releasing in Dec.

Do you want to pick your wizard's spells, or roll for them like in Mordheim?

Discuss! 

[dijit]

Always choose, that way you can build a strategy around various spells.

[Red Orc]

Agreed, why would you want to build a warband but not know how it works? If I'm using my wizard as a missile (lightning bolt, fireball) thrower, I don't want to suddenly find out all he can do is 'ultimate healing' or 'touch of evil' or something.

I don't mind if there's some restrictions - maybe, if taking several spells is an option, there could be different lists based on elements or different magical schools (can't have fireball and petrify, as one is a fire spell and one is an earth spell; can't have summon animals and summon skeletons, as one is a druid spell and one is a necromantic spell), which means not every wizard will have 1-fireball; 2-summon skeletons; 3-healing. For example.

[OSHIROmodels]

How about picking what sort of wizard type you will field eg. Offensive, defensive or as Red Orc mentioned, having elemental or school based spells that are all of the same type but have slight differences and then having a random selection from that.

Just a thought 

cheers

James

[matakishi]

Do your fighters get random weapons?
Today Snorri the Axe has been allocated...a bow and arrows! Better learn how to shoot Snorri
Wizards should choose based on their type as mentioned earlier.

[Conquistador]

Do your fighters get random weapons?
Today Snorri the Axe has been allocated...a bow and arrows! Better learn how to shoot Snorri
Wizards should choose based on their type as mentioned earlier.

Radnor the Barbarian has been given the Sap for today's adventure against the Dragon of Burning Sands to rescue the maiden and obtain the treasure.

Good point Matakishi.  If you start a career as <fill in the blank> in a game or real life you usually have (or should have) "some control" on shaping your success.  Urologists take different advanced training over Optometrists.

Gracias,

Glenn

[The Gray Ghost]

Definitely choose my own spells.

[thebinmann]

Choose, I rolled random once for WFRP, never again. I had a spell that had no effect in the game and my mate had cool stuff like fireball and one which allowed him to control my siege engine!

[dijit]

How about picking what sort of wizard type you will field eg. Offensive, defensive or as Red Orc mentioned, having elemental or school based spells that are all of the same type but have slight differences and then having a random selection from that.

Just a thought 

cheers

James

That could be a good middle road, where you have different types of wizard that would only allow certain types of spells. Fire - destructive; water - life/healing; wind - movement spells and earth - defensive spells for instance.

[Johnno]

Having played many games of this edition of Warhammer, I believe you should be able to choose your Wizard's spells to suit your needs.

There should be different power levels/difficulties to the spells also. And a cap on the number of spells/level of difficult spells a wizard can have based on their own skill level.

[Cory]

Choose - the random spell thing all too often is a hopelessly flawed attempt at balance that ignores the current game and goes for things evening out over a whole lot of games.

That being said I don't mind some variablity, but random spells are just going too far.

[number9]

Why not both?

You could have a sub-type of mage that randomly gets spells. The benefit of this is you might get lucky and roll spells or combinations of spells you couldn't otherwise have chosen (depending on how you've built spell power structure). The downside is that it is all random. You might get nothing useful.

The rest of your more standard mage types would just pick their "school" and the spells allowed under it, or pick things following certain prerequisites (need to learn "teleport self" before learning "teleport group" for example).

[Doomhippie]

Do your fighters get random weapons?
Today Snorri the Axe has been allocated...a bow and arrows! Better learn how to shoot Snorri
Wizards should choose based on their type as mentioned earlier.

Hihi. that sounds like this rather crappy computer version of space hulk that's been around ten years ago (or even longer). The mission objective: "Flame that room." The Emperor has carefully chosen your weapons. You carry this... pair of lightning claws!

Ooops, mission failed.

[Colonel Tubby]

Choose. 

[Faust23]

One of my beefs with Mordheim was the random spells.  Lady Luck tends to give you the finger when you least expect it.

My initial thought was to select. Its a points based build, so choosing and paying the points makes the most sense to me.

However, I wanted to get a 'feel for the audience' and there is overwhelming evidence that we are all mostly in agreement.

Thanks for the assist!