Magical Combat (2E)

From: bardvalerian@cs.com (BardValerian)
Subject: Crazy Mage Idea !
Date: 27 Jul 2000 03:39:16 GMT

Ok, most of you are very comfortable with how Mages are portrayed in D&D. For those of you who may not be, or those of you who are open to new ideas, try this on for size…

I was thinking of a way to make Mages more “magely” in combat. Yes, Mages eventually get some nifty neeto combat spells (Magic Missile, Fireball, Lightning Bolt), but, for the most part, Mages are a 1-spell-and-done fighter. If a Mage is to have *any* versatility, he can't load up on combat spells at the expence of those often-needed Mending spells and such. I did not want to change the Mage in any way, so that left me to work with spells.

This is what i came up with:

A set of spells that allows a Mage to hurl/fire/throw pure magical enery offensively. Let's call this set of spells “Mage Strike” (i don't think that name has been used yet…). In short, what these spells will do is allow a Mage to fight in a *magical nature* without a disruption or offset of power. I know some of you will think these spells too powerful, but really sit and think about them. They really are not all that powerful for their level if you keep in mind that they are simply a *Magical* means of doing something that the Mage can already do with mundane tools & weapons, so I don't think they'd upset the game at all. They do little more than:

• At first level the Mage is, for all intents & purposes, conjuring then thowing/wielding a magical version of a dagger once per round.
• At 3rd level (for the MS II) the Mage is conjuring then wielding a magical staff or throwing a magical hand axe once per round.
• At 5th level, the Mage is conjuring 1 arrow/ round, etc.

Note: i made them Universal so that all Mages could use them, as the Mage is simply pulling Mana from the weave and using it as a weapon.