Another brief note on some small changes to DS core rules.
The wizard was sometimes a little underwhelming at the start of the campaign, so these give him a bit more to do. Once you’re part way through the series of adventures he quickly gets more to think about than the other Heroes, so you’ve got to be careful about where he starts. Complex at the start makes him an impossible tangle at the end – especially if you’ve got one player looking after all 4 Heroes. This variability in play options is one of the challenges here – how to be sufficiently interesting when you only have one of the Heroes, but not overwhelming when you have all 4.
Anyway, the changes:
Firstly, if the Wizard is not in an enemy front arc he can use an action to create a new power 1 energy crystal. This is a toned-down version of what he can do in the Downtime section of the Adventurer’s Companion. Power crystals are always useful, so filling an otherwise quiet moment is a helpful option.
Secondly, the Flamebolt spell is now long range. It’s not the most powerful spell (though it’s better against Goblins and other stuff that’s easier to kill than zombies), and that’s exactly how it should be. It’s petty magic and can therefore be used every turn. It can, however, be boosted with power crystals, so every now and again it can be quite pokey. It’s intended as a backup, not the main magical event. Still, bumping it to long range makes it a little more useful without making it overpowered.
Lastly, the wizard gets an extra power 2 energy crystal in each of the Core adventures.
Added up, I think this nudges the wizard to where he needs to be at the start of the campaign, without causing lots of problems later.
Quirkworthy 
Sounds like good little additions.
While I like the idea, I dont really think the wizard really needed to be able to generate crystals… sure, it gives him something to do if he cant do anything else, but that shouldnt really happen too often… In fact, Id prefer it if the pure CC fighters had something like that, since they dont really have anything they can do if they arent in b2b… the mage and archer will always have ranged attacks.
Not sure what the fighter characters could do though if that makes sense in the traditional fantasy style setting. Usually when fighters are not hitting things they are drinking. I honestly would love to seem them have another option when they get to base to base. Maybe knock backs or bull rushes.
True. Though its not impossible… Maybe something like a taunt skill? An enemy has to move one space towards the fighter? Maybe a fighting skill that needs to be activated? (something similar to Get Mean in deadzone could work…?)
Maybe sharpening the weapon to get an additional dice on the next attack?
I’m not sure about the possibility to create crystals in a dungeon. That’s a totaly new mechanic, which is unique to one character, who also got the most complexity in the later game. This ability just adds more complexity in the late game.
I wrote an alternative door open mechanism in “DS Beta Rules Up” comments, which could actualy get the wizard more involved in the early games, because he could get an higher impact on smashing doors. He still would be the worst in doing it, but he could actualy help.
Had a taunt skill and it got removed as it almost never got used. Still a shadow of it in the advanced rules.
On the whole, combat heroes don’t need other things to do as there’s almost always more combat to be doing than they can manage. If they aren’t in b2b then they move so they are. It’s rare for all the targets to be out of reach. If they are that’s usually because there’s a door to smash instead.
Slamming people back is an ability. It’s just that these particular Heroes don’t happen to have it.
Drinking in the tavern turns up in the campaign rules 🙂
I want to straighten that I’m not against additional options. Actually I like the ideas of wizards producing crystals, warriors sharping their weapons, clerics praying to maybe get a wound back, taunting tanks… A special action for each class, but not one special ability for one character alone.
There must be a better way! Maybe to alter the spells he has. Feet of stone is a bit passiv for a major spell. Sure it can add a lot to pinn the enemy and lower his defence but as the only action it feels kind of little.
At this point, their is a problem with the dice rolls ;). Maybe just make it not pinning but lowering the armor or dice by a -d3. This way the player has more to do than just (maybe) move and say a word with pointing an enemy.
Instead of the D3 there could be a check with maybe 3 dice on a 5+ and every sucess provides a -1 on the combat dice of the enemy. That way the Crystals were useable for that spell as well.
Will the Power 1 Energy Crystal crafting ability become a named ability or perhaps a feature of Spellcaster or something like that? I could see it becoming a Wizard only type of thing, as opposed to maybe a Cleric or Druid. Which opens the gateway for Clerics perhaps having something similar like a ‘Blessing’ they can use on themselves or an adjacent Hero to give a one use +1 dice bonus to non-Spell actions or something.
I like the increase in range for Flamebolt, and receiving an extra power 2 energy crystal at the start of each adventure is also cool. I’m not sure how I feel about the additional action though. I think I’d rather see it have the same level of sacrifice as a Heroic Feat or the Overlord Raise Dead power, in that the Wizard should have to sacrifice his move AND action to create the energy crystal.
This makes me wonder how the characters are balanced with regards to their progression. Obviously I don’t have enough information for that at present but if the wizard has lots of choices late but fewer early how does this compare to the other classes?
I’m sure it will all work out but it does make me wonder.