Re: Wild Mages and Spelljamming helms

On Fri, 4 Jul 1997, David Cummings wrote:

> Grimwulf wrote:
> >
> > On Thu, 3 Jul 1997, David Sarkies wrote:
> >
> > > On Thu, 3 Jul 1997, Linda G. wrote:

> > In my not-so humble opinion, I think this would be a patently BAD idea.
> > The "random aspect of the character" is not based on the individual mage,
> > but is based on his ability to tap into and control magic in casting
> > spells.  Since NO SPELL is required to power up a helm or a ship, NO WILD
> > MAGE CHECK IS MADE.  Again let me re-itterate that the true level of the
> > Wild Mage NEVER VARIES.  Like I said, if it did, his/her HP, THACO,
> > Saves, etc. would vary every minute!  Which they of course don't.  (Thank
> > goodness, what a book-keeping nightmare!)  There can be NO WILDSURGE
> > UNLESS A SPELL IS CAST.  Therefore, throwing in a wild surge just because
> > a Wild Mage took the helm is VERY incorrect.  Also, what would the target
> > of the Wild Surge be?  In many of the Wild Surge results, the surge
> > affects the target of the spell.  Since there is no spell, there is no
> > target.  Even if you decided that the helm or the ship is the target,
> > imagine the complete and total unbalance the game would receive when the
> > result "All non-living material within 10' of the target is
> > DISINTEGRATED."  Just the 1 in 100 chance that might happen would make
> > me, as a captain of such a ship, very wary in allowing the wild mage to
> > ever come within 10' of the helm.
> >
>
>
> Okay, let's think about this for a while. If you want power surges for
> wild mages it would be perfectly acceptable.  A wild mage may have a
> power surge any time he summons magical energy, and a mage summons his
> magical energy to power a helm.  This must be so, as this energy is used
> by the helm.

There seems to be a falacy in this argument, although I can't pin it
down... But I disagree.  The helm is DRAWING POWER from the Mage as he
sits on the helm. The mage does not have to take any action to power up
the helm other than sit on it.  If you'll notice, the rules state that as
soon as a mage sits on a helm, his spellcasting ability is drained for
the day, and he immediately gains the "sixth sense" that allows the ship
to become an extension of him.

>  The helms are designed to use the magic energy of a
> structured mage (a normal mage, if you will).

Is this established rule, or just your opinion?  If the helms are
designed to run off the energy of a "structured mage", then how can a
priest use them?  The helms, as far as I've read, are designed to operate
when any caster of Wizardly or Priestly magic is attuned to them.

>  A wild mage does not have
> a structured style of summoning his energy, it would be like a high
> octane engine being forced to run on kerosene (ignoring the actual
> physics if anyone out there is an internal combustion engineer).

Actually, the Wild Mages magic is not really a "higher octane" version of
"regluar magic".  It is merely a more unpredictable form of it.

>  When
> the mage summons his energy when he is on the helm, especially in a
> combat situation (where he is accelerating, turning, stopping, starting)
> he may create a surge.

Again, the mage does not have to "summon his spell energies" to do any of
these things.  The Concordance states that all of his magical ability is
*transferred to the helm upon first sitting on it!*  Therefore, the mage
actually has no innate spellcasting ability from that point on.  What he
gains in exchange, however, is the ability to control and maneuver the
ship as an extension of his own body.  He no more needs to "summon
magical energy" to speed up the ship than he needs magical energy to go
from a walk to a run in a normal situation.

>  In this next point, I agree with Grimwulf.  You cannot use the chart as
> it stands, as the mage is not summoning a _spell_.  If this idea
> intrigues those of you who really like wild mages, I would suggest a new
> chart.  Perhaps surges in speed or Manueverability, decreases in SR or
> MC, not to mention some wild things that may have no realation to the
> helm logically (its a wild mage, why should logic enter into this?).
> 	However, I firmly believe that if you disagree, wild surges should not
> be allowed on the helm.... but if you play or have a player play a wild
> mage, such consistency on the helm would be boring.....

Actually, I played a in a campaign that reached high levels where we were
ourselves transported into the AD&D realm.  Being the type of person who
is a mix of chaos and structure myself, I chose Wild Mage as my
profession. I loved the wild surges (the surge that caused my hair to
grow 2' was cool after I shaved it all except for on top of my head,
where I now had a 2 1/2 foot long mohawk), but when I got on the helm,
the combat and ship control and chaotic nature of each combat situation
was more than exciting enough for me.  If a mage in wildspace really
wants to see funky effects and screw up his allies and enemies both, let
him stay off the helm and throw a couple of lightning bolts using Nahal's
Reckless Dweomer or something.

In short, my original point stands.  The Wildmages LEVEL DOES NOT CHANGE,
only his CASTING LEVEL when casting spells.  Therefore, when sitting on a
helm and as no spell is cast, his original level is used.  Also since no
spell is cast (and as no "magical energies are summoned"), there can be
no Wildsurge in "official D&D" (whatever that is).  But hey, it's your
campaign.  Do what you want.

--Grimwulf