[MUD-Dev] Striving for originality

[Edward Glowacki]

On Sat, 2002-06-08 at 00:49, Matt Mihaly wrote:
> On Fri, 7 Jun 2002, Kwon Ekstrom wrote:
>> From: "Matt Chatterley" <matt at eldoops.co.uk>
  
>>> To my mind, the place of the battlefield mage is at the back,
>>> behind the others -- the same as we might use artillery support
>>> in a more modern battle.
  
>> I agree, a spell-caster shouldn't be out where he/she can take
>> damage.
 
> I marvel at statements like this. Why not? Achaea's mages can go
> toe to toe with a knight.

I have to agree with Matt on this.  There's nothing that says a
"mage" has to be "old, wizened, and fragile".  Why couldn't a mage
be "young, energetic, dexterous, and strong?"  Sure, toe-to-toe in a
non-magical sword fight, a trained fighter is going to win.  But
with some magical defensive shields, healing spells, a little bit of
electrical shock here, and a bit of stamina drain there, the mage
can quickly even the fight.  Or perhaps the mage studies martial
arts as part of his training and uses those skills to land a hit
with his bare hand, then uses focused magic to penetrate the
opponent's armor to do the actual damage.  Or maybe the mage can act
as a tank by having excellent protective and damage absorbing spells
plus a few small spells to distract the enemy or keep the enemy
focused on him, leaving his buddies free to pummel the opponent with
ranged attacks (physical or magic) or sneak around for some
side/rear melee attacks.  All of these put the mage directly in
harm's way, yet are still perfectly viable for a game.

Depending on the kind of game you want, you balance the game to make
it possible.  If you'd rather mages cower behind a row of beefy
fighters, balance the game that way by making them physically weak
and poorly defended.  If you have visions of yourself playing a mage
that can hold his own in a close-quarters fight with a swordsman,
balance your game to support that instead.

-ED

--
Edward Glowacki             glowack2 at msu.edu

"A wise craftsman never blames his tools." 
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