Re: [dq-rules] Idiot-Savant Assembly Line Wizardry

["Deven Atkinson" <deven@bright.net>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jason Winter" <Alarian@harbornet.net>
To: <dq-rules@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 12, 2002 11:05 AM
Subject: Re: [dq-rules] Idiot-Savant Assembly Line Wizardry


> At 07:39 AM 9/12/02, you wrote:
>  >Okay, maybe it's because I'm out of work and have a lot of time to
>  >think.  Or, maybe it's because I've been re-reading some of the Ethshar
>  >books by Lawrence Watt-Evans and that got me thinking about how magic
>  >should work in a fantasy world.  In any case, here's a concept I'd like
>  >some opinions on...
>  >
>  >Is there any reason an enterprising, and very skilled, wizard would not
>  >be able to herd together some suckers, er "apprentices", and teach them
>  >one or two spells that they learned to cast really well?  Then, put said
>  >savants into an assembly line enchanting items?  What would prevent
>  >something like that from happening in DragonQuest?  A person could make
>  >a killing in the magic weapon business that way....
>  >Seriously, though, it occurs to me that the rules point toward setting
>  >that up as a possibility.  Thoughts?
>
> A good example of this happening, albeit on a smaller scale, happened in
my
> campaign.  After 3rd edition came out, one of my players decided he wanted
> to play a shaper.  The campaign had been running for quite a while at that
> point, so he came in at about mid-level.

Perhaps this is what went wrong.  An instant mid-level shaper?  I am a firm
believer that all characters should come in at "as generated" level.  Sure a
few brand new characters tossed in with mid-level characters may expire, but
after a while the veteran characters will start protecting the new kid and
he/she will survive.  Perhaps if that shaper had to earn the lower levels,
and more importantly spend the character time in doing so, then the outcome
would have been much different.   Just a thought.

>  After about a year of him playing
> the shaper, I had to ask him to retire the character because he was
pumping
> out so many magic items, it was becoming a joke.  Nothing super powerful
[snip]