DwD Studios

Okay - I'll concede. The BareBones spellcaster can be a bit powerful when it comes to offensive strike. I've heard this for the last couple of years and have defended it. Partially because it's our game, but partially because I honestly didn't think it was overpowered. But where there is smoke there is fire, and it's time to analyze the power level objectively. I'll assess Offensive Strike, which is the only I hear the most complaints about, and be honest about my findings. Then I'll go through all the spells and similarly give my opinion. I hope you follow along and give me some feedback. Perhaps some errata publication is in order.

Offensive Strike
The idea was to give the spellcaster a way to keep up with the warrior, who can swing a 3D great axe as much as he wishes, adding his STR bonus (which is likely +3 or more). So we let the spellcaster's Offensive Strike deal out 1D damage plus 1D per spellcaster level and be used unlimitedly. In theory it sounds good at low level, and might be. But is it?

An enemy of the fighter can make a DEX check to avoid his mighty effect. The enemy of the spellcaster can only cut his damage in half with a DEX check. Additionally, a plate mailed foe can absorb a great deal of that warrior's great axe swing, but that plate armor means nothing against the power of the spellcaster's magic. As if all that isn't enough, resisting spells carries with it a penalty of 10x the spellcaster's level, so most people are going to have a rough time dodging an offensive strike.

Okay, after literally hundreds of playtests... the spellcaster is a bit overpowered - but only really with the offensive strike spell. right?

Aid
This spell lets you boost the ability of an ally. The point here is that the spell has a duration of "until encounter ends." It was intended to be a spell cast during combat to boost stats of allies. Unfortunately, everyone uses it to PLAN for an encounter, in which case a level 3 spellcaster ends up boosting all combat stats of everyone by +30... and that's huge! The Aid spell might be a bit over powered when used in that way. When used DURING combat, it's a bit more balanced like its cousin: Hinder.

Charm
I find this spell very versatile, but not overpowered. Enemies get to make a resistance check. It's usage is only 1/turn, and if you target more than one person they get a substantial bonus to their resistance checks. I've seen this spell do well against minion foes, but it's seldom the end-all over-powered solution to an encounter. I deem this spell balanced.

Cleanse
This spell is restorative and works well, but might have slight issues when it comes to campaign balance only. I mean - if every cleric out there can cure blindness, then blindness wouldn't exist anymore in a setting. But spells are for heroes and villains and major characters - not every religious zealot walks around cleansing deafness from people, so I like this spell, it's utilitarian and restorative and has its place in my campaigns. I will say this spell is balanced, as long as GMs don't give it to everyone who wears a robe.

Control Weather
Due to its limited use in combat (it takes time to brew a storm which can cause damage) this spell seldom gets used in my games. Players like it, and talk about it in different ways. I had one player brew up a hellofa storm when aerial attacks were anticipated, causing the giant avian attackers to fly away and come again another day. Another clever use was a powerful lightning storm over a cave entrance until the lightning did enough damage to cave it in. For these reasons, this spell gets more story use than combat use, and for that reason I really like it. I call it balanced.

Dispel
Once you know someone is charmed by the evil wizard, this is a great way to get rid of the effect. It's also good if you have init on your foe to cast it in a way that interrupts him. In this way one spellcaster can work to keep another spellcaster in check while the rest of the heroes clean up his minions. It's not overly powerful, and some might say it has limited usefulness. I don't think it's overpowered at all and will deem it balanced.

Divination
This spell lets you learn things, but you have to move your senses around like a floating invisible body. It's stopped by lead, so every war leader with any intelligence at all should surround his planning chamber with lead walls, and kings should have lead in the walls of their private areas. Since there is a listed and obvious defense against the pervasiveness of this spell, I'm going to deem it balanced. Besides, you have to know where to look to find what you seek, which limits this spell somewhat anyway. Let's call it balanced.

Entangle
This spell tries to immobilize foes, or help secure your party's escape by preventing pursuit. It's not going to kill anyone. However - if someone is immobilized, they can't make DEX based resistance checks, so once you catch someone you can pretty much deal with him. Since the duration of the spell is 1-10 turns per spellcaster level, you have a nice long time to kill those stuck. However, it does allow resistance checks to allow half movement. So this one I'm on the fence with. Complete immobilization of a foe is nearly the same as killing him when you have that much time to deal with him. Additionally, the usage is unlimited... so a spellcaster can make an area so huge that nobody will be able to get out of it, all in one turn, if he's not afraid of multiaction penalties. I'm sadly going to have to deem this one overpowered.

Heal
I'm going to straight away say this spell is NOT overpowered. In fact, at low spellcaster or cleric levels, it sorta sucks only being able to heal 2D per day. BUt that's well balanced by its high healing ability at higher spellcaster levels, so I'm calling this spell balanced.

Hinder
This spell is the diametric opposite of Aid, but doesn't have the problem of being able to be cast in advance of combat. It depletes the capability of your enemies, but you can only cast it once per turn at one foe. Until higher level, when you can start affecting a couple more. Against a bunch of ogres, it's not all that effective. But focusing on one enemy it can help your party overcome an otherwise invincible foe. Since this is part of a party solution to a powerful problem, rather than the sole solution, I deem it balanced and appropriate.

Illusion
This spell is powerful. People who use it creatively can simulate the effect of just about every other spell, and can make someone believe the impossible. Since spllcasters apply 10x their level as a penalty to resistance checks, and many creatures lack genius LOG scores, Illusion can be very effective and probably the most versatile spell in a spellcaster's spellbook. Although it doesn't seem like it when you first read the spell, this spell is overpowered and needs some defined limits.

Protection
Again, this spell was intended to be used in combat. But most people, if given the chance, use it to prepare for a fight. Like the Aid spell, many GMs permit this. When used in this way, a low-to-mid-level spellcaster can practically immunize his allies against most types of danger and therefore this spell can be overpowered when used in this way. WHen used just in combat it works very well.

Repel
I'm surprised how many people don't use this spell. Once a player figures it out, it's quite useful. It drives foes away from the caster, and if the enemy is wimpy it can be destroyed outright. However, that latter ability only works when you're really high level when you could have dealt with those same minions any number of additional ways, so I am going to call this spell balanced. Very useful, keeps a spellcaster alive, but balanced. The only critique I might have is that there is no resistance check from being repelled... but since being repelled just makes you walk away from the caster, is that a big deal? You can still shoot him with an arrow, and if multiple enemy types face the caster he can't repel all of them. Balanced.

Summon
This spell has received critique in the past because summoning 1-5 level 1 creatures can make your party much stronger. But since the duration is only 1-10 turns per level it really only lasts an encounter. The summoned creatures might not be friendly, but will do the caster's bidding anyway. They might have an issue with that when the fight is over, however. If a GM wants to make Summoning have story impact and repercussions, that's a fantastic way to ensure balance on this spell. At high ranks, a spellcaster can summon a veritable army of creatures. Heck, a level 6 caster can summon a Dragon! I've seen a Dragon destroy a party of rank 6 characters all by itself. But if any spellcaster tried to pull that in my game, he'd have to deal with a very angry dragon after the deed is done. Summoning requires responsibility and has potential repercussions and therefore I'm calling this spell balanced if handled properly by the GM.

Telekinesis
This spell lets you lift great weights and affect things at a distance. It even lets you punch people with telekinetic force, or create a barrier of protection. The caster must concentrate on the effect to make it last, meaning he can't do anything else. The punch damage is not so great at low levels, but at high levels can be up to 20 points of damage, though a similarly ranked fighter will be more effective than that. Due to the concentration requirement, this spell is pretty balanced and highly versatile. The only thing I've been asked at a game table is whether or not it can be used to force choke someone... I allow it using the same rules I use if someone tried that with their own hand. Why not. I deem this spell balanced and versatile.

Transform
This spell is very utilitarian for the most part. You can turn one material into another, or can transform yourself or another person into another creature of equal or less power. It's resisted by STR, which a lot of monstrous foes have in abundance. For instance, it's unlikely you'll be effective at turning a dragon into whale and letting him fall from the sky; his STR score is high enough to resist your puny spell. I don't find this spell overpowered. However, I do find it lacking enough detail. I get a lot of questions about whether or not the transformed person knows he transformed or just thinks he's the new creature... and does a tranformed basilisk retain his stonegaze when he is turned into a horse. These things were left up to the GM, based on his opinion of how effective the spell should be. I think it can use more elaboration, but it isn't overpowered. I'll call it balanced but needing more detail.

Transport
This spell lets you move around different ways. It's really versatile at higher levels, less so at low levels. For that reason, few players choose it until they're high level. Makes sense to me. At high level a wizard SHOULD be making gateways between locations and teleporting to a distant location. I find this spell balanced.

In Conclusion...
The spellcaster's spells can use some tweaks and some specificity. What do you think? Is official errata called for? Let me know what you think!