Compromise and Conceit

So, I just made a pair of characters using the rules exactly as written down in the DMG: a 19th level wizard-hunting thief and a 19th level wizard. The wizard-hunting thief used his spare cash to buy a stash of potions and scrolls; used his 19th level special ability to gain skill mastery in Use Magic Device (so those scrolls can be used with impunity) and bought a Cloak of Resistance +5 with the spare change. This gave him saving rolls of +14 to Fortitude, +23 Reflexes, and +13 Will once he had taken potions of Bull’s Strength and Owl’s Wisdom. The Bull’s Strength also renders him immune to Power Word Kill (128 hps) but he bought a scroll of Protection From Evil and Death Ward to make sure none of the Symbol or Power Word spells can do anything (not that this is relevant, since his Composite Shortbow guarantees he is out of range of any of the Wizard’s spells). For good measure he bought some flaming adamantine arrows.

The wizard, on the other hand, has only 68 hps and is not expecting to be attacked. This is only fair, since the thief will only get to use one unique thief special ability (sneak attack) once in this battle (though I suppose he could use his spare change on a cape of the Mountebank and dimension door behind the wizard in round 2…) The mage has a contingency with Stoneskin, because what mage wouldn’t have? 

The key point of this little tale is this: the Mage’s most powerful spell has a save DC of 28 (if he has spell focus), so the Rogue only needs to roll over 5 on a reflex, or 14 on a fortitude, or 15 on a will save. Now, granted, 15 is not so great. But if we look at the wizard spell list, the only long range spell which isn’t  reflex save-based is Horrid Wilting, an 8th level spell, so the thief will resist it on a roll of 13 or more. These aren’t good odds, really, and they just get worse as we go up in levels. Because the save DC for spells increases only with the improvement in the caster’s intelligence (i.e. once every 8 levels), while the save bonus increases every level, or every three levels. So by the time the wizard’s save DC goes up by 1, the rogue’s saves  have all increased by at least 3.  

Note that when the wizard was first level the thief had to make a roll of 13 or more to resist the wizard’s spells if they required a fortitude save, or a 9 or more if they required reflex. So the 18 intervening levels have led to no benefit for the wizard in attacking the rogue’s weakest defences using the wizard’s supposed special ability, and he has actually gone backward against the rogue’s strongest defences.

This entire problem arises because the wizard has a “special ability” (magic) which is not at all special – everyone in AD&D gets magic items – but the power of the wizard’s “special ability” is hampered within the rules to prevent it being “too powerful”. Of course, the entire idea of magic is that it should be too powerful (it’s meant to be scary) but in AD&D its mundane use, and this deliberate weakening of its power, means that in reality it is not actually very frightening at all. By taking the wizard’s power out of the context of the basic framework of the system (the level-based skill system) the designers have essentially weakened the wizard relative to all other characters.

And his saves are themselves shit – so he is his own worst enemy!