steven@qubix.UUCP (Steven Maurer) (05/29/84)
References:
[This space for rent]
Well now, I have managed to borrow that old dumb book,
"AD&D Players Handbook", and am finally able to respond to
the person who made the various personal attacks on me a
little while ago.
STRICTLY SPEAKING, these are the casting times for
various popular spells. Instead of dealing in "segments"
and "rounds", I will instead compare the casting times to
the number of attacks a fighter would get before the spell
would go off. REMEMBER that if a MU or Cleric is injured
during the spell casting time, then the spell stops.
Spell Casting time Effect time
------------------------------------------------------
Cleric Spells:
Cure Light Wounds 5 attacks perm.
Sanctuary 4 attacks 30+ attacks
Bless 10 attacks 60 attacks
Hold Person 5 attacks 50+ attacks
Speak With Animals 5 attacks 20+ attacks
Dispel Magic 6 attacks Perm.
Prayer 6 attacks 40+ attacks
Cure Serious Wounds 7 attacks Perm.
Neutralize Poison 7 attacks Perm.
Protection From Evil 7 attacks 1000+ attacks
MU Spells:
Sleep 1 attack 50+ attacks
Invisibility 2 attacks Perm. until attacks
Web 2 attacks 60+ attacks
Fire Ball 3 attacks Instant
Gust of Wind 3 attacks Instant
Haste 3 attacks 60+ attacks
Suggestion 3 attacks 240+ attacks
Charm Monster 4 attacks Until save made
Enchanted Weapon +1 10 attacks 35+ attacks
===============
Now, as you can see, it does appear that any moderate level
fighter or monster will be able to chop up a MU/Cleric with no
problem, IF TIME IS COUNTED. But, of course, it is not. For
all you AD&D players out there, ask yourself when was the last
time you had to wait 5 segments (attacks) before the Cure Light
Wounds on your character took effect??
I stand by my eariler statement, that in AD&D, spell casting
time is almost completely ignored by most DM's. And, in addition,
that this is the fault of the system.
Steven Maurerburton@inuxg.UUCP (Thomas Burton) (05/31/84)
xx <- two-footed bug stomp! In reply to Steve Maurer: When was the last time I waited five segments for a Cure Light Wounds to take effect? The last time a player tried to throw it while in the heat of battle, that's when! I have always (well, except for the first two or three times I ever played) used the casting time and duration limitations of spells. It is especially important to use these limits while in battle, otherwise MagicUsers are super powerful even at low levels. With the casting time and duration limits, they are definitely less powerful. For instance, my dungeon group just recently destroyed a 9th level magic user, even though no one was above 4th level. How? They managed to keep him from throwing the powerful but long-casting- time spells (they still very nearly bit the dust). Similarly, I always mark time on the Sleep spells; the players know that unless they quickly dispatch their non-slept opponents so that they can get around to putting away the slept ones, they will soon be in a heap of trouble. I re-iterate: all good DM's use the casting time and duration limits on the spells (or at least something very similar) to maintain game balance. Doug Burton ATT-CP Indianapolis inuxg!burton
russell@muddcs.UUCP (Russell Shilling) (06/01/84)
Steven seems to have not read the Players Handbook very well.
The time assumed for attacks is based on *ROUNDS*, not *SEGMENTS*
as his article implied. The correct interpretation of the time to cast
a Sleep spell, for example, is one *SEGMENT*; the time required for a
low level fighter to make one attack is one *ROUND*, not one *SEGMENT*.
For your information:
1 SEGMENT == 6 seconds
1 ROUND == 10 SEGMENTS == 60 seconds == 1 minute
1 TURN == 10 ROUNDS == 10 minutes
The SEGMENT is a sub-division of a ROUND used to determine the
precise time of effect of a Spell being cast, or the precise time of a
Fighter's Attack, (based on the 'Initiative Roll' which should be made at
the beginning of EACH ROUND --- not SEGMENT, see the DM Guide.)
I do not know whether MOST DM's account for Time, but I certainly
do. This is the most crucial aspect of judging a melee. In order to be
completely fair to ALL character classes involved in combat, Time needs
to be VERY carefully accounted for.
Russell Shilling
{allegra,ihnp4,seismo}!scgvaxd!muddcs!russell
P.S.
Apologies to all for not giving page references,
but I do not have the rule books here...
==========================================================================hsc@lanl-a.UUCP (06/02/84)
In the group of loonies here that play AD&D, *ALL* of the DM's and players
pay attention to spell casting times and durations. Also, I think
you are confusing 'segments' with rounds. A couple of times some high level
fighters and mages have gotten into it, and if the mages were carrying
the right offensive spells, they would win.(most ofthe time)
It's not the system, but those who implement it!
The sorcerer's apprentice..........lanl-a!hsc