All Magi Are Not Created Equal

Huh, double posting is possible! Beware the double topic creation!

I hit the "add topic" (I think that's it's name) button and the text box remained on the screen with all my text in it. Thinking that nothing had happened I hit the button again, saw the "topic created" message and there they were.

No, all mages are not created equal and that's OK, as long as the game takes that into account.

As Hugh and I discussed on our ride home, hitting a 25 penetration is pretty darn good with normal mages. While going an indirect method can be effective, as Sylvie showed Saturday, you somewhat have to be geared that way (in her case good Rego and high spontaneous).

I think it's less of an issue about "one shot", few can do that without a lucky die roll. Even light wounding the BBG is OK most of the time (it softens them up for the companion kill...)

I am interested that, while I have observed the behavior Hugh notes, everyone seems to be saying "no, no, I don't feel that way".

My recollection is also that people talk about the difficulty designing for high penetration characters.

I have not really weighed in here. So, I have a different take on this. To answer Hugh's question directly, I believe from what I read here that you (and I) must be misunderstanding what people have been saying.

Also, I believe focusing on penetration, damage, "one-shotting" is looking at a very narrow piece of the world. When was the last time Inrisor offered a solution based in Intellego? When was the last time he "solved the puzzle" (in a non-sledgehammer fashion)? When did he use a non-magical skill to resolve a problem?

Along those lines, using as an example "Wings", and targeting Tony (only because he is explicitly mentioned in the top, and because he had those specific complaints at the end of the game), who offered more solutions in the game, Inrisor or Saverio? Neither of them penetrated the Sphinx on first attack. Saverio killed the asps in the entry passage. Saverio purified Solace so he could enter the final regio and be cured, Saverio spotted the people in the city who might be connected to things you were looking for (though you did not pursue this line).

So, I question whether the complaint "I couldn't be the star in blowing things up, and offer priestly powers, and offer lore insights, and offer..." is really a valid one. The fact that not every aspect of any character is shown to best advantage in every game seems only fair since it allows other characters to shine in their own ways. And getting plenty of play in one arena should clue the player (whoever it is) that they may not be useful somewhere else where they also have strength, but someone else might have a greater strength that needs to be "shown off" as well.

Also, the focus on just damage is disappointing to me. Sure, so-and-so killed the bad guy, but who led them there? Who pointed out the traps on the way that could have killed or injured others? Who took the minions out of the way so that so-and-so could kill the big bad? All aspects of a game have value, not just the denouement scene.

Additionally, when one aspect of attack does not work for some reason, don't just try your big spell again. Think about what you witnessed and try a different tack. Maybe a really low level spell would give benefit and have the penetration needed. Maybe an indirect attack is called for. Maybe something to support the party would be more useful. Maybe magic itself is not the solution. Try to expand outward and try other solutions. Hammers are great for nails, but not really useful for screws, or when trying to pick up a delicate crystal goblet.