The third installment of Lew’s five-part series provides an overview of playing spellcasters in Dungeons & Dragons. Articles like this, offering advice on gameplay, always catch my interest.
What’s it about?
Lew emphasizes that magic-users (M-Us) are entirely reliant on their spells, suggesting they should make up 25% of a party, ideally with plenty of elves. He stresses the importance of protecting them—useful advice for beginners, though something they’d quickly figure out on their own. The article describes various roles for M-Us, such as the commando who uses flight and invisibility to infiltrate, or the information gatherer who employs ESP and charm spells to get the lay of the land. While the strategies are sound, they don’t go beyond what a player might deduce by reading the spell descriptions—something I wish one of my players in particular would do! For players who don’t bother reading through all their classes spell descriptions, this article is a helpful starting point.
On clerics, Lew notes they’re less popular than M-Us or fighters, possibly because they’re seen as weaker spellcasters. He suggests clerics should make up 20% of a party and outlines less roles than the m-u, reflecting the clerics protective focus spell list. Druids receive only brief mention, focusing on the animal friendship spell and a favourable comparison of dogs versus first-level characters.
Anything insightful?
- Lew’s suggested class distribution percentages for a balanced party are intriguing, though his reasoning isn’t clear.
Should I share this with my players?
For new players, maybe. Experienced players, no - they will know all this already. The article is too broad in scope and would be stronger if it focused on early-level gameplay rather than an overview of spellcaster roles and spells across the levels. It doesn’t make my “best of” list.
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