BASIC MAGIC: What Was Top Choice Among Starting Spells for Early Module MUs?

 

from Wizard of Barge

Due to playing a long-running, well, 6th level anyway, BX magic-user, I've had a lot of thoughts over the years about playing wizards in BX/OSE. 

I took a quick look at the first of the B-series (1-9) to see what spells were given to early starting magic-users once the game was ~5+ years on from its inception. By this time, the people writing these modules had exposure to D&D as a player, not a creator.

Since the goal of the B-series (B for Basic) was to introduce new players to the concept of D&D, many contain pre-generated characters which can be used as hirelings or PCs. A review might allow me to see how earlier designers thought of starting MUs, the obstacles that the players would face, and so might sculpt how they present the magic.

A BASIC REVIEW

B1 In Search of the Unknown (Carr)

In this module, 12 MU or ELF PCs are listed, and a weighted table is used to determine which spells they have.

Unsurprisingly, for 1st-level spells (Table A), Charm Person and Sleep rank as the prime spells at 15% chance each will be rolled. The runners-up at 10% are Detech Magic, Light, Magic Missile, and Shield.

Interesting though that 2nd level spells (Table B), has a far more equal distribution among the spells listed. At 10% chance, Continual Light, ESP, Invisibility, Knock, Levitate, Mirror Image, and Web get equal billing.

B2 The Caves of Chaos (Gygax)

For the NPC generation here, only 3 out of 20 potential N/PC are MUs or Elfs. There are no pre-assigned spells to those characters or a weighted table.

The full number of 1st and 2nd-level spells is given, with three 3rd-level spells mentioned in the table: Dispel Magic, Fireball, and Fly.

B3 Palace of the Silver Princess (Wells)

Here, there are 13 "read-to-play characters," of which 4 are MUs or Elfs. Each is given either Magic Missile, Sleep, Charm Person, or Light to start with

B4 The Lost City (Moldvay)

There are 5 magic-using characters presented as pre-generated options in B4 and we can see there are only two spells-- Sleep or Magic Missile.

B5 Horror on the Hill (Niles)- There is only 1 MU and 1 Elf among any of the 11 pre-rolled characters and. B6 The Vailed Society (Cook)- Like Hill, there is only 1 MU and 1 Elf among any of the 7 pre-rolled characters

Neither pre-assigns spells to the characters nor offers any weighted tables, so I assume you'd either roll these from the book or the DM provides the MUs with their spell selections.

B7 Rahasia (Hickman & Hickman)- Again, just 2 MU, but also inclusion of magic items and higher levels. For 1st-level spells: Shield, Magic Missile, Sleep, and Floating Disk; for 2nd-level spells: Web

B8 Journey to the Rock (Malone)- There is 1 MU and 1 Elf both are higher levels than the 1st level adventurers we see in the earlier modules. The Elf has Hold Portal and Magic Missile, while the MU has Charm Person and Protection from Evil

B9 Castle Caldwell and Beyond (Nuckolos) and B10 Night's Dark Terror (Bambra et. al.)- No more ready-to-roll characters

SUMMARY

Sleep is a clear winner! Really no surprise, really, since it might be the best singular spell in the whole 1st and 2nd level lists. A fireball of feathers. It can take out 2d8 (avg 9) bandits (1 HD) or 1 ogre (4+1 HD). It's top because its cheap, level 1 and only takes 100gp to make a scroll, and it covers a wide range of threats.

Magic Missile is in second place in terms of frequency. This is kinda a surprise to me given that Charm Person is often considered the next most powerful spell at 1st and 2nd level. I wonder if that's because it just feels magic-y- shooting off a bolt of arcane energy that hits unerringly? Or fits its one of the most easy to understand spells?

What is true is that Magic Missile is a good offensive weapon against other enemy MUs because it can weave through the ranks and hits without a roll which is perfect for disrupting enemy Sleep spells. But was that really what early designers were thinking?

From an old-school dungeon design perspective, I think there are a couple of opportunities.

One adjustment might be to swap the levels of Sleep and Invisibility. Invisibility is a fun spell that ends when the invisible person attacks or casts magic. So the spell is very hijinks-oriented, can benefit the cast/other classes, and can be cast on objects. It also feels really wizardy. This would place Sleep in a narrower range of opportunity.

Or as dungeon designers, we could look at Sleep and Magic Missle as opportunities to increase threats at lower levels. This is not to be "killer DMs", but instead to enhance the fantastic. Not need for 1d4 giant rats or 2 bandits splitting 20gp.

Instead, you could make a band of 20 bandits a presence in a starting adventure. A threat that *could* be solved by a starting MU with Sleep and party with careful planning.

With Magic Missile, perhaps more enemy MU should have Sleep themselves, but downed PCs might be a sarifice instead of simply just having their throats slashed (as PCs would do). Or perhaps there could be fast-moving or incorporeal threats that are low HP but cannot be interacted with by mundane means.

Either way, again, these would ramp up the excitement of low-level adventures and not make them seem like a waiting room for better fun at higher levels.