Fighters/Warriors Vs Spellcasters: Let’s Talk About It

 By Felipe Lohan Pinheiro da Silva

Many people complain about the difference in the progression of Fighters/Warriors and spellcasters. ¿ Who didn’t hear the expression “Linear Fighters/Warriors, quadratic Wizards/Mages”? But actually it’s a reasonable thing.

The ƒіghter only rely on the discipline and mundane martial power. While it’s something signiƒіcant, it’s no match to the spellcasters, who deal with the fabric of the cosmos itself in a day-to-day basis. So, in the long term, it’s normal to see the spellcasters becoming a lot more powerful than ƒіghters.

The solution is NOT dumbing down the spellcasters. İt doesn’t make any sense. There are some solutions:

Allowing Fighters/Warriors to learn combat spells (making them spellcasters; some of these spells may be exclusive), combat feats/advantages/perks that mixing combat w/magic and giving them higher bonuses when they’re the target of beneƒіcial combat spells, in order to portray their martial training. The same goes for their combat use of magical items and magical feats/advantages. See the end note for examples of spells and feats.

Likewise, you could do the same with other classes/professions/skills. Note here that the speciƒіc skill required for gaining the bonus will depend on each spell or magical school. Some examples:

*Healing – Doctors, nurses or those who have a ƒіrst aid/medical/surgery/herbalism/alchemy skill.

*Necromantic – Torturers, hitmen/professional assassins, executioners, doctors, coroners (and other forensic personnel), crematory workers, taxidermists, embalmers, morticians/undertakers, gravediggers, clerics that performs funeral rites, grave robbers (invading graves to steal valuable items), body snatchers (stealing corpses from their graves, in most times to sell them to doctors or medical schools, to use them to experiences or lessons), etc.

*Enchanting/crafting – Craftsmen/Blacksmiths.

*Alchemy/herbalism – Alchemists/Herbalists.

*Movement – Those who have skills such as athletics, acrobatics, conducting vehicles (including those with animal traction, also riding horses), stealth, hiding, etc.

*Nature – Rangers, druids/shamans or those who have skills like naturalist, survival, animal handling/training (for those spells that affect the behavior of animals), botanics, zoology, herbalism.

*Metamagical – Those who have the parapsychology/magical science skill.

Giving Fighters/Warriors (permanently or temporarily) supernatural powers or even bodily alterations. This approach could blur the line (if there’s such line) between monsters and the PCs. Some examples of forms to give a character some powers:

*Defeating or being defeated (¡ come back to life w/ powers, baby!) by monsters, surviving to his poisonous bite (or being contaminated by him in some way), being bathed in his blood, having physical contact w/ him or surviving to an encounter w/ him.

*Receiving magical/bionic implants/prosthesis.

*Being descendant of powered beings or suffering genetic engineering.

*Was exposed to or made physical contact w/ some kind of magical/radioactive/alchemical artifact or environment, or drinking an alchemical potion or suffering the effects of a serum or nanorobots. This could happen during laboratory experiments or accidents.

*Made a deal w/ (or was cursed or blessed by) a demon/god/genie/superpowered being, and gained some powers as a result.

*Suffered a partial/complete demonic/ghost possession.

*Was subject of a surgery or psionic/magical/religious procedure/ritual, even after his death (his corpse suffered it).