GLOG Magic in Basic D&D
This post is, basically, a public service. I’ve seen this question numerous times: how ought the progression of Magic Dice work if you’re running a game using B/X, OD&D, or any of the myriad retroclones? I’ve a fairly straightforward answer to that question.
For those not in the know about GLOG Magic Dice, this article provides a straightforward description.
Take your Magic-user class of choice. They have a number of Magic Dice equal to their level. A maximum of 4 Magic Dice can be invested into any given spell. This is because most GLOG spells are designed to scale up to 4MD, with some having specific effects tied to the different MD values. For spells, I provide a selection at the bottom of this blogpost, otherwise the basic D&D spells have been remade as GLOG spells many times. For Clerics, they start without any MD at 1st level, and then gain 1MD each level thereafter. That’s it! That’s the conversion—Magic Dice were designed with B/X and retroclones in mind, so it’s pretty trivial.
Balance wise, GLOG spell casters are more flexible than their spell slot using equivalents at lower levels and much weaker at higher levels. An 8th level spell slot based Magic-user is able to deal 8d6 damage with each Fireball; the GLOGquivalent can only deal 4d6 damage and must expend more of their total resources to do so. I think that for many this is basically desirable—it’s a common view that spell casters are too weak at low levels and too strong at high levels. Mishaps and Dooms can be kept if you like, but this makes the GLOG Wizard even weaker relative to his high level cousins.
Sample Spells
Burning Hands
Roaring heat comes pouring from the caster’s outstretched palms. Deals [sum] damage to a group of foes. At 1MD a Save avoids. At 2MD or higher a Save reduces damage by half.
Lightning
Electricity leaps from the caster’s finger and shocks a line of foes for [sum]+[dice] damage. At 1MD a Save avoids. At 2MD or higher a Save reduces damage by half.
Magic Missile
An unerring bolt of magic deals [highest]+[dice] damage to a single foe.
Charm
A humanoid with [dice]HD becomes a retainer. A Save resists, and renders the target immune to further attempts to charm.
Rust
Destroys [sum] worth of metal objects where points may be exchanged for:
- 1 point: A weapon or shield.
- 2 points: A suit of armour.
- 3 points: Metal bars or grates.
Sleep
A total of [sum]HD worth of creatures falls asleep. Those of 4HD+ are immune.
Create
Form an object out of ectoplasm. It diffuses light in an uncanny way, and will melt after 1 day in sunlight. Size of object is determined by MD invested.
- 1MD: A handheld object such as a weapon, a shield, a length of rope, a torch, sheave of 2d6 arrows, etc).
- 2MD: Larger objects, such as suits of armour, tables, doors, boulders, etc. Or, create 1d6 standard objects.
- 3MD: A structure up to the size of a small hovel or lean-to. A vehicle such as a canoe or a carriage.
- 4MD: A structure up to the size of a bridge or a manse, or a vehicle up to a small galleon.
Image
Weave an illusory image from silver threads. Once touched, the illusion fades. Size of the image is determined by MD invested.
- 1MD: An image that fills up to a 5’ cube.
- 2MD: Up to the size of a false section of wall, flooring, or bridge.
- 3MD: Up to the size of a fortress or castle.
- 4MD: Enough to conceal or create an entire terrain feature.