Quickie O/B/X D&D Starting Magic-User Spell Determination

Intelligence
3-8 - Randomly determine 1 1st level spell.
9-12 - Pick 1 1st level spell.
13-15 - Read Magic and pick 1 1st level spell.
16-17 - Read Magic, pick 1 1st level spell, and randomly determine 1 1st level spell.
18 - Read Magic and pick 2 1st level spells.

Inspired by my recent academic adventures, I imagine the above as this:

Int 3-8 - You're inept; although you somehow stumbled into an apprenticeship/wizard school, you were a failure and only remember how to do one thing, and it's probably not want you wanted to learn.

Int 9-12 - Although you got into an apprenticeship/wizard school you're pretty much a hack and managed to only learn how to do one thing.

Int 13-15 - You were an adequate student, you managed to learn a spell and the skills necessary to learn more on your own.

Int 16-17 - As above, but you managed to also retain some scraps of random information.

Int 18 - You were a prodigy and graduated with two spells of your choosing, what a champ!

One can easily play around with this depending on the DMs preferences regarding starting # of spells, randomization, etc. Maybe you need a 13 Int to avoid random starting spells? Maybe an 18 Int PC gets to pick 3 spells. I just like having a handy, arbitrary system for determining starting M-U spells that allows for some reward for being a brainiac.

I always liked the AD&D starting spell determination in principle, but in execution is a mess however much I love the cheap laffs at the expense of 1st level M-U's that have Friends, Mending and Ventriloquism in their spellbooks ("Where did you learn magic, working at a cricus? Bwahahahaha!").

As an aside, random spell determination works a lot better for the PCs with the OD&D/B/XD&D spell lists which aren't cluttered up with the hedge mage spells of dubious general utility. Heartbreak is your Magic-User reaching 7th level and getting Shatter in their spellbook. Not that I'm entirely against the D&D rules repeatedly slapping your PC in the face.

Why Sleep and Web Get Saving Throws When I DM...

...because you better damn well believe that I run adversary NPC Magic-Users like a goddamn shark. And if they had access to an "I Win" button they would use it.

Magic goes both ways, but even I'm not that cold-blooded.

Besides, my players love throwing sleep spells at opponents with too high a HD for sleep to affect or that otherwise are immune; why not preserve the confusion by giving the monsters a saving throw?

Jewel Throne Preview - The Black Lasher

Artwork by Johnathan Bingham

The Black Lasher

Level: Magic-User 3

Range: Caster

Duration: 10 minutes

The caster's left arm becomes a whip-like tentacle of thorny black rubbery flesh that can stretch out to a length of 30 feet. The caster may attack with this limb as a monster with as many Hit Dice as the caster's Levels, inflicting 1d8 points of damage on a hit and on an unadjusted attack roll of 20 the tentacle can wrap around and constrict the target, automatically inflicting 1d8 points of damage per round. The tentacle has an Armor Class of 3[16], with all successful attacks against it injuring the caster; it can take up to half the casters maximum hit points of damage before it is severed, dissolving into black slime and requiring the caster to make a successful Saving Throw vs. Death or lose their left arm.

Grammaree (Jewel Throne) Preview

The Eyes of Far Death

Level: Magic-User 5

Range: 7 miles

Duration: Ten minutes or until discharged

The caster gains the ability of telescopic vision, being able to zoom in on anything within both their line of sight and the range of seven miles, magnifying it at will until it looks like its is directly before the caster. The caster may choose to discharge the spell at one target within their vision, which will manifest as an invisible particle beam from the caster's eyes that will inflict 1D6 points of damage per level of the caster upon the target, with a saving throw versus spells allowed for half damage. If a man-sized or smaller target is slain by the spell it's body will explode into a mass of superheated chunks. If the caster attempts to focus on a target within 200 feet they must make a saving throw versus paralysis or suffer such extreme vertigo and disorientation that they fall in a faint for 1D20 rounds, with a 50% chance of the spell discharging and inflicting damage upon the target.

Mass of Serpents

Level: Magic-user 4

Range: Caster

Duration: Ten minutes per caster level

The caster becomes a 10' diameter mass of venomous serpents, with an Armor Class of 9, a Movement Rate of 90' (60' while swimming or climbing), and the ability to attack all within it's area. On a successful attack the target will suffer 1-3 points of damage and will have to make a saving throw versus poison or die in 1-6 turns.

Psychic Reaping

Level: Magic-User 4

Range: 1 Sentient creature within 30 feet

Duration: Permanent

The caster sends a probe into the target's mind and gains knowledge of all of the target's shameful secrets and perceived weaknesses. The target will be aware of this occurring as well as who is responsible, and will forever suffer a -1 penalty to all die rolls directly involving the caster, such as attack rolls, saving throws, damage rolls and so forth, with the caster gaining a +1 bonus on all such equivalent rolls involving the victim. The target is allowed a saving throw versus spells, and if they roll a 20 on their saving throw the effect of the spell is reversed, with the target instead gaining knowledge of the caster's shameful secrets and perceived weaknesses, with the attendant bonuses and penalties.

Raise Drowned Vessel

Level: Magic-User 5

Range: 1 mile per caster level

Duration: 24 hours

This spell will raise one sunken ship from the bottom of a body of fresh or salt water to temporarily float at the surface level; while casting this spell the caster may choose to specify the name of the vessel, if so only the aforementioned vessel will be raised (if it is within range), otherwise the nearest sunken vessel will be raised.

Speak With Cats

Level: Magic-User 1

Range: Caster

Duration: 24 hours

For the duration of this spell the caster's speech will be understood by cats and other felines. If the caster is able to see a feline's body language and can hear it's utterances, the spell will translate the aforementioned feline's communication into eloquent speech heard inside the caster's head.