The Winds of Magic
by Avian
Another way of doing the magic phase. Essentially this is the same system that was used in fifth edition (which is the same as was used in fourth, except that in fourth wizards could cast spells in either player's magic phase). I quite liked this system and the flaws as I see it was that the system used cards which were so easy to forget, that two different wizards couldn't have the same spell and that some spells were a lot more powerful than others for the same casting cost. This system happily has none of those flaws.
How it works
The biggest change is that wizards no longer generate magic dice and armies do not get the two basic magic dice. Instead the Winds of Magic are determined by a random dice roll, pretty much like it was back in fourth and fifth edition. The number of dice rolled is shown on the table below. The table also shows how many power dice the player whose turn it is (the active player) gets and how how many dispel dice other player gets.
| Army size in pts | Dice rolled | Active player gets | Other player gets |
|---|---|---|---|
| less than 2,000 | Three D6 | Highest + lowest dice - one | Middle dice |
| 2,000 - 2,999 | Three D6 | Highest + lowest dice | Middle dice + one |
| 3,000 - 3,999 | Three D6 | Highest + lowest dice + three | Middle dice + three |
Example: In a 2,500 pt game three D6 are rolled, giving a 6, a 4 and a 2. The active player then gets 6 + 2 = 8 Power Dice, while the other player gets 4 + 1 = 5 Dispel dice. This is regardless of how many wizards a player has.
In this manner the number of power dice one player gets is linked to how many dispel dice the other player gets. At the 2k level the active player gets between 2 and 12 Power dice, while the other player gets between 2 and 7 Dispel dice, while at the same time getting at most 5 dice less than the active player.
That is the first big change, the second is this: At the end of each magic
phase each wizard can retain unused own magic dice and use them in the next
magic phase. Each level 1 or 2 wizard can retain dice while each level 3 or 4
wizard can retain 2 dice. Retaining dice in this manner means that power dice
become dispel dice and vice-versa.
For simplicity's sake retained dice are not lost if the retaining wizard is
slain before the next magic phase. This is the easy solution and avoids a
considerable ammount of book-keeping, though players are free to note down or
in some other way keep track of exactly which wizard has stored how many dice
if they really wish.
Example: The winds of magic blow strongly and provide 10 Power dice to the active player and 7 Dispel dice to the other player. The active player only has a single level 1 wizard with the Second Sign of Amul, which he attempts with two dice. The spell is cast with a roll of 8 and the other player then successfully dispels this using three dice and rolling 10. The active player then retains one of his remaining 8 Power dice until the next magic phase, while the other player, who has a level 4 wizard and two level 2 wizards retains his remaining four dice (two for his level 4 and one each for his level 2s). The next turn the winds of magic blow somewhat more weakly and provide the active player with seven dice, which is increased to 11 with his remaining dice, while the other player gets four Dispel dice, to which he adds his single retained dice, to make up 5 Dispel dice.
Note 1: Non-wizard characters that generate dispel dice still do this.
Note 2: Marks, Spawnings and magic items that generate magic dice still do this.
Specific armies affected
Bretonnia
Sacrament of the Lady obviously does nothing since wizards no longer generate
magic dice.
Dwarfs
Dwarf armies do not get any additional basic Dispel dice, though Runesmiths and
Rune Lords generate Dispel dice as normal.
Empire
Warrior Priests and Arc-Lectors still generate Dispel dice.
Orcs & Goblins
Units in combat still generate magic dice as normal.
Skaven
Supercharged Warp-power Accumulators do nothing, since wizards no longer
generate magic dice.
Tomb Kings
Tomb King armies do not add the higher dice when determining how many Power
dice they get, use only the lower dice and any modifiers.
Tomb King Wizards cannot retain dice from turn to turn.
The casting of Incantations work as before.
Common objections
Stupid Gaijin says: "There is no point in taking more than a few
levels of magic!"
Wise Seinsei says: "Foolish foreigner! There are several advantages
to having plenty of magic and I can tell you them easily because they are
pretty much the same as in last edition, where people still took plenty of
magic."
Stupid Gaijin says: "I don't belive you! What are the so-called
advatages of high magic now that I can't simply overwhelm them with heaps of
Power dice?"
Wise Seisei says: "Firstly a high magic army can retain more dice,
secondly they have more spells available, thirdly more casters give you more
flexibility when it comes to where and when to cast spells, fourthly more
casters means your offensive capabilities are not easily taken out by the
opponent and fifthly more wizards let you carry more arcane items."
Stupid Gaijin says: "But an army with a level 2 wizard can spend
6 Power dice in a single turn, so any additional wizards will have little or no
power."
Wise Sensei says: "So if you have a Second Sign and a Portent of
Far you always cast both in eash magic phase. Even when there are no units in
close combat? Ha ha ha!"
Stupid Gaijin says: "But an army with a level 4 and two level 2s
will only get as much Power as an army with a single level 1. That is
unfair!"
Wise Sensei says: "You idiot! An army with a level 1 can only use
two Power dice per turn and then retain one. Such pathetic attempts to wield
the magical forces will require little or no dispelling by his opponent, who
can then retain up to four unused dispel dice and convert them into power dice
in his own turn. His weaker opponent will then face an average of 11 Power dice
with his average 5 or 6 Dispel dice. Do you think he can try the same trick?
No? Being able to retain only a single dice leaves little flexibility.
Hah!"
Stupid Gaijin says: "But, great Master, how can you know
this?"
Wise Sensei says: "Because I have used this system in practice. You
obviously have not. Now back to washing cars!"
Some statistics
All done at the 2k level. As we all know statistics don't lie, do they? :-p
Chances of getting X number of PD for the active player.
| # of PD | Combinations | %chance | this number or more | this number of less |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 100.0 | 0.5 |
| 3 | 6 | 2.8 | 99.5 | 3.2 |
| 4 | 13 | 6.0 | 96.8 | 9.3 |
| 5 | 24 | 11.1 | 90.7 | 20.4 |
| 6 | 37 | 17.1 | 79.6 | 37.5 |
| 7 | 54 | 25.0 | 62.5 | 62.5 |
| 8 | 37 | 17.1 | 37.5 | 79.6 |
| 9 | 24 | 11.1 | 20.4 | 90.7 |
| 10 | 13 | 6.0 | 9.3 | 96.8 |
| 11 | 6 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 99.5 |
| 12 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 100.0 |
As you see, the chance of getting 7 PD is by far the most common, while there is more than an 80& chance of getting 5 - 9 PD and almost 60% chance of getting 6 - 8 PD.
Chances of getting X number of Dispel dice for the other player:
| # of PD | Combinations | % chance | this number or more | this number or less |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 16 | 7.4 | 100.0 | 7.4 |
| 3 | 40 | 18.5 | 92.6 | 25.9 |
| 4 | 52 | 24.1 | 74.1 | 50.0 |
| 5 | 52 | 24.1 | 50.0 | 74.1 |
| 6 | 40 | 18.5 | 25.9 | 92.6 |
| 7 | 16 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 100.0 |
This time the chance of getting 4 or 5 Dispel dice are equally great and there is almost 50% chance of getting either 4 or 5 Dispel dice, with a 85% chance of getting 3 - 6 Dispel dice.
This can be seen on the graph below:
Correlation between Power and Dispel dice.
Simply put, if a player gets plenty of power dice, then his opponent will get a lot of dispel dice, there is no way for one player to get 12 Power dice while his opponent gets 2 Dispel dice, for example. The number of different combinations can be seen on the table below.
| Power | Dispel | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | ||
| 2 | 1 | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | 3 | |||||
| 4 | 3 | 7 | 3 | ||||
| 5 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 3 | |||
| 6 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 9 | 3 | ||
| 7 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 15 | 9 | 3 | |
| 8 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 9 | 3 | ||
| 9 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 3 | |||
| 10 | 3 | 7 | 3 | ||||
| 11 | 3 | 3 | |||||
| 12 | 1 | ||||||
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