The Wizard has too many cards

[Anderas]

Something that was always annoying me.
The wizard has too many cards. 9 base cards, two artifacts, and then the same pile of potions like everyone.
If you add some house rule artifacts, it can be a lot more.

The others have three or four cards, not counting potions.

It is not about table space, it is about my daughter losing overview and I think she is right to complain.
That's with the original system, where the wizard cleans his hand quickly. In my own system where he keeps most of the cards, it's worse but I didn't try with her until now.

Any good ideas? Apart from giving her only one Spell set?

[torilen]

How old is she? I played with our son (now 6-1/2) only twice so far...but I cut back the spells
quite a bit. I simply picked the offensive-style spells until he gets the hang of using spells
better, then I figured I would slowly add the others as he learns to use them well.

If you're up to it - you could simply create new cards, and simplify the language and
use for the spells. I did this as well...since he was just learning to read at the time.
Even now, I would keep them that way. He can read pretty well...especially if they
are words he has seen and knows...but keeping it simple allows him to just glance
and know what he has.

Or you could use pictures to help get the idea across better. Basically, anything to
make it easier to quickly see what the wizard has and what can be used at the moment.

I think a lot of it, too, is just more play and practice, learning how to use those spells
and when they're not really needed.

[cornixt]

Here's my approach, although it does shake up the magic rules quite a bit:
viewtopic.php?f=38&t=2800&start=10
I've got a more up to date version offline somewhere, but this looks close enough to show the idea. You get one card per lore, you don't need separate cards since the spells are reusable. And there are only two spells per lore so it simplifies things. It means the wizard isn't always worried about wasting spells and has an upgrade path for spellcasting.

[Count Mohawk]

As someone who has always been good at memorizing the effects of hundreds of cards, I'm not sure I can properly empathize with your problem. I'm going to try anyway though, as that makes for better discussion.

The Wizard is the Hero least like the other Heroes. Of the four included in the base game, he is the only one with restrictions on which weapons he can use. In exchange (and as we all know, it's a very poor exchange), he gets access to a variety of different spells, which gives him a unique role to play as the party's healer / buff dispensary, with the occasional Ball of Flame thrown in for good measure. In short, the thing the Wizard has that the other Heroes don't (sans the Elf, maybe) is options.

If 9 different cards are too much for your daughter, the only fix I can think of off the top of my head would be to give her three sets of the same spell school. That way the Wizard still has 9 spells, but only three different effects need be remembered. This strikes me as an inferior fix, however, particularly with your rules for re-casting Spells.

[cynthialee]

don't use a system that allows the wizard to keep spells. Once fired it is lost.

[The Admiral]

But that's the Wizard. He already quickly becomes underpowered as the other Heroes get loads of stuff. Take his spells away and he's just ... well, a bloke in a colourful cloak with a walking stick and an apple peeler!

[whitebeard]

As someone who has always been good at memorizing the effects of hundreds of cards, I'm not sure I can properly empathize with your problem.

Second that. The wizard should have an entire deck of cards... if it is too much to absorb, just duplicate a small subset where the picture tells the story.

The wizard would be way cooler if he played like a Wiz-War player and always had a handfull of random spells that independently seemed useless. What am I going to do with "magic pit", "fog", and "taunt"? Oh wait, I can dispatch this guy without even attacking!

[mitchiemasha]

In my own system where he keeps most of the cards

Well there's your problem.

Someone playing the Wizard correctly won't have 'too many cards' for long, the trick is to use them, not hoard them. For instance, Rock Skin should be cast more or less on the first turn.

If a player can't cope but still wants magic, play the Elf instead. Cards that don't need to be held, write on the character sheet.

[Anderas]

The Problem doesn't exist for adult players. They can hold and use 9 cards without problem. My daughter isn't yet so far this is why I said I didn't try my personal system with her.

But I also have the impression that especially the wizard gets quite weighted down with lots of artifacts over time. Maybe I will implement KKs rule that you can sell artifacts.

[QorDaq]

The Problem doesn't exist for adult players. They can hold and use 9 cards without problem. My daughter isn't yet so far this is why I said I didn't try my personal system with her.

But I also have the impression that especially the wizard gets quite weighted down with lots of artifacts over time. Maybe I will implement KKs rule that you can sell artifacts.

One idea to really simplify things might be to let her choose a number of spells she can keep up with (2-3?), and give her 9 tokens, gems, whatever, to use as Spell Points. To cast a spell she moves a token from her pool onto the card. When she has used up a total of nine tokens, she's out of spells.

Or something like that.

It's funny, my boy was really getting into games (he's 6 1/2), between 4-5 years old. Then he went to live with his mom (in another state), where reality TV not gaming, rules. Now he does not want to play anything anymore...*Sigh*... All rules, however simplified, frustrate him. Point being, if your daughter is losing focus or interest from having to much to keep up with, finding a solution that keeps her playing and engaged is probably pretty important. So, whatever you do to keep here at the table, well, success to you sir!

maj!