Hi! I really hate characters rolling on random tables. Is there any alternative to rolling on the 5th Edition Sorcerer's Wild Magic Surge chart?
You could write down the effects on small paper, and put them in a hat, and let the players pick one when a Wild Magic Surge effect occurs. Even better, get a hundred ping pong balls, write the number associated to the table on it, and have the player pick one randomly, or if you have a big budget, mechanical skills and a lot of time, build a big bowl with a mixing mechanism (kinda like lottery) and have a ball come out when you press a button. A spinning wheel could do the job as well ;)
If it's the randomness of the table that you don't like, I'm not sure it would be a good idea to remove it as it's representing the chaotic nature of wild magic.
It's not the randomness, it's the fact it's a table. I hated the Turn Undead tables back in 1st & 2nd Ed. Did 3.0 and 3.5 have Turn Undead tables? If so, I hated them too. :-P
I just think referring to a table is clunky and time consuming and usually brings any wonder involved to a grinding halt.
You gotta find the right book, open up to the right page, roll on the table, and then find which book the effect on the table is in, look that effect up (is flumph with an F or a PH?), and then 10 minutes later, blah blah blah.
YMMV
Then the small papers or ping pong balls (you need to write the whole effect on the ball though) may do the trick ;)
And the more I think about it, I'd really like to see what it would look like a big bowl with a hundred ping pong ball!!!
Just had an other thought, try to find a company that do custom chinese cookie and have the effects badly wrote on the paper inside. It would be better than looking onto a table + it's insta snack :D
Mordo, I don't know how to put this, but I think you might have a serious ping pong ball problem. Now, this comes from a position of respect and care, and I'm sure we can all help support you in your time of need.
The Chinese cookie idea might work. The game hosts are real friendly with the Chinese food restaurant we often order from.
;-)
I like writing "ping pong" that's it :P
More seriously, I used them partly because I had in mind the lottery machine from which they draw the numbers, partly because marbles are too small to write anything meaningful on them and tennis ball are way too cumbersome. As a bonus, ping pong balls are light and are harmless if you throw them at someone else (instead of a dice) :D
Hi! I really hate characters rolling on random tables. Is there any alternative to rolling on the 5th Edition Sorcerer's Wild Magic Surge chart?
There are a few ways to address this, but the simplest is to have a binary worst/better effect on the spell, some thing like this
On a magic surge, roll 2d10 of different colour. Elect one colour as bonus die, the other as malus die. If the bonus die has a greater result, then the spell is bonified by [result] damage, or rounds, or targets, etc. If the malus die has a greater result, then the spell is reduced by [result] damage, rounds, targets etc.
Another would be to print a bunch of effects of blank business cards. Call it your wild surge deck.
You could also photocopy the page and give it to the player
The photocopy idea sounds like the best.
Fortunately, we've only had one sorcerer in our group, so far, and he was a dragon-blooded one. Draconic? Whatever they call it. :-P