This isn't a thread asking about whether or not you like or approve of how wild magic works. It is merely the very simple question: as a DM, how often will you ask the wild mage sorcerer player to roll a Wild Magic Surge check?
Personally, if I was DM, I'd ask them to do it every, single, time they cast a spell. Because I'm evil 
oh i dunno, there are quite a few good things in there that i wouldnt mind rolling every time.
also if i chose wild magic over the other, i would prefer to roll more then not, because that would help the flavor of the character.
i suppose if i kept rolling all the bad ones, or ended up at 7 years old or something dumb, i would hate you for it, but thats part of the fun of being the WYLD STALLYNS MAGE! excellent
Every time. I don't see the point in arbitrarily deciding when they can and can't use it, I'd rather be consistent as I think that makes for a better game.
Every time a spell requires an attack roll, I'd use that as a wild magic surge check as well. On top of that, I'd require one for every spell cast of the character's highest spell level (up to 6th) and then for every 7th-9th level spell cast as well. The idea being that calling upon the greast magical power the character has access to or using magic that is inherently stressful (by requiring the character to aim) invites the chance of surges, where using less power is easier to control as the character gains experience.
Thank_Dog wrote:
Every time...
Every time a spell is cast. Except maybe not for cantrips. I don't know yet.
Also thinking about letting the player choose when a Wild Surge is triggered. "Go all out and hope for the best!"
Whenever I feel like it. Or if the wild mage player loses an impromptu game of rock-paper-scissors.
Shirebrok wrote:
Top three spell levels, always. During combat, always. Rest of the time, never.
TiaNadiezja wrote:
I'm playing a PC with some levels in sorcerer at the moment, and I feel like I don't get surges often enough. It's so fun when they do come up.
So as a DM, I will have the player roll every time ... and I'll make sure they've always got their Tides of Chaos recharged, as that involves rolling on the surge table too.
I'm also going to house rule it so the chance of a surge occurring increases with the level of the spell slot used: so a 1st level spell would only trigger on a 1 on the d20, but a 9th level spell would trigger on a 1-9 on the d20. The idea being that the more powerful the magic, the harder it is to control.
The question for me as a DM: "would a surge right now be entertaining, or would it just slow down play unnecessarily?" That said, this would leave me calling for a surge check most of the time, probably just skipping it during downtime and a few other corner-cases. Essentially any low pressure situations where I want to move things along quickly.
Roll a d10 - if you roll equal to or under the level of the spell, roll for wild magic.
Every time concentration is broken by damage?
What do the rules actually say, is there a suggestion?
I intend to have the wild mage roll at all times that the rules say that the DM can have the roll made, but only if the character is at least 3rd level... which will probably be all the time, since I intend to start at least all of my home-brewed campaigns at 3rd level.
I brought this up in another thread...
I'd have them either roll a d10 (more often) or a d20 (less often) if the roll is less than the level of the spell cast a wild magic event happens. D12 for a happy medium.
So it makes it wild and random, but more likely at higher level spell slots, which in turn means higher level. This assists with having a spell cast still being a change that something crazy happens, but also makes it less likely that Bob the Wild Mage exploding and killing the party at level 1.
I'm also going to be calling for it everytime I can. With a 5% chance and assuming 4 combats consisting of 4 rounds every day, you're not even "statistically guaranteed" (as if that is even a thing) to succeed on a roll once per day. Sure, there's a chance that randomness will result in 5 successes in a day, and other times a dry spell for weeks at a time. That's the wildness of the subclass. By allowing less rolls, there's a bigger chance of a dry spell, resulting in the player being disenfrachised by the class due to DM interference.
Put me down for randomly rolling.
Oulak wrote:
Kugnar wrote:
Hmm wild magic would have been better on an escalating die, like 1 on a d6, then on a d8, d10, d12 up to d20. That way yiu would tend to see some in a session. Then after you get one on a d20, reset back to d6 and start over.
pukunui wrote:
I'd use it everytime. Its not like it would cause a Wild Surge every time as tit still require a 1 rolled on a d20 for it to happen.
briddums wrote:
briddums wrote:
Roll 1d6 on every spell cast. Equal to or lower than spell level...SURGE!
I've considered not doing Wild Magic at all - because some of the results on that table are just too good at low levels. I later realised that some of those effects (not many) - are absoloutely DEVASTATING at low levels. So I give it to them often hoping they'll fry.