When a Wizard casts a spell upon enemies, do they; >Cast a

Depends a lot on when and the party.
Sometimes just blowing shit up just to kill everything and move fast is needed, and other times, seeing that the battle will drag on, you need to play the long game.

>>53754601

Not based on the situation, I mean what's best for the feeling of the setting and general magic system?

>>53754570
I feel that you should go for more curses and trickery in a more folklore/ fairytale inspired game while you should go for a more fireballs and magic missiles in a more action packed, video gamey game.

>>53754738
What setting? What magic system? What system?

>>53754570
The latter, and if you're smart with your sympathetics you don't do it from any less than a mile away.

>>53754570
I prefer the latter, though warriors of supernatural skill being able to do the former is cool too.

>>53755029

My own, my own, my own. This is purely an asthetic question so I can build a 'feel' for my magic users, not some bullshit class build or system war question.

>>53754892
this, but also blasting for "epic level/high fantasy" games, fighting elder dragons and such
cursing and disrupting for low level/low fantasy settings

and buffing/support/utility for any meatgrinder/"hard" games (it might not be the optimal choice, but in my opinion so does it fit better thematically when you're playing essentially like a swat team for the wizard to pretty much already be done with his job once the combat actually starts)
..... of i wanted to make a fantasy game where swat style approach would be the way to go, what would be the best system for it?

>>53754570
Look up Cheaty Mages.

>>53754570
Either, depending on their tradition. It's okay to have both battlemages blowing up walls, and old hags cursing people.

Fireball throwing wizards are definitely more in the D&D-esque "wizard as artillery" style high-fantasy though.

In my setting the nature of spells depends on the source of the magic.

Demonic magic is usually very utilitarian. Teleportation, invisibility, prestidigitation, etc. Demons make contracts with mortals and agree to lend power when they need things done in the mortal realm. What might a demon want badly enough that they would lend their magic to a mortal to achieve?

Witchcraft is very based on curses and sacrifice and usually ends poorly for everyone involved except for the wicked forces behind it all. Still, there is always a desperate or misguided fool willing to partake in some horrible ritual in hopes of doing... something.

Vampires have a very specific set of powers, such as to transform into a bat. Their biggest ability is to prevent themselves from aging, but they need to drink blood or they lose their powers and eventually die. The greatest danger from the vampires actually comes from the wealth they have accumulated over their unnaturally long existence.

Geomancy is the art of shaping the world in a particular way as to use it's latent magical properties. Think Feng Shui on a bigger scale. Farms and castles may be build in particular spots or with particular layouts to have more plentiful harvests or stronger walls. Geomancy has fewer and more predictable side effects as long as the practitioners know what they are doing.

Sorcerers have the most traditional magic missile types spells, but they gained those powers from being abducted by space aliens and being tortured in space alien hell for years before escaping. They are almost all crazy, but some of them very nice people. Their spells draw power from the Other World and the closer they are to rifts between the world the more powerful their magic is, but many of them have no desire to be anywhere near those rifts or to ever return to the Other World.

>>53754570
The second. Disrupting the enemy can be so powerful it can single-handedly turn the tide of battle if used correctly.