My brother and I are playing RtL at the moment and I've got Landrick (2 free surges) who also has manaweave (1 free surge). As a result, I'm guaranteed to have a blast 1 with my sunburst rune. Landrick is, clearly, the MVP at the moment and we've been debating whether or not he's too strong. The problem doesn't really seem to be with Landrick (who otherwise seems weaker then many of the mages) nor does it seem to be with the Rune (I've had the Rune with other characters and have been unimpressed). The problem seems to be in conjunction with the free runes.

Here's the problem as I see it: I'm certain to get a blast. I have an automatic blast 1 that I know will always be there for me. So not only do I get the incredibly powerful affect of Blast but I can plan on it. Imagine the following situation

x = kobold, X = Master Kobold, ? = empty space

x?X

??x

Xxx

Now, let's say any random 3 trait magic user has the Sunburst rune. He'll most likely shoot at one of the masters and blast 1 if he gets the surges. This will kill one master and one regular kobold. If he's feeling frisky, he may shoot for one of the middle edge ones and take out 3 kobolds and 1 master. It's highly, highly unlikely that he'll aim for the middle while rolling GWBBB as a failure to get 3 surges would result in nothing dying.

With Landrick on the other hand, even without the manaweave rune, I've got an automatic Blast 1. So I'll definitely be aiming at the middle square and probably killing 4 kobolds and 2 kobold masters.

We realized this was all a little silly when I was leafing through the copper treasure (just for kicks) and realized that I didn't really want the copper level blast rune. I'm much more likely to pump damage with sunburst than to goto blast 2.

Trying to keep the game fun for both of us, we're thinking about changing the rules for our next game so that sunburst is the following

WG, 3 Surge = blast 1, 3 surge = +1 damage, +2 range, automatic surges can't be used for blast

Do others find that Sunburst is overpowered in certain situations? Do you think those situations need remedying?

Thats nothing. Give Landrec the Prodigy Skill, and Mana Weave and a more powerful item like Cone of Fire or Staff of the Grave.

Yes it seems overpowered, but thats part of the game. Landrec is one of the better characters.

To be honest, I dont see a big problem with it. There are many other things in the game that are far worse. The OL needs to play smart. Also you wont do that much damage as +1 costs you 3 surges. The game will advance, monster will get stronger and you wont one hit kill them anymore. Nevertheless its a strong combo for the copper level. Still, the OL got enough nasty tricks on his side, so dont worry. As soon as the OL gets the hang you ll reconsider