Modifying Magic Users : Making a High INT Score Useful

This may offend many of the purists who play old school style, but I've never agreed with the idea that a wizard with an 13 Intelligence can cast just as many spells as a wizard with an 18 Intelligence. Intelligence is the Prime Requisite for magic users, so why doesn't having a high score in INT benefit the character the same way a high STR aids the fighter?

Couple that to the fact that playing a 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd level caster can be disappointing for the new player who only gets 1, 2, or 3 spells PER DAY; I don't recall any of my fellow players expressing satisfaction with that established limit.

Over the years, I've experimented with many modifications to try and make the lower level magic users a bit more playable without totally destroying any balance  that exists between character classes. Some players may complain that these options grant excessive power to B/X magic users at lower levels, but in my experience I've not found that to be the case, especially since the magic user must still memorize their selected spell(s) each morning and is locked into the selected spells for the day.

Option 1. Grant bonus spells based on INT score
Following the standard progression of 

•     13-15 = +1
•     16-17 = +2
•     18      = +3

the Magic User (MU) gains bonus spells based on INT. B/X elves do NOT gain this bonus, the justification being elves lack the focus that humans apply to their studies. In AD&D any demi-human magic user is granted the bonus, but a multi-classed character does not as their focus is no longer limited to the study of arcane spells.

The bonus is applied to the number of spells that the MU knows and can cast per day, thus giving a 1st level B/X magic user with an 18 Intelligence 4 spells per day vs 1.

When the MU achieves 2nd level spell casting ability, the bonus spells may be allocated either as three 1st level spells OR one 2nd level spell and one first level spell. This bonus may be adjusted on a daily basis depending on the needs of the party.

When the MU gains access to 3rd level spells, the option is then expanded to be three 1st level spells, one 2nd level spell and one 1st level spell, or one 3rd level spell. This selection may be changed from day to day as needed.

Option 2. Use a Modified Magic User Spell Table

The table on the left would be employed by human magic users, the one on the right by elves in B/X, (who are configured as "fighter/magic users") or any demi-human caster in AD&D, where race does not automatically determine class.

I like this distinction between elf/demi-human and human spell casters, as it gives the human magic user an enormous advantage at high levels as they can access 7th, 8th, and 9th level spells. Using this in tandem with option #1 would grant five 1st level spells to an 1st level magic user with an 18 INT and certainly makes the still fragile 1st level magic user more useful to the party.

Option 3: Introduce cantrips

Cantrips are small, "0 level" spells that have limited effect but provide more things for a spell caster to do, especially at lower levels. Jeff George of PrintAndPlayGamer.com put out an excellent supplemental system; you can find it on DriveThruRPG. I won't go into much detail here since that supplement exists, but I found it an excellent way to add some more game play options to low level casters.

Hopefully you'll find something among these three options to help your low level casters survive and their players have more fun.