Spontaneous Wizard casting

Note the first: This is a crude concept that I've been toying with. Something similar for Sorcerers will be next.

Note the second: I know I know, Blue Hermit needs editor, badly.

Note the third: This is how I see intelligence based preperation casters. Your paradigm may vary.

Memory Palace

“A wizard’s mind might seem a random place, but even in the most chaotic one there is order. It is easiest to think of a wizard’s mind as a palace, The most important part of the palace, for our discussion, is the Wizards tower, where he memorizes spells.

“Picture the wizard’s spells each occupying a room in the tower. Cantrips might just fill closets or other small rooms, higher level spells taking bigger rooms, until you reach the greatest of spells, which may be huge throne rooms. Each room is filled with power, the power needed to cast a spell.

“When the wizard memorizes a spell, he is, in essence, arranging the rooms to ‘hold’ the memorized spell. A room holding a magic missile may be the same size as one holding a feather fall, but they will be arranged differently, the furniture if you will, will be different. When the wizard casts that spell, completing the components needed to bring the magic forth, the force of that spell turns the room into a jumbled mess, that can only be reset after rest flushes the residue of the spell from his mind. For you nobles, think of this as the times when the maid comes in and cleans the room while you are passed out drunk on the bed.

“This is the true testament of the wizard’s skill, holding the spells from their spellbook in their minds until they need them.

“Yes, some wizards do know certain spells they’ve chosen to commit to memory. In essence they’ve turned part of their minds into spellbooks. It is a different part of their minds. Just as the kitchen is in a different part of the academy so is that part of the wizard’s mind. This is different than, say the sorcerer who styles himself a sage. In his case the spells known are fixed. To use the example above, the furniture is bolted to the floor and it is not torn into disarray. It also cannot be ‘rearranged’ into another spell.

“What happens if they try to merge the tower and the kitchen? Well it is much akin to casting spells while trying to cut potatoes, young pupil…" - Malakai Stephanus, senior instructor, Oppera Wizards College.

Spell Ascension
Prerequisites: Knowledge Arcana (5 ranks) Spellcraft (5 ranks) Spell Mastery, ability to prepare arcane spells.
Benefit: You may attempt to spontaneously cast spells you have committed to memory through Spell Mastery.
Normal: You prepare spells like any other wizard.
System: To spontaneously cast a spell in your Spell Mastery list you must sacrifice a spell of at least one level higher than the actual spell (much as a cleric sacrifices a spell to convert it to a healing spell). You then make a concerntration check equal to 20 + twice the sacrificed spell’s slot. On a successful role you can cast the spell you selected at its normal level. If you fail the roll by more than 5 you take intelligence burn damage equal to the spell slot’s level.

Example: Walter the wizard has an intelligence score of 18 and is troll hunting. He prepared scorching ray and fireball, but the troll they’re hunting happens to be a half (red) dragon. Earlier he had chosen to add acid arrow to his list of spells he knew through spell mastery. Desperate to not end up in the troll’s tummy, Walter tries to ascend his acid arrow.
Walter gives up his fireball spell (a third level slot) to cast acid arrow. He must make a concentration check with a DC of 26 He rolls a d20 and adds 7 (He’s 7th level) + 4 (his intelligence modifier. If he meets or beats a 26 the spell goes off without a problem. If he rolls an adjusted 21-25 the spell fizzles and he loses the spell slot. If he rolls below a 15, the spell fizzles and he takes 3 points (the sacrificed spell level) of intelligence burn. Walter’s player wishes he’d taken a bonded item instead of a hedgehog and grabs the d20…

Self edit: Reduce the DC to 15 + sacrificed spell level.

How about using magic itself to get the magical effect? Plus, this could give diviners a little more pizzazz.

Lesser Spontaneous Casting
School: Divination; Level: Wiz 4
Casting Time: 1 hour
Components: V, S, M/DF (think of something later)
Range: Self
Duration: 1 day
Saving Throw: None; Spell Resistance: No
You may cast this spell while you are preparing your spells for the day. After this spell is cast, you remove a number of spells from your list of available spells for the day and replace a selected spell with an open slot of two levels lower. You may make several of these substitutions, limited by 1/2 your level. You may only give up slots you have, and only those given from your class (and not from ability bonuses). With this spell, you may sacrifice only spells of level 4 or lower.
For example, if you are 8th level, you can sacrifice up to four spell selections and replace them with four open slots through which you can spontaneously cast spells of lower levels. This spell takes up one of your 4th level spells, you could give up the other one to convert one of your three available 2nd level spells into an open slot (you do not gain a fourth 2nd level spell slot), you could also swap a 3rd level spell for a spontaneous 1st level spell and a 2nd level spell for a spontaneous 0-level spell.
You may spontaneously cast any spell that you have ever cast before.

We'd then have a 7th level version and a 9th level version, each of which does the same thing, but allows you to swap spells of higher levels (so the 9th level version will give you the chance to give up one 9th level spell per day with a spontaneous 7th level spell).

Too powerful? Too weak? What do you think?

Didn't that movie, the Gamers 2, have something like this? Arcane Recollection? Give up 2 prepared spells, to cast a spell you casted in the last couple of days?

I know its a movie... but... just saying.

Yay! Even more poeple suggesting ways to obsolete the sorcerer!

Yay! Even more poeple suggesting ways to obsolete the sorcerer!

Hey now, I still haven't posted my sorcerer equivelant. Can't spell this morning.

Not to mention this takes a feat, on top of a generally considered questionable feat, and has a pretty high risk/reward ratio.

Vrecknidj, Secane

There was.is a Wizards spell, Mordenkainen's Lubrication* that does something similar.

*

There was.is a Wizards spell, Mordenkainen's Lubrication* that does something similar.

That spell sounds a lot more fun before you read the spell description.

Cross linking my Sorcerer version

Lucubration. It means study.

I like your sorcerer system better than this one. Frankly, with so many feats already involved, I prefer the older 3.5 solution where you just took a feat to spontaneously cast one spell you had learned through Spell Mastery. There was an associated prestige class that went with it and eventually opened up all the spells you got through Spell Mastery, plus giving you bonus Spell Mastery along the way. It was in Lost Empires of Faerun - well worth picking up if you don't have it.

Lucubration. It means study.

I like your sorcerer system better than this one. Frankly, with so many feats already involved, I prefer the older 3.5 solution where you just took a feat to spontaneously cast one spell you had learned through Spell Mastery. There was an associated prestige class that went with it and eventually opened up all the spells you got through Spell Mastery, plus giving you bonus Spell Mastery along the way. It was in Lost Empires of Faerun - well worth picking up if you don't have it.

Thanks for your comments on both threads Azazyll.

I might sitll have Lost Empires somewhere.

When I was working on this, I thought that the feat 'tax' wasn't too bad. Spell Mastery by itself is often derrided, in my experience. Especially in campaigns with the 'indestructable spell book' mentality. So this system served to make it a worthwhile low level investment. I didn't want to step on the sorcerer's toes too much.