toyrobots's page

DO LESS.

After all the changes are listed and layed out on a table in front of Jason, Monte, & whomever. Pick about 1/3 of them and find a way to lessen the size of the tweak to the 3.5 rules. Find ways to make changes simpler and less, as a final pass through the proposed changes. I think sometimes there are simpler, but overlooked solutions that are in size: small.

I'm surprised I haven't seen more of this. It's nice to make some changes after all this time, but if compatibility is paramount, maybe it should be scaled back a bit.

Domains, Bloodlines, and Arcane Schools should behave similarly to eachother, but the current implementation creates what is essentially a second spell list for the three classes that need one the least.

Make it so clerics default to domain spell lists, and then bring Bloodlines and Arcane Schools in line with this. We did okay with Clerics having to prepare healing unless they had the domain... and this maybe could be offset by (further) merging Channeling, Lay on Hands, and Smite attempts.

I like this idea.

And it may well serve as the beginning of a fix for the Evoker's Arcane School powers. Add a +1 to that number, perhaps increasing over time, and suddenly an evoker can deal some damage. Not as much as a proper barbarian, but more anyway.

Arcane Schools: phenomenal idea. Cost/Benefit on specialists was way out of whack before... but

I now can prepare prohibited school spells at the expense of my Specialist benefits for the day. It's not that I don't think it's balanced— I just don't think anyone will ever take that bait. It is a rare adventure that would see me preparing my weakest spells in exchange for losing my best ones (think: Spell Focus, etc). Has anyone chosen to take this road while play-testing a specialist yet?

Clerics don't ever risk losing their domains, Sorcerers don't risk losing their bloodlines. I've happily avoided two (even 3!) schools of magic for a long time, I can't see myself making deciding to prepare them in advance at such expense, except in very rare and not-entertaining circumstances.

It would make more sense, I think, if prohibited schools took up higher level slots, maybe +1 or +2, like a metamagic feat. Still a hefty penalty, but I don't have to go against my completely character's theme just to prove that he's weaker in some schools than others.

What about just adding your caster level in damage to each target of the spell?

At 20th level, for all the above reasons, it's not such a great bonus. But it will be good/not great for most of the adventuring career. You get 3rd Level spells (a great level for any evoker) and you get +3 damage on each target in the area. That's good, but not insane.

Additionally, it's just more parsimonious than some function of caster level.

If it seems too weak at the upper levels, one of the later specialist abilities could make it 150% or 200% of caster level. After all, to a 17th level wizard, even tacking an extra 34 damage onto a Meteor Swarm is not that big a deal.

I don't really care for the number of special abilities that seem to replace otherwise prepared spells of your chosen school— it seems to restrict the spells you can prepare while eliminating the need to prepare those same spells... So I wouldn't mind jacking up the damage bonus as a School ability instead. That leaves the incentive to prepare your school spells.

Way back in 2nd Editon, healing spells were Necromancy spells, IIRC.

I liked the role of the school back then as being "the magic of life and death," and I was disappointed to see it become so cliché in 3rd. I think it's easier to parse the school that way than some vague collection of undead concepts.

Reinstating that definition, while addressing the concern of this post, would call for the re-schooling of many spells. It's a tradeoff in the end, but I for one might prefer it, since it would be a throwback to the olden days of 2nd Edition Necromancy.