Bhurano's page

that's not the point.

the point is that the wizard loses nothing for the flexibility of having utility spells in his spellbook and preparing them only when needed.

the whole premise of "prepared casters have to juggle what to prepare" is gone with a simple level 4 feat without any requirements, costs, or anything.

the main issue remains: he loses NOTHING for gaining immense versatility and flexibility, something that's suppossed to be sorc's thing, and sorc loses everything for it.

give it a suitable cost, like needing a spellslot 2+ levels higher, or spellpoints equal to the swapped spell, and you'll see most of the arguments against the feat disappear.

The thing is that the Wizard should be the guy with the UTILITY spells when he NEEDS THEM, which he NEVER WAS, due to the fact that preparing the right spells is basically almost impossible unless you know EXACTLY what you need in advance. And as we all know Players and GM's alike make mistakes in planning, as well as in their assumptions.

The Sorcerer on the other hand is the guy who's flexible within his chosen field/spells. That can give him a LOT of focus or a general approach to a lot of problems... depending what spells got picked.

Again, Quick Preparation is not overpowered. It is well placed among the other candidates of the level 4 Wizard feats. It's up against the Cantrip Expansion (very powerful) and the Enhanced Familiar (also good), which are also strong contenders for a level 4 pick.

If you go for a Wizard/Fighter there is Magical Striker, which would IMMEDIATELY beat out the other options without even trying. Doubly so with a Universalist Wizard, go Familiar and way, way later Superior Focus and you'll have LOTS and LOTS of Magical Striker opportunities. :)

Did anyone READ the damn feat in question?
Yes/No/Maybe?

It clearly states:
Spend 10 minutes to empty ONE of your prepared spell slots and prepare a different spell from your spellbook in its place.

That's 10 minutes for just changing ONE freaking spell.
You want to change more. Sure, go ahead.
That's another run... ANOTHER 10 minutes.

It's not a magical solution for wizards to change up their whole loadout for the day.

A level 20 Wizard trying to change all his spells in go would need 270 minutes. Just 4 hours and 30 minutes. And that's just an universalist.
A level 20 Specialist Wizard would take 90 minutes more. Straight up 6 hours. So yeah, not happening. That's a lot of time that's better spent.
BTW, Cantrips not included.

What it ACTUALLY does:
It allows a Wizard to be a bit more flexible in case he chose a spell or two that he can't use at all on that day OR needs RIGHT NOW. If he has 10 minutes, he can kick that sucker out and kick in one that he needs.

Since there are no longer bonus spell slots this is potentially a very GOOD thing... if picked. Because it allows basically the elimination of spell slot waste, a problem that spontaneous casters shouldn't EVER encounter, unlike their prepared brethren.

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
READING COMPREHENSION MATTERS!

Quick Preparation is fine.
It's good but nothing special.
People should have actually read the text before being keyboardwarriors.

The Wizard... it's an all-time favorite, but the whole spell point system has me hooked. Add to that, that caster stats don't give bonus spells slots anymore and BOOM, no stat to to rule them all.

That will open up a lot of flexibility in how to create a wizard... or other casters for that matter. I like it.

I like even more the feat that allows a Wizard to switch out his prepared spells with a 10 minute rest. This will allow him to be the guy that is prepared for anything... if he knows the spells.

The Rogue looks also damn fine, as well as the Fighter. I know that these will be the first classes that will be put through their paces, largely due to the fact that we will convert existing characters when the playtest hits.

It's worth it just for the changes in the spellcasting system alone. No more hassle in preparing 3 to 5 different spell lists in advance for prepared casters. What a godsend. Thanks Paizo. :)

Scale Mail only costs 50 GP, so it's perfectly in-line with expectations for 1st level NPC's.

Coming from Mage and a medieval game at that, that just sounds so, so wrong for me. :)

As for what level the soldiers should be, that's a difficult worldbuilding question and there's no right answer. I follow the rule of halves for these purposes: for any general population about half of all people are 1st level, one quarter are 2nd level, one eighth are 3rd level, one sixteenth are 4th level, and so on and so forth. Since soldiers are drawn out of the general population, the vast majority (about 9 in 10) would be 1st-3rd level. Those few that are higher level would likely be promoted to higher rankings and wouldn't be exactly "common" footsoldiers.

The "level 5 limit" is another rule of thumb that works best for low fantasy settings that hew close to the real world, since level 5 is about the threshold at which even NPC classes can start doing non-magical things that are impossible in real life. If you're running E6 or E7 that's a great rule of thumb, but in a more standard Pathfinder setting similar to Golarion the superhuman isn't exactly uncommon so there will be a handful of people who exceed 5th level even in small villages.

I'll definitely use that. :)

As a rule of thumb up to level 5 will do, and Dasrak seems to have covered a more specific need, if need be.

Thank you all for your help and hellish fast it was to. :)

To throw my 2 cents in the ring.

I have players who pick regularly non-caster classes and they never complain about a caster being more powerful than their chosen classes.

If they go for the caster classes, they usually struggle - Sorcerer and Oracle aside - due to having to many options.
Since I am also playing hardball as a DM, there is a certain amount of lethality expected. And the 15 minute adventuring day other groups seem to enjoy is basically crushed into non-existence. :)

In that environment let's see how the different classes do:
Clerics have survival in easy mode, thanks to the fact that they can prepare whatever the hell they want and can still convert them to healing spells (assuming good or neutral) AND they go around in heavy armor and shield. D8, 2 skill points, middle BAB, up to medium armor, yeah survival is easy.

Druids are hardy enough and fighty enough to get away without spells and they either have one domain or a potentially fighty animal at their side. If they prepare some spells, they only need to remind themselves to pack a healing spell here and there and they are good to go. D8, 4(!) skill points, middle BAB... easy peasy.

Witches are good to go even in more hectic environments.
They have the advantage of having healing spells at their disposal and a nice array of other spells. Add in their hex ability and they are fine. Pick the right hexes and you can do a lot of damage from the backrow, sowing chaos and allowing your buddies to take out the enemies. D6, low BAB, 2 skill points, a really GOOD selection of spells and 2 hexes in the first 2 levels. Hit the ground running and never look back.

Sorcerer and Oracles have limited spells, but a good amount of slots to cast them AND the flexibility to use ALL them WHEN they want to.
In an environment that doesn't guarantee the 15 minute adventuring day though they are relative vulnerable. The Sorcerer sports D6, low BAB and 2 skill points, while The Oracle goes to town with D8, middle BAB, 4 skill points and up to medium armor. Huge favour for the Oracle.

That brings us to the wizard:
Wizards tend to go under faster than any other class in my campaigns.
Sure, they have potentially all the spells, but that's it.
They aren't guaranteed to have them prepared... and at low levels missing the right spell for the situation can spell an early death for them. Add in the absence of the typical 15 minute adventuring day some people seem to see as standard and you have it tough as a wizard, the sorcerer is a close second.

There is a reason that DSP's Psionics supplement is so well received in my group. They have a certain set of powers and they use them well, the same with the Sorcerer and the Oracle. You know what you can do and you do it well. And you do know one thing for certain: You are still better of than the wizard.

IF you can survive with a wizard though to around level 5 or 7, yeah you are going to see some increase in power... the just reward for the tough time you had from the very start. Problem is: You need teamwork, the ability to calculate WHAT spells you PROBABLY need and how many.

So yeah, I am not going to make life even harder for casters.
As a GM I find that most caster are already relatively balanced.

I will say this though:
I DM and play Mage (old and new), as well as Shadowrun, which means that I find Pathfinders Magic System rather easy. :)
Don't get me started on the crazy stuff wizards can do in mage. o_O
Compared to the insanity of that, Pathfinder magic is like easy mode. ^^

Hi there,

I looked over the pre-generated NPC's for quick and easy to use soldiers and guards. They are patently ridiculous. :)
I mean who had the idea to hand lowly guards freakin' scale mail? o_O

In any case, what I struggle with is what level would a common foot soldier have?
As a trained soldier, level 1 as per the foot soldier seems awfully low and they look to me like easily replacable cannon fodder.
I think those should start at level 3.
That aside though, what could be highest level a common soldier could achieve, by training alone mind you. 9, 10 or even higher?
Or would this be way to much?

Maybe I am overthinking this, but any help is appreciated.