Brisco's page

I'm working on a version of Annalee Call from "Alien Resurrection" (imagine Winona Ryder in 1997). Call is a rogue android, in more ways than one. Call was designed for infiltration and assassination but her experiences out among the barbarians have shown her a different way of life. She desperately wishes she was a real girl after being told there is an afterlife, but not for androids. Call wears a holy symbol of Desna and studies the faith. She believes a productive society requires the triumph of Good over Evil, but has little empathy herself. It's basically Pinocchio with shortswords (TWF rogue) and should be a lot of fun, even with the angst and insecurities. Hopefully the final rules would accommodate such a character.

I've done things like wear novelty fox ears for my Kitsune, use hand puppets for when I'm in animal form, and generally wear Regency outfits whenever possible to be seen and heard over the power gamers/munchkins.

This is the first time I've ever run into people who think metamagic feats aren't worth taking.

What sort of games were you playing and what sort of books were allowed (core / complete series / 3rd party etc..)? Not trying to run down your play style, just interested in the complete picture.

This question was mainly directed at the others, but here’s my two cents worth.

The crux was that Metamagic feats raised the level of a spell. Once you do that, you might as well just cast a spell of that higher level (which they did) and save the feat slot for something else.

As for the game style, it was anything but vanilla D&D. We were using all sorts of templates, racial levels of monsters, and almost any feat from a book the players bought. It was a DM’s nightmare. I was a player and a DM in games running concurrently.

Pathfinder has made the core races and classes interesting again, so most of us are now limiting ourselves to the Beta book. The PDF file is invaluable. We are less powerful, but having no less fun.

Cheers,
Brisco.

Have you read the Alpha? Specifically the Universal (non) specialist?

"8th - Metamagic Mastery (Su): You can apply any one
metamagic feat that you know to a spell you are
about to cast. This does not alter the level of
the spell or the casting time. You can use this
ability once per day per two caster levels you
possess. Any time you use this ability to apply a
metamagic feat that increases the spell level by
more than 1, you must use an additional daily
usage for each level above 1 that the feat adds to
the spell."

The players I know have always had a problem with Metamagic feats. After a year or so, they gave up on them entirely. I'd like to see this rule (or one like it) become the norm.

I am currently playing a Wizard with Universal chosen so I can test this in the field.

Cheers,
Brisco.

More basic questions.

At first level, Wizards select (“prepare”) 3 cantrips they can cast as often as they like. Players need to write down which cantrips they can cast each day, and can choose different ones each day.
Yes/No?

Spells per day. Wizards decide which spells to prepare. At first level a Wizard can cast one first level spell per day, so they would need to decide which spell that will be in advance. If the adventure is not what the player was expecting, s/he may be completely ill-prepared and useless to the party.

I had presumed that when wizards prepare their spells, they study the whole book, even though they can only cast one spell at first level. Apparently not. Is this true?

Sorcerers know a certain number of cantrips. The player needs to write these down but can cast them as often as they like. These cantrips cannot be changed, unlike Wizards who can choose different ones each day.
Yes/No?

Thanks in advance,
Brisco.

Thanks guys. It all makes sense now.

Hi all.

I have a fundamental question about cantrips/orisons.

As I understand it, Sorcerers at first level select 4 cantrips, and can cast them as often as they like.

I assume Bards would be the same, knowing 4, and with no limit to how many they can cast per day.

So far, so good.

Is it true that Wizards at first level can only cast 3 per day at first level? They would have more freedom over which cantrips they can cast, but are limited by how often they can cast them. This would make them versatile, but not overpowering.

Some of my fellow players believe that the number “3” in the spells per day table actually refers to cantrips known, and they can cast those 3 as often as they like.

The Beta book says Wizards can “prepare” a number of cantrips per day, while Sorcerers “know” a number of cantrips.

Orisons. Clerics can “prepare” a number per day, and have “3” in the spells per day table. This sounds a lot like the Wizard. Does that mean they can cast any cantrip(s) 3 times per day?

To contradict this is the note that 'cure minor wounds' is now 'stabilize' which has the implicit understanding that “at will” means “as often as you like”.

The way things currently stand in the game I’m playing, only Bards & Sorcerers are casting zero-level spells as often as they like but not everybody agrees.

Are the tables for spells per day a composite of spells per day and cantrips known?

So far, I can see trouble if everybody can cast as many zero-level spells as they like, and can see examples of that on other threads.

If Bards & Sorcerers can cast them as often as they like, what then about Druids & Clerics?

In a nut-shell, does “at will” always mean “as often as you like”, or does it mean, similar to an innate ability with no material components required?

Thanks for reading this far.

Cheers,
Philip.