So I just picked up my copy of Ultimate Magic, and so far am very happy with how everything is looking. I am going to be starting up a Campaign soon, and started looking over the Words of Power section. To me, it feels like it makes the most sense for spontaneous casters (Oracles, Bards, Sorcerers) to use words of power, while prepared casters (clerics, wizards, magi) to use regular spells.
So, my question is, if I made it so all spontaneous casters were word casters, what kind of impact might it have? Would the spontaneous casters become too weak? too strong? would it all work out in the end? Any advice would be welcome
Sorcerers (and to a lesser degree, oracles) would generally be weaker if they were restricted to being wordcasters; some popular spells just don't have a good wordcasting equivalent.
Ironically, I think druids get the best deal out of being wordcasters.
Pathfinder Adventure, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
I think sorcerers can do pretty well as wordcasters. However, summoners would be ruined if they were stuck as wordcasters. This is because there are no effect words that replace the ones they use to summon and heal their eidolon, and there are next to no conjuration words that work with spell focus (a common feat for summoners so that they can get augment summon).
Personally though, if you require certain classes to be wordcasters, I would allow a feat to allow wordcasters to add 1 current level or 2 lower level normal spells to their spell list.
I believe sorcerers, out of all the casters, can at this moment make the best word casters. The issue a word caster would currently have is the lack of some quintessential equivalents. Also, the varying lvl of some versions of the words compared to their spell equivalents gives pause to some would be word casters.
However, word casting is highly flexible, specially for damage dealing, enchantment, some buffs and some debuffs. There are also damage dealing battlefield control options within WoP system which I find to be intriguing.
In its current state I am not completely sold on the words of power system for my own upcoming sorcerer that I intend to play though I am looking into it to find out if I can make the type of specialized, yet flexible spell list that I want. Perhaps future books/supplements will include more words of power to make it more appealing to all.
Hograth: I realize that some spells would be lost out on. To me, though, that seems more accurate, as I've always felt that Wizards should be doing very specific things with magic, tried and tested spells that have worked for centuries, while Sorcerers should just be doing things on the fly. Things like Gate and Permanancy don't make as much sense to me for Sorcerers as they do for wizards, but throwing random elemental damage, or making up a quick shield spell on the fly does. I don't say this because I don't like Sorcerers or think they should be weaker than wizards, that's just how it works in my head I guess, lol. I do appreciate that it would weaken the individual spells over all, but I think it would add much needed diversity to their abilities.
Matixryu: I see your point about Summoners, and I actually think it would extend to Bards as well, seeing as they have very specialized spells (at least in the APG and UM) related to song that cannot be reproduced
Fing: I agree about the spell equivalents, but I also know that they were not trying to make Wordcasting be able to do all spells, at least for now.
DSRMT wrote: Hograth: I realize that some spells would be lost out on. To me, though, that seems more accurate, as I've always felt that Wizards should be doing very specific things with magic, tried and tested spells that have worked for centuries, while Sorcerers should just be doing things on the fly. Don't get me wrong -- I think the idea of sorcerers using a different system from wizards is attractive in some ways. But the way the system is written, it's a bit disappointing for spontaneous casters. For instance, divine spellcasters like clerics and druids automatically know all meta words for free, but sorcerers have to take them as words (spells) known.
Frankly, I think it would be disappointingly easy to create a non-wordcasting sorcerer who could do (almost) everything a wordcasting sorcerer could do, and then some.
I'd probably rather have sorcerers use the psionic system then the wordcasting system, but maybe that's just because I like 3.5E psionics. :-)
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