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Okay, not *totally* spontaneous, but in a similar direction...
I've been thinking about moving the wizard to a hybrid prep/spont system, like the 3.5 spirit shaman from Complete Divine. Spellbooks are unchanged. Prep times are unchanged. Lucubration and mnemonic enhancer are gone. Specialists add one spell of each level to their spells reviewed for the day. Opposition spells can be reviewed, but they take two slots to cast. Specialization doesn't grant extra slots; instead, all numbers are bumped up by one (so at lv 20, he has 5 per day of each level).
Universalists don't get extra spells reviewed per day, but can add metamagic on the fly like a sorcerer 3+Int mod per day in place of hand of the apprentice.
Preferred Spell allows the wizard to cast the spell as if it were always reviewed (without counting against the spells reviewed per day limit), and they can add metamagic to it on the fly like a sorcerer, even if they aren't a universalist.
Has anyone else tried a similar reworking? How did it affect the wizard? Did they become more powerful or less?
Questions/comments/critiques?
It occurs to me that this might make universalists more powerful than specialists. Are they on par or did I overshoot?
The spirit shaman wasn't particularly popular, partly because of its spell retrieval system. Many groups complained that the spirit shaman in their party was taking up far to much of their time, flipping through books, constantly keeping an eye out for the perfect spell at any given moment. Or alternatively, they would just ignore the spell retrieval all together as a mechanic too complex for their liking.
That said, I actually have used this system with wizards before. I had two wizards in the party. The first was the character of a player who knows the game inside and out and who never ceases to amaze me with his creativity. The other was a player who wasn't very good at choosing what spells he should have for the day. At first we played around with both of them having this mechanic. That broke the game in half. The wizard is already the most versatile class in the game and giving more goodies to the creative player made it difficult for me to run the game.
What ended up happening, after playtesting, was that I ended up giving a special spellbook to the player who had a hard time picking spells that gave him this feature, but I didn't give it to the creative player. It worked out really well. The creative player was always able to think outside the box and get the most out of his spells, but the not-so-creative player was able to keep up with him because he could swap out spells that he didn't need after all.
So that is my warning I guess. In the hands of the right player, wizards with spell retrieval will make you cry. But if you have a player who just has a tough time identifying which spells are good for what, go ahead and toss him a bone.
As an alternative prepared/spontaneous hybrid, I recommend looking at the spell casting system in Arcana Unearth/Evolved by Monte Cook, which is just as versatile and less time consuming.
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It occurs to me that this might make universalists more powerful than specialists. Are they on par or did I overshoot?
I know it may not be exactly what you're going for, but the Arcane (Sage) bloodline of Sorcerer uses INT as its casting stat, and you could roleplay as a wizard who still consults his spellbook. In fact, don't let any of the other players look at it, because it's actually completely blank! :D
The spirit shaman wasn't particularly popular, partly because of its spell retrieval system. Many groups complained that the spirit shaman in their party was taking up far to much of their time, flipping through books, constantly keeping an eye out for the perfect spell at any given moment. Or alternatively, they would just ignore the spell retrieval all together as a mechanic too complex for their liking.
That said, I actually have used this system with wizards before. I had two wizards in the party. The first was the character of a player who knows the game inside and out and who never ceases to amaze me with his creativity. The other was a player who wasn't very good at choosing what spells he should have for the day. At first we played around with both of them having this mechanic. That broke the game in half. The wizard is already the most versatile class in the game and giving more goodies to the creative player made it difficult for me to run the game.
What ended up happening, after playtesting, was that I ended up giving a special spellbook to the player who had a hard time picking spells that gave him this feature, but I didn't give it to the creative player. It worked out really well. The creative player was always able to think outside the box and get the most out of his spells, but the not-so-creative player was able to keep up with him because he could swap out spells that he didn't need after all.
So that is my warning I guess. In the hands of the right player, wizards with spell retrieval will make you cry. But if you have a player who just has a tough time identifying which spells are good for what, go ahead and toss him a bone.
As an alternative prepared/spontaneous hybrid, I recommend looking at the spell casting system in Arcana Unearth/Evolved by Monte Cook, which is just as versatile and less time consuming.
You mean normal wizards don't break the game? Fascinating!
But on a non-condescending note, did you use the spirit shaman retrieved-per-level unaltered?
If it turns out to be too game-breaking to have five spell slots per level per day, I might just leave it as is, and have specialization simply provide an extra spell retrieved per level.
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An amusing idea. Does it take actual spellcasting ability to scribe a spell into a spellbook, or just Spellcraft?It occurs to me that this might make universalists more powerful than specialists. Are they on par or did I overshoot?I know it may not be exactly what you're going for, but the Arcane (Sage) bloodline of Sorcerer uses INT as its casting stat, and you could roleplay as a wizard who still consults his spellbook. In fact, don't let any of the other players look at it, because it's actually completely blank! :D
"Spells Copied from Another's Spellbook or a Scroll
A wizard can also add a spell to his book whenever he encounters one on a magic scroll or in another wizard's spellbook. No matter what the spell's source, the wizard must first decipher the magical writing (see Arcane Magical Writings). Next, he must spend 1 hour studying the spell. At the end of the hour, he must make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell's level). A wizard who has specialized in a school of spells gains a +2 bonus on the Spellcraft check if the new spell is from his specialty school. If the check succeeds, the wizard understands the spell and can copy it into his spellbook (see Writing a New Spell into a Spellbook). The process leaves a spellbook that was copied from unharmed, but a spell successfully copied from a magic scroll disappears from the parchment."
It does say 'the wizard', so I think by RAW a sorcerer cannot add a spell to a spellbook, even if he plans to not benefit from it whatsoever. A lenient DM, however, would probably let a sorcerer make the same DC 15+spell level Spellcraft check, if only for the comedy.
You mean normal wizards don't break the game? Fascinating!
But on a non-condescending note, did you use the spirit shaman...
Wizards don't break the game, spells do. Semantics I know.
Anyway, mechanically yes I played it as written, though I don't recall if I scaled the numbers up or down. I actually do make an effort to playtest everything before I allow it in my games. This particular campaign was essentially a giant play test of a bunch of home brew rules, most of which were not even of my own creation and its hard to remember the minor details of such an old campaign stuffed with little fiddly odds and ends.
So, using this variant, a level 9 conjurer with Int 23 would have a list something like this:
5th (3/day): teleport, wall of force
4th (4/day): black tentacles, greater invisibility, enervation
3rd (5/day): dispel magic, haste, stinking cloud, fly
2nd (7/day): mirror image, glitterdust, flaming sphere, rope trick
1st (7/day): shield, grease, silent image, ray of enfeeblement
Cantrips: acid splash, detect magic, read magic, ghost sound.
I'm a little concerned about what the 'leaving slots open to fill later' trick will do to this variant...
So, using this variant, a level 9 conjurer with Int 23 would have a list something like this:
5th (3/day): teleport, wall of force
4th (4/day): black tentacles, greater invisibility, enervation
3rd (5/day): dispel magic, haste, stinking cloud, fly
2nd (7/day): mirror image, glitterdust, flaming sphere, rope trick
1st (7/day): shield, grease, silent image, ray of enfeeblement
Cantrips: acid splash, detect magic, read magic, ghost sound.I'm a little concerned about what the 'leaving slots open to fill later' trick will do to this variant...
Yeah, you got it.
I could be wrong (its been a while) but I don't think that you can leave spell slots open in AE. I don't recall that even being an option.
Note that this variant does make the sorcerer completely obsolete. If you use this variant, its better to just have wizards and trash the sorcerer.
Hmmm... an arcane sorcerer of 10th level and Cha 23 with the human favored class bonus would have:
5th (4/day): cloudkill
4th (6/day): black tentacles, dimension door, enervation, greater invisibility, wall of ice
3rd (7/day): dispel magic, haste, stinking cloud, fly, fireball, suggestion
2nd (8/day): mirror image, glitterdust, flaming sphere, invisibility, resist energy, see invisibility, alter self
1st (8/day): shield, mage armor, grease, silent image, ray of enfeeblement, identify, protection from evil, expeditious retreat.
So, its not a complete mismatch, though the wizard is more versatile. Perhaps if the sorcerer used the favored soul spells known progression?