| 2 people marked this as FAQ candidate. |
So, I asked this in the rules Q&A at GenCon, and was told to check the online FAQ, but it hasn't been posted yet... so I want to see what most people would say.
The crossblooded sorcerer archetype drawback says it knows one fewer spell at each level than is presented. This would seem to keep the sorcerer from knowing any spells of the next highest level on its progression until an additional level later. Getting spells one level later than the WIzard is already bad enough, but 2 levels later is kinda crazy. I have currently house ruled that it is minimum one, but would like some other reactions.
It isn't explicitly stated either way, but I would assume you can indeed be reduced to zero spells known. The spell slots of that level are still usable, though. You can use them for lower level spells, or metamagic.
That said, your house rule isn't going to break anything. Crossblooded sorcerers are generally considered quite weak for anything but a one level dip, and I doubt knowing a spell one level earlier will change that.
I really wish they put an errata or FAQ saying something like "minimum 1" but until now the crossblooded sorcerors have to wait one more level in order to gain a new spell level.
They get a lot of power for what they give up. I make them get spells later since it doesn't say minimum 1.
There was a thread about this when UM came out and Sean officially stated that it does indeed give 0 spells known at first. Several people on that thread then stated that the archetype became mainly useful for dips in Sorcerer (since the thing that you actually get both of, the Bloodline Arcana, is granted at level 1, you avoid the delayed access, and for the later abilities you only get a choice between two). I do somewhat agree with them--you get your new spells at the same level as a Fighter1/WizardX/EldritchKnight does, but with far less of a gain than the Eldritch Knight class provides, not that it was a top class choice. However you are less MAD than the Eldritch Knight. Your mileage, of course, may vary.
They get a lot of power for what they give up. I make them get spells later since it doesn't say minimum 1.
You get a second bloodline arcana and a bigger selection, that's all you gain.
And you pay with a -2 will save and 9 less spell known, i think that it is enough, you don't need to add delayed access to new spell levels.
I think it would be more appropriate to do the diminished spellcasting as it is done with other archetypes, where you get one fewer slot than what is listed. The spells known is already limited enough for a sorcerer, knowing one less than listed is a bit harsh.
This is especially true considering the additional penalty of the -2 to will saves.
It still allows you to cast Metamagic spells. Basically you loose the top level spell as your spell known but you still have a top level spell slot for placing spells adjusted with metamagic. But agree with others, most will just dip into sorcerer get what they need then leave.
Metamagic makes a pure Crossblooded Sorcerer less painful if you're starting it at a higher level.
My issue with the class is that playing from level 1, its almost as bad as a Mystic Theurge for delayed spell access. Level 7 before I can toss a fireball or cast Haste? Blegh.
On the other hand, you could just take the powers with Eldritch Heritage, which is between 1 or 3 feat, to give you exactly what the Archetype gives you out of:
A class skill (YAY! skill focus ?)
A bloodline arcana (ok, somes are nice)
Eldritch heritage doesn't give you the bloodline arcana.
| 1 person marked this as FAQ candidate. |
<casts Resurrect Thread>
I still want to known whether or not a crossblooded archetype (UM) Sorcerer has to delay yet another Sorcerer level before getting his first spells known at a new spell level.
For example, does he get the first L 3 spell at Sorcerer 7? Are there bsolutely no new spells known at Sorcerer levels 12, 14, 16, and 18?
Can such a Sorcerer makes use of the Expanded Arcana (APG) feat to gain an extra spell known at an otherwise "empty/near-empty" level? For example, could such a Sorcerer (assuming a one-level dip into another class so as to align the even-numbered Sorcerer levels with the odd-numbered character levels) take Expanded Arcana at character level 7 (which would be Sorcerer level 6 in this case) to gain a L 3 spell?
(I do understand that the daily spell slot can be used for metamagic.)
<bump>
I realise that the ACG playtest is taking a lot of attention, but are there any opinions on the question above?
Generally, there is no "minimum 1" rule for the general case; the minimum is explicitly spelled out for values that have such a minimum. So you get one fewer spell known per spell level. At levels where you would normally have one spell known for a given spell level, you would have zero.
However, it could be argued that you should be able to use Expanded Arcana, page of spell knowledge, and similar abilities to cast spells of these "empty" levels. There's precedent for this in the various archetypes that reduce the number of spells per day for a given spell level to zero; in those cases, you can still cast spells of that level with bonus spells per day from your casting stat.