I've been looking into building a Wizard recently and something that has been kind of irking me is the universalist school powers.
Basically the universalist sort of sucks. There are a couple neat things you can do with metamagic mastery (but what other school power requires you to invest in feats just to use it?) and that's it. Losing that bonus spell slot really hurts at odd levels, which is bad enough on its own but then you start to look a bit silly compared to Conjurers and transmuters with their incredible spells and good school powers. Then there's foresight, which is essentially the One Specialization To Rule Them All (imo).
Anyway, My idea was that universalist wizards could give up hand of the apprentice and metamagic mastery and in exchange would learn 4 free spells per level instead of 2.
This would be in keeping with the idea of a wizard who is willing to forgo raw power for versatility and would provide at least some incentive to go for what should be (but isn't) the baseline wizard.
What do you think? Too powerful? Not powerful enough? Or just right?
Universalists don't even have an arcana. Paizo really undervalued the bonus slots after turning forbidden schools into opposition schools.
Yeah, It seems really obvious frankly. I don't know why they gave universalists such poor powers either, I mean, who thought hand of the apprentice measured up to forewarned?
I think 4 spells/level is fine, but still not enough. I'd also add either a free improved familiar feat at 8th, or an extra spell per day through your bonded object.
Fits the versatility theme, and still doesn't make up for the lost bonus spells a specialist gets.
I think 4 spells/level is fine, but still not enough. I'd also add either a free improved familiar feat at 8th, or an extra spell per day through your bonded object.
Fits the versatility theme, and still doesn't make up for the lost bonus spells a specialist gets.
I think I'll add your idea. I plan on offering this as option when I GM, and running this by my GM next time I roll up a character.
Out of curiosity, what do you think would make up for the lost bonus spells?
The only thing that could maybe make up for less slots is to somehow get more from the slots they have. Possibly cheaper metamagic from level 1. Maybe prepare one spell/3 wizard levels with metamagic cost reduced by 1 to a minimum of 0.
It seems that they kind of went in this direction with metamagic mastery, but didn't go (nearly) far enough I guess.