I was looking at taking a crack at a cross blooded type archetype for wizards. I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on this.
The things to consider are 1) What the wizard gains. and 2) What the wizard loses.
What the wizard gains seems simple. Another school to specialize in. But what would that entail? I see two obvious options. Either the wizard picks one passive and one active (usable 3+Int/day) ability from the school powers at 1st level, and then chooses between the 8th level abilities or, to more closely resemble cross blooded, the wizard would gain access to both passive abilities (arcana) and choose his active and 8th level ability. Also he would either have an additional slot for each school or one slot that can be used for either. I find one slot to be a simpler fix. It doesn't create a ridiculous number of spells, and it sort of mirrors how domains work.
Now, what should he lose? The cross blooded sorcerer loses a spell of each level per day and gets -2 on will saves. It seems to me that losing a spell per day negates one of the key advantages of being a specialist wizard, and the penalty to will saves doesn't make the same sense as it does for the sorcerer. Also, it seems to me the sorcerer is getting a little more bang for their buck by doubling up than our wizard here.
Well, you could say that if 1 school costs 2 opposition schools then 2 should cost 4. Maybe. Does that seem fair? Or is it too much? Would 3 opposition schools be too few or is that enough? What about, either 2 or 3 banned schools, and the loss of the arcane bond ability? It can make sense in fluff and I think is a fitting mechanical power balance.
I personally think 3 opposition schools is a good fix. Swapping out abilities isn't necessarily a power increase and I think an additional opposition is a sufficient penalty for leeway in what goes into your specialist slots.
What do you think?
how about double the penalty for opposition schools and you get the greater number of opposition schools of the two schools you selected.
Keep in mind that this double spec could also include elemental schools. Flavorwise, I could see a fun dwarven fire/earth (volcano?) wizard concept :)
For bonuses, have both 1st level features share the same 3+Int resource, but keep access to both. This adds a little versatility, but I would rate this as a minor boost. From there, they must pick an either/or between the other school class features gained. Since this can easily lead to cherry-picking, I rate this as a moderate boost.
For penalties, I'd say keep the same from both schools, so either 2 oppositional per classical school, or the opposition elemental school. IMO, the added cost for opposition schools is less than 3.5 (at least you can still learn/cast those spells, albeit at +1 slot cost), but I think it might be enough to offset the benefits above. I'd possibly add that all non-specialized spells are cast at -1 caster level (minimum 1).
All good ideas. I'm definitely getting a sense of where the balance in the trade seems to lie.
Gherrick, do you really think cherry picking could lead itself to much abuse? I don't feel like many of the abilities are all that synergistic. In contrast, having two of the per day abilities I think gives you the potential for a lot more combat options instead of just a weenie attack when you're out of spells or some obscure utility. now you can have both.
I'd say that they get both of the passive benefits and choose which of the level one and level eight they want when they hit that level, I'd charge them three schools one of which is treated as a prohibited school like Sin Magic.
A Thassilonian wizard can never prepare a spell that is in one of his prohibited schools—he treats these spells as if they werenot on the wizard spell list. If using a spell trigger or spell completion item to cast a spell from one of his prohibited schools, he must use the Use Magic Device skill to do so.
Gherrick, do you really think cherry picking could lead itself to much abuse? I don't feel like many of the abilities are all that synergistic. In contrast, having two of the per day abilities I think gives you the potential for a lot more combat options instead of just a weenie attack when you're out of spells or some obscure utility. now you can have both.
While having two daily use options can be strong, they are usually VERY limited, and become nigh useless at mid+ levels, IMO. You still only have a limited number of uses per day, and not it is shared between two different powers.
As for abuse, we could run a few scenarios to see what a dual-spec wizard would look like at 1st/8th level.
For example, an Earth/Fire wizard would look like this:
You can use Acid Cloud and Fire Jet a total number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier.
Acid Cloud (Su)
As a standard action, you can create a 5-foot-radius cloud of acid vapor within 30 feet that lasts for 1 round. This cloud deals 1d6 points of acid damage + 1 point for every two wizard levels you possess to all creatures in the cloud and sickens them for 1 round. A successful Fortitude save negates the sickened effect and halves the damage. The DC of this save is equal to 10 + 1/2 your wizard level + your Intelligence modifier. Creatures that begin their turn inside the cloud can move out that turn without penalty, but those that enter the cloud are affected.
Fire Jet (Su)
As a standard action, you can send forth a 20-foot line of fire. Anyone in this line takes 1d6 points of fire damage + 1 point for every two wizard levels you possess. A successful Reflex save halves this damage. The DC of this save is equal to 10 + 1/2 your wizard level + your Intelligence modifier. Creatures that fail their saving throw catch fire and take 1d6 points of fire damage on the following round. Creatures that catch fire can avoid this damage by taking a full-round action to extinguish the flames by making a DC 15 Reflex save. Rolling on the ground gives a +2 circumstance bonus on the save. Dousing the creature with water automatically extinguishes the flame.
Pick one from the following list of features:
Earth Supremacy (Su)
You gain a +2 enhancement bonus to your CMD to resist bull rush, drag, reposition, trip, and overrun attempts as long as you are touching the ground. This bonus increases by +1 for every five wizard levels you possess. In addition, you gain a +1 insight bonus on melee attack and damage rolls whenever both you and your foe are touching the ground. At 20th level, earth and stone do not block the line of effect of your spells, although they do still block your line of sight.
Fire Supremacy (Su)
You gain resistance 5 to fire. At 10th level, this resistance increases to 10. At 20th level, you gain immunity to fire damage. In addition, whenever you are within 5 feet of a source of flame at least as large as a campfire, you can draw the fire around you for 1 round as a swift action. Anyone striking you with a melee weapon or unarmed strike takes an amount of fire damage equal to 1/2 your wizard level (minimum 1). Weapons with reach avoid this damage.
At 8th level, pick one from the following list of features:
Earth Glide (Su)
You gain the ability to move through earth, dirt, and stone for a number of rounds per day equal to your wizard level. You cannot move through worked earth or stone; only natural substances can be traversed. If your total duration expires before you exit the earth, you are flung back to the point where you entered the stone, take 4d6 points of damage, and are stunned for 1 round. Your burrowing does not leave a hole, nor does it give any sign of your presence (although you can be detected by creatures with tremorsense). These rounds do not need to be consecutive.
Dancing Flame (Su)
As a standard action, you can sculpt fire to suit your desires. With one use of this ability you can move any nonmagical fire up to 30 feet. Alternatively you can use this ability to alter any fire spell that you cast with a duration of instantaneous by removing any number of squares from its area of affect. If the fire spell has a duration, you can use this ability to reposition the spell, within its original range (treat this as if you had just cast the spell, even though the duration is unchanged). You cannot use this ability on a fire spell that you did not cast. If you move a nonmagical flame, it must have a new source of fuel. If it does not, it is extinguished in one round. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1/2 your wizard level.
The drawback would be that both water and air spells cost an extra slot to prepare.
dot
I'd go 4 opposition schools, loss of arcane bond. Any and all abilities gained from both schools/sub schools would still be gained normally.