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So title aside, I hate prepared spellcasting. HATE it. So. Freaking much. It's why I refuse to play wizards and witches, and have a ton of trouble playing a magus. In order to combat that, I came up with this variant, and hopefully will get some critique on it, as well as how it changes the game, for better or for worse, and how to make it better.
Note that this variant puts the majority of casters all on the same schedule of receiving spells, except for specialist wizards and clerics, though they can only cast a single spell of higher level per day (which shouldn't be too bad as long as you're not playing at one encounter per day... and at that point, I feel like something might already be wrong).
I don't know about you, but I've always hated prepared casting. The choosing, the inability to cast spells at one's whim, and so on. The downside, however, is that sometimes for whatever reason you want to play a spellcaster with the prepared chassis--just without the actual way they prepare spells. To fix that, the following variant was created.
Prepared casters gain a "spells known" list equal to one less than the number of spells they can prepare per day from class levels (not including spells granted by high ability scores, with a minimum one first-level spell at first level), which can be changed per day when they would normally prepare spells (and follow the normal limits of spellcasting, such as wizards being only able to prepare spells listed in their spellbook). Casters then may freely cast spells that they have prepared, these prepared spells effectively becoming their "spells known" for the day. Their number of spells per day is the number they would normally be able to prepare for that level.
In order to cast a metamagic version of a spell, they must prepare (and thus add to their known list for the day) the metamagic version of the spell beforehand at its metamagic-affected level using metamagic feats rather than being able to apply it spontaneously.
Clerics and specialist wizards are a bit of an exception to the rule as they can prepare an additional spell from one of their domains or specialty school per day. They would get this normally but would only be able to cast it once per day (just like a normal cleric or specialist wizard), even if they were able to cast more spells for that day.
For example a level 5 specialist (Evocation) wizard with 20 Intelligence would be able to prepare and cast the following:
- Level 0: Four spells known, four cast throughout the day.
- Level 1: Three spells known, five cast throughout the day.
- Level 2: Two spell known, three cast throughout the day.
- Level 3: One spell known, two cast throughout the day.
This could be an example of their spell list:
- Level 0: Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Read Magic, Light (Once per day)
- Level 1: Disguise Self, Enlarge Person, Magic Missile (One per day)
- Level 2: Extended Mage Armor, Scorching Ray (Once per day)
- Level 3: Fireball (Once per day)
If the above character were not a specialist, they would have one less spell per level, and would be unable to cast any 3rd level spells.
I wouldn't be so dramatic. There were several 3.5 classes with a similar style of casting, like the Spirit Shaman.
This style of casting is pretty good for people who want the flexibility of prepared and spontaneous casting.
this is pretty much how the upcoming arcanist is described.
I have a similar houserules in my game. Full casters come in two varieties, arcane and Devine. Both must carry spell books. Everyday they prepare spells by the sorcerers known chart. Cast number of times per day as a sorcerer. Can take either a bloodline or specialty school (or domains or mysteries) and spells granted by those abilities do not apply to the prepared/known limit. Arcane casters must have INT and CHA of 10+spell level and divine casters must have WIS and CHA of 10+spell level.
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Can't say I've read anything about D&D Next, since it doesn't interest me for the most part, and the rest I may have read a decade or so ago, so I don't remember much.
That said, what do you guys think of the actual variant? How does it change the game? Does it screw sorcs over? Hoping to get some feedback.
And rather than a sweeping rules change that affects all prepared casters, consider it an archetype that players can take if they want when playing a prepared spellcaster.
Again this is basically the setup for the arcanist hybrid class coming up in the advanced class guide, so i think your good. Although it might make the wizard even more powerful in comparison.