Some very quick Arcanist feedback

[raidou]

I had time last night before my weekly game to re-make a high level NPC sorcerer into an Arcanist, just to take the new class out for a spin. This CR20 foe was an Avolakia Arcanist level-15. Here are my observations:

1.) In a one-and-done combat, the class plays like a sorcerer for most practical purposes (but see below). I chose the Aberrant bloodline for this NPC. At the beginning of combat she activated the Blood Arcana for Long Limbs and Unusual Anatomy - the 15 round duration for each lasted through the battle and re-upping those abilities never came into play.

2.) The most dramatic change I found was the Arcanist's ability to prepare a metamagic spell and then spontaneously cast that spell without further hindrance. This is where the battle got scary - because you're now only using one 4th level slot for that Intensified Fireball, and not losing your move-action, this particular caster was dealing more damage regularly while retaining battlefield mobility.

3.) This NPC fled to end the combat - what I found really compelling about this class is that this particular NPC can now adapt to the PCs' tactics and defenses. The next time they face her, it'll be a different combat -- for me, that's a strong positive especially at high levels. And it doesn't feel cheap like a sorcerer that somehow has the right spells to exploit PC vulnerabilities.

4.) I felt the class lacked a strong tie between the chosen school and the bloodline. It would be more design-intensive, but pretty interesting to have the arcane school and the bloodline interact uniquely. An Aberrant bloodline necromancer that had a specific ability to make it different from an aberrant bloodline transmuter would be a rewarding experience.

Overall, I found this to be a power-up on the sorcerer when used as a recurring NPC that can tailor its tactics based on its previous encounters with the PCs. In my test it was a welcome boost because it adds tactical interest to the game. In a future test I'll make a PC Arcanist who loads up his prepared spell list with meta-magicked spells - I have a hunch there's room for abuse here but I don't yet have anything to back up that hunch.

-Eric

[Brutedude]

I'm glad to see where actually getting a bit of playtesting reactions, even if this is from the DM reasons.

So putting aside the different flavor of the classes, if you were making this character, would you ever decide to go Sorcerer over Arcanist. Why?

[raidou]

Mechanically speaking, I would choose the sorcerer over the arcanist for the following reasons:

• if the bloodline arcana or the 20th level sorcerer capstone were particularly compelling
  
• if I am trying to focus on CHA-related skills and roles instead of INT-based ones, or aiming to multiclass with a class that prefers CHA over INT.
  
• if the specific bloodline powers skew toward defensive abilities where being "always on" is really the point - doesn't do much good to have immunity to critical hits/sneak attacks if you get jumped by assassins but need to activate the ability on your turn.
  
• if I don't want to be bothered with maintaining a spellbook
  

-Eric

[Sporge]

There are ways to remove the long metamagic casting time by high levels too. But I do see what you mean. Don't prep fireball just prep it intensified since you plan to spam it.

[Landon Winkler]

Thanks for the testing. I've been looking forward to arcanist for exactly this, so I'm glad it works out :)

Cheers!
Landon

[MundinIronHand]

Just wanted to say thanks for some actual playtest feedback.

[Sean K Reynolds]

Thanks for your playtest feedback, raidou. I'll make sure we all take a look at this. :)

[wraithstrike]

raidou wrote:

I had time last night before my weekly game to re-make a high level NPC sorcerer into an Arcanist, just to take the new class out for a spin. This CR20 foe was an Avolakia Arcanist level-15. Here are my observations:

1.) In a one-and-done combat, the class plays like a sorcerer for most practical purposes (but see below). I chose the Aberrant bloodline for this NPC. At the beginning of combat she activated the Blood Arcana for Long Limbs and Unusual Anatomy - the 15 round duration for each lasted through the battle and re-upping those abilities never came into play.

2.) The most dramatic change I found was the Arcanist's ability to prepare a metamagic spell and then spontaneously cast that spell without further hindrance. This is where the battle got scary - because you're now only using one 4th level slot for that Intensified Fireball, and not losing your move-action, this particular caster was dealing more damage regularly while retaining battlefield mobility.

3.) This NPC fled to end the combat - what I found really compelling about this class is that this particular NPC can now adapt to the PCs' tactics and defenses. The next time they face her, it'll be a different combat -- for me, that's a strong positive especially at high levels. And it doesn't feel cheap like a sorcerer that somehow has the right spells to exploit PC vulnerabilities.

4.) I felt the class lacked a strong tie between the chosen school and the bloodline. It would be more design-intensive, but pretty interesting to have the arcane school and the bloodline interact uniquely. An Aberrant bloodline necromancer that had a specific ability to make it different from an aberrant bloodline transmuter would be a rewarding experience.

Overall, I found this to be a power-up on the sorcerer when used as a recurring NPC that can tailor its tactics based on its previous encounters with the PCs. In my test it was a welcome boost because it adds tactical interest to the game. In a future test I'll make a PC Arcanist who loads up his...

Thanks..This is sorta what I was expecting.