After seeing the playtest reports on Bloodrager needing some sort of ability that allows them to cast while engaging in melee combat, I had an idea.
How about fueling your spells with our rage rounds? Something like
"While in rage, a bloodrage can spontaneously quicken a spell by spending an amount of rage rounds equal to twice the level of the spell".
Barbarians rarely run out of rage rounds in my experience and the same is proabably true for the bloodrager. But it's still their most valuable resource and burning it for low level spells could make for some interesting tectical descisions.
Interesting suggestion...I'll have to think about this, but it sounds pretty good. Two rage rounds isn't much for a quickened 1st level spell, but 8 rounds sounds like a lot for a quickened 4th-level spell. Maybe 2 + spell level rage rounds? I dunno.
Well, the exact number of rounds would need some balancing, of course. Double spell level was just a first idea. But you do get first level spells rather late and will hardly have more than 2 per day at level 4. Even if your rage rounds are enough to quicken those two, it shouldn't have too much impact. At higher levels with more spells per day and more rounds of rage to spare, the effect of level 1 spells is not big enough to make much of a difference.
Maybe even make it only work while doing a full attack to prevent the bloodrager from casting 2 spells per round. But then again, his number of spells should be too limited to make spamming spell a big balance concern.
There is play testing reports of this need or is it mostly theorycraft reports? The bloodrager have very few spells so fooling around with casting defensively and stuff dosent really seem that fantastic to me. What spells is it folk wanted to cast in combat?
If i just missed the reports and therefore is aloen with my experience i think your suggestion does have merit but quickend spells does seem to powerfull if it is before level 12.
Also remember of all the Spell casting warriors only magus can do this. So pehaps magic barbarians dont need it.
Based on what ive read, most bloodragers are buffing pre combat and then just behaving like a barbarian. I think the fact that they are using the magus spell list is why people want to cast in combat.
As a Bloodrager I'd rather spend a round of rage killing stuff with my weapon, not casting a spell. It's very much in need of a spell combat lite ability. Maybe as part of going into rage they can cast a personal range spell. Or to avoid rage cycling free spells (at much later levels) make it part of a charge action. Since barbarians want to charge into combat anyways it takes care of that pesky first round "buff and move action" phase. It takes care of a "dead round" where you're not killing things. Plus a Bloodrager doing charge and getting enlarged, or mirror imaged, is pretty intimidating. Just my 2 cents.
All the other Spell casting melee guys do fine without this kind of power. Only the magus gets it. I dont think this new guy need to outshine, paladin, ranger, inquisitor, bard and cleric on this front. A bit of buff and the hard choice in battle between attacking or petting that mirror image up to last longer, is a great mechanic for me:)
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