Balancing Strength and... not-strength?

[My Self]

Without pulling something out of the 3.5 box, is there any way to make a balanced STR-based 2/3 or full caster or pseudocaster? We have a DEX/CON pseudocaster in the Kineticist, and formerly a CON-based fullcaster in the Scarred Witch Doctor. Anybody?

[Deranged_Maniac_Beth]

I don't know what a pseudocaster is, but yea, it's pretty easy to design a strength based spellcaster. In fact, I'll do it right now:

Herculean Mage (Sorcerer Archetype):
A Herculean Mage channels the power of their incredible muscles.

Spells: Unlike most sorcerers, whose innate magic is powered by force of personality, you use your raw muscular power to project your power. You use your Strength, rather than your Charisma, to determine all class features and effects relating to your sorcerer class, such as bonus spells per day, the maximum spell level you can cast, the save DCs of your spells, and the number of daily uses of your bloodline powers. This modifies Spellcasting.

Someone other than me could make the fluff better, but there really isn't anything involved required to swap one casting stat for another. The rules wording I used was essentially copied from the sage bloodline in Ultimate Magic.

[My Self]

The problem with this is that it's much, much easier to pump STR into the roof than it is to boost a mental stat. Consider that you could be a Bloodrager with Mad Magic, and spontaneously sprout a +2 DC to your spells a few rounds a day. Or you could go into Dragon Disciple and snag some handy +1 DC/spells per day. Or be an Orc who is actually good at being a caster for once.

Oh, and polymorphing. Alter Self is a +1. Form of the Dragon goes up to +5.

And you're not totally incompetent in melee.

The idea isn't just to make one, but to make a balanced one. Strength is the easiest stat to boost into the stratosphere.

[Konto]

Deranged_Maniac_Ben wrote:

I don't know what a pseudocaster is, but yea, it's pretty easy to design a strength based spellcaster. In fact, I'll do it right now:

Herculean Mage (Sorcerer Archetype):
A Herculean Mage channels the power of their incredible muscles.

Spells: Unlike most sorcerers, whose innate magic is powered by force of personality, you use your raw muscular power to project your power. You use your Strength, rather than your Charisma, to determine all class features and effects relating to your sorcerer class, such as bonus spells per day, the maximum spell level you can cast, the save DCs of your spells, and the number of daily uses of your bloodline powers. This modifies Spellcasting.

Someone other than me could make the fluff better, but there really isn't anything involved required to swap one casting stat for another. The rules wording I used was essentially copied from the sage bloodline in Ultimate Magic.

I'd make it still require a minimum Charisma to cast a spell of a certain level.

[My Self]

Konto wrote:

Deranged_Maniac_Ben wrote:

I don't know what a pseudocaster is, but yea, it's pretty easy to design a strength based spellcaster. In fact, I'll do it right now:

Herculean Mage (Sorcerer Archetype):
A Herculean Mage channels the power of their incredible muscles.

Spells: Unlike most sorcerers, whose innate magic is powered by force of personality, you use your raw muscular power to project your power. You use your Strength, rather than your Charisma, to determine all class features and effects relating to your sorcerer class, such as bonus spells per day, the maximum spell level you can cast, the save DCs of your spells, and the number of daily uses of your bloodline powers. This modifies Spellcasting.

Someone other than me could make the fluff better, but there really isn't anything involved required to swap one casting stat for another. The rules wording I used was essentially copied from the sage bloodline in Ultimate Magic.

I'd make it still require a minimum Charisma to cast a spell of a certain level.

Which makes the caster about as MAD as a regular Bloodrager?

Perhaps there's a more elegant solution. Or something like burn.

[Konto]

My Self wrote:

Konto wrote:

Deranged_Maniac_Ben wrote:

I don't know what a pseudocaster is, but yea, it's pretty easy to design a strength based spellcaster. In fact, I'll do it right now:

Herculean Mage (Sorcerer Archetype):
A Herculean Mage channels the power of their incredible muscles.

Spells: Unlike most sorcerers, whose innate magic is powered by force of personality, you use your raw muscular power to project your power. You use your Strength, rather than your Charisma, to determine all class features and effects relating to your sorcerer class, such as bonus spells per day, the maximum spell level you can cast, the save DCs of your spells, and the number of daily uses of your bloodline powers. This modifies Spellcasting.

Someone other than me could make the fluff better, but there really isn't anything involved required to swap one casting stat for another. The rules wording I used was essentially copied from the sage bloodline in Ultimate Magic.

I'd make it still require a minimum Charisma to cast a spell of a certain level.

Which makes the caster about as MAD as a regular Bloodrager?

Perhaps there's a more elegant solution. Or something like burn.

Poor caster, requiring two stats.

Perhaps one less spell per day of each spell level?

[Cyrad]

I never liked the idea of using a physical statistic for mental abilities (spellcasting). It doesn't make any sense. Kinecticist is debatable -- the class clearly uses some weird form of ki (life force), but I feel it should have been Charisma-based. 4th Edition did this all the time and made ability scores feel completely arbitrary.

Balance-wise, I think a Strength caster might work, especially if the class largely encourages melee fighting.It might be strong on a 3/4 BAB 6-level spellcaster class, but it might be fine on a 1/2 BAB class, which can't really benefit from the Strength through other means. The Scarred Witchdoctor was overpowered because Constitution is a very valuable statistic, especially for a class with a low HD.