Post/Author/DateTime	Post
kindle139 09-30-07, 06:38 PM	I'm interested in tweaking the D&D rules for a homebrew game and the first thing that came to mind is to use the spell point system. Obviously, this increases the power of spellcasters, mostly wizards (no sorcerers in this world) then clerics, druid, bard, pally/ranger. I just think it's more fun. Anyway, I was looking for some opinions regarding how to balance other classes. Simplest way off the top of my head is to just doll out bonus feats. Fighters/Barb/Monk/Rogue getting the most, then pally/ranger, bard, druid, and probably nothing for clerics and wizards. So what do you think? What would be equivalent in terms of power balance? If there's already a thread about this I would appreciate a link :) Thanks.
Tempest Stormwind 09-30-07, 07:39 PM	Spell points are only unbalanced because the spells themselves weren't written with spell points in mind -- spell point flexibility is generally countered by a "you get what you pay for" mentality, but the individual spells are "you get what your level entitles you to". They changed damage spells, and only damage spells, to a "get what you pay for" system, but left the rest (where the real broken lies) alone. Method 1 of handling this: Use psionics. It's free (in the SRD) and impeccably well-balanced. The gap between noncaster and caster is there, but it's nowhere near as large as it was before (and if you use the Tome of Battle alongside psionics, the gap all but vanishes). Just change the flavor if you really, really, really have to have stereotypical wizards. Method 2 of handling this: Remove all references to spell points limiting damage spells. Replace it with the following: All spells you cast take effect at their minimum caster level for the class casting it (for instance, a wizard casting Fireball would do so as a 5th level caster, while a sorcerer would cast it as a 6th level caster). Every additional spell point you spend increases the effective caster level for that spell by 1. As always, you cannot spend more spell points than your actual caster level. Your actual caster level remains unaffected; it's still used when penetrating spell resistance, for instance. This changes all of magic into a get-what-you-pay-for system, removes the nerf to damage spells (because it applies everywhere), and -- interestingly -- gives sorcerers a bit more of a boost over wizards! (Not only do sorcerers get more spell points, they also get "free" spell points: a fireball costs 5 spell points but takes effect at CL 6, meaning a sorcerer can actually cast stronger spells than a wizard, at the cost of knowing fewer spells.) I'd suggest 1, but both work.