Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Tanegar 10-02-07, 08:46 PM	I was flipping through the Complete Mage in a bookstore the other day, and read the descriptions of a few of the reserve feats. It's an interesting idea, granting spellcasters additional magical abilities as long as they have a given type of spell memorized. Have any of you used them in play, and if so, how useful are they, really?
okpokalypse 10-02-07, 09:24 PM	I was flipping through the Complete Mage in a bookstore the other day, and read the descriptions of a few of the reserve feats. It's an interesting idea, granting spellcasters additional magical abilities as long as they have a given type of spell memorized. Have any of you used them in play, and if so, how useful are they, really? There's two schools of thought on this. By the time these powers are really worthwhile, you've got so many spells to cast that you'll almost never use them. Because you're not burning spell slots, and have continuous utility, it's very worthwhile. To the first: When you've got some 30 spells memorized with greater utility or damage potential, why bother with a reserve feat? Take a Meta-Magic feat instead. Take Arcane Disciple and cheese a Cleric Domain. Something that adds more than a smallish power you'll rarely use. To the latter: If you play in a campaign where combats are extensive, with a lot of underlings and you tend to go totally empty by the end of any given adventure day, they're worthwhile in that they allow you to save memorized spells and keep doing some decent damage. For example: Storm Bolt does up to 9d6 Damage in a 20' Line; Grants +1 CL on Electricity Spells. Acidic Splatter does up to 9d6 Damage (Range Touch) at 45'; Grants +1 CL on Acid Spells. And that's pretty much the two sides of it...
runestar 10-02-07, 09:39 PM	There are some exceptions for these reserve feats. The one which lets you summon an elemental is very useful if you need an expendable and reusable trap-springer and your party lacks a rogue (or rather, your party would lack a rogue because you are now the designated trap-springer). At lower lvs, they appear to benefit a wizard more, since he is able to qualify for them earlier (for example, a wizard can take fiery burst at 3rd lv, but a sorc has to wait until 6th lv), when a cheap, reusable source of damage is more valuable (since you have so few slots). At higher lvs, they might be more worth it to a sorc. For example, a sorc who knows 3 9th lv spells can use them to power 3 different reserve feats even if he has only 1 9th lv slot left. Conversely, a wizard has to keep those 3 different spells memorized, which really ties up his slots.
Tanegar 10-03-07, 12:22 PM	Thanks for the insights. I was thinking of taking the two teleportation feats (Dimensional Jaunt and Dimensional Reach, IIRC) because they fit my concept for an aspiring planewalker.