Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Diffan May 28, 2008 16:19:44	Hey all, First time i've posted in this thread, and I wanted some critique on some changes im making reguarding my game. For some idea of what the campaign is like, I plan on doing the Cormyr: Tearing of the Weave super adventure with 5 PCs. I don't really use other house roles other than humans gain a proficiency with 1 martial weapon of their choice and Tieflings don't gain a -2 penalty to Charisma. I allow (lesser) planetouched, but not lesser drow or any other lesser version described in the back of the Player's Guide to Faerun. Also, familiars gain power equal to their master's caster level rather than wiz/sor level and if they die, their casters gain a -1 penalty to their caster level for all various level effects instead of losing XP. Cantrips, and Orisions are now At will abilities. Other than that, it's pretty vanilla. The changes i'm making are to the Cleric, Sorcerer, and Wizard. Some might question why based on their awesome spells at later levels but the changes I purpose aren't game breaking (IMO) but rather give some classes more playability other than 4 or 5 levels. Cleric- Clerics rely on their domains for added spells and their granted powers in combat. Granted powers now are 1/encounter rather than 1/day if your domain power is a per day effect. Also, your domain powers advance by caster level rather than cleric level, thus not hindering your God's granted gift by prestige classing. Also, clerics rely on Divine abilities and their spells. At 4th level they gain a bonus feat that can be taken from the Divine Feat list. At every 4 levels and after (8th, 12th, 16th, 20th) they gain 1 additional Divine feat. They must still meet the prereqs for the feat. Sorcerer- Sorcerers manipulate their innate magic through their force of will and determination. Sometimes this produces a powerful effect but at the cost of bodily injury. At 2nd level, sorcerers gain Metamagic Specialist. Also, sorcerers gain additional feats. At 1st level, they gain Eschew Materials. At 4th level and every 3 levels afterward (7th, 10th, so on) they gain a bonus feat that can taken from the Heritage Feat or Metamagic Feat list. They must still meet the prereqs for the feat. Wizard- Because of intensive study, wizards accumilate vast amounts of spells which they store in spellbooks. Because of this, they tend to fly through pages of these books for the right spell because they know the books like the back of their hands. Starting at 2nd level wizards gain Magi Study. This allows wizards to swap a prepared spell in place of casting a spell from their spellbook. This requires spending 2 prepared spell in place of 1 spell of the same level or lower to be cast from his/her spellbook. Magi Study can be used 1 + Int modifer per day (minimum 1 day). Example-Magi-study (Ex): As a full round action a wizard may expend 2 prepared spells of the same level to cast a spell from their spellbook of a level equal to or lower than the level of the expended spells. This ability may be used 1+Int modifier times per day. Spells with a casting time of longer than 1 standard action cannot be cast with this ability while the wizard is under stress (in combat, immediate danger, etc.) Your opinion is greatly appreciated.
#2 kuonji May 28, 2008 18:45:24	I think your changes to domains for clerics look ok. I don't think clerics need bonus feats. I like the idea of Sorcerers getting more feats, but I think the 1 per 5 levels (like a wizard) would be more than enough. As for the metamagic change, I think you're asking for trouble. Assuming you allow spontaneous casters to use quicken spell (guessing by your example you are) then a mid to high level sorcerer could easily end a fight in round 1, or put a fight close to ending, thus making the hp loss form the reckless metamagic all but meaningless. I think you'd be better off using the PHB2 sorcerer metamagic variant. As for magi-study, it's an interesting idea, but rather than add additional dice rolls and penalties, go for something simpler, such as: Magi-study: As a full round action a wizard may expend 2 prepared spells of the same level to cast a spell from their spellbook of a level equal to or lower than the level of the expended spells. This ability may be used 1+Int modifier times per day. Spells with a casting time of longer than 1 standard action cannot be cast with this ability while the wizard is under stress (in combat, immediate danger, etc.) This provides a penalty for the spontaneous casting aspect (using 2 spell slots) that mimics fatigue without adding further dice rolls and number tracking. I added the last line to prevent some abuse of spells in combat.
#3 Diffan May 28, 2008 20:11:20	Thanks for your reply. I'm switching the Cleric bonus feats to just Divine Feats only. By doing so, they can spend their other character feats on anything else they wish. Granted, the cleric is powerful without any bonus feats, but a few extra divine feats gives them more versatility when it comes to their turn attempts. As for the metamagic change, I think you're asking for trouble. Assuming you allow spontaneous casters to use quicken spell (guessing by your example you are) then a mid to high level sorcerer could easily end a fight in round 1, or put a fight close to ending, thus making the hp loss form the reckless metamagic all but meaningless. True, I think i'm going to add the metamagic specialist as a bonus ability at 2nd level instead of having you give up your familiar. Magi-study: As a full round action a wizard may expend 2 prepared spells of the same level to cast a spell from their spellbook of a level equal to or lower than the level of the expended spells. This ability may be used 1+Int modifier times per day. Spells with a casting time of longer than 1 standard action cannot be cast with this ability while the wizard is under stress (in combat, immediate danger, etc.) This provides a penalty for the spontaneous casting aspect (using 2 spell slots) that mimics fatigue without adding further dice rolls and number tracking. I added the last line to prevent some abuse of spells in combat. Good idea. 2 prepared spells for 1 unprepared seems like a heavy blow, but there are countless times when a situation calls for the perfect spell. Any thoughts on familiars gaining power equal to their master's caster level and not taking xp loss from them dying. I was considering a larger penalty for their familiars death, but i'm not sure of what to impliment. I really don't like PCs losing XP unless it's REALLY necessary such as a spell component for an awesome spell. Other ideas for a penalty are Con loss, higher CL loss, or other aspects of a character such as Saving Throws, Attacks, or debilitating effects.
#4 kuonji May 28, 2008 21:31:58	Good idea. 2 prepared spells for 1 unprepared seems like a heavy blow, but there are countless times when a situation calls for the perfect spell. Yes, 2 for 1 can be painful, but it would allow a wizard more leeway in choosing spells in that the wizard's player wouldn't necessarily need to feel paranoid about choosing the "wrong" spells for the day. Any thoughts on familiars gaining power equal to their master's caster level and not taking xp loss from them dying. I was considering a larger penalty for their familiars death, but i'm not sure of what to impliment. I really don't like PCs losing XP unless it's REALLY necessary such as a spell component for an awesome spell. Other ideas for a penalty are Con loss, higher CL loss, or other aspects of a character such as Saving Throws, Attacks, or debilitating effects. Personally, I dislike familiars. They are simply a potential xp drain that provides a minor benefit. If I were to use them I'd go with the following changes: Drop the xp penalty. As you said, there's rarely a good reason to force an xp loss on a character. I like your idea of having the familiar scale with caster level rather than class level. Instead of a penalty for the familiar dying, I'd treat the familiar not as a mundane creature, but as a magical beast that is summoned much like other summoned creatures. If your familiar dies, you must wait till the next time you prepare spells before resummoning your familiar. The only penalty would be that you are without your familiar for a period of time. This way you get a nice companion for your spellcaster and the player doesn't have to keep their familiar hidden 24/7 out of paranoia. Honestly, the benefits of a familiar can be good, but aren't so great that having a renewable familiar will be game shattering. If for some reason familiars start becoming abused or you absolutely feel there needs to be a draw back to familiars, change them such that while your familiar is active you must give up 1 of your highest level spell slots to "fuel" the magical force that keeps your familiar at your side. Losing 1 spell slot shouldn't make that big of a difference, and it's much better then losing xp or con or whatever else.
#5 Diffan May 29, 2008 6:30:49	Personally, I dislike familiars. They are simply a potential xp drain that provides a minor benefit. Same here. Usually when I play a wizard I opt for the flaw Forlorn to gain a bonus 1st level feat. I feel that there should be a penalty, albiet a minor one, when a familiar dies. So i'm thinking the -1 to CL for all spell related effects isn't bad and a wizard can re-summon a familiar on the next day. Besides, there are few wizards willing to take the appropriate feats (and there are many) to make a familiar game shattering. Espically in lieu of metamagic, item creation, and general better optimized feats. All very good stuff, much thanks.
#6 kuonji May 29, 2008 9:54:13	Same here. Usually when I play a wizard I opt for the flaw Forlorn to gain a bonus 1st level feat. I feel that there should be a penalty, albiet a minor one, when a familiar dies. So i'm thinking the -1 to CL for all spell related effects isn't bad and a wizard can re-summon a familiar on the next day. Besides, there are few wizards willing to take the appropriate feats (and there are many) to make a familiar game shattering. Espically in lieu of metamagic, item creation, and general better optimized feats. All very good stuff, much thanks. The -1 CL is a pretty elegant solution. Gives the wizard a reason to look out for their familiar but doesn't overly penalize them. Anyway, glad to help.