Multiclass Spellcasters
This alternate system attempts to rebalance all the basic classes to allow spellcasters to multiclass more freely. In 3rd edition, multiclass spellcasters kept two (or more!) distinct caster progressions: caster level, spells known, and spell slots per day. In practice—and particularly in the case of the Mystic Theurge prestige class—this generally meant giving up your highest level spells in exchange for twice as many lower level spell slots. And the Mystic Theurge was the best case scenario.
It is our contention that
higher level spell slots are more valuable than
more lower level spell slots and the unified spell progression works nicely for this philosophy.
All classes have a Base Magic Bonus. There are four progressions:
• +1/3 levels (barbarian, fighter, rogue),
• +1/2 levels (monk, paladin, ranger),
• +2/3 levels (bard),
• +1/level (cleric, druid, sorcerer, wizard)
The Base Magic Bonus (BMB) from each class adds together, just as the Base Attack Bonus combines for melee characters.
The character’s total Base Magic Bonus determines his caster level, his spell slots per day, and the number of spells he may ready each day. A character will generally have one more spell readied per day than he has spell slots, which allows some versatility in spellcasting.
At 1st level in any spellcasting class, the character gains access to
all spells on a given spell list, adding them to his list of spells known. After a suitable rest period, the spellcaster chooses the spells he will ready from his list of spells known.
When he casts a spell, he may only cast a spell that he has readied; however, he may cast any spell he has readied, using his available spell slots, in any combination.
Example: Johannes is a 1st level druid. He gains access to all spells on the druid spell list. At 1st level, his Base Magic Bonus (BMB) is +1. Consulting the table, he notes that he receives three 0-level spell slots (and thus readies four 0-level spells); and he receives one 1st level spell slot (and thus readies two 1st level spells).
Johannes readies detect magic, guidance, know direction, and resistance as his 0-level spells; he readies entangle and shillelagh as his 1st level spells. Checking the table for his spell slots, he notes that he receives three 0-level spell slots and one 1st level spell slot. Due to his high Wisdom, he receives an extra 1st level spell slot.
Until Johannes rests again, he can cast three 0-level spells, chosen from any of the four he readied, and two 1st level spells, chosen from the two he readied, in any combination. In the course of reaching the dungeon itself, he’s called upon to cast know direction twice, and he casts resistance once as well, using up the last of his three 0-level spell slots. A patrol of goblins catches the party just outside the dungeon, and Johannes casts entangle. He saves his last 1st level spell slot for later, but he’ll be able to cast either entangle or shillelagh as the situation warrants.
A spellcaster may always opt to use a higher-level spell slot to power a lower level spell. He also has much greater flexibility with regards to metamagic. A spellcaster need not ready the metamagic version of any spell; rather, if he has the spell readied, and he has access to a metamagic feat, and he has a sufficiently high spell slot available, he may apply the effects of metamagic as he casts.
Characters who multiclass into another spellcasting class gain access to all of the spells on the spell list of the new class. However, although this adds considerable versatility, their spells readied and spell slots per day are still calculated solely on their Base Magic Bonus.
In addition, each spell list carries with it certain restrictions. A multiclass character may have access to spells from many different lists, but he must meet all criteria and abide by all restrictions when casting a spell from that list.
Bard spells are arcane spells, and require a minimum Charisma equal to 10 + spell level to ready or cast. In addition, all bard spells have a somatic component (playing an instrument) and a verbal component (singing, chanting, etc.) Bards are able to ignore the arcane spell failure chance on their spells when wearing no armor or light armor. Heavier armors interfere with their playing and thus carry a chance of arcane spell failure.
Cleric spells are divine spells, and require a mimimum Wisdom equal to 10 + spell level to ready or cast. Clerics and paladins both gain access to all cleric spells at 1st level. In addition, clerics (but not paladins) may gain access to additional spells through their chosen domains.
Druid spells are divine spells, and require a minimum Wisdom equal to 10 + spell level to ready or cast. In addition, no character can cast druidic spells while wearing metal armor of any kind. Such attempts automatically fail.
Wizard spells are arcane spells, and require a minimum Intelligence equal to 10 + spell level to ready or cast. Wizard spells with somantic components require intricate hand gestures, and armor of any kind interferes with casting. Any character wearing armor suffers from a chance of arcane spell failure.
Sorcerers cast wizard spells, and their spells are the same in all respects, including arcane spell failure. However, sorcerers cast arcane spells through innate power (often derived from a fey, draconic, or even infernal bloodline), as opposed to study and research. A sorcerer can meet the ability score criteria of wizard spells using his Charisma rather than his Intelligence. A sorcerer must have a minimum Charisma of 10 + spell level to cast his spells.
Multiclass spellcasters use only their highest applicable ability score to determine bonus spell slots per day and the DC of their spells, regardless of which spell list they use to ready and cast spells.
(Note: Wide table, use scroll bar.)
Code:
Base Spell Slots/Spells Readied* Per Day
BMB 0 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
+0** 3 — — — — — — — — —
+1 3 1 — — — — — — — —
+2 4 2 — — — — — — — —
+3 4 2 1 — — — — — — —
+4 4 3 2 — — — — — — —
+5 4 3 2 1 — — — — — —
+6 4 3 3 2 — — — — — —
+7 4 4 3 2 1 — — — — —
+8 4 4 3 3 2 — — — — —
+9 4 4 4 3 2 1 — — — —
+10 4 4 4 3 3 2 — — — —
+11 5 4 4 4 3 2 1 — — —
+12 5 4 4 4 3 3 2 — — —
+13 5 4 4 4 4 3 2 1 — —
+14 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 — —
+15 5 4 4 4 4 4 3 2 1 —
+16 5 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 —
+17 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 2 1
+18 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 2
+19 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3
+20 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
* A spellcaster’s base Ready Spells Per Day is always one more than the number of base spell slots listed.
** A character must be a spellcaster in order to cast spells.
We’re going to walk through the individual classes in a logical progression, starting with the comparison of Sorcerers to Wizards.
Please note that in order to keep the table sizes down, I’ve eliminated all extraneous information (BAB, Saves, existing class information) in order to focus on the changes.
Sorcerer Spoiler:
Charismatic Caster: Sorcerers cast wizard spells, and their spells are the same in all respects, including arcane spell failure. However, sorcerers cast arcane spells through innate power (often derived from a fey, draconic, or even infernal bloodline), as opposed to study and research. A sorcerer can meet the ability score criteria of wizard spells using his Charisma rather than his Intelligence.
At 1st level, a sorcerer gains access to all the spells on the wizard spell list. To learn or cast an arcane spell, a sorcerer must have a Charisma score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a sorcerer’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the sorcerer’s Charisma modifier. He receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Charisma score.
A sorcerer’s selection of spells is limited. He does not ready as many spells per day as the wizard; however he gains many more spell slots per day. The sorcerer may only use his bonus spell slots to cast arcane spells.
Code:
Level BMB Class Features
1 +1 Bonus spell slot (0th, 1st)
2 +2 Bonus spell slot (1st)
3 +3 Bonus spell slot (1st)
4 +4 Bonus spell slot (0th, 1st, 2nd)
5 +5 Bonus spell slot (2nd)
6 +6 Bonus spell slot (2nd, 3rd)
7 +7 Bonus spell slot (3rd)
8 +8 Bonus spell slot (3rd, 4th)
9 +9 Bonus spell slot (4th)
10 +10 Bonus spell slot (4th, 5th)
11 +11 Bonus spell slot (5th)
12 +12 Bonus spell slot (5th, 6th)
13 +13 Bonus spell slot (6th)
14 +14 Bonus spell slot (6th, 7th)
15 +15 Bonus spell slot (7th)
16 +16 Bonus spell slot (7th, 8th)
17 +17 Bonus spell slot (8th)
18 +18 Bonus spell slot (8th, 9th)
19 +19 Bonus spell slot (9th)
20 +20 Bonus spell slot (9th)
Wizard Spoiler:
Wizards are versatile spellcasters. They do not have as many spell slots per day as the sorcerer, but he may ready many more spells. This allows the wizard much greater utility and flexibility to prepare for the unexpected.
Bonus Ready Spell: At 1st level, the wizard may ready one additional 1st level spell in addition to those normally gained through his Base Magic Bonus. At every level thereafter, the wizard continues to gain bonus readied spells, as shown on the table. The wizard may only use this class feature to Ready bonus arcane spells.
Read Magic: The 0-level read magic spell is always considered ready for a wizard.
Spellbooks: A wizard must study his spellbook each day to ready his spells. He cannot ready wizard spells if for any reason he is denied access to his spellbook (with the exception of read magic, as above). A multiclass wizard may ready spells as normal for his other classes, but if he loses his spellbook, he loses access to any bonus ready spells granted by his wizard class.
School Specialization
A specialist wizard can ready one additional spell of his specialty school per spell level each day, over and above all his other ready spells, and he gains an additional spell slot which he may only use to cast that spell.
Code:
Level BMB Class Features
1 +1 Bonus feat, bonus Ready spell (1st),
read magic, spellbooks, familiar
2 +2 Bonus Ready (1st)
3 +3 Bonus Ready (2nd)
4 +4 Bonus Ready (2nd)
5 +5 Bonus feat, bonus Ready (3rd)
6 +6 Bonus Ready (3rd)
7 +7 Bonus Ready (4th)
8 +8 Bonus Ready (4th)
9 +9 Bonus Ready (5th)
10 +10 Bonus feat, bonus Ready (5th)
11 +11 Bonus Ready (1st, 6th)
12 +12 Bonus Ready (1st, 6th)
13 +13 Bonus readied (2nd, 7th)
14 +14 Bonus Ready (2nd, 7th)
15 +15 Bonus feat, bonus Ready (3rd, 8th)
16 +16 Bonus Ready (3rd, 8th)
17 +17 Bonus Ready (4th, 9th)
18 +18 Bonus Ready (4th, 9th)
19 +19 Bonus Ready (5th)
20 +20 Bonus feat, bonus Ready (5th)
The wizard and the sorcerer best demonstrate the counterbalance between readied spells and spell slots. A sorcerer will typically have 3 more spell slots than the wizard, but the wizard will have 3-4 more readied spells to choose from than the sorcerer.
Cleric Spoiler:
Cleric Domains: A 1st level cleric chooses two domains from among those belonging to his deity. A cleric can select an alignment domain (Chaos, Evil, Good, or Law) only if his alignment matches that domain.
If a cleric is not devoted to a particular deity, he still selects two domains to represent his spiritual inclinations and abilities. The restriction on alignment domains still applies.
The cleric gains the granted power from each domain. His chosen domains also grant him access to all the spells listed for each domain, in addition to the normal cleric spell list.
At 11th level, the cleric gains a third domain chosen from his deity’s domains (or according to his spiritual inclinations, if he has no specific deity). He gains access to all the spells on his 3rd domain in addition to a 3rd granted power.
Spells: A cleric casts divine spells from the cleric spell list. At 1st level, the cleric gains access to all of the spells on the cleric spell list.
To ready or cast a cleric spell, a cleric must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a cleric’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the cleric’s Wisdom modifier. He receives bonus spell slots per day if he has a high Wisdom score.
Domain Spells: A cleric’s domain spells are always readied. In addition, beginning at 1st level, the cleric gets one bonus spell slot per day. The bonus spell slot may only be used to cast one of his 1st level domain spells. As the cleric advances in level, he gains additional bonus spell slots, which he must use to cast his domain spells. A cleric may not cast the same domain spell twice from a bonus slot; if he has more than one bonus slot, he must cast a different domain spell from each.
Spontaneous Casting: A good cleric (or a neutral cleric of a good deity) can channel stored spell energy into healing spells that the cleric did not ready ahead of time. The cleric can “lose” any readied spell in order to cast any cure spell of the same spell level or lower (a cure spell is any spell with “cure” in its name, including the mass cure spells of higher levels). The cleric may not use his bonus domain spell slots for spontaneous casting. Once a readied spell is used in this way for spontaneous casting, the prior spell is no longer considered ready.
Code:
Level BMB Class Features
1 +1 Aura, cleric domains, domain spell (1st), spontaneous casting (1st), turn or rebuke undead
2 +2 Domain spell (1st)
3 +3 Domain spell (2nd), spontaneous casting (2nd)
4 +4 Domain spell (2nd)
5 +5 Domain spell (3rd), spontaneous casting (3rd)
6 +6 Domain spell (3rd)
7 +7 Domain spell (4th), spontaneous casting (4th)
8 +8 Domain spell (4th)
9 +9 Domain spell (5th), spontaneous casting (5th)
10 +10 Domain spell (5th)
11 +11 Domain spell (1st, 6th), spontaneous casting (6th), third domain
12 +12 Domain spell (1st, 6th)
13 +13 Domain spell (2nd, 7th), spontaneous casting (7th)
14 +14 Domain spell (2nd, 7th)
15 +15 Domain spell (3rd, 8th), spontaneous casting (8th)
16 +16 Domain spell (3rd, 8th)
17 +17 Domain spell (4th, 9th)
18 +18 Domain spell (4th, 9th)
19 +19 Domain Spell (5th)
20 +20 Domain Spell (5th)
Druids
The druid’s existing class features are unchanged. The druid gains no bonus spell slots nor bonus readied spells as class features. The druid gains a spontaneous casting ability to convert readied spells into Summon Nature’s Ally I thru IX.
Bards
The bard’s Base Magic Bonus progression is “approximately” 2/3. The progression has been jiggled slightly at some levels (to account for the bard’s prior “0” entries on his spell list, and to grant new spell levels at the existing, expected break points) and is capped at +12. The extended progression (to +13) is shown for completeness.
The bard has no additional class features under this system.
Paladins and Rangers
The paladin has exactly two spells that don’t already appear on the cleric spell list: Bless Weapon and Holy Sword. Our solution is to add these spells as spell-like abilities, and to otherwise grant the paladin full access to the cleric spell list. This has the added (desirable) effect of making the paladin feel more like a holy warrior.
Similarly for Rangers, we recommend simply rolling the ranger spells into the druid spell list, and giving the Ranger access to the entire druid spell list as his spells known.
Both Paladins and Rangers have a BMB of ½; thus they will gain access to spellcasting abilities sooner than under the existing rules. Both are considered “spellcasters” and thus under these rules, they’ll gain access to 0 level spells beginning at 1st level with a BMB of +0. Ultimately they will be able to cast 5th level spells.
Monks
We’ve also given the monk a +½ BMB advancement. Though they are not considered spellcasters, their mystical abilities blend well with spellcasters. Needless to say, we’re in favor of boosting the monk’s abilities overall and lifting any multiclassing restrictions.
Barbarian, Fighter, Rogue
These classes have a +1/3 BMB progression.