Pathfinder 1E A question about Pathfinder's casters.

[Nikosandros]

I have not been following the Pathfinder development very closely but I am glad that Vancian magic is still in.

Agreed. I love it and I think it's fundamental defining characteristic of D&D.

 

[Voadam]

Basically, the Pathfinder crew's view is that Vancian magic is one of the most important features of Dungeons and Dragons. I can't find a quote, but I seem to recall reading James Jacobs' comments on alternative spellcasting systems in 3.5 as being "interesting, but not D&D".

Huh, I read that same quote as a mere tautology. If someone found vancian spellcasting in 3e a dealbreaker then they won't go for pathfinder because it is still there. At will cantrips notwithstanding.

I did not take it that he was saying here that vancian spellcasting is "one of the most important features of Dungeons and Dragons".

I'm fine with them liking vancian magic. I don't particularly care for it, I much prefer things like at will warlock magic, recharge mechanisms for psionic soulknife psychic strikes and psionic focus, spontaneous divine casting, recharge magic, etc. I can easily have these in my 3e games as well as in my pathfinder beta games. I see nothing to lead me to expect that Pathfinder 1e will not allow them to be adapted easily into the system.

 

[Voadam]

This is an aside to the OP's question, but my answer is no. At least, not in my opinion.

Folks seem to think "limited number of times per day" = "Vancian". But there's more to a Vancian system than that. You will note that a great many monster powers in prior editions are "X # times per day", but until recently, nobody ever referred to them as Vancian. Most classes have had powers that were usable some number of times per day, and those weren't called Vancian, either. Only the spell system has been referred to as Vancian.

In Vancian magic, you typically have a longish list of spells you may cast, you pick some of each level, and prepare those for the day. The choice and preparation are rather key - it is the heart of what was taken from Vance's fiction. In 4e, your choices do not change from day to day. The powers you have are the powers you have, and they don't change from one day to the next. You may be able to retrain powers as you go up in level, but that's not nearly the same thing.

I'm with you Umbran. 1e-3e demons are not vancian casters. They don't have any choices to prepare any magic differently.