alt.Sorcerer... drastic

[seasong]

Changed a bit of wording: 'spell song' was changed to 'words of power'; I didn't mean to indicate that the sorcerer was singing or performing, merely that he required a verbal component.

Hopefully this will help clear up why eschew components is not automatic (the sorcerer can not quite handle powerful enough Words to eliminate the energy materials), and why Perform is not a class skill - when I used the phrase 'spell song', it caused players to think of the bard, which confused the flavor of the class.

There is one balance issue unresolved, I think, which is that once you've hit 10th level, there usually isn't much reason to avoid a prestige class that gives spellcaster levels. This is as true of the standard sorcerer as it is of this class (except that you don't lose anything from the sorcerer after 1st level).

 

[DreamChaser]

I think it could be cool if sorcerers gained the Sculpt Self feat for free and then gained a couple of transformations in line with their idiom. They could gain the SS feat around 10th or 11th level and then gain a Prestige Race feat every 3 or 4 levels after that.

Just a thought,

DC

 

[DreamChaser]

I would also reverse the Eschew Materials and Words of Power ability.

If you've ever read the Belgariad or Mallorean this fits.

In those books magic was called the Will and the Word. To do magic, a person only needed to conceive of what they wanted and speak a word to focus the magic. Younger magicians would include a gesture to help them focus even though it was not technically needed.

Plus, in terms of balance, Eschew Materials does not change the effective level but Still Spell does.

Here's what I think:

1-Familiar, Eschew Materials
5-Words of Power
10-Sculpt Self
15-Metamagic or PrR Feat
20-Metamagic or PrR Feat

Young sorcerers would still have the problem of gestures but after 5th, they'd be home free. The addition of the PrR feats gives them flavor and a clear reason to continue past 10th level. I can't think of a class better suited to adding in PrRs than sorcerer.

DC

 

[Mike Sullivan]

Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't the ability to learn spells of other people's lists really, really, really strong? And it doesn't seem like you're at much of a penalty to learn any spell besides the ones of your opposition schools -- it just means that sometimes (not all the time), you can't learn spells of your highest spell-level in your non-specialized school?

 

[seasong]

DreamChaser: I'm not familiar with Sculpt Self or PrR.

Good point on Eschew vs Still spell.

I'm leaving the familiar out. It fits the wizard, but not this sorcerer . Dropping the familiar also "pays" for the light armor and better HD.

The problem with all of those extra feats is that the class is already pretty strong. I don't want this to be the "must have" class over wizards. What are the SS/PrR feats?

Mike Sullivan: In theory, yes. In practice, however, a sorcerer who learns a cleric spell isn't learning a wizard spell - there's simply too few spells known. At best, the sorcerer can build a custom, very small spell list - at most, 4 spells at each level, with a few extras sprinkled at the top and bottom. Also, at least half of those will end up being in your specialist school, which is decently limiting.

 

[handforged]

I really like this class, Seasong. I am building a world right now where arcane magic has been banned for centuries by the gods, but now is being brought back by an invading force, and the arcane casters of the land are coming out of hiding. This class will fit excellently into this theme.

I agree that Eschew Materials should be moved to first level and Still Spell moved up to fifth, I also am unfamiliar with Sculpt Self, but if I get the drift from the previous summation, it sounds like it might be pretty neat. I do think that Read Lips would be a good skill for the class, and the idea of limited spellcraft would be nice.

~hf

 

[seasong]

Swapped the still spell and eschew components class abilities. Editted a few word choices, but no rules changes.

So found the racial feats alluded to; that's all in Savage Species, so I can't use it here (Savage Species is not open content in any way, shape or form).

However, I did a few builds, and the sorcerer is currently underpowered as a spell caster - he can outlast a wizard or cleric, but the spell selection limit really hurts, even for a transmuter sorcerer with a d6 HD. I've put up one option (the powerful voice class ability) which works out to a reasonably good balance. It's a very nice ability(!), but has limited uses, and fits the flavor fairly nicely.

Also, a quick rationale for why I'm avoiding certain things:

1) A bonus metamagic feat is reasonably balanced, but lacks flavor, and also steps on the wizard's schtick of flexibility. If there is a specific metamagic feat which fits the flavor pretty well, I might consider a forced choice for it, but I prefer to avoid the increased flexibility route.

2) Dragon-like feats: sorcerers are not dragon-blooded. They are described in the non-open-content of the Core Rulebook I as claiming to have draconic heritage. And that's the right decision, I think - it leaves it up to the individual GM whether or not it's true, so I'd prefer flavorful abilities that nonetheless can be suited to a wide variety of setting decisions.

 

[seasong]

Ugh, sorry, didn't make that clear: What do y'all think of the addition of the powerful voice ability and shifted word of power ability?

The class is now pretty powerful, possibly more so than a wizard, but tends to be a one-trick pony. On the balance, I think it's fairly well balanced, but I would like more input.

 

[DreamChaser]

Now that I look at the Prestige Races article (from Dragon 304), only one feat is needed.

SCULPT SELF [GENERAL]
You have the ability to modifiy the essence of your being.
Benefit: You may spend XP to gain prestige race alterations. You cannot spend the XP for a prestige race alteration if that expendature would reduce your level.

With this feat you can modify yourself. They give examples in the article of Foci that can be followed. A focus is a chain of alterations that build upon each other. The Foci are Mineral, Flame, Wave, Wind, Gear, & Soul. A couple of others have been discussed on these boards too.


I like the idea that over time, sorcerers are changed by the magic they wield.

1- Eschew Materials
5-Words of Power
10-Sculpt Self, Vocal Power
15-Vocal Power
20-Vocal Power

Vocal Power:
Each time this ability is gained, the sorcerer may choose one the the following abilities:

Powerful Voice--once per day, cast spell as if it were maximized (not increase in casting)

Fast Talker--once per day, cast two spells in a single round. Second spell must be 4 levels lower than highest level spell you can cast.

Persistant Voice--For a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifer each day you can cast spells normally despite the presence of magical silence. This need not be consecutive: it comes into effect when needed and stops when no longer necessary.

plus other abilities like this. I think there should be at least 6 of them so that each sorcerer is a little different.

DC

 

[seasong]

I'd really prefer to avoid non-open content. The Sculpt Self also sounds like something that could be left to normal feat-taking - it doesn't need to be built into the class, unless a GM decides that it's good for their world.

Alternate voice powers: I think these will generally be better off as normal metamagic feats; the maximize makes a nice bonus, but too many and the sorcerer starts looking like a swiss army knife, which is the wizard's role .

Regarding silence: Can't believe I didn't think that through. Silence is already too powerful, no need to make it the standard tactic against sorcerers. Here's a feat sorcerers can take, based loosely on your idea for a voice power:

Persistent Word (Metamagic)
Benefit: A persistent word spell's verbal component works despite magical silence, allowing the caster to cast the spell in a silence area. A persistent word spell uses up a spell slot one level higher than the spell's actual level.
Special: Persistent word is only available to sorcerers (just like spell mastery for wizards).

Note that this is not automatically gained - the sorcerer must expend an ordinary character level feat to get it, and it works just like silent spell except that it isn't stealthy. This also suffers from the usuall full round casting - a sorcerer has to work to cast in a silence area, but they can still do it.

And woe betide the person who was relying on silence to completely stop the sorcerer .