Alt Wizard

[Crothian]

I'm brainstorming an alternate Wizard class. The change I'm looking at is dropping all the bonus feats (scribe scroll, and the ones gained at levels 5, 10, 15, and 20) and then increasing the skill points and the class skills.

I was thinking of adding Animal Empathy, Handle Animal, and Use Magical Device. The skill points would be increased to 4 a level instead of two. Thoughts on this?

The three added skills really fit this character concept that just came to me, so I'm trying to alter the Wizard class to better fit my concept.

 

[Jeph]

Sounds good . . . might you consder a bonus class skill or 2 based on school specialization, like a how a Psion's class skills are determined? With the addition of only 2 skill points and 3 class skills, it seems a bit weak, for the 5 bonus feats used to compensate. Consider giving Wizards specialized in a school a +1 effective caster level when casting spells from that school, for all effects other than damage?

 

[Limper]

I would have to say that your proposed replacement for the 5 lost feats is lacking.... Use Magic Device is cool and having it would be worth a feat, but the others fall short.

For a feat you can add a skill to your class list and get a +2 to use the skill... Cosmopolitan (FR book)

The Free Meta feats are really cool... I've gotten alot of use from them so it would be a hard sell to convince me to drop them, YMMV.

Maybe if you allowed a limited Expert type skill acquisition to start... like pick two skills thesea are now class skills.

 

[Limper]

What is your concept? It might help us.

 

[Crothian]

THe concept is a student of magic who lacks someting to make him a compitant caster. He will have his high score in Intelligence, but I'm planning on applying the Wild Spellcraft rules on all his spells becasue he just isn't reliable in casting them. That's also why he's losing the bonus feats. I know how helpful they are, but he just isn't able to get his magic to work that way. I'd make him unable to use meta magic and item creation feats.

However, he does have the unusual ability to just figure out magical items and has a special knack with animals (thus the bonus skills).

So, you have this very talented and populiar student (High Int, High Cha, probably take the Spellcasting prodigy feat). However, magic he casts just doesn't work (I was even thinking of making the chance of spell wackiness higher then the book suggests). It also makes him unable to make magical items and use meta magic feats. However, he does have a way of figureing things out (other feat would be skill focus Use Magical Device).

So, far, it's a pretty basic idea. I just got the idea from reading the Wild Spellcraft book, since I'm going to be reviewing it.

So, would increasing the HD to d6 (to help him survive his own magical mistakes) help in balancing it? There really aren't any other skills that fit the concept, and any more skill points would become obscene.

 

[Limper]

Given that.... the d6 HD would be nice or you could give a second good save in Reflex for the same reason as the HD.


Make a background feat specific to the character... +2 UMD and +2 Animal Empathy. Might help represent your goal better.

 

[Jeph]

Consider using the Moderate save option for both Fort and Ref.
Hey, potentially you could use the WoT Wilder class. The 'Block' seems kinda what you are looking for, but WoT doesn't really fit in with DnD.

 

[Crothian]

Consider using the Moderate save option for both Fort and Ref.
Hey, potentially you could use the WoT Wilder class. The 'Block' seems kinda what you are looking for, but WoT doesn't really fit in with DnD.

Changing the saves is a good option. The concept itselfg arose from reading Wild Spellcraft, so I'm going to stick with that mechanic for this.