Arcane Preparation Questions (Tome and Blood)

[Jack Simth]

Been reading through Tome and Blood, and I have a few questions about Arcane Preparation:

1) Does this feat allow Sorcerors to make use of a borrowed spellbook?
2) Does this feat allow Sorcerors to maintain and use their own spellbooks?
3) (somewhat related) Can a Sorceror make use of the Mage Of the Arcane Order Prestige Class Spellpool?

 

[Joker]

I thought it only allowed them to prepare their own spells which would useful so they can place metamagic feats on them ahead of time.

 

[Li Shenron]

The answer to 1) and 2) is no. The sorcerer doesn't get to learn spells as a wizard, and will not need (or take advantage of) a spell book when using this feat.

The feat is only intended to let a sorcerer save some casting time when using metamagic (and be able to use Quicken Spell), for the price of having to decide beforehand which MM and which spells.

I think that you can use Arcane Preparation together with the "delayed preparation" rules, at least IMHO those rules can be seen as an option general enough to be allowed for every caster which prepares spell, including a sorcerer using this feat. It makes the feat a tiny more worth if you are not forced to use it only at "morning time", but of course it doesn't make a big difference really.

3) is more complicated. I don't remember if T&B says somewhere as an example that AP allows to qualify for the MotAO. It probably does work by the rules, but obviously the benefit of the spellpool is really huge for a sorcerer, as it bypasses the class main drawback (few spells known). Perhaps the MotAO was not written with this option in mind.

 

[Thanee]

IMHO it's no to all three.

The spellpool requires the ability to leave prepared slots open, which Arcane Preparation does not grant them, they can only prepare spells in their 'spontaneous slots', but not turn them into 'prepared slots', which are then left open.

It could be argued, since sorcerers are mentioned in the PrC somewhere, that the intention was to let them use it, however.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Jack Simth]

1 & 2: Ah well, that must have just been the munchkin in me calling out.... and yet... the feat does say it lets a Sor/Bard prepare spells "as a Wizard does" - how does a wizard prepare spells? A wizard can prepare any spells he or she has access to that are either inherently known (as Read Magic or a spell for which the caster took Spell Mastery), that are in the wizard's spellbook, or that are in a borrowed spellbook (with a spellcraft DC of 15+spell level). The entry under spellcraft for preparing from a borrowed spellbook is listed as "Wizard Only" ... and it is preparing spells ... and the feat lets a Bard/Sorceror prepare spells "As a wizard" ... and preparing from a borrowed spellbook is something a wizard could do.... but that could very easily make the feat too unbalancing for Sorcerors.... and could also pull the sorceror's ability to prepare his or her own sorcerously known spells with metamagic feats.... hmm....

3) Come to think of it, the PrC does mention a Sorceror using the Spellpool - a Sor 5 Mage of the Arcane Order 5 is listed in the Spellpool example for the highest a debt is premitted to incurr, and it differentiates on the effects of prepared vs. spontaneous casters when repaying the spell debt. Hmm....

It could also be argued that a spontaneous caster's spell slots are open and unused until the spontaneous caster spontaneously casts them.

Honestly, though, I suspect the Spellpool is more usful for prepared casters than for spontaneous casters - a prepared caster can't normally have any standard spell (which pretty much means any spell in his book, plus quite a few) he could cast available on one round's notice, while a Sorceror (unless out of slots of the appropriet level, of course) always has any spell he could cast available on even less notice.

 

[Li Shenron]

I have checked T&B and I'm more confused than before

The MotAO seems to work for sorcerers too, there are a couple of references in the PrCl descriptions itself.

However... it doesn't seem to even require Arcane Preparation. It seems that all sorcerers slots can be considered "open" for the purpose of recalling spells from the spellpool.

I suppose that the DM can require a Sor/MotAO to "freeze" some of her daily slots before using them with the spellpool.

On the short range the spellpool isn't terrific, as it usually allows the MotAO to call 1 spell per day of the highest level she can cast, but on the long range (that is, on the span of many days) it is still quite too good for a Sorcerer.

 

[Jack Simth]

I have checked T&B and I'm more confused than before

The MotAO seems to work for sorcerers too, there are a couple of references in the PrCl descriptions itself.

However... it doesn't seem to even require Arcane Preparation. It seems that all sorcerers slots can be considered "open" for the purpose of recalling spells from the spellpool.

Check under the spells line for the requirements - requires the ability to "Prepare and cast" rather than the standard "cast" for most prestige classes; it doesn't require the feat, it requires the ability the feat gives... if that makes sense.

I suppose that the DM can require a Sor/MotAO to "freeze" some of her daily slots before using them with the spellpool.

On the short range the spellpool isn't terrific, as it usually allows the MotAO to call 1 spell per day of the highest level she can cast, but on the long range (that is, on the span of many days) it is still quite too good for a Sorcerer.

Depends on how you are looking at it; for a Sorceror, that grants much of the Wizard's long-term flexibility, but only once per day. For a Wizard, that that grants much of the Sorceror's short-term flexibility, but only for one spell per day. For both, it takes a full round to call and must be called very shortly before it is used, which slows down casting in unexpected combat (which can be fatal) but is great for non-combat support, or known-combat useage, for either class.

 

[Thanee]

The benefit is definitely much, much higher for sorcerers.

Bye
Thanee