Arcane Spell Failure fix/removal

[RangerWickett]

Here is my suggestion. No class gets anything better than Light Armor Proficiency at 1st level. If they'd get Medium AP, they get it at 2nd level, and Heavy at 3rd. Bucklers and light shields are available at 1st, heavy shields at 2nd, tower shields at 3rd. Thus a wizard would have to take 3 levels of fighter to be able to wear full plate and cast spells. Most wizards would be unwilling to do that, because it really stymies their magical power.

With this small change, there would be no need for Arcane Spell Failure, right?

 

[Kirin'Tor]

Hmmm...couldn't the wizard still just take the feats (2) required to get up to Heavy Proficiency???

After all, a wizard who wanted Armor & Good Casting Progression (at the expense of ASF at high %'s) would be wise to take the feats instead of a level in fighter, even in the current system.

...I really don't see the big change. It would help with preventing people with dipping into fighter for Armor Proficiency, tho...

 

[Li Shenron]

The benefit would clearly be to discourage dipping into Fighter (or another combat class) for all the proficiencies in 1 level.

The lack of ASF would benefit characters who are either Fighter/Wizard, in which case they are already kinda weak in spellcasting (unless you allow Eldritch Knight or similar PrCl) and would normally have a HARD time casting in heavy armor, or who have spent 3 feats which is a huge price IMHO.

Also, light armors can on the average (unless they have large bonuses or special abilities) be disregarded by a caster who knows Mage Armor, so the problem is rather relative to medium and heavy armor.

That said, I think your idea should be fine, but be sure to KEEP ASF for characters without the proficiency. You know, a wizard CAN wear heavy armor without the proficiency: he suffers ACP to attacks also, but if he's not casting rays or touch spells, he may not care at all. Therefore, you should make the "no ASF" a benefit of the proficiencies, rather than a general rule.

If you find out that medium/heavy armor are still pretty good for wizards even with your house rules, you can switch ASF with a Concentration check which is usually much lighter.

 

[Stalker0]

I never got what the big deal with dipping into one level of fighter was anyway.

Wizards live and die by their caster levels....especially as they get higher when SR starts to apply.

I have no problem with a wizard giving up a caster level for a few more hp and better armor... I think its a perfectly fair tradeoff. You might think your the man with your +4 extra AC, and your +3 hp (on average) more hp....until you realize that you could have had 4th level spells NOW instead of next level, and you could be doing an extra 4d6 damage with your scorching ray NOW instead of latter, and you would have had that one last 2nd level spell to cast if only you had taken that caster level.

I say make ASF only apply if your not proficient with the armor, and just let the player take classes or feats if they want the armor so badly.