Arcanist - a Sorcerer variant

[Grayhawk]

Inspired by some recent threads about the Sorcerer - especially this one by Khaalis - I've tried to come up with a Sorcerer variant of my own.

My reasons for changing the core Sorcerer are twofold:

1: Giving them a slight powerboost, and
2: Giving them an unique mechanic (besides spontaneous casting) to further differentiate them from the Wizard

When making a change to a class, it's hard not to pile on the extra HP, skill points, class skills, class abilities, etc - but since I don't feel that the Sorcerer needs much in terms of power, I've tried to exercise moderation.

While this variant is supposed to replace the core version of the Sorcerer, I'm not above adding to the flavor text of the Sorcerer. I will also ignore those parts of the existing flavor text which I find unnecessary or I disagree with. (Specifically the part about Sorceres being offspring of dragons, etc. This variant won't have any mechanic to address the 'blood of dragons' bit - though anyone may claim to be the relative of dragons as much as they want.)

There seems to be some disagreement as to whether the Sorcerer is underpowered, owerpowered or balanced just right (with the majority going with 'underpowered' or 'just right', hence my choice of boosting it slightly).

But there seems to be a majority that finds the Sorcerer somewhat bland. While a lot of what should make a character stand out will come from roleplaying, a class ought to have somethings that makes it special.

I'm not sure if my Sorcerer variant succeeds in this regard mechanically, but I hope the added flavor text about their spellcasting makes up for it. Here goes:



Arcanist

Flavor text: As Sorcerer, but add the following:

'An Arcanist doesn't cast spells as a Wizard as much as he manifests innate powers. An Arcanist may still need to utter a word of power and make a powerful gesture - like pointing at the target of a spell - but you won't see him chanting and waving his hands around, sprinkling rosepetals to unlock his powers. As his experience and familiarity with his spells increase, he can command his powers with nothing but a thought or mold and shape them as he sees fit.

Some say that the way the Arcanist directs his power is the original arcane magic, and that Wizards merely are copying the effects that have naturally manifested themselves in Arcanists over time. As such Wizards need their material components to put themselves in the right state of mind (which comes naturally to an Arcanist), and they need to weave and dodge and chant to 'coax' the magic into producing the desired effect, whereas an Arcanist merely 'commands' it.'

Alignment: Any
Hit Die: d4
Saves: Good Will
BAB: Poor
Weapons: Simple
No Armors or Shields
Skill Points/lvl: 2
Class skills: Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Profession, Spellcraft

Spells per day: As Sorcerer
Spells Known: As Sorcerer + 1 spell of each level. This extra spell comes from one of the arcane domains in Unearthed Arcana p.57-58. The domain must be chosen at creation, and these spells can not 'evolve'.

Spell Evolution: An Arcanist may choose to evolve a known spell when he gets the option to learn a similar spell of a higher level. This may only be done once per new level and it replaces the current spell swapping mechanic. This works as the 'Path Magic For Sorcerers, Low Power' found here.

The Arcanist doesn't get a Familiar, but can obtain one at the cost of a feat.

To illustrate the Arcanist's different way of casting spells, he's treated as having the Eschew Materials feat from 1st level. In return he cannot learn spells with a material component costing more than 1 GP.

Spontaneous Metamagic: An Arcanist gets 3+Cha bonus slots per day to improve his spells with Metamagic feats. For this purpose the Arcanist is supposed to know all metamagic feats, without the spending of any feats.

Spontaneous Metamagic can only be applied to spells the Arcanist could have affected using the core rules. Thus a 4th level Arcanist can apply metamagicfeats with a level adjustment of +1 to either his 0 or 1st level spells, metamagicfeats feats with a +2 adjustment to his 0 level spells only, and cannot affect his 2nd level spells (yet). Upon reaching 8th level he can apply the Quicken Spell feat to his 0 level spells, etc.

The cost is one 'slot' per increased level adjustment. Thus a 4th level Arcanist with a Cha of 16 has 6 slots to freely improve his spells by each day. These 6 slots can for example be used in the following way: Silent 2 1st level spells and both Silent and Still 2 0 level spells, or any other combination that adds up to 6 levels worth of adjustments.

Spells thus adjustet don't increase in casting time and don't require higher level spell slots.



That's it. Comments and critique are welcomed. Especially regarding the Spontaneous Metamagic mechanic. Is it too powerful? Should it only apply to Still and Silent from the get go, allowing for additional applications at the normal feat cost? If anybody feels the class could still use a little boost, would you rather see an increase in dit die to a d6 or 4 skill points per level?

Edit: Put a link to Sean K. Reynolds' spell path mechanic in the Spell Evolution section.

 

[Stalker0]

I would give him a progression, start out with silent,stilled (or even enegy sub) and then go up from there. Otherwise its good.

 

[Khaalis]

Spontaneous Metamagic: An Arcanist gets 3+Cha bonus slots per day to improve his spells with Metamagic feats. For this purpose the Arcanist is supposed to know all metamagic feats, without the spending of any feats.

Spontaneous Metamagic can only be applied to spells the Arcanist could have affected using the core rules. Thus a 4th level Arcanist can apply metamagicfeats with a level adjustment of +1 to either his 0 or 1st level spells, metamagicfeats feats with a +2 adjustment to his 0 level spells only, and cannot affect his 2nd level spells (yet). Upon reaching 8th level he can apply the Quicken Spell feat to his 0 level spells, etc.

The cost is one 'slot' per increased level adjustment. Thus a 4th level Arcanist with a Cha of 16 has 6 slots to freely improve his spells by each day. These 6 slots can for example be used in the following way: Silent 2 1st level spells and both Silent and Still 2 0 level spells, or any other combination that adds up to 6 levels worth of adjustments.

Spells thus adjustet don't increase in casting time and don't require higher level spell slots.


That's it. Comments and critique are welcomed. Especially regarding the Spontaneous Metamagic mechanic. Is it too powerful? Should it only apply to Still and Silent from the get go, allowing for additional applications at the normal feat cost? If anybody feels the class could still use a little boost, would you rather see an increase in dit die to a d6 or 4 skill points per level?

Due to our differing opinions on the Sorcerer subject in general, I will keep this concise and leave opinions out of the discussion - you know where I stand.

As for the spontaneous magic - I am not sure how you feel about re-inventing the wheel. Unearthed Arcana already presents the Daily Uses rules and it is more cleanly verbiaged.
* The "slots" idea, to me, seems a bit clunky and similar to a spell-point system.
* I dont like the fact that it grants all metamagic feats to the sorcerer without the taking of a feat. From the Core book alone that is the equivalent of 9 free feats. Add on the splat books and you are into the dozens of free feats.
* The level maximum issue is very clunky as-is. This is the text from Unearthed Arcana. You might want to word yours similarly: "The maximum level of spell to which a caster can apply a metamagic feat is equal to the maximum spell level they are capable of casting, minus the spell level adjustment of the metamagic feat. If the result of this calculation is less than 0, then that metamagic feat cannot be used on any of the sorcerer's spells. A caster can apply more than one metamagic feat to a spell, or even the same metamagic effect more than once (if allowed by the feat's description). However, to determine the maximum level of spell that can be so affected, add together the spell level adjustments given for the various feats. The Heighten Spells feat may be used to increase a spell's effective level (for purpose of save DC's and so on) up to the maximum spell level you are capable of casting. The spell is treated as a spell of that level for purposes of save DC and similar effects, but does not require a higher level spell slot."


As to your last question - if you are going to make it an either or between HD and 4+INT, I would have to say mechanically that the only option is the HD. The skill selection is SO limited for your sorcerer that the 4+INT would mean max ranks at all times in the 4 core skills plus ranks in Crafts and Professions with whatever left over skill points they have from Intelligence (or cross-class skill ranks).

 

[Grayhawk]

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate it.

It's true that my Spontaneous Metamagic isn't as 'clean' as I would like it too be, and that it propably is overpowered too.

Khaalis, you're right that the level maximum issue is somewhat clunky. I thought about using the text you quote from Unearthed Arcana p.152, but can't it be made simpler? Maybe like this:

'You can only apply Spontaneous Metamagic feats to spells of x level if you're able to cast spells of x level + the combined level adjustments of the feats applied.'

Not really elegant, but doesn't it get the point across in one sentence?

As for just using the Daily Use rule from UA, I think it is somewhat flawed. Since not all metamagic feats are equal in power, and since spells metamagicked this way doesn't increase spell level, granting a flat amount of daily uses may make feats like Quicken much better than Still or Silent. The only limiting factor for Quicken is that it can't be applied to your highest 4 spell levels. At higher levels it will be much more worthwhile to stock up on the Quicken feats (remember, they stack), as each grants you another 3 uses per day.

That said, I agree that my current system of granting 3 + Cha bonus worth of level adjustments to be used freely with all metamagic feats (even if I only use the 9 core feats) is too much. The problem is, that this system needs to apply to all metamagicfeats to remain somewhat simple. If it only applies to Still and Silent, for example, how does it work when you buy a new metamagic feat? If it's still 3 + Cha bonus worth of level adjustmenys per day, you're canabalizing your ability to still and silent by spending the daily uses on other feats. (I hope that made sense...)

Also, I really want this to be tied to Cha, opposed to UA's 3 daily uses.

Since I've seen Plane Sailing and others who play Sorcerers say that they feel the class is fine as it is, I'm very leery of granting my variant to much of a boost.


So here is my revised Spontaneous Metamagic mechanic:

The Arcanist inherently knows all metamagic feats, but can only apply them a very limited number of times (initially).

An Arcanist get Cha bonus worth of level adjustments to freely apply to his spells each day, using any of the metamagic feats he qualifies for. He can only apply Spontaneous Metamagic feats to spells of x level if he's able to cast spells of x level + the combined level adjustments of the feats applied. This doesn't increase casting time or spell levels.

Thus, a 1st level Arcanist with a Cha of 15 may cast two 0 level spells metamagicked with a +1 level adjustment each.

Since the Arcanist knows all metamagic by nature, he doesn't need to learn them by buying feats, instead a new feat is introduced:

Improved Metamagic. This feat gives you +3 level adjustments to be used per day. It stacks with itself.

Thus, a 10th level (non human) Arcanist with a Cha of 18 who has spend all his feats on Improved Metamagic has 16 levels worth of adjustments to apply to his spells each day. With these he could Quicken 4 Magic Missiles, Silent 16 spells of 4th level or lower, both Silent and Still 8 spells of 3rd level or lower, etc.

How's that? It may seem powerful (it's certainly very versatile), but remember that using the Daily Use mechanic from UA would let you Quicken 12 spells if you'd spend 4 feats on Quicken Spell. Also keep in mind that the above is an extreme example, where all of the characters feats have been spend on Improved Metamagic, granting great versatility with the spells known at the expense of not having any other feats.

Actually, I like the idea about the Wizard being very versatile due his large number of spells known, but the Arcanist being equally(?) versatile when it comes to the way he can use his limited selection.

(A note about which feats this applies to: I'm only using the core books plus my own house rules, thus there are no metamagic feats beyond the 9 in the PH. That's right, not even Energy Substitution(?) as I think that it's a silly feat, taking away from the uniqueness of spells and lessening the importance of a casters spellchoices, making a Sorcerer's number of spells known much less of a restriction than it should be. IMHO.)


Edit: If the new mechanic still seems too powerful, it may be reduced to just +2 level adjustments per times the feat is taken. Or maybe you should only be able to take it once? Would that limit the Arcanist's access to metamagic too much?

 

[Khaalis]

Khaalis, you're right that the level maximum issue is somewhat clunky. I thought about using the text you quote from Unearthed Arcana p.152, but can't it be made simpler? Maybe like this:

'You can only apply Spontaneous Metamagic feats to spells of x level if you're able to cast spells of x level + the combined level adjustments of the feats applied.'

Not really elegant, but doesn't it get the point across in one sentence?

The problem is, it cant always be done in one sentence. Remember that abilities in D&D are written with 2 Rules in mind.
Rule 1: A certain "legalease" in always kept in mind because of the pentiant for players to be rules lawyers. The abilities need to be stated clearly and with all possible loopholes covered. Your statement makes sense - but it breaks Rule #2.
Rule 2: It needs to be understood by a 12 year old. Not too many 12 year olds understand the premise of Algebra yet.

Its up to you how you word it, I personally just find it easier to not recreate the wheel when someone else "official" did the work for me already.

As for just using the Daily Use rule from UA, I think it is somewhat flawed. Since not all metamagic feats are equal in power, and since spells metamagicked this way doesn't increase spell level, granting a flat amount of daily uses may make feats like Quicken much better than Still or Silent. The only limiting factor for Quicken is that it can't be applied to your highest 4 spell levels. At higher levels it will be much more worthwhile to stock up on the Quicken feats (remember, they stack), as each grants you another 3 uses per day.

As you state - the balance factor is in the spell level limit. As for the higher level problem. Normally you dont have to take the Quicken Feat more than once. You take it and you now know it. You can use it as often as you like.

Also keep in mind that with this system taking the feat ALL you get is the free uses per day. When they are gone they are gone. You cant ALSO go and use the feat at will as per the normal rules. Its one or the other.
Either get Quicken useable as often as you choose to burn spell slots, or 3/day. Pretty balanced.

With this system, if someone really wants to blow multiple feats to have more uses of Quicken - I think that is balanced because it prevents them from using those preceious few feats on anything else.

Personally, I have playtested Sorcerers and Wizards (and Clerics) quite a few times since 3.X originally came out and I find NO incentive to take metamagic. Its not worth it. With this rule it makes it more appealing, and I do find it balanced.

That said, I agree that my current system of granting 3 + Cha bonus worth of level adjustments to be used freely with all metamagic feats (even if I only use the 9 core feats) is too much. The problem is, that this system needs to apply to all metamagicfeats to remain somewhat simple. If it only applies to Still and Silent, for example, how does it work when you buy a new metamagic feat? If it's still 3 + Cha bonus worth of level adjustmenys per day, you're canabalizing your ability to still and silent by spending the daily uses on other feats. (I hope that made sense...)

I just think the "spell point" aspect is clumsy. Just my personal taste. I wouldnt want to have to do the figuring out of how many spell levels I can use versus what they cost, and then tracking the levels used, etc. Its just a bit too clunky for my personal taste. If it works for you - great.

Also, I really want this to be tied to Cha, opposed to UA's 3 daily uses.

Which is why I slightly modified the text form 3/day to "a number of times per day equal to their Charisma modifier". Keeps it in the same balpark but makes it based on Charisma. For most sorcerers that will be low useage at low levels (most start with a 14 Charisma) and scaling up as the sorcerer uses their Ability Boosts (and magic items) to increase their Charisma. This also makes the Charisma gear more important. Personally I never saw much need for it. I can spend 36 thousand gold on a +6 Charisma item to give me a +3 to my spell DC's?? Woo Hoo! NOT!

Since I've seen Plane Sailing and others who play Sorcerers say that they feel the class is fine as it is, I'm very leery of granting my variant to much of a boost.

That is personal choice. Everyone is different as has been seen on the boards. The Sorcerer debate ever rages on and seems to be a pretty even split 50/50 to those who think its fine (the purists that think if WotC wrote it is beyond falecy) and the 50 that see that it is not well written or well balanced. I would take a cleric, a wizard or even a druid over a sorcerer any day. Hands down. The class has potential but they dropped the ball on it.

The Arcanist inherently knows all metamagic feats, but can only apply them a very limited number of times (initially).
Since the Arcanist knows all metamagic by nature, he doesn't need to learn them by buying feats, instead a new feat is introduced:
Improved Metamagic. This feat gives you +3 level adjustments to be used per day. It stacks with itself.

I still think this is too powerful. Thats 9 free feats off the bat.

How's that? It may seem powerful (it's certainly very versatile), but remember that using the Daily Use mechanic from UA would let you Quicken 12 spells if you'd spend 4 feats on Quicken Spell. Also keep in mind that the above is an extreme example, where all of the characters feats have been spend on Improved Metamagic, granting great versatility with the spells known at the expense of not having any other feats.

By the time I could use Quicken on any spell of worth, its worth the cost of that many feats. Especially since thats 4 feats in something else I cant have like Spell Focus, Spell Penetration, Greater Spell Focus and Greater Spell Penetration not to mention the other 8 metamagic feats or any of the zillion other useful feats.

(A note about which feats this applies to: I'm only using the core books plus my own house rules, thus there are no metamagic feats beyond the 9 in the PH. That's right, not even Energy Substitution(?) as I think that it's a silly feat, taking away from the uniqueness of spells and lessening the importance of a casters spellchoices, making an Arcanist's number of spells known much less of a restriction than it should be. IMHO.)

On a personal note I think Energy Sub is great feat. Granted it works best for someone dedicate to elemental magic study but it can be open to anyone. Its really a matter of metaphysics. If you know how to make a giant ball of fire, why couldnt you use the same premise to make a giant ball of electricity instead?

Edit: If the new mechanic still seems too powerful, it may be reduced to just +2 level adjustments per times the feat is taken. Or just say that it can only be taken once?

I dont think its the uses per day that makes it powerful, its instantly knowing the full 9 feats.

JMHO

 

[Grayhawk]

I dont think its the uses per day that makes it powerful, its instantly knowing the full 9 feats.

I'm afraid you're right.

Does anyone else have any thoughts on the matter?

 

[Khaalis]

I'm afraid you're right.
Does anyone else have any thoughts on the matter?

Could grant them one feat and the X levels of free use (whatever mech you decide on), and each time they learn a new metamagic feat it adds Y amount of levels. You would have to play with the math. But giving them the knowledge of all 9 feats off the bat is too much, especially when many of them cant even be used until much higher level.

 

[evilbob]

A possible solution would be to spread them out and reduce the effectiveness. You could say that Arcanists only receive metamagic feats once they've gotten to the level at which they could use them - i.e. they would have to be able to cast 4th level spells before they could receive the Quicken feat. (This is effectively happening anyway, but this way you would encourage the Sorc to stay in their class to continue to get the feats - and it wouldn't be such a early-level-loaded class.) Also, these "granted metamagic feats" can only be used with their Spontanious Metamagic power. If they want to cast a Still spell one spell slot higher as per normal metamagic rules, they have to take the feat as per normal.

And once again, I'm personally in favor of not increasing HD or skill points per level. I agree with Khaalis about the skill points being kinda pointless when you have only about 5 class skills (which I also think is a good idea - Sorcs rely on innate magical ability, not skills), and I think upping the Sorc HD is a mistake for balance reasons (and also justified by the fact that Sorcs only rely on their innate magic ability, and not toughness).

 

[LazerPointer]

Just a thought on watering down the spontaneous metamagic, why not have metamagic effects have a % chance of working, and otherwise the spell is cast normally?

Require a Concentration check, DC 15+ level modifier of meta feat, or some other mechanic.

 

[Coredump]

Khaalis, you believe the 9 feats are too powerful.

What if the feats were not given, but could be used *only* with the allowance given. (ChaMod + 3)

With Cha 20, I could only Quicken 2 spells. If I want to quicken more than that, I would have to get the feat.

??