Falling Icicle
Adventurer
In another thread I posted an idea about book casting for Wizards, and thought I would repost and expand on it here. http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=201408
In this system, Wizards use their spellbooks mostly as a reference tool. Spells are very complicated, and its important to have their formula on hand to ensure that the spell is cast correctly. Wizards don't need to "prepare" their spells in advance in this system. They simply use their spell slots to cast spells they know just as Sorcerers and other spontaneous casters do, and are considered to "know" any spell they have learned and recorded in their spellbook(s).
Wizards still have to learn a spell (following the normal rules for learning and copying it into their spellbook) before they can cast it. The spellbook is treated as a focus for all Wizard spells (the spell being cast must of course be recorded in the spellbook the Wizard has in hand). He must have the spellbook in hand and open while casting. Drawing a spellbook is normally a move-action, though the character may bury his spellbook deep in his pack to make it more difficult to steal. If he does so, it takes a full round action to retrieve it. Wizards can of course carry their spellbooks in hand so that they will be readily available, but doing this has its own risks.
If the Wizard doesn't have the spellbook in hand, he can attempt to cast a spell he knows from memory, but must make a caster level check (DC 10 + 2x spell level) to do so. A roll of a 1 on this check is always considered a failure. If the Wizard fails on this check, the spell fizzles and is wasted with no effect, using up the spell slot. If the check fails by 5 or more, the spell is cast, using up the spell slot, but goes horribly awry. It could backlash against the caster or one of his allies, or have other strange effects. I will work on a table to determine the results of the mishap randomly, and will post it once it is finished.
The DC of the caster level check for casting a spell without the spellbook in hand should be increased if the Wizard does not keep the spellbook with him and regularly study it. Having the spellbook(s) on hand during his daily study and meditation to regain his spell slots counts as regular study. This helps to discourage Wizards from leaving their spellbooks in town, in secret chests, or other safe places for long periods of time. I would suggest a +1 DC if the character hasn't studied his spellbook in a day, +2 for a week, +4 for a month, and +8 for a year or more.
Obviously, this house rule gives Wizards a great deal of versatility. However, spellbooks are very expensive tools, and having them on hand while casting puts them at great risk. They can be disarmed, damaged or stolen very easily. It also requires the Wizard to keep track of which spells are in which books. This also adds an interesting strategic element in combat. A Wizard who wants to cast a spell out of a book he isn't holding has to either spend an action to retreive it, cast a different spell or attempt to cast the spell from memory. Wizards using this system would be wise to keep spells that they are most likely to use in combat in one book, with their other, more occasionally used spells in other book(s).
Considering the very large spell lists of classes like the Warmage and Dread Necromancer that are freely available to cast, I don't think this should create many balance problems, especially since spellbooks are such an expensive and risky investment. Their spell lists are much more limited in scope than Wizards are, but they also have many more spells per day and other class features that make them quite powerful in their areas of expertise. I also think this system is much more realistic than the traditional fire and forget spellcasting system. Many Wizards portrayed in books, movies, etc refer to their spellbooks while casting spells, while using those they are most familiar with from memory.
Specialist Wizards: Specialist wizards get a +2 bonus on caster level checks to cast spells from their specialty school from memory.
Metamagics: Metamagics would work in this system just as they do for sorcerers and other spontaneous casters. The Wizard applies the metamagic "on the fly", increasing the casting time (I recommend making an exception for Quicken Spell, as I do for sorcerers in my games). When casting a metamagic-improved spell from memory, use the spell's modified level to determine the DC. An empowered fireball, for example, is treated as a 5th level spell for this purpose and would have a base DC of 20 to cast from memory.
Spell Mastery: This feat obviously needs to be changed in this system. Instead of letting a Wizard prepare the chosen spells without a spellbook, it allows the Wizard to cast these spells without a spellbook or the caster level check. He has so thoroughly memorized and internalized these spells that he no longer needs to refer to a spellbook to cast them.
Clerics, Druids and other preparation-based casters: This system can be just as easily used for these classes as for Wizards. In the case of Clerics, treat cure/inflict spells and their domain spells as if the cleric had the spell mastery feat for them. The same goes for Summon Nature's Ally spells for Druids. Clerics and Druids don't need to refer to their prayer books or make caster level checks to cast these spells from memory.
[Edit] Changed the spellcraft check to a caster level check.
In this system, Wizards use their spellbooks mostly as a reference tool. Spells are very complicated, and its important to have their formula on hand to ensure that the spell is cast correctly. Wizards don't need to "prepare" their spells in advance in this system. They simply use their spell slots to cast spells they know just as Sorcerers and other spontaneous casters do, and are considered to "know" any spell they have learned and recorded in their spellbook(s).
Wizards still have to learn a spell (following the normal rules for learning and copying it into their spellbook) before they can cast it. The spellbook is treated as a focus for all Wizard spells (the spell being cast must of course be recorded in the spellbook the Wizard has in hand). He must have the spellbook in hand and open while casting. Drawing a spellbook is normally a move-action, though the character may bury his spellbook deep in his pack to make it more difficult to steal. If he does so, it takes a full round action to retrieve it. Wizards can of course carry their spellbooks in hand so that they will be readily available, but doing this has its own risks.
If the Wizard doesn't have the spellbook in hand, he can attempt to cast a spell he knows from memory, but must make a caster level check (DC 10 + 2x spell level) to do so. A roll of a 1 on this check is always considered a failure. If the Wizard fails on this check, the spell fizzles and is wasted with no effect, using up the spell slot. If the check fails by 5 or more, the spell is cast, using up the spell slot, but goes horribly awry. It could backlash against the caster or one of his allies, or have other strange effects. I will work on a table to determine the results of the mishap randomly, and will post it once it is finished.
The DC of the caster level check for casting a spell without the spellbook in hand should be increased if the Wizard does not keep the spellbook with him and regularly study it. Having the spellbook(s) on hand during his daily study and meditation to regain his spell slots counts as regular study. This helps to discourage Wizards from leaving their spellbooks in town, in secret chests, or other safe places for long periods of time. I would suggest a +1 DC if the character hasn't studied his spellbook in a day, +2 for a week, +4 for a month, and +8 for a year or more.
Obviously, this house rule gives Wizards a great deal of versatility. However, spellbooks are very expensive tools, and having them on hand while casting puts them at great risk. They can be disarmed, damaged or stolen very easily. It also requires the Wizard to keep track of which spells are in which books. This also adds an interesting strategic element in combat. A Wizard who wants to cast a spell out of a book he isn't holding has to either spend an action to retreive it, cast a different spell or attempt to cast the spell from memory. Wizards using this system would be wise to keep spells that they are most likely to use in combat in one book, with their other, more occasionally used spells in other book(s).
Considering the very large spell lists of classes like the Warmage and Dread Necromancer that are freely available to cast, I don't think this should create many balance problems, especially since spellbooks are such an expensive and risky investment. Their spell lists are much more limited in scope than Wizards are, but they also have many more spells per day and other class features that make them quite powerful in their areas of expertise. I also think this system is much more realistic than the traditional fire and forget spellcasting system. Many Wizards portrayed in books, movies, etc refer to their spellbooks while casting spells, while using those they are most familiar with from memory.
Specialist Wizards: Specialist wizards get a +2 bonus on caster level checks to cast spells from their specialty school from memory.
Metamagics: Metamagics would work in this system just as they do for sorcerers and other spontaneous casters. The Wizard applies the metamagic "on the fly", increasing the casting time (I recommend making an exception for Quicken Spell, as I do for sorcerers in my games). When casting a metamagic-improved spell from memory, use the spell's modified level to determine the DC. An empowered fireball, for example, is treated as a 5th level spell for this purpose and would have a base DC of 20 to cast from memory.
Spell Mastery: This feat obviously needs to be changed in this system. Instead of letting a Wizard prepare the chosen spells without a spellbook, it allows the Wizard to cast these spells without a spellbook or the caster level check. He has so thoroughly memorized and internalized these spells that he no longer needs to refer to a spellbook to cast them.
Clerics, Druids and other preparation-based casters: This system can be just as easily used for these classes as for Wizards. In the case of Clerics, treat cure/inflict spells and their domain spells as if the cleric had the spell mastery feat for them. The same goes for Summon Nature's Ally spells for Druids. Clerics and Druids don't need to refer to their prayer books or make caster level checks to cast these spells from memory.
[Edit] Changed the spellcraft check to a caster level check.
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