Dealing with the 8-Hour Rest rule

[LoneWolf23]

Ok, I just thought of a possible idea, using a variation of the Recharge Magic system. Spell slots regenerate normally over time, but preptime spellcasters need to reprepare their spells before casting them again, forcing them to sit down and read their spellbooks for about 15 minutes on a regular basis.

As for the whole day/night cycle, I think exhaustion rules applying to all characters would be needed: Skipping out on needed sleep or just staying active for more then 14 hours at a time cause you to be Fatigued, forcing you to rest for 8 hours (or just 4 for Elves).

 

[airwalkrr]

I wondered if anyone had any suggestions on how to make spellcasters effective for a longer period during the day? ...And preferably without saying "just use magic items" please.

To put it quite simply, there is a very good reason the designers of 3e gave wizards Scribe Scroll at 1st level. Scrolls of 1st level spells are cheap, costing a mere 12.5 gp and 1 XP to create. That is a very small portion of your resources, even at 1st level, but it gives you the kind of stamina you need to keep up with the rest of the party. Most reasonable Dungeon Masters will allow you to take some time after your first adventure and craft a few scrolls. Additionally, many Dungeon Masters allow the party to have access to a wand of cure light wounds at low levels. So why not a wand of magic missile? It will take you a long time to run out of 50 charges and it gives you a backup plan for when you run out of spells.

Short of using magic items, there is no simple go-around for the Vancian magic system. The system EXPECTS that low level casters will rely on scrolls, wands, and potions until they are high enough in level to rely on their own resources. That is why low-level items of that nature are so cheap. There is no other way to give low-level casters more prolonged usefulness without adopting an entirely new spellcasting system.

 

[ValhallaGH]

Was that available to clerics?

Cure Light Wounds at caster level 5 averages 9.5 points of healing; the backlash for a first level spell averages 7 points of damage.... that could very well turn a low-mid level Cleric into something like a warlock.....

It was available to everyone, even the Acolyte class (basically d20 Modern Cleric). Yes, it is genearlly a bad idea to use it with CLW spells but the OP seemed to be focusing on Arcane casters. I thought this might help out, as it creates an option for increased spell usage by providing a real reason to stop adventuring for the day.

 

[darkbhudda]

You might be better off using a different magic system altogether.

The solution is to buy wands and scrolls as backup.

I'll testify to magic items.

I was a 10th level Wu Jen, I believe.

I bought a wand of summon monster I, as a joke.

We were in one of those lobster barrels magic items and were under attack. The rest of the party fought each other to get to the controls and continually missed a giant squid.

I summoned celestial porpoises every round for one round each, went through 10 of them, but it was the only thing that saved us.

A first level spell that I would never memorise in a million years saved us.