Do you Houserule Sorcerers?

[Ace]

It seems a lot of people give Sorcerers the following:

1. Eschew Materials feat for free
2. Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive as Class skills
3. 4 skill points per level

I'm not too sure about #3, but the first two definitely make sense, IMO. I'm just curious as to how people play them. Do you modify them or play them as is? Are unmodded Sorcerers mechanically balanced?

I use the first two

Also my Sorcerers gain bonus spells known for Charisma and may use Bardic Cure Spells

OTOH they don't get a familiar unless they spend a feat

 

[Caliber]

Thanks for the clarification about the pouch.


It's "Spell Thematics", from Magic of Faerun.

All of your spells have a "theme"... Fire, or skulls, or blood, or whatever. Rules-wise, spells work the same, but the visual and audible displays of your spells follow the pattern of the theme. A Magic Missile might look like a glowing, fanged skull flying out to bite your enemy, for example.

That was the first feat I thought of, but obviously its function differs from the feat Firzair was talking about.

However, checking the eratta, I see that Spell Themantics has been changed to allow you to cast spells central to your theme at +1 Caster Level.

Thats not the same as allowing you to cast any spell at +1 Spell Level, but if misinterpreted, could easily be construed that way.

 

[mkletch]

Assuming you are going to continue to have clerics, and wizards and whatnot relatively unchanged except for the multiclassing requirement, something you might consider with how focused you are making the sorcerer, is rearranging their spells known and spells per day chart so that they get higher level spell slightly faster than other casters, rather than slightly slower. (As I don't know the details of what your doing this may be totally off base, but it was the first thing I thought when I saw the changes you were making and thought I would throw it out there. )

This is a bit of an experiement for a new campaign. Wizards are relatively unchanged, except that some schools are simply not available (namely those that are available to Sorcs). Druids are also relatively unchanged, but Clerics have been axed altogether. Again, it is a low magic campaign, with the multiclassing requirement for spellcasters and other changes, so it's hardly a standard campaign.

-Fletch!

 

[Gez]

Yes. Eschew at first level (and as a generic class ability, rather than a metamagic feat -- they don't need to waste a full-round action for that ! -- however that don't work for more-than-1-gp-expensive components).

Also, sorcerers (like all spellcasters with access to 0-level spells) gets a number of bonus cantrips equal to their class level.

This is inspired by the free talent manifestation rule from the Psionics Handbook, and I adopted it because in my own opinion, an archmage is someone who use Mage Hand to fetch a book on a shelf or to open a door without thinking twice about it; and it was also a bit silly to have such a high-level magic-user run out of prestidigition, detect magic and read magic after having signed three or four letters with arcane mark.

Bluff, Diplomacy and Intimidate as class skills seems also a good thing to have, although I hadn't granted them it. I would rather, however, give them a slightly bigger number of spell known -- they are limited to being walking miniguns otherwise.

 

[DreamChaser]

Re: Re

I am also currently working on a rule to allow sorcerer's to unlearn spells in favor of different spells at a later time. It can't be an easy process to ensure that it is not done often, but it shouldn't be impossible either. They should have put some means of changing spell slots in the actual game rather. It seems rather unreal that a sorcerer can't given time change out a spell slot.

I have a rule for this:
When a sorcerer gains a level, she can choose any number of spells that she no longer wishes to have. She begins a process of Reattunement. Until she gains her next level, she cannot use any spell she is reattuning. Upon gaining her next level, the spells are reattuned into any spell of the same level or lower. If she uses a spell that she is reattuning, the reattunement is ended and she must wait another level before reattuning the spell.

In addition, any sorcerer can, when she gains a level where she would could learn a higher level version of a spell she already knows, she may upgrade the spell to a higher level version and instead choose a new spell of the lower level. She is not required to do this and it can be done at any level when she has an available spell known slot of the appropriate level.

Only spells that say "as [lower level spell} except" can be upgraded. Other spells, no matter how similar, are not eligible.

 

[Angelsboi]

My House Rules

1. Eschew Materials Feat for free.

2. Sorcerers MUST tell me how they have this bloodline (Elemental, Draconic, Demonic, Celestial, Fey).

3. As they near 7th level i start holding XP back. Why? This way after i have accumulated enough for them to go up a couple of levels, i slap on the appropriate template. A sorcerer with a bloodline of celestials will be getting the 1/2 celestial template.

4. Each time the sorcerer gets a new level of spells, i always pick ONE of those spells to reflect his bloodline.

5. Theme Sorcerers are great and i allow them to specialize like wizards.

 

[Don Carnage]

Do You Houserule Sorcerers?

Yes.

1.) Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Sense Motive as class skills.

2.) Eschew Materials.

3.) Sorceres may switch out spells at every level.

Why?

The Sorcerer not having class skills based on his primary attribute bugs me.

Eschew Materials fits.

Being stuck into a spell list when you didn't know any better, or weren't as wise as people that play and know D&D like the Gospel according to St. Monte, sucks.

Case you wondered.

 

[Ravellion]

It seems a lot of people give Sorcerers the following:

1. Eschew Materials feat for free

Just this one, but I DEMAND a theme/origin for your sorcerous powers, and will veto spell choice because of that.

Rav

 

[Enforcer]

My House Rules

1. Eschew Materials Feat for free.

2. Sorcerers MUST tell me how they have this bloodline (Elemental, Draconic, Demonic, Celestial, Fey).

3. As they near 7th level i start holding XP back. Why? This way after i have accumulated enough for them to go up a couple of levels, i slap on the appropriate template. A sorcerer with a bloodline of celestials will be getting the 1/2 celestial template.

4. Each time the sorcerer gets a new level of spells, i always pick ONE of those spells to reflect his bloodline.

5. Theme Sorcerers are great and i allow them to specialize like wizards.

That template thing is damn cool, this may be yoinked...

 

[Caliber]

It is a pretty good idea, although I would suggest using Celestial and Fiendish as opposed to Half-Fiend and Half-Celestial. The difference in ECL is pretty massive. Having 5 or so levels with NO advancement so you can gain the Half-Fiend template probably isn't the greatest fun, IMO.