D&D 3E/3.5 Fixing 3.5 full casters

[kitcik]

As all of you who have played full casters in 3.5 know, sometimes they can be very frustrating.

For instance, if they run out of spells they are basically like really crappy fighters with low BAB, HP, bad AC and few melee feats.

Similarly, circumstances can play against the caster, such as if you are in an antimagic field or, well... another antimagic field.

Finally, sometimes bad guys have the audacity to actually make their saves. One time, a golem even made their balance check against my Grease spell - intolerable!

And so, I am suggesting a two-part fix.

1) Let's say you have a 5th level wizard with a 16 Int who gets 4 / 3 / 2 spells of 1st, 2nd and 3rd levels. We'll do the following computation:
(4 x 1) + (3 x 2) + (2 x 3) = 16 total spell levels (TSL)
If a caster gets to less than 30% of their TSL, they get full BAB, +4 AC (circumstance bonus) and +3 HP / level, as well as the use of 2 feats from the fighter list of your choice (for which you do not have to meet the prerequisites), until they are above 30% TSL again.

Similarly, if someone makes their saving throw against your spell, all enemies get a -2 on their saves against your spells. This penalty is cumulative (if another saves, the next gets -4, etc.) until someone fails their save.

 

[Greenfield]

So, if you run out of spells, you suddenly turn into a fighter?

When the Fighter drops his sword, does he suddenly become a full caster?

 

[Nezkrul]

full casters don't need any thing to buff them, there's nothing wrong with them, everything that isn't as good as them needs to be buffed up.

casters are supposed to rely on their allies if/when they run out of spells, that's the point of being in a party.

 

[kitcik]

Fighters are self-sufficient and can last many encounters without running out of resources; they can fight bare-handed if necessary.

I would say if a fighter runs out of HP, he can cast spells, but that would seem moot.

EDIT: Sadly, not everyone adventures in a party. It is good to know that many casters are able to fall back on the support of their allies when they are not able to fend for themselves though.

 

[Nezkrul]

dnd was designed as a multiplayer game, if you are playing it solo you're doing it wrong.

 

[kinem]

The original post is probably just a troll, but it seems like it could be an attempt at satirizing some view (though I can't tell what - my guess would be 4e's attempt at giving fighters caster-like dailies).

 

[Yora]

I think Lightning Warrior might be a good recommendation here. ^^

 

[kitcik]

dnd was designed as a multiplayer game, if you are playing it solo you're doing it wrong.

Sorry for badwrongfun.

I am told that soloing high level fighters is quite the experience and I thought I might try it. I considered a caster, but I'm told they couldn't survive enough encounters.

 

[Dandu]

A caster would have to blow all his resources against a single opponent and be completely useless against anything else that happens during the day. You're right to turn them into quasi-fighters who could go on forever without needing to rest, heal, eat, or sleep.

 

[Jacob Marley]

The original post is probably just a troll, but it seems like it could be an attempt at satirizing some view (though I can't tell what - my guess would be 4e's attempt at giving fighters caster-like dailies).

The latter few pages of this thread contain a discussion about the utility of fighters vis-a-vis wizards. One of the arguements presented by those who viewed fighters as having utility was that they had greater staying power than a wizard does (i.e. once a wizard is out of spells their contribution becomes little more than poorly shooting crossbow bolts at the enemy). The OP is attempting to rectify this 'problem' by suggesting a fix to wizards so that they may continue to meaningfully contribute in encounters, after they have used up all their spells.

Edit: It is an attempt to satirize the position of those who view the fighters as having utility.