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<blockquote data-quote="DEFCON 1" data-source="post: 6022557" data-attributes="member: 7006">But here's the thing...Divorce yourself from the years of playing a wizard who uses Vancian magic.&nbsp; Now look purely at Vancian game mechanics on its own.&nbsp; What do you have?As a caster, you are allowed to learn a certain number of spells per day, each at a certain level of power, and have to choose which ones you want at the very beginning of the day without getting to switch.Now what exactly is inherent in that description that says that's definitely &quot;wizardly booklearning&quot;?&nbsp; I submit that there is NOTHING in that description of Vancian mechanics that infers that &quot;wizardly booklearning&quot; is the only fluff that can be attributed to it.&nbsp; A Warlock could just as easily have as its story that every morning when he gets up he makes a connection to his extra-dimensional overlord, and makes the day's exchange of certain types of magical power.&nbsp; The Cleric always used to be the same way... every morning praying to his deity and receiving his allotment of miracles he could cast.Those Vancian game mechanics do not in any way have its own fluff.&nbsp; Most (if not all) of the spellcasting classes could have their fluff justify the existence of Vancian mechanics.By the same token... remove the fluff description of &quot;willpower&quot; from the Sorcerer's mechanic.&nbsp; What's is that mechanic?&nbsp; You have a certain amount of &quot;points&quot; or &quot;spell levels&quot; worth of spells to cast, and a selection of spells you have at your disposal.&nbsp; And you can cast as many spells as you have spell points to spend.Now why is that mechanic a Sorcerer's one?&nbsp; Really, it's not.&nbsp; Heck, it was a Psionic mechanic for the longest time.&nbsp; By by the same token... there's no reason why you can't explain why a Cleric uses a spell point system (changing the word &quot;willpower&quot; to &quot;blessings&quot;).&nbsp; Or the Druid gets a number of &quot;spirits&quot; that allow him to use magic.&nbsp; Or Wizards get &quot;memory&quot; points.&nbsp; Etc. etc.So no... none of the casting game mechanics WotC has designed have any inherent story or fluff attached to them.&nbsp; All we have is our MEMORIES of using certain classes with certain mechanics in the past to make us THINK there's some greater story connection between the two.&nbsp; Even though there actually is not.&nbsp; And this is EXACTLY why some people can state quite honestly that they want to be able to play a Wizard who uses Spontaneous Casting, or even uses Spell Points.&nbsp; Because to them... the Wizard has a story inherent to it... that the wizard &quot;fires and forgets&quot;... but it does not follow that the only mechanic that can represent that is Vancian.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="DEFCON 1, post: 6022557, member: 7006"] But here's the thing... Divorce yourself from the years of playing a wizard who uses Vancian magic. Now look purely at Vancian game mechanics on its own. What do you have? [I]As a caster, you are allowed to learn a certain number of spells per day, each at a certain level of power, and have to choose which ones you want at the very beginning of the day without getting to switch.[/I] Now what exactly is inherent in that description that says that's definitely "wizardly booklearning"? I submit that there is NOTHING in that description of Vancian mechanics that infers that "wizardly booklearning" is the only fluff that can be attributed to it. A Warlock could just as easily have as its story that every morning when he gets up he makes a connection to his extra-dimensional overlord, and makes the day's exchange of certain types of magical power. The Cleric always used to be the same way... every morning praying to his deity and receiving his allotment of miracles he could cast. Those Vancian game mechanics do not in any way have its own fluff. Most (if not all) of the spellcasting classes could have their fluff justify the existence of Vancian mechanics. By the same token... remove the fluff description of "willpower" from the Sorcerer's mechanic. What's is that mechanic? You have a certain amount of "points" or "spell levels" worth of spells to cast, and a selection of spells you have at your disposal. And you can cast as many spells as you have spell points to spend. Now why is that mechanic a Sorcerer's one? Really, it's not. Heck, it was a Psionic mechanic for the longest time. By by the same token... there's no reason why you can't explain why a Cleric uses a spell point system (changing the word "willpower" to "blessings"). Or the Druid gets a number of "spirits" that allow him to use magic. Or Wizards get "memory" points. Etc. etc. So no... none of the casting game mechanics WotC has designed have any inherent story or fluff attached to them. All we have is our MEMORIES of using certain classes with certain mechanics in the past to make us THINK there's some greater story connection between the two. Even though there actually is not. And this is EXACTLY why some people can state quite honestly that they want to be able to play a Wizard who uses Spontaneous Casting, or even uses Spell Points. Because to them... the Wizard has a story inherent to it... that the wizard "fires and forgets"... but it does not follow that the only mechanic that can represent that is Vancian. [/QUOTE]

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