EvilDwarf
Explorer
Well, all the suspense about at will, per encounter, per day wizard abilities has me eating my fingers (my nails are gone) and pulling my hair. If there were a full moon tonite, I'd be howling at it. So, I'm taking a shot here and guessing as to what these wizard guys and gals will look like in terms of abilities. I'd like to hear what others think--maybe something I say will inspire someone to crack the "code" of WoTC fluff. Plus, I'm trying this next game to see how it might work.
I am assuming three things here. One, that at will abilities will look a lot like Reserve Feats, which are essentially at will abilities now. Second, I'm assuming that One Rule Will Rule Them All in terms of per encounter abilities, and we already have that mechanic from TOB--so I figure the 4E designers won't reinvent the wheel. Third, the wizard damage per encounter should match a fighter's. Here's a shot:
Spell Pool = your known spells. You know a number of spells equal to your level + INT modifier. Each time you gain a level, you may swap out a lower level spell. You may cast any spell in your Spell Pool once per day.
Three levels of arcane power: per day, per encounter, and at will.
Spells = per day. You may cast as a standard action any spell in your Spell Pool once per day . The spell is cast at your caster level and is automatically maximized. So, if you were 5th level and cast Fireball as a Spell from your Spell Pool, you would do 30 points of fire damage in a 20 foot radius.
Power Words = per encounter. Power Words are versions of the paricular Spells in your Spell Pool. For instance, if you have Fireball in your Spell Pool and cast Fireball as a Power Word, you do 1d6 damage per caster level fire damage in a 20 foot radius, Reflex for half. You may ready a Power Word version of any Spell in your Spell Pool as long as the Spell remains uncast for the day. See the table below to see how many Power Words you may have readied at each level [will add table later, but will base it on either the Swordsage or Warblade from Tome of Battle, which covers per encounter abilities]. If you wish to cast multiple Power Words of the same Spell, you must ready multiple versions. You may recover once per encounter one readied Power Word by taking a full round action (might be a feat?). You may switch one readied Power Word per encounter by taking a full round action (might also be a feat?).
Talents = at will [these are essentially the Reserve Feats with a tweak or two]. Talents are diminished versions of Power Words and can be cast at will. Talents are derived from the specific Spells you have in your Spell Pool. For instance, if you have a Fire Spell in your Spell Pool, you may cast a Fiery Burst at will, dealing 1d6 damage per level of the highest level spell you have in your Spell Pool in a 5 foot radius burst, regardless of whether the Spell has been cast or not. If you had Fireball as the highest level Fire Spell in our Spell Pool, you would do 3d6 damage, Reflex for half.
Recovery rates: Spells can only be cast once per day (and that's REALLY once per day--no encounter and rest 8 hours, then 15 minutes later encounter and rest for 8 hours). Power Words can be readied with a minimum of ten minutes rest. Talents are cast at will and do not need to be recovered.
Hereʼs the text-ish for the Reserve Feat Fiery Burst as currently written in the core:
Fiery Burst
You channel your magical talent into a blast of fire.
PR ability to cast 2nd level spells
As long as you have a fire spell of 2nd level or higher available to cast, you can create a 5 foot radius burst of fire at a range of 30 feet that deals 1d6 points of damage per level of the highest level fire spell you have available to cast. Reflex for half.
NOTE: Iʼm removing the PR from the Reserve Feats, so the revised Fiery Burst Talent would actually read something like this:
Fiery Burst Talent
You channel your magical talent into a blast of fire.
As long as you have a Fire spell in your Spell Pool, you can create a 5 foot radius burst of fire at a range of 30 feet. This burst deals 1d6 damage per level of the highest level fire spell you have in your Spell Pool, regardless of whether the Spell has been cast or not. You must beat the targetʼs Reflex Defense or the target suffers only half damage.
I am assuming three things here. One, that at will abilities will look a lot like Reserve Feats, which are essentially at will abilities now. Second, I'm assuming that One Rule Will Rule Them All in terms of per encounter abilities, and we already have that mechanic from TOB--so I figure the 4E designers won't reinvent the wheel. Third, the wizard damage per encounter should match a fighter's. Here's a shot:
Spell Pool = your known spells. You know a number of spells equal to your level + INT modifier. Each time you gain a level, you may swap out a lower level spell. You may cast any spell in your Spell Pool once per day.
Three levels of arcane power: per day, per encounter, and at will.
Spells = per day. You may cast as a standard action any spell in your Spell Pool once per day . The spell is cast at your caster level and is automatically maximized. So, if you were 5th level and cast Fireball as a Spell from your Spell Pool, you would do 30 points of fire damage in a 20 foot radius.
Power Words = per encounter. Power Words are versions of the paricular Spells in your Spell Pool. For instance, if you have Fireball in your Spell Pool and cast Fireball as a Power Word, you do 1d6 damage per caster level fire damage in a 20 foot radius, Reflex for half. You may ready a Power Word version of any Spell in your Spell Pool as long as the Spell remains uncast for the day. See the table below to see how many Power Words you may have readied at each level [will add table later, but will base it on either the Swordsage or Warblade from Tome of Battle, which covers per encounter abilities]. If you wish to cast multiple Power Words of the same Spell, you must ready multiple versions. You may recover once per encounter one readied Power Word by taking a full round action (might be a feat?). You may switch one readied Power Word per encounter by taking a full round action (might also be a feat?).
Talents = at will [these are essentially the Reserve Feats with a tweak or two]. Talents are diminished versions of Power Words and can be cast at will. Talents are derived from the specific Spells you have in your Spell Pool. For instance, if you have a Fire Spell in your Spell Pool, you may cast a Fiery Burst at will, dealing 1d6 damage per level of the highest level spell you have in your Spell Pool in a 5 foot radius burst, regardless of whether the Spell has been cast or not. If you had Fireball as the highest level Fire Spell in our Spell Pool, you would do 3d6 damage, Reflex for half.
Recovery rates: Spells can only be cast once per day (and that's REALLY once per day--no encounter and rest 8 hours, then 15 minutes later encounter and rest for 8 hours). Power Words can be readied with a minimum of ten minutes rest. Talents are cast at will and do not need to be recovered.
Hereʼs the text-ish for the Reserve Feat Fiery Burst as currently written in the core:
Fiery Burst
You channel your magical talent into a blast of fire.
PR ability to cast 2nd level spells
As long as you have a fire spell of 2nd level or higher available to cast, you can create a 5 foot radius burst of fire at a range of 30 feet that deals 1d6 points of damage per level of the highest level fire spell you have available to cast. Reflex for half.
NOTE: Iʼm removing the PR from the Reserve Feats, so the revised Fiery Burst Talent would actually read something like this:
Fiery Burst Talent
You channel your magical talent into a blast of fire.
As long as you have a Fire spell in your Spell Pool, you can create a 5 foot radius burst of fire at a range of 30 feet. This burst deals 1d6 damage per level of the highest level fire spell you have in your Spell Pool, regardless of whether the Spell has been cast or not. You must beat the targetʼs Reflex Defense or the target suffers only half damage.
