You can argue all you want about how the outrageous costs of your gems justify what you want to do, but you're not going to get any competent DM to allow this class. Gems so valuable they throw the economies of countries into disarray aren't just found willy-nilly and the only things with 7 digit values are in the hands of gods and rulers of planes, not some 15th+ level adventurers trolling around the countryside for goodies!
and thats part of the balancing. its hard to get something that can hold a 9th level spell. thereby making it difficult to do so at low level
1) There is no spell level limit per caster level for your class. An 8th level character could cast a 9th level spell and at 20th, they could cast 9th level spells 10 times a day! That right there is unplayable brokenness. The psion is the closest class to what you're wanting to do and they are limited by caster level in the level of powers they can use. Until you adopt that, don't bother with anything else.
but that would be all there spells for that day. a Psion can use there 9th lvl power 11 times per day.
here are some examples of how im am limiting casting higher level spells without using caster level.
caster lvl 1. dc for level 2 spell. 10+2+5+10(2 levels till wizard could cast*5). 27 spellcraft for first level to cast level 2 spell. average spellcraft at level 1. 4+4(18 int)= 8. chance of success. 5%. chance of taking backlash. 45%
caster level 5. dc for 6th level spell. 10+5+11+30(6 lvls till wizard could cast*5) 56 dc. 8+4(19 int)+3(skill focus spellcraft.) = 15. chance of success. 0%. chance of taking backlash. 205%
caster level 11. for 9th level spell. 10+9+17+30(6 lvls till wizard could cast*5) 66 dc. 15+5(20 int)+20(misc mod)=40. chance of success. 0%. chance of taking backlash. 160%
you dont think that will limit casting of higher level spells?
2) You have no rules for adjudicating spells. Your class can come up with any spell they can think of on the fly with no rules in place for determining what level an improvised spell should be. This forces the DM to halt play whenever a player does this and arbitrarily decide a level of a spell without the chance or time to consider its applications or impact on the game. Way too much work/headache for any DM to want to bother with!
"only spells from the wizard/sorcerer spell list"
2.5) No class has the ability to create a power or spell on the fly. At best, meta-magic/psionic feats, and power point expenditures allow characters to modify existing powers, but new powers or spells don't get created without a lot of research (spending money), and never without some cost involved.
i agree... so i had already put in there the above quote. its in the line after telling how to cast spells.
3) Forcing a player to spend wealth to improve/maximize their character's class abilities is broken. No class does this. Some spells have material components or XP components, but there are plenty of others out there that do not or only have a basic cost to get a focus.
thats the players choice. its balancing. less magic items, more versatility with spells.
4) Despite what you argue, these channel items you're talking about ARE magical. Ask any DM to run a game with this class and they are going to consider those items magical if they store channels that only a specific caster can use. You're just wanting magic items that are Dispel/Disjunction proof, yet you want the basic item cheap and simple enough that if they are sundered or otherwise lost, they are quickly and easily replaced.
ummm... how easy is it to replace a highly valuable gem. getting a masterworked item might be easy enough, but the arcane adept would want to guard these very much so. is a wizards spell book dispel/disjunction proof? i think so, but i dont realy know. the items realy only resonate magic while being infused with it. otherwise its just a staw for the spitball to go through.
5) Your point system is out of whack. You need to simplify your numbers and make sure they are proportionate or something. You really should have just used the point cost from the expanded psionics handbook and then scale your spell points based on that. Your system is kind of clunky and definitely NOT easy to remember; psionics, easy. Power cost there is power level plus previous level; so, a 1st level power is 1, 2nd level is 3, 3rd level is 5, etc. With yours, you have to consult the table or force yourself to memorize something you shouldn't have to memorize.
i dont feel that the unearthed arcana point system correctly balances the cost difference of the different spells. i simply made each spell cost the same as the previous one + the spells level. it would take 23 first level spells to equal a 9th level spell. half that in second level spells. its a more acurate representation of spell cost-power ratio.
6) You're not wanting something that is different from Wizard and Sorcerer, you're wanting something that is better than both of them. That's not going to happen. Plus you're wanting to mix in that 4e orb, wand, staff crap that wizards have but without any of their restrictions either.
i started creating this before i heard of 4th edition. you dont get bonuses for putting spells through more valuable items.
im working on the balancing, and lessening the amount of magic items possable seems like a good one. they also get less total spell output, just lots more versitility.
7) No class can cast a higher level power than what their level allows. You're wanting to let them do it for some spells 1 or 2 levels higher, but the mechanics allow for much more abuse than that when a character that can normally cast 4th level spells at best (8th level caster) can cast a 9th level spell.
i increased the difficulty by a bit. now its nigh impossable to cast higher level spells.
8) Because someone already did what you want to do and they did it better. Its called the Revised Elements of Magic. It works, its balanced without having to spend stupidly silly amounts of money on items and it is not any better than any other spellcasting class, only different.
its fun creating my own. and asking for peoples opinion. thank you for your input.
The REOM rules allow for creation of new spells, but there are guidelines and restrictions in place that do balance it out--none of which you have incorporated into this class.
i did put the restriction to the wizard/sorc spell list.
And to answer your question philosophically: Let's suppose you take 5 hours to create your system. REOM has what you want but its already tested and proven (and better) than what you offer, and they offer it for $5. But, we'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say that your system is just as good (for the sake of this point). That means that your time is only worth $1 an hour! I'm sure you think you're worth more than that, but your actions prove otherwise. That's why you spend money. Part of creating your own thing involves finding out of there is something else out there that already does what you want it to do--and that costs money. That's why you spend.
im not doing it for anything but the entertainment. i could be playing games(like wow), but i spend it thinking instead. its more fun.
thank you for your input.
