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New Wizard concept: make staff
- Thread starter Corlon
- Start date
Piratecat
Sesquipedalian
Ichabod, will you please post your rules?
As for the staff, one way of making a staff essential is to have it be the substitution for all material components under 100 gp. That way, you need to haul it around if you want to cast most of your spells.
Alternatively, you could require a wizard to make a concentration check (DC 15 + spell level) every time they want to cast a spell WITHOUT having their staff with them. In this case, the staff acts as a natural bridge between the person and the world of magic, and it's difficult to bridge that gap without the staff.
As for the staff, one way of making a staff essential is to have it be the substitution for all material components under 100 gp. That way, you need to haul it around if you want to cast most of your spells.
Alternatively, you could require a wizard to make a concentration check (DC 15 + spell level) every time they want to cast a spell WITHOUT having their staff with them. In this case, the staff acts as a natural bridge between the person and the world of magic, and it's difficult to bridge that gap without the staff.
Corlon
First Post
neat idea pirate
That would be cool, the wizards not only get bonuses from their staff, but if they don't have it it means trouble. If someone steals it, that could be a good motivation for an adventure.
I think the staff should be able to get this
Starts with fire immunity and resistance to all other energies 10.
Then you can add different abilities such as breath weapon and spells to it (for exp of course.)
The spells cost spell level squared times 100 exp to teach.
And the staff can only hold up to 8 spell levels (0lv spells count as 1/2) and no higher a spell level than 3rd.
The spells in the staff can be used 2 times per day at the minimum caster level.
Then there should be a line of staff feats that does multiple things such as let the character move the staff instead of using a somatic component (like still spell except the staff has to move and the spell level doesn't increase.)
That would be cool, the wizards not only get bonuses from their staff, but if they don't have it it means trouble. If someone steals it, that could be a good motivation for an adventure.
I think the staff should be able to get this
Starts with fire immunity and resistance to all other energies 10.
Then you can add different abilities such as breath weapon and spells to it (for exp of course.)
The spells cost spell level squared times 100 exp to teach.
And the staff can only hold up to 8 spell levels (0lv spells count as 1/2) and no higher a spell level than 3rd.
The spells in the staff can be used 2 times per day at the minimum caster level.
Then there should be a line of staff feats that does multiple things such as let the character move the staff instead of using a somatic component (like still spell except the staff has to move and the spell level doesn't increase.)
Jack Haggerty
First Post
You could use Patricia C Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles as a guide...
Wizard's would have two ways of casting spells.
The first is through a staff (or wand, or amulet, or hat, or ring, or whatever). The staff would work similarly to a Ring of Spell Storing. the number of levels the Staff is capable of storing is dependent on the Wizard's level (higher level Wizards are more efficient at storing their spells). Casting spells from the Staff would be just like the "fire and forget" system we use now.
The second would be to cast the spell straight out of the Spellbook, much like reading a scroll. However, since you have to work through the entire arcane formula, it takes a much longer time... At least 1 full round per level, I'd say. The advatage being that the Wizard has no limitation on how often he can cast spells in this manner.
Wizard's would have two ways of casting spells.
The first is through a staff (or wand, or amulet, or hat, or ring, or whatever). The staff would work similarly to a Ring of Spell Storing. the number of levels the Staff is capable of storing is dependent on the Wizard's level (higher level Wizards are more efficient at storing their spells). Casting spells from the Staff would be just like the "fire and forget" system we use now.
The second would be to cast the spell straight out of the Spellbook, much like reading a scroll. However, since you have to work through the entire arcane formula, it takes a much longer time... At least 1 full round per level, I'd say. The advatage being that the Wizard has no limitation on how often he can cast spells in this manner.
Corlon
First Post
that would be a bit powerful, casting strait from the book.
You would cast all the powerup spells you could.
Granted they wouldn't be as good in combat, but infinite greater dispellings is pretty good.
This might work, if the casting time was a bit higher, then the sorcerer would be the all around master of combat magic (fireball, fireball, polymorph other, disentigration), and the wizard could be the helpful one, and for all the "I need this now spells" the wizard could carry scrolls.
You would cast all the powerup spells you could.
Granted they wouldn't be as good in combat, but infinite greater dispellings is pretty good.
This might work, if the casting time was a bit higher, then the sorcerer would be the all around master of combat magic (fireball, fireball, polymorph other, disentigration), and the wizard could be the helpful one, and for all the "I need this now spells" the wizard could carry scrolls.
Jack Haggerty
First Post
Corlon said:
That's the idea, it could just as easily be 1 minute/level or 10 minutes/level... Or customized to the specific spell.
ichabod
Legned
My Rules
Keep in mind that I think this is slightly overpowered. However, there are other restrictions on magic in my game, so I was trying to do a little balancing. Also, I didn't come up with the idea originally, I just came up with the rules based on someone else's idea.
Wizards in Dome of Heaven are the same, however they do not have the ability to summon a familiar. Instead, they start play with a wizard's staff. A wizard's staff is a magic item linked to the wizard who created it. Each wizard's staff confers one metamagic feat upon it's owner, and may be used as a quarterstaff in melee. While made of normal wood, it's hardness increases by one for every two caster levels the wizard has. At fourth level and every four caster levels thereafter, the wizard may choose one ability for his staff to manifest:
Feat Storing: The wizard may charge their staff with any metamagic feat they know that gives a 10% spell failure. They do this by expending a spell slot of first level. They may then cast a spell using that feat without the spell failure. This dissipates the feat, which must then be restored. This ability may be taken multiple times, each time adding 10% to the maximum spell failure of the feat. Storing higher feats requires using a spell slot of a level equal to the feat's failure chance divided by 10.
Enhancement Bonus: The wizard's staff is treated as a +1 weapon for all purposes. This ability may be taken multiple times, each time adding +1 to the staff's enhancement bonus
Force Calming: Spells cast by the wizard have a 5% lower spell failure.
Reach: The wizard may cast touch spells through his staff, allowing him to target anyone within 10 ft. with such spells.
Spell Storing: The wizard may charge their staff with a first level spell by casting the spell "into" the staff, and may then later cast as if from a wand. Once cast, the spell must be restored to be cast again from the staff. This ability may be taken multiple times, each time increasing the maximum level of spell that can be stored in the staff by one.
Special Ability: This ability may only be taken if the enhancement bonus ability has been taken. The staff is considered to have any one magical special ability that has a market price modifier of a +1 bonus.
Targeting: The wizard may cast spells through his staff with better aim, giving a +2 to the DC of reflex saves from his spells and +2 to ranged touch attacks.
Keep in mind that I think this is slightly overpowered. However, there are other restrictions on magic in my game, so I was trying to do a little balancing. Also, I didn't come up with the idea originally, I just came up with the rules based on someone else's idea.
Wizards in Dome of Heaven are the same, however they do not have the ability to summon a familiar. Instead, they start play with a wizard's staff. A wizard's staff is a magic item linked to the wizard who created it. Each wizard's staff confers one metamagic feat upon it's owner, and may be used as a quarterstaff in melee. While made of normal wood, it's hardness increases by one for every two caster levels the wizard has. At fourth level and every four caster levels thereafter, the wizard may choose one ability for his staff to manifest:
Feat Storing: The wizard may charge their staff with any metamagic feat they know that gives a 10% spell failure. They do this by expending a spell slot of first level. They may then cast a spell using that feat without the spell failure. This dissipates the feat, which must then be restored. This ability may be taken multiple times, each time adding 10% to the maximum spell failure of the feat. Storing higher feats requires using a spell slot of a level equal to the feat's failure chance divided by 10.
Enhancement Bonus: The wizard's staff is treated as a +1 weapon for all purposes. This ability may be taken multiple times, each time adding +1 to the staff's enhancement bonus
Force Calming: Spells cast by the wizard have a 5% lower spell failure.
Reach: The wizard may cast touch spells through his staff, allowing him to target anyone within 10 ft. with such spells.
Spell Storing: The wizard may charge their staff with a first level spell by casting the spell "into" the staff, and may then later cast as if from a wand. Once cast, the spell must be restored to be cast again from the staff. This ability may be taken multiple times, each time increasing the maximum level of spell that can be stored in the staff by one.
Special Ability: This ability may only be taken if the enhancement bonus ability has been taken. The staff is considered to have any one magical special ability that has a market price modifier of a +1 bonus.
Targeting: The wizard may cast spells through his staff with better aim, giving a +2 to the DC of reflex saves from his spells and +2 to ranged touch attacks.
Destil
Explorer
This should probibly be brought over to house rules...
Anyway, personaly I'd simply let a wizard use his staff in the exact same maner as a spellbook, mechanichaly. The flavor would be diffrent, he would need to spend time meditation on the staff instead of studying his spellbooks each morning, would be enhancing it's powers through rituals instead of scribing into it (at the same cost, and triggering a scroll, rune, sigil or some other one use spell trigger item), and could use captured staves as if using captured spellbooks. That would give you a base-line power level and a nice elegent method of doing things, and adding extra feats / abilities onto that could be feats, within a prestige class, or traded for other class abilities.
Anyway, personaly I'd simply let a wizard use his staff in the exact same maner as a spellbook, mechanichaly. The flavor would be diffrent, he would need to spend time meditation on the staff instead of studying his spellbooks each morning, would be enhancing it's powers through rituals instead of scribing into it (at the same cost, and triggering a scroll, rune, sigil or some other one use spell trigger item), and could use captured staves as if using captured spellbooks. That would give you a base-line power level and a nice elegent method of doing things, and adding extra feats / abilities onto that could be feats, within a prestige class, or traded for other class abilities.
