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<blockquote data-quote="Wes Nicholson" data-source="post: 374130" data-attributes="member: 3875">Greetings returned.&nbsp; Occasional lurker, first time poster.I may have an idea to help balance your wizard-specialist change.&nbsp; First I'll step back and make a general observation.The rules regarding prohibited school(s) in the SRD seem too wordy by far.&nbsp; I believe those rules could be stated concisely as:* Each of the eight schools of magic has a point value associated with it&nbsp; describing the level of power of that school relative to the other schools.&nbsp; To specialize in one school, a wizard must select a prohibited school&nbsp; or schools whose total point value equals or exceeds the point value of&nbsp; the chosen school.&nbsp; Those point values are:&nbsp; &nbsp; school...........point value&nbsp; &nbsp; ============================&nbsp; &nbsp; Conjuration...........6&nbsp; &nbsp; Evocation.............6&nbsp; &nbsp; Transmutation.........6&nbsp; &nbsp; Abjuration............3&nbsp; &nbsp; Enchantment...........3&nbsp; &nbsp; Illusion..............3&nbsp; &nbsp; Divination............2&nbsp; &nbsp; Necromancy............2(An analysis that lays out a case for this rule is included below, at theend of this post.)Using the new structure of the prohibited-school rule given above as a tool,some options I see are:1) One could claim that since the college in question bans necromancy, conjuration,&nbsp;&nbsp; and evocation (a point value of 14), a wizard specializing in no more than&nbsp;&nbsp; 14 points' worth of the other schools would be somewhat balanced.2) A clear problem with #1 is that the additional spells per level per day&nbsp;&nbsp; become ridiculously unbalancing (at +4 spells per level per day).&nbsp; The original&nbsp;&nbsp; phrasing of the extra-spell rule is:&nbsp;&nbsp; * The specialist can prepare one additional spell (of the school selected&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; as a specialty) per spell level each day&nbsp;&nbsp; Issues of balance look a lot better with this alternate phrasing:&nbsp;&nbsp; * The specialist can prepare one additional spell (of ANY school selected&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; as a specialty) per spell level each day3) If #2 is still a problem, you could back off on the points' worth of&nbsp;&nbsp; the other schools that you allow specialization in.&nbsp; &quot;No more than 8 or 9&nbsp;&nbsp; points' worth&quot;, for example, would allow for meaningful additional specialization,&nbsp;&nbsp; while providing for some &quot;niche&quot; roles within the college (since the&nbsp;&nbsp; specializations of members of the college would have less overlap).&nbsp;&nbsp; [This seems roughly equivalent to the &quot;Weak Way&quot; proposed by KaeYoss above.]Out of curiosity, why would these schools be forbidden?&nbsp; Does the collegehave an ethical quandary with them?&nbsp; If so, why?==============================================AnalysisHere I just plug the numbers into the equations implied by the SRDprohibited-school rule as seen through the lens of the new phrasing above.Abjuration: To become an abjurer, a wizard must select a prohibited schoolor schools from the following choices:&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (1) either Conjuration, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, or Transmutation; or&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 3 &lt;= 6, 3, 6, 3, or 6&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (2) both Divination and Necromancy.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 3 &lt;= (2+2)Conjuration: To become a conjurer, a wizard must select a prohibited schoolor schools from one of the following choices:&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (1) Evocation;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 6 &lt;= 6&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (2) any two of the following three schools: Abjuration, Enchantment, and Illusion;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 6 &lt;= (3+3)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (3) Transmutation, or&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 6 &lt;= 6&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (4) any three schools.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 6 &lt;= (2+2+3) [minimum point value possible for a choice of three schools]Divination: To become a diviner, a wizard must select&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; any other single school as a prohibited school.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 2 &lt;= 2 [minimum point value possible for a choice of one school]Enchantment: To become an enchanter, a wizard must select a prohibited schoolor schools from the following choices:&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (1) either Abjuration, Conjuration, Evocation, Illusion, or Transmutation; or&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 3 &lt;= 3, 6, 6, 3, or 6&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (2) both Divination and Necromancy.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 3 &lt;= (2+2)Evocation: To become an evoker, a wizard must select a prohibited schoolor schools from one of the following choices:&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (1) Conjuration;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 6 &lt;= 6&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (2) any two of the following three schools: Abjuration, Enchantment, and Illusion;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 6 &lt;= (3+3)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (3) Transmutation; or&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 6 &lt;= 6&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (4) any three schools.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 6 &lt;= (2+2+3) [minimum point value possible for a choice of three schools]Illusion: To become an illusionist, a wizard must select a prohibited schoolor schools from the following choices:&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (1) either Abjuration, Conjuration, Enchantment, Evocation, or Transmutation; or&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 3 &lt;= 3, 6, 3, 6, or 6&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (2) both Divination and Necromancy.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 3 &lt;= (2+2)Necromancy: To become a necromancer, a wizard must select&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; any other single school as a prohibited school.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 2 &lt;= 2 [minimum point value possible for a choice of one school]Transmutation: To become a transmuter, a wizard must select a prohibited schoolor schools from one of the following choices:&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (1) Conjuration;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 6 &lt;= 6&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (2) Evocation;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 6 &lt;= 6&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (2) any two of the following three schools: Abjuration, Enchantment, and Illusion; or&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 6 &lt;= (3+3)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (4) any three schools.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 6 &lt;= (2+2+3) [minimum point value possible for a choice of three schools]</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Wes Nicholson, post: 374130, member: 3875"] Greetings returned. Occasional lurker, first time poster. I may have an idea to help balance your wizard-specialist change. First I'll step back and make a general observation. The rules regarding prohibited school(s) in the SRD seem too wordy by far. I believe those rules could be stated concisely as: * Each of the eight schools of magic has a point value associated with it describing the level of power of that school relative to the other schools. To specialize in one school, a wizard must select a prohibited school or schools whose total point value equals or exceeds the point value of the chosen school. Those point values are: school...........point value ============================ Conjuration...........6 Evocation.............6 Transmutation.........6 Abjuration............3 Enchantment...........3 Illusion..............3 Divination............2 Necromancy............2 (An analysis that lays out a case for this rule is included below, at the end of this post.) Using the new structure of the prohibited-school rule given above as a tool, some options I see are: 1) One could claim that since the college in question bans necromancy, conjuration, and evocation (a point value of 14), a wizard specializing in no more than 14 points' worth of the other schools would be somewhat balanced. 2) A clear problem with #1 is that the additional spells per level per day become ridiculously unbalancing (at +4 spells per level per day). The original phrasing of the extra-spell rule is: * The specialist can prepare one additional spell (of the school selected as a specialty) per spell level each day Issues of balance look a lot better with this alternate phrasing: * The specialist can prepare one additional spell (of ANY school selected as a specialty) per spell level each day 3) If #2 is still a problem, you could back off on the points' worth of the other schools that you allow specialization in. "No more than 8 or 9 points' worth", for example, would allow for meaningful additional specialization, while providing for some "niche" roles within the college (since the specializations of members of the college would have less overlap). [This seems roughly equivalent to the "Weak Way" proposed by KaeYoss above.] Out of curiosity, why would these schools be forbidden? Does the college have an ethical quandary with them? If so, why? ============================================== Analysis Here I just plug the numbers into the equations implied by the SRD prohibited-school rule as seen through the lens of the new phrasing above. Abjuration: To become an abjurer, a wizard must select a prohibited school or schools from the following choices: (1) either Conjuration, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, or Transmutation; or 3 <= 6, 3, 6, 3, or 6 (2) both Divination and Necromancy. 3 <= (2+2) Conjuration: To become a conjurer, a wizard must select a prohibited school or schools from one of the following choices: (1) Evocation; 6 <= 6 (2) any two of the following three schools: Abjuration, Enchantment, and Illusion; 6 <= (3+3) (3) Transmutation, or 6 <= 6 (4) any three schools. 6 <= (2+2+3) [minimum point value possible for a choice of three schools] Divination: To become a diviner, a wizard must select any other single school as a prohibited school. 2 <= 2 [minimum point value possible for a choice of one school] Enchantment: To become an enchanter, a wizard must select a prohibited school or schools from the following choices: (1) either Abjuration, Conjuration, Evocation, Illusion, or Transmutation; or 3 <= 3, 6, 6, 3, or 6 (2) both Divination and Necromancy. 3 <= (2+2) Evocation: To become an evoker, a wizard must select a prohibited school or schools from one of the following choices: (1) Conjuration; 6 <= 6 (2) any two of the following three schools: Abjuration, Enchantment, and Illusion; 6 <= (3+3) (3) Transmutation; or 6 <= 6 (4) any three schools. 6 <= (2+2+3) [minimum point value possible for a choice of three schools] Illusion: To become an illusionist, a wizard must select a prohibited school or schools from the following choices: (1) either Abjuration, Conjuration, Enchantment, Evocation, or Transmutation; or 3 <= 3, 6, 3, 6, or 6 (2) both Divination and Necromancy. 3 <= (2+2) Necromancy: To become a necromancer, a wizard must select any other single school as a prohibited school. 2 <= 2 [minimum point value possible for a choice of one school] Transmutation: To become a transmuter, a wizard must select a prohibited school or schools from one of the following choices: (1) Conjuration; 6 <= 6 (2) Evocation; 6 <= 6 (2) any two of the following three schools: Abjuration, Enchantment, and Illusion; or 6 <= (3+3) (4) any three schools. 6 <= (2+2+3) [minimum point value possible for a choice of three schools] [/QUOTE]

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