Overhaul on Mages; constructive criticism welcome

[Kisanji Arael]

Spell theory

This is an idea that has been bouncing around in my head for a long time. I don’t know if it’s ever been done before. I fully recognize that it will make mages more powerful. Basically, my qualm with magic as it stands now is that I personally believe that there is an unreasonable focus on a mage to be capable of casting massive damage spells, which cripples them insofar as auxiliary spells go, especially since auxiliary spells are their forte. Wizards are also often unable to appropriately prepare for a situation that arises. My minor qualms also include the fact that mages are incapable of opening their spell books at any time in order to cast a spell and abandon another.

In the following posts, I propose, for my own purposes and for anyone else who wishes to use them for good and free purposes, a major overhaul on the Wizard class, to be set in an expansive world that I am working on indefinitely. This class also ignores the Sorcerer class, as I will be dealing with that at a later time. However, it is important to note that these Wizards are multi-dependant on Charisma and Intelligence, as noted below.

My prime concern has always been my idea of realism, not power balancing. It is my flaw. I know that this idea can be balanced, and I recognize that it might take a long time. Any help is appreciated. I am looking not for reasons that this absolutely will not work but for advice. As far as denouncing my idea, feel free to do so constructively, but I ask that you keep it concise or put it in a spoilers block, so as not to clutter the thread. Thanks.

 

[Kisanji Arael]

On this, and any else, if something is unclear, ask me and I’ll edit to clarify. My purpose is not to hash out the wording, but the concepts.

The first area that I will be overhauling is the Wizard’s spell list. This overhaul will be divided mainly into three sections.

1. Spell levels- All spells will be reduced from 9 levels (plus epic) to 7 levels (8th and 9th will both be considered ritual level spells). Wizards will only learn spells from these seven levels, while any 8th or 9th level spells must be found (research DCs will be near impossible without help).

To set an upper-level standard, Wish will be a low-power 8th level spell, but will also have increased cost. The experience component from wish, on the other hand, will probably be removed. In addition, the effects of the Monkey’s paw will be slightly regulated. The restrictions on limited wish will be loosened, however it will remain as a seventh level spell. The only other major change to high level spells will be the removal of the emphasis on damage.

On the other hand, low level spells will be changed dramatically. Due to the nature of the wizard’s spells (see below), it is critically important to place restrictions and note carefully the level of each spell. The first major change is that there will be no damaging spells at 1st level. All first level spells will be set at 2nd level and balanced from there. The more battle-oriented spells (mage armor, magic weapon, et alii) will be placed here as well. However, one-shot versions of these spells may be placed at first level (exception – inherently one-use spells such as true strike).

Cantrips, for the most part, will be done away with or increased to first level spells, however a small number of them will be retained. Cantrips already approved for this purpose are arcane mark, dancing lights, light, mage hand, prestidigitation, and read magic, as well as air globe (which is effective only for scattering papers or sand), globes of darkness ( a black and/or non-light shedding version of dancing lights), and ray of snow (a non-damaging ray of frost).

In addition, many other low-level spells will need to be considered for balancing and level shifting due to the nature of the mage (see below).

2. Spell Schools
Spells will be much more strictly regulated into spell subschools. The Wizard will now be forced to remember how many times he casts spells of a specific school, along with the number of times he casts a spell. This has been put in place to balance the removal of the Wizard’s spells/day. In addition, a school may or may not have certain benefits associated with its use, which may be strategically considered. An example of such a school might be as follows
---
Fire Gate Subschool (dealing specifically with evoking fire from nothing)
Susceptibility Special: For d8 rounds, the mage gains Cold Resistance 5, but takes +1 damage from every die of fire damage.
----
Burning Hands, delayed blast fireball, fireball, fire shield, meteor swarm, Summon Monster (any fire), wall of fire
---
The idea behind this is to limit mages’ abuse of their newly increased spells/day. There will be a limit (based on caster level and Int) of how many times/day a mage can cast spells from a specific subschool. A mage fighting monsters susceptible to fire will be unable to cast all of these spells the maximum number of times, and will be forced to cast spells to the greatest efficiency. 1st–3rd level spells will be standard cost, 4th and 5th will cost double standard, and 6th and 7th will cost triple standard. Casting 5 meteor swarms, for example, would take 15 spell levels from however many that mage could cast that day(level +Int mod).

In addition to subschools such as this one, there will also be a list of universal spells, which are considered unique and thus are not limited by the spells around it. Detect magic (now a 1st level spell) is considered to be part of this category. Spells in the universal category will still be limited by the natural daily limit of any spell.

3. Casting time, Damage, and Effect
A large effort will be taken to focus more on realism in spell casting. Foremost, as you will learn later (and in more detail) wizards no longer prepare spells at the beginning of each day. Rather, spells are cast from spell books (NOTE: Cantrips do not function in this manner) and the mage is expected to bookmark his spells. Due to this, casting time takes considerably longer than 1 standard action; the complexity (level) of the spell will determine casting time. In addition, due to the decreased level of spells which can damage (now 6 as opposed to 10) the gap of damage dealt will be much larger between spell levels, though the number of damage dealing spells will be decreased. However, there will also be more emphasis on what a certain spell would do as opposed to total damage. For instance, a fireball can and should heat all substances, including armor. A person inside full-plate mail should feel the consequences for his armor being raised to 130 degrees Fahrenheit over the course of 6 seconds, unless there is a very specific reason that the heat is taken away afterward. It is possible that the advantage of being a higher level caster, then, is not the increased dice of damage but increased residual effects.

 

[Kisanji Arael]

The second area, which I already have a rough draft of here, is my complete overhaul of how the Wizard casts his spells.

The Wizard has the ability to cast a number of arcane spells. She is dependant on two abilities for her magic, Charisma and Intelligence. Charisma determines the forcefulness with which she casts spells, while Intelligence determines her ability to continually grasp difficult concepts. These abilities limit her in various ways, as described below. The Wizard need not prepare any spells, but is capable of memorizing the verbal and somatic components for a number of spells equal to her Intelligence modifier. Instead of memorization, the wizard instead casts her spells with notes written in her spell book. Turning to a page in a spell book is a move-equivalent action.

The Wizard’s ability to cast spells is dependant on chanting. The Wizard begins with a reservoir of magic which she may call forth instantly. To cast a spell of greater power than this, the Wizard must chant (usually in an esoteric arcane language, though the wizard may chant in any way she pleases) to raise her reservoir further than this. Chanting in this manner raises the level of her reservoir by one level/round. Under normal circumstances, the wizard may only chant up to her maximum spell level, though certain metamagic feats may increase this number. Though a wizard may cast spells at her base level as many times as she needs to, the wizard may chant a number of times in any given day equal to her (level/2) +her Charisma mod.

The Wizard’s spell-casting, rather than being limited by level, is limited by specific spells and by subschool. The Wizard may only call any particular spell a number of times/day equal to her Intelligence Modifier, and may only call a number of spells from a particular subschool a number of times equal to (class level)/2 + Int mod. The Difficulty Class for saving throws on a Wizard’s spells is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the Wizard’s Charisma modifier.

The wizard’s ability to learn a spell is based off of her Intelligence. To learn a spell, the Wizard must have an Intelligence score equal to 10+the spell’s level. The Wizard’s bonus spells are based off of Intelligence.

The wizard is also able to cast a certain number of cantrips every day. These small, useful spells are free, take only one level of spell reservoir to prepare, and require (user’s choice) either verbal or somatic components. The wizard casts a certain number of these for free, and only after that point are they limited by the normal number/day/ Beginning at first level, a wizard may cast a number of these spells equal to her Charisma modifier. At sixth level, this increases to her Charisma modifier +Intelligence modifier. At 12th level, she uses her Charisma score instead of her charisma modifier, and at 18th level, she uses her Intelligence score instead of her Intelligence modifier.

Level              Reservoir        Spell Level Maximum
1                       1                      2
2                       1                      2
3                       1                      2
4                       1                      3
5               	2                      3
6                       2                      3
7                       2                      4
8                       2                      4
9                       2                      4
10                     2                      5
11                     3                      5
12                     3                      5
13                     3                      6
14                     3                      6
15                     3                      6
16                     3                      7
17                     3                      7
18                     3                      7
19                     4                      7
20                     4                      7

 

[Kisanji Arael]

Obviously, the third area that will need work is a new system for metamagic feats. At this point, I’m leaning toward a # of uses/day as in Unearthed Arcana, but I’m not setting anything in stone at this moment.

Okay, that's all for now. Thoughts?