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Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Afrodyte" data-source="post: 1541068" data-attributes="member: 8713">sorry for length! arcane castersSORCERERSpells known.  As sorcerers go through life and gain more experience, they discover new capabilities and develop old ones.  At first level, sorcerers may use powers from the Universal school and from one additional school (usually Divination, Evocation, or Transmutation) using their full casting bonus.  The absolute number of spells known follows the PHB.  The spells a sorcerer knows must be one without any significant material components.  In order to learn to cast a spell that has notable material components (marked with an M in the 3.5 PHB) costs the sorcerer XP depending upon the level of the spell.  No spells below 2nd level have significant material components, so the XP cost goes like this: 500 XP for a 2nd level spell, 1000 XP for a 3rd level spell, 3000 X for a 4th level spell, 5000 XP for a 5th level spell, 7000 XP for a 6th level spell, 10000 XP for a 7th level spell, 12000 XP for an 8th level spell, and 15000 XP for a 9th level spell.  The expense of learning spells this way comes from the fact that the spells with significant material components were originally designed by and for wizards, and sorcerers have a much harder time of it using their powers in their unique way to mimic spells normally cast in a more wizardly fashion.Every 5 levels, sorcerers either develop powers from another school, get a +2 casting bonus to one school she already has (maximum +6), or a +3 bonus to casting a specific spell.  So, a 10th level sorcerer who can cast from the Divination and Evocation schools may gain a +2 casting bonus for those schools or develop other abilities (say, in Transmutation).  At 15th level, she may cast effects from yet another school or gain an additional +2 casting bonus to a school she is already familiar with.Casting spells.  Although sorcerers are limited in the number of powers available to them, the application of those powers is extremely flexible.  Sorcerers need no spell components, but their selection of powers is more limited.  To use a spell, simply roll 1d20 and add your casting bonus (level + CHA modifier) plus whatever other bonuses you gain to the roll vs. the final DC of the effect (starts at 10 for 0th level spells and increases by +5 for each spell level, up to DC 50 for 9th level spells).  The result of the roll determines the maximum caster level at which the spell takes effect (not taking into account metamagic feats).  Your effective caster level increases by +1 for every 5 increments your result is over the spell DC.  This accounts for the fact that sorcerers can at times pull off effects far greater than their experience would dictate.A sorcerer who simply wishes to use a power, without a particular effect in mind may do so, much like clerics praying for divine favors.  You roll 1d20 + casting bonus as normal.  If the result is below 15, nothing happens.  Beyond that, the DM has full control over what happens when you cast.  The effect may be more, less, or equally spectacular as you imagine.Sorcerers can augment their casting bonus in several ways.  The first is to use spell components as wizards do for a +2 competence bonus.  The second is to channel mystical energy through a focus such as a gem,  staff, emotional state, or drugs to gain a +5 circumstantial bonus when using (not just possessing) this focus.  The third is intense concentration during the rounds prior to creating an effect.  For each round spent focusing your mind, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to the casting roll.  The DM may call for a Concentration check in order to use this option or to augment it.  Finally, you may expend your personal reserves to force an effect to take shape.  For every 5 HP you expend (nonlethal damage), adjust your casting roll by +1.  Adjust by +2 if the HP is in real damage.  The damage only takes effect if your character successfully casts a spell.Sorcerers cast spells as they had developed them.  A SOR 2/WIZ 5 with the Armor power who casts mage armor does so as a sorcerer, with the competence bonus for using spell components, regardless of what is recorded in the spellbook.  However, if that same sorcerer (not having a talent for evocation) were to cast lightning bolt, he casts as a wizard because that is how he learned the spell.Overcast.  Sorcerers can only process so much mystical energy before their minds and bodies give out.  When a sorcerer casts a spell of the highest level available to her, she sustains nonlethal damage equal to the DC of the spell.  On a successful Fortitude save (DC 15), this damage is halved.  When casting powerful spells (7th+), this damage is lethal unless a successful Fortitude save is made, in which case the damage is nonlethal.Talents.  Talents represent a sorcerer's growing awareness of her capabilities.  Sorcerers gain talents at 2nd, 5th, 10th, 13th, and 17th levels.  The talents are:Familiar.  Same as PHB, but medium-sized familiars are possible as well.  The only limitation is that its natural form is a medium-sized mundane animal.  So, no unicorns or dragons or owlbears.Magic focus.  You use an object (perhaps a gem, an item of clothing, or drugs), situation (nudity, lunar cycles, planetary alignments, or time of day), or state of mind (joy, pain, anger) to help facilitate using your powers.  Using this focus, you gain a +5 circumstance bonus to your casting check.  Each time you take this talent, it applies to a new power.Metamagic feat.  You have access to bonus metamagic feats which make your powers more formidable.  You can take any metamagic feat from the PHB, and this feat applies to the effects of a spell you know, determined when you choose the feat.  Spell focus and Spell Penetration are naturally exceptions to this.  For instance, Maximize Spell does not work on all your powers, just the one you choose when you take the feat.  Using metamagic feats does not increase the DC of casting checks.  Taking Silent Spell or Still Spell is redundant for sorcerers since they do not require components anyway.WIZARDSpells known. Wizards learn particular effects as spells, developing them from broader powers.  A wizard begins play having spells copied in her spell book (or collection of scrolls, sacred tattoos, or what have you) as described in the PHB.  Wizards gain new spells through research and practical application.  Generally speaking, as a wizard gains levels, she is assumed to be learning how to cast new spells.  A wizard learns two spells each level after the first, which are recorded in her spell book (or its equivalent).  To gain more spells requires more research and development.  To learn more spells, a wizard must have ranks in Spellcraft equal to twice the level of the spell (1 rank minimum for cantrips) and make a Spellcraft DC equal to the casting DC of the spell (determined by level as with sorcerers).  If the wizard has Knowledge (arcana), she gets a +1 competence bonus for every five full ranks she has in that skill.Casting spells.  Wizards cast spells through rituals which use components (verbal, somatic, material).  To cast these spells successfully requires precise gestures, speech, and combining just the right ingredients at just the right time.  To cast a spell, roll 1d20 and add your casting bonus (level + INT modifier) plus whatever additional modifiers you have to the roll vs. the final DC of the effect.  If you meet or exceed this DC, you cast the spell as intended.  Due to the ritualistic nature of wizardry, wizards may take 10 to be sure to cast a spell properly, but this doubles the casting time.Wizards can augment their casting bonus in several ways.  As stated earlier, a wizard may take 10 to cast a spell.  Wizards may take Magic Focus as a metamagic feat which applies to one school of magic each time this feat is chosen.  When using a magic focus, wizards may channel mystical energy through an object such as a gem, staff, or wand to gain a +5 circumstantial bonus when using (not just possessing) it.  The third is intense concentration during the rounds prior to creating an effect.  For each round spent focusing your mind, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to the casting roll.  The spell takes effect the round after you finish concentrating.  DMs may call for Concentration checks in order to use or augment this option.The price of failure.  When a wizard fails at casting a spell, things can get interesting.  Although the magical energy involved in casting a spell is not used in the way the wizard intends, it still has to go somewhere before it dissipates.  Possibilities include (DM's choice): the spell affects a different target (you or a party member if the target was an enemy; an enemy if the target was you or a party member), the spell has the reverse effect intended (heat becomes cold, light becomes dark, bless weapon becomes curse weapon, etc.), or the spell is weakened in some way (damage, duration, range, or area).  Spell familiarity.  Wizards have three levels of spell familiarity: full reference spells, quick reference spells, and intimate knowledge spells.  Full reference spells require all a wizard's attention to cast correctly, for he is not as familiar with it as he is with his other spells.  Full reference spells usually represent new spells, but they can also represent spells which a wizard has learned but does not frequently use.  Casting a full reference spell adds an additional round to casting time because it is assumed that the wizard is diligently and intently following the ritual described in the book.  All new spells count as full-reference spells for one week per spell level (minimum 3 days for cantrips), at which point they become quick-reference spells.Quick reference spells are those which a wizard is more familiar with, requiring only a brief once-over before being able to cast it from memory over a short period of time, much like cramming for an exam.  To study quick reference spells requires peace, quiet, and comfort to allow for proper concentration.  The wizard's conditions need not be luxurious, but they must be free from overt distractions.  Injury, exposure to inclement weather, malnutrition, inadequate sleep, and insufficient light prevent the concentration necessary to do this.  A quick reference spell takes 15 minutes to review, with adjustments according to the wizard's mental alacrity.  You subtract a number of minutes from your required study time equal to your Intelligence bonus.  For each point of Intelligence penalty, add one minute of study time.  Thus, a wizard with Intelligence 15 (+2 bonus) requires 13 minutes to study a spell.  A  wizard with Intelligence 8 (-1 penalty) needs 16 minutes.  A wizard may cast as many spells as quick reference spells as he has studied beforehand.  The maximum time a wizard can retain these spells in memory is equal to 1 + INT bonus hours.  Thus, a wizard with 13 INT needs 14 minutes to memorize each spell, which she will remember for 2 hours.  (As a strategic note, unless you are going on a casting marathon, it is advisable to only study spells for the same amount of time you can retain them.  The wizard in the above example would do well to study only about two hours, which would give her 8 spells that will last her the next 2 hours).Intimate knowledge spells are spells so deeply ingrained in a wizard's memory that he could not forget if he tried.  Like quick reference spells, a wizard does not require his spell book to cast intimate knowledge spells.  In fact, he never needs scrolls or spell books to cast intimate knowledge spells.  This is a useful trick for wizards stranded somewhere without their books.  To gain a spell as intimate level requires that the wizard studies the spell as a quick reference spell every day for a number of weeks equal to the spell's level (minimum 3 days for cantrips).Specialization.  Specialist wizards operate similar to how they do in the PHB, but instead of having the school specialization and forbidden schools, after designating a specialization, each spell has one of three designations: Advantaged, Neutral, and Disadvantaged. The school you choose to specialize in is Advantaged for you. When casting spells from that school, you gain a +5 competence bonus to your spellcasting checks for spells of that school. The schools you choose as your prohibited school become Disadvantaged for you, and you get a -5 penalty to your spellcasting checks for spells of that school. All others are Neutral spells, and they use the standard spellcasting bonus.Familiar.  At 1st level, wizards may have a familiar.  It follows the same rules as the PHB, but medium-sized familiars are possible as well.  The only limitation is that its natural form is a medium-sized mundane animal.  So, no unicorns or dragons or owlbears.  In lieu of a familiar, a wizard may take a metamagic or item creation feat.  They already have Scribe Scroll.Metamagic feats.  At every 5 levels, wizards gain a metamagic feat.  These work exactly as they do in the PHB, except Maximize Spell, which applies only to one school of spells (chosen when you select this feat).  Using metamagic feats does not increase the DC for casting spells.  In lieu of a metamagic feat, wizards may elect to take an item creation feat.  Item creation feats have the Craft (item type) skill and the ability to cast arcane spells as prerequisites.  The actual spells needed and the Craft DCs for making magic items varies according to what the wizard wants to do.  Items must be crafted with at least masterwork quality in order to be enchanted with magical properties.</blockquote>

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