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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fuindordm" data-source="post: 1406890" data-attributes="member: 5435">Interesting points from Gordo.  Long ago I used to be all for power points,until I saw how WotC implemented them.  I don't like them in the psionics book, and I don't like them in unearthed arcana either.  The reasons aren't important, and I don't want to sidetrack the thread.  I'll just offer up Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed and World of Time d20 as counterexamples of how the spell slot mechanic can offer a good balance between flexibility and power.However, the point the the sorcerer still "feels like a wizard" mechanically is well taken.  Let's take your points one by one (I'm paraphrasing, not quoting)1) Sorcerers should have a more restricted spell list, with focus on manipulation of raw power/energy and fewer spells with 'academic' feel.Personally, what I see in the sorcerer is the potential for nearly infinite variety!  I'd be more inclined to open up their spell list to allow them to learn any existing spell, so that each sorcerer is fully customized to the player's conception of their background and bloodline.  There are a couple of things (cure spells for example) that would need to be restricted or otherwise reined in, but not too many.  Almost any spell can be justified with a bit of flavor text or a tweak to the campaign world, and there are a lot of 'academic' spells out there that are used as spell-like abilities by powerful monsters (Symbol, Gate, etc.).  The upshot is that while there is many a flash-bang sorcerer out there, I like a world in which there are also shadow sorcerers, psion-sorcerers, "lucky" sorcerers, fey sorcerers, and many other player concepts.2) Sorcerers still twiddle their fingers and mumble magic words.This is a concession to simplicity and adding as few new rules as possible.  Here, however, I agree with you wholeheartedly.  To match the flavor text of self-taught magicians, we should expect to see sorcerers that dance, craft, concentrate, dream, drum, and sacrifice for their magic--not just verbal and somatic components.Material components impose a cost to the PC and therefore a minor limit on their power--they should be replaced with an xp cost.  Otherwise, I would suggest that sorcerers be made distinct by the choice of the player--let them pick one very limiting (e.g. a staff focus that can easily be disarmed, broken, etc. and is obviously a requirement for their magic) or two mildly limiting (e.g. a childhood toy that they must have on their person, and require a concentration skill check for all spells) spellcasting requirements that appy to all their spells. These replace the verbal, somatic, and inexpensive material requirements.  (V,S,M can still be chosen by the sorcerer as one of their two, of course). 3) Spell slots are two limitingSolution: adopt the Arcana Unearthed rule for sorcerers:I) 3 slots of level N can be traded up to one of level N+1II) 1 slot of level N can be split into two slots of level N-1IIa) Slots derived by splitting a higher-level spell can't be further split!Cheers,Ben</blockquote>

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