Sorcerer spell chains?

[der_kluge]

Thanks, MadScientist. I knew something like this existed already.

Handforged, after reading Sean's system (which is extremely similar), I think I might allow a feat which allows the Sorcerer to receive an additional bonus spell each level, but they could take the feat multiple times, allowing them to receive multiple bonus spells for each choosing of the feat.

I don't have a problem with them being able to get a bonus spell at their highest level, but again, my rules are generally always favored towards more powerful PCs.

 

[Arc]

Hmmm... I like the concept, but I think (at least with the samples), that the chains are too long. Perhaps combining a few, or adding a few more prerequisites (for example: cat's grace -> haste -> mass haste), so that even though sorcerors are getting free spells, they might need to sacrifice a lower level spell early on for promise of greater profit later. A bit of tweaking (basically making most chains 3 spells or more), in my eyes, would make this a lot nicer, and give it a bit more 'feel'. For example, you could start naming the chains as parts of spell 'disciplines', and add all sorts of RP mechanics to it. Or not.

 

[Stalker0]

One different route you can go, which is less powerful, is this.

Spell Chaining

Whenever a sorc gains a new spell, she has to choose to upgrade one of her old spells to a new spell that is on a spell chain. Doing this frees up the old spell known and may be replaced with a new spell.

For example, Bob gets a new 4th level spell. He chooses charm monster. He also has charm person, which is on the same spell chain. Bob chooses to upgrade charm person to charm monster, and now can learn a new 1st level spell.



**Basically the main difference is instead of giving them an extra spell (which is what the proposed variant in the start of the thread does), this version simply replaces a lower level spell with a different one. Its weaker than the other variant, but for some might be easier to swallow and perhaps would not cost a feat.

 

[der_kluge]

Stalker0, that's exactly what I ended up coming up with, and is also the "low power" version on Sean's site.

Here is my final house rule on it, and also includes all the spell chains. I took my own, and Sean's, and revised some, removed some, and then added in all the spells from Bluffside, and Tome and Blood.

Sorcerer Spell Chaining
Spell chaining is the process of taking multiple similar spells in a chain to receive extra spells as a result of focused dedication. To benefit from spell chaining, all spells in the spell chain must be taken, and all spells must be taken in order. Whenever a new spell is taken in a spell chain, an extra bonus spell of the previous level spell in the spell chain is gained. That is, if a spell chain has a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level spell in the chain, when the 2nd level spell is taken, a bonus 1st level spell is gained. Additionally, when the 3rd level spell is taken, an additional 2nd level spell is gained. In some cases, multiple spells are listed for a given level. In these cases, either spell can be taken to receive the benefit of spell chaining. You can gain only one extra bonus spell per caster level gained.
Non-sequitor spell chaining ¡V some spell chains consist of spells from more than one school of magic. To use a non-sequitor spell chain, the non-sequitor spell chaining feat is required.

Non-Sequitor Spell Chaining [General]
You can effectively spell-chain with non-sequitor spell chains.
Benefit: In addition to regular spell chains, you can choose from any of the non-sequitor spell chains, and receive all the normal spell chaining benefits from these spell chains.

Superior Spell-Chaining [General]
You are adept at spell-chaining.
Benefit: You receive an extra bonus spell per caster level gained as a result of spell chaining.
Normal: Normally a sorcerer would only gain 1extra bonus spell per caster level gained. This feat allows that number to increase by 1 each time this feat is taken.
Special: A character can take this feat multiple times, each time allowing another additional spell to be gained per caster level.

Spell Chains
„h Many Shapes: (2nd) alter self; (4th) polymorph other, polymorph self; (8th) polymorph any object; (9th) shapechange
„h Force Hands: (2nd) choke**; (5th) Bibgy's interposing hand; (6th) Bigby's forceful hand; (7th) Bigby's grasping hand; (8th) Bigby's clenched fist; (9th) Bigby's crushing hand
„h Etherealness: (3rd) blink; (7th) ethereal jaunt; (8th) etherealness
„h Distortions: (2nd) blur; (3rd) displacement; (7th) simulacrum
„h Fear: (1st) cause fear; (2nd) scare; (4th) fear
„h Disguise: (1st) change self; (5th) seeming; (6th) veil
„h Charm: (1st) charm person; (4th) charm monster; (5th) dominate person; (8th) mass charm; (9th) dominate monster
„h Death Touch: (1st) chill touch; (2nd) ghoul touch; (3rd) vampiric touch
„h Deadly Circles: (6th) circle of death; (9th) wail of the banshee
„h Scrying: (3rd) clairaudience/clairvoyance; (4th) arcane eye, scrying; (5th) prying eyes; (7th) greater scrying
„h Speaking: (1) comprehend languages; (3rd) tongues
„h Reaction: (6th) contingency; (9th) chain contingency**
„h The Path of Light: (0) dancing lights, light; (2nd) continual flame, daylight; (8th) sunburst
„h Seeing in the Dark: (2nd) darkvision; (4th) mass darkvision**
„h Mind-Lock: (0) daze; (1st) sleep; (2nd) indifference**; (3rd) hold person; (4th) confusion; (5th) feeblemind, hold monster; (8th) insanity
„h Understanding: (0) detect magic; (3rd) arcane sight**; (6th) analyze dweomer
„h Teleportation: (4th) dimension door; (5th) teleport; (7th) teleport without error, vanish, mass teleport**; (9th) refuge, teleportation circle
„h Banished Things: (5th) dismissal; (7th) banishment; (9th) imprisonment
„h Dispelling: (3rd) dispel magic; (4th) Otiluke¡¦s dispelling screen**; (6th) antimagic field, greater dispelling; (7th) Otiluke¡¦s greater dispelling screen; (9th) Mordenkainen's disjunction
„h Elemental Tolerance: (1st) endure elements; (2nd) resist elements; (3rd) protection from elements; (5th) energy buffer**; (7th) energy immunity**
„h Bad words: (3rd) explosive runes; (4th) fire trap
„h Flight: (1st) feather fall; (2nd) levitate; (3rd) fly; (6th) mass fly**
„h Ghostly: (5th) ghostform**; (7th) ethereal jaunt; (8th) etherealness
„h Sounds: (0) ghost sound; (1st) ventriloquism
„h False Land: (4th) hallucinatory terrain; (5th) mirage arcana
„h Necromantic Will: (2nd) halt undead, command undead**; (7th) control undead
„h Haste: (2nd) haste; (6th) mass haste; (9th) time stop
„h Doors: (1st) hold portal; (2nd) arcane lock
„h Patterns: (2nd) hypnotic pattern; (4th) rainbow pattern
„h Object Study: (1st) identify; (6th) analyze dweomer, legend lore; (7th) vision
„h Invisibility: (2nd) invisibility; (3rd) invisibility sphere; (4th) improved invisibility; (6th) mislead; (7th)mass invisibility
„h Acid spheres: (1st) Lesser acid orb**; (4th) acid orb**
„h Cold Spheres: (1st) Lesser cold orb**; (3rd) snowball*; (4th) cold orb**; (6th) otiluke¡¦s freezing sphere; (9th) ice meteors*
„h Lightning: (1st) lesser electric orb**; (3rd) lightning bolt; (4th) electric orb**; (6th) chain lightning
„h Fiery Spheres: (1st) lesser fire orb; (2nd) flaming sphere; (3rd) fireball; (4th) fire orb**; (7th) delayed blast fireball; (9th) meteor swarm
„h Compulsions: (4th) lesser geas; (6th) geas, quest
„h Bound Things: (5th) lesser planar binding; (6th) planar binding; (8th) greater planar binding
„h Sonic Fracture: (1st) lesser sonic orb**; (2nd) shatter; (4th) shout, sonic orb**; (8th) great shout;
„h Ultimate Will: (7th) limited wish; (9th) wish
„h Searching: (2nd) locate object; (4th) locate creature; (8th) discern location; (9th) improved discern location*
„h Far Hands: (0) mage hand; (5th) telekinesis
„h Blade Fury: (1st) magic weapon; (3rd) greater magic weapon
„h Constructions: (0) mending; (5th) fabricate, stone shape
„h Creation: (4th) minor creation; (5th) major creation; (7th) drawmij¡¦s instant summons
„h Spell Protection: (4th) minor globe of invulnerability; (6th) globe of invulnerability; (7th) spell turning; (8th) protection from spells
„h Debilitation: (1st) negative energy ray**; (2nd) ghoul touch; (3rd) negative energy burst**; (4th) negative energy wave**, enervation; (9th) energy drain
„h Fooled You: (1st) Nystul¡¦s magic aura, Nystul¡¦s undetectable aura; (2nd) leomund¡¦s trap
„h Fogs: (1st) obscuring mist; (2nd) fog cloud; (3rd) stinking cloud; (4th) solid fog; (5th) cloudkill; (6th) acid fog; (7th) incendiary cloud
„h Morphic Earth: (5th) passwall, stone shape; (6th) move earth
„h Mind Killing: (4th) phantasmal killer; (9th) weird
„h Powerful Words: (7th) power word stun; (8th) power word blind; (9th) power word kill
„h Wards: (1st) protection from chaos/evil/good/law; (2nd) magic circle against chaos/evil/good/law
„h Death Rays: (1st) ray of enfeeblement; (2nd) enervation; (7th) finger of death; (9th) energy drain
„h Small: (1st) reduce; (3rd) shrink item
„h Strange Homes: (2nd) rope trick; (4th) Leomund's secure shelter; (7th) Mordenkainen's magnificent mansion
„h Keen Eyes: (2nd) see invisibility; (6th) true seeing
„h Conjured Shadows: (4th) shadow conjuration; (5th) greater shadow conjuration; (6th) shades
„h Evoked Shadows: (5th) shadow evocation; (6th) greater shadow evocation
„h Illusions: (1st) silent image; (2nd) minor image; (3rd) major image; (5th) persistent image; (6th) permanent image, programmed image
„h Slow: (2nd) slow; (9th) temporal stasis
„h Persuasion: (3rd) suggestion; (6th) mass suggestion
„h Summonings: (1st) summon monster I; (2nd) summon monsterII; (3rd) summon monster III; (4th) summon monster IV; (5th) summon monster V; (6th) summon monster VI; (7th) summon monster VII; (8th) summon monster VIII; (9th) summon monsterIX
„h Uncontrolled Reactions: (2nd) Tasha's hideous laughter; (8th) Otto's irresistible dance
„h Force Arcs: (1st) Tenser's floating disk; (4th) Otiluke's resilient sphere; (5th) wall of force; (7th) forcecage; (8th) Otiluke's telekinetic sphere


Non-sequitor Chains
„h Souls: (5th) magic jar; (8th) trap the soul; (9th) soul bind, hide life**
„h Long distance discussions: (1st) message; (2nd) whispering wind; (5th) sending; (8th) demand
„h Hiding: (2nd) misdirection; (3rd) nondetection; (5th) false vision, Mordenkainen¡¦s private sanctum; (8th) screen
„h Prismatic: (6th) prismatic ray+; (7th) prismatic spray; (8th) prismatic wall; (9th) prismatic sphere
„h Hard Flesh: (4th) stoneskin; (7th) statue; (9th) iron body