sorceror/wizard variant(yes it has been done to death)

[bellman]

In my looking over the rules it seems to me the sorceror can basically be put in very simple terms. A spontaneous weakened wizard. I will now attempt to differentiate and balance the two. any comments will be appreciated.

Wizard change:
Book apotheosis:
at level 20, any book described as the wizard's spellbook becomes weightless. It may be summoned to the owner at will.

Sorceror changes:
loss of familiar.
loss of magical affinity.
add skill: intimidate.
loss of bonus spells per day based on charisma.
spell like abilities instead of spells:
this essentially means a few changes:
cannot counterspell with standard method, or be counterspelled.
cannot craft or use magic items requiring spells.
cannot scribe scrolls.
does not use the components* listed but:
needs a focus to use powers, whether it is magic words, gestures, or an inexpensive trinket. once chosen, this cannot be changed, if trinket is lost a new one can be purchased for 100 gp, focus CANNOT be removed with feats.
*only ignores material components worth 10 gp or less.
Magical nature:
when detect magic is cast, the sorceror registers as a magic item of his caster level.
Domain:
at the beginning of each day choose a wizard domain(unearthed arcana).
you can use each SLA of the spell level you can cast once per day. in addition, you gain physical features and a granted power based on your domain. you may use each SLA an additional time each 10th level. no metamagic may be applied to these SLAs.

Abjuration:
feature:
you look more well built and muscular. this has no in game effect.
power:
choose an abjuration SLA you can use. you count as having the benefit of having this SLA activated on you.

Antimagic:
feature:
your skin seems to have a reflective-mirrorlike quality.
power:
gain spell resistance equal to charisma modifier.

Battle:
feature:
your face gains battle scars.
power:
you may use spell rage a number of times equal to that of a barbarian of half your class level uses basic rage.

cold:
feature:
your eyes become light blue, and the air around you chills.
power:
you may freeze liquid that is not a part of a living being within a 10 by 10 area. you are comfortable in very hot temperatures, as per endure elements

conjuration:
feature:
tattoos of creatures adorn your skin.
power:
you may summon edible food and water at will, as per summon food and drink.

divination:
feature:
you gain wrinkles and a wisened look.
power:
you gain bardic knowledge.

enchantment:
feature:
your features become more pronounced and beautiful.
power:
you add 3 to the results of charisma checks.

evocation:
feature:
your skin seems to glow with energy.
power:
you gain an arcane bolt which is treated as an eldritch blast from a warlock of half your class level, doing elemental damage based on your draconic heritage ex. blue dragon heritage = electricity damage.

fire:
feature:
your eyes become red, and the air around you warms.
power:
when trying to break an object apply charisma instead of strength. instead of splintering, the object melts. you are comfortable in cold temperatures, as per endure elements.

illusion:
feature:
your features become hard to distinguish with a glance.
power:
once per day when an attack would bring you below 1 hp, you may declare that you faked being hit, and cancel the attack.

necromancy:
feature:
your skin becomes pale, and you are gaunt and skeletal.
power:
you can turn or rebuke undead as a cleric of half your class level.

storm:
feature:
your eyes are filled with lightning, and your hair and clothes ruffle in an imaginary breeze.
power:
you may fly with poor manueverability at half your land speed.

transmutation:
feature:
until manifesting your power, no change.
power:
you may transform into a draconic form as a full round action. while transformed you gain a 2d6 bite attack and 1d10 claw attacks. you may attack with both claws in one action at -5 penalty to hit. in addition you gain scales, which equate to dr1/magic at first level and 1 additional damage reduction every 5th level. while transformed you take a -10 penalty to non-intimidate charisma checks. you may end the transformation as another full round action.

so what do you think? balanced, or should i change it? go easy on me, this is my first post and i'm new to d&d.

 

[bellman]

you could hear a pin drop in here. seriously anyone gonna view this. i want some comments to know if this is balanced.

 

[bellman]

if noone is commenting then does that mean it's balanced? does it mean it is overpowered? or does it mean it's too weak? tell me people, i want feedbback!

 

[Nellisir]

I think allowing a little more than two hours for a response would be nice.

Just glancing over it, I'm not particularly impressed by changes to the sorcerer; it's all sort of "meh". It's also a little vague. Can a sorcerer with the cold domain freeze all the water in the ocean? Cause that's how it reads right now.

 

[Nonlethal Force]

I think allowing a little more than two hours for a response would be nice.

Yeah, especially in the 3.x variant forums. Sometimes replies take a few days....

Just glancing over it, I'm not particularly impressed by changes to the sorcerer; it's all sort of "meh".

I agree. I'm not sure that making the sorcerer into a SLA character is really the way to go. And only being able to "cast" Domain spells 1/day up to the level known is a bit weak for me. Seeing as how limited this is compared to even wizard casting it comes off as even more weak.

For the record, I'd also recommend not using the word "cast" when you specifically state that sorcerers get SLA instead of spells. It's just a bit confusing.

Also, the loss of metamagic really hurts. That one is pretty much a deal-breaker for me, too. If nothing else, it really removes the chance to get into a few PrCs because they can't fulfill the prereqs.

And, the fact tat it uses a focus instead of spell components could give them a big upgrade in higher level spells. Spell Components are often part of the game balance at higher level. Perhaps eliminating the spell component for components less than 1 gp butrequiringthe more expensive ones is morethe way to go?

Add these to the thoughts expressed about the agueness above by Nellisir.

A good thought, but it isn't really what I would go for in gaming. Perhaps with a bitmore refining it could grow into something, though. Keep trying!

 

[bellman]

all right then, i'll try to refine them. thanks for the comments. by the way for any one reading this i could use some help with a table. and nonlethal force, the loss of metamagic only applies to the spell-like abilities granted by the domain, i'm thinking this sorceror could get variant "metamagic" feats for it's regular abilities. in addition, it states you an use your SLAs from domains an additional time each every 10th level.

 

[Nonlethal Force]

i could use some help with a table.

The easiest wayto makea table is to use the code function and count spaces. The code tag makes every character the same width, so you can line things up nicely. And if you have access to a word processor that "counts columns" (most do) you can type your table into something like Word using spaces to separate the various columns. Once you have all of your columns of the table all set, just cut and paste within the code tag.

and nonlethal force, the loss of metamagic only applies to the spell-like abilities granted by the domain, i'm thinking this sorceror could get variant "metamagic" feats for it's regular abilities. in addition, it states you an use your SLAs from domains an additional time each every 10th level.

I am aware you get to use the SLA's an additional time every 10 levels. So at 10th level you get 2 times and at 20th level you get 3? That still doesn't quite feel balanced against a sorceror who cast cast 6 spells per spell level known. Or am I misreading something?

If so, then I apologize. But my take on your class is that the sorceror loses all ability to cast spells and in its place it gains the ability to pick 1 domain per day and can use each spell in the domain 1/day. It just seems really underpowered - even at level 20.

 

[bellman]

he can use his standard SLAs as much as a standard sorceror, as well as his domain SLAs as many times as i described. in other words he gains domain casting in addition to regular casting

 

[Nellisir]

What's the point of spell-like abilities instead of spells? The only advantage you have listed is that they can't be counterspelled...but then again, they can't counterspell anyone else, either. That's a draw at best. If you start adding in custom feats to allow the sorcerer to do the same things with SLAs they can already do with spells, then it just gets needlessly complex. Leave the spells as spells, and give sorcerers a "resistant to counterspelling" special ability - sorcerers gain a +4 bonus to resist counterspelling attempts due to their unique and individual approaches to spellcasting.

 

[bellman]

some thoughts nelliser, one, dispel magic can still be used to counterspell, two, you expect a man with no formal training in magic to learn the complicated procceses behind casting even the simplest spells?(on that note, i should remove knowledge:arcana as a class skill), on the otherhand, losing the ability to counterspell the standard way is big, although if i were to use your method i would have to say they also get a -4 penelty when counterspelling, because sorcerors are not used to the standard method of casting, and would have trouble working with it. would you simply be appeased if i changed the antimagic power to include "you may counterspell as a wizard may"?