Spell Mastery

[Li Shenron]

Lastly, I'd allow wizards to take spell mastery with their 5/10/15/20th level feats. It seems perfectly reasonable, and would take away some of the 'sting' of using a real slot seeing as metamagic are sort of weak and item creation aren't always desired.

They are already allowed to take SM with the bonus feats! But do you know what I have always thought...? That those bonus feats were EXACTLY planned by the authors to be used for Spell Mastery, and therefore they are bonus feats that Sorcerers don't get (and many people think that Sorcerers should get bonus feats too, and it would make the on par with Wizards, although I may not agree with this opinion). Then some other author pehaps decided to allow other feats as Wiz's bonus, and then came the problem: every Wiz has much more adventages from taking metamagic or item creation feats as bonus feats rather than taking SM.

 

[Li Shenron]

If you want to change SM slightly, why not let the wizard spontaneously cast those spells, instead of just preparing them without a spellbook. To balance that, treat it like a sorcerer & metamagic. Increase the casting time to a full round. If it takes a round or more normally, leave the casting time the same.

That would be way too cool and powerful! A number of spells equal to the Int bonus means easily 3 or 4 spells spontaneously castable for a single feat's cost? I think that even a feat that allow a SINGLE spell to be cast spontaneously is a great feat!

 

[Li Shenron]

There are two ways to handle this issue:

1. Don't worry about it. You and your players honor the silent contract that says that if they don't take Spell Mastery, you won't take away their spellbooks. It works.

2. As a rules variant, give Spell Mastery away for free, with the goal of giving wizards the option of eventually ditching their spellbooks completely while traveling. If you do this, I suggest giving them Spell Mastery as a free feat once at first level, and then at every second level after that - 3, 5, 7, etc.

That's exactly what I wanted to try doing some other way

1. This is what I have done and always seen done. It works, but do you realize that this is almost like admitting that "the best way to handle the spellbook rules is to ignore them completely"?

2. This was my first idea, and see also my previous post about Wiz's bonus feats, that I thought were originally intended exactly to give a few Spell Mastery for free. Anyway I would really prefer to still give the players a chance to take SM or something else; by adding an extra benefit to SM, the player won't feel he wasted a feat if the DM never screws her spellbook, and therefore doesn't compel the DM to either screw it on purpose (to satisfy a player who has spent a feat on it) or ignore the possibility (to avoid frustrating a player who otherwise hasn't spent a feat on it).

 

[Urbannen]

That's exactly what I wanted to try doing some other way

1. This is what I have done and always seen done. It works, but do you realize that this is almost like admitting that "the best way to handle the spellbook rules is to ignore them completely"?

2. This was my first idea, and see also my previous post about Wiz's bonus feats, that I thought were originally intended exactly to give a few Spell Mastery for free. Anyway I would really prefer to still give the players a chance to take SM or something else; by adding an extra benefit to SM, the player won't feel he wasted a feat if the DM never screws her spellbook, and therefore doesn't compel the DM to either screw it on purpose (to satisfy a player who has spent a feat on it) or ignore the possibility (to avoid frustrating a player who otherwise hasn't spent a feat on it).

1. I don't realize it, but yeah, the spellbook rules are retarded. They are better in 3E than they were in previous editions, when they were completely inane.

2. If a wizard's spellbook could realistically be stolen, than steal it, for heaven's sake. If your players are babies (80% probability) and you don't like to listen to crying babies, than see the original number 1. Guess what, if a player doesn't want to have to rely on a spellbook, there is always the sorcerer class. If you want to encourage players to burn feats on Spell Mastery while not "punishing" them by taking their spellbooks, than okay, give them some minor benefit, like +1 caster level.

You might also allow the Signature Spell feat into your campaign and allow wizards to take it as a bonus feat.

You could also change the paradigm. You might recognize in your game that spellbooks are legitimate targets of thieves and enemies and that they can actually get ruined by exposure to the elements. There are several strategies that traveling wizards can adopt to deal with this reality, taking Spell Mastery being just one.

 

[Xorial]

That would be way too cool and powerful! A number of spells equal to the Int bonus means easily 3 or 4 spells spontaneously castable for a single feat's cost? I think that even a feat that allow a SINGLE spell to be cast spontaneously is a great feat!

Could make it like this:

IMPROVED SPELL MASTERY [Special]
You have a greater insight with the spells you have already mastered.
Prerequisites: Spell Mastery (in chosen spells), Spellcraft 12 ranks.
Benefits: With the spells that you had previously taken Spell Mastery in, you can now cast them spontaneously. Any casting times of less than 1 round are raised to a full round. Casting times of 1 round or greater, remained unchanged.

Now there is an incentive to take Spell Mastery, other than the dreaded stolen spellbook. BTW, I see no problem with that tactic, especially considering that ANYONE that knows ANYTHING about wizards, will know that the best way to cripple him is to steal that book. It should be in the wizard's best interest to create ways to protect against this.

 

[Nifft]

IMC, the Wizard leaves his spellbook at camp when he goes on forays. Occasionally, he wishes to stay out of camp for reasons which vary -- spying, etc. In any case, he's woken up without his spellbook before, but knowing exactly where it is. For him, Spell Mastrey is a great Feat as written.

-- N

 

[Li Shenron]

Could make it like this:

IMPROVED SPELL MASTERY [Special]
You have a greater insight with the spells you have already mastered.
Prerequisites: Spell Mastery (in chosen spells), Spellcraft 12 ranks.
Benefits: With the spells that you had previously taken Spell Mastery in, you can now cast them spontaneously. Any casting times of less than 1 round are raised to a full round. Casting times of 1 round or greater, remained unchanged.

Now there is an incentive to take Spell Mastery, other than the dreaded stolen spellbook.

Did you notice that with this feat as written, you can do this: choose Spell Mastery as many times as you can before you reach Spellcraft 12, then choose Improved Spell Mastery and cast all those spells spontaneously. Beside the increased casting time, you basically achieved the benefits of Wizard and Sorcerer within the same class. I really think you meant to take Improved SM with a "number of spells equal to your Int score".

Incidentally, I think there was (FRCS?) a feat called Signature Spell that lets you cast spontaneously 1 SINGLE spell you have previously taken SM for. That was one good reason enough to take SM if you play FR.

 

[Li Shenron]

IMC, the Wizard leaves his spellbook at camp when he goes on forays. Occasionally, he wishes to stay out of camp for reasons which vary -- spying, etc. In any case, he's woken up without his spellbook before, but knowing exactly where it is. For him, Spell Mastrey is a great Feat as written.

-- N

That would work if Wizards never adventure longer than a couple of day, otherwise (even with two or three Spell Masteries) the Wizard loses his very advantage over the other arcane casters which is the number of spells he knows. And incidentally, the number of spells a typical Wizard really "knows" is 1, that is Read Magic, plus the ones he SMastered.

 

[Nifft]

How about this: with a 24-hour ceremony, you can swap spells from your Spell Mastery for different spells. Thus, you have a "magic spellbook" that grows each time you take the Feat.

-- N, well aware that "magic spellbook" is a lame term

 

[Nail]

Li Shenron
You're right, the feat spell mastery should have some extra "omph". I'd say concentrate on finding an ability that shows the character's mastery of the spell. That is, go after the "mastery" idea.

Just for brainstorming:

• +1 caster level to spells
• +1 spell DC to spells
• spontaneous cast of spell
• always make concentration checks with spell
• reduces the cost of a metamagic spell by 1 level
• spell prep time halved
• no (cheap) material components

Other ideas?

I know it's pretty lame to reply to yer own post, but I was just glancing back over this brainstorming list.....

What if the feat Spell Mastery looked like this (changes in yellow):

*******************
SPELL MASTERY [SPECIAL]
Prerequisite: Able to cast arcane or divine spells with preparation.

Benefit: Each time you take this feat, choose a number of spells equal to twice your Intelligence modifier that you already know. From that point on, you can prepare these spells without referring to a spellbook.

Even if you don't use a spell book, you may "take 10" when making concentration checks with these spells, even if threatened.

Normal: Without this feat, you must use a spellbook to prepare all your spells, except read magic, and you may not "take 10" on spell casting concentration checks.
********************

Would you take it now? How 'bout that cleric or druid out there?