The Mystic Theurge, in feat form.

[comrade raoul]

Consider the following feat. It yields a character who is probably weaker than the mystic theurge (except for very high-level characters, who will be able to cast ninth-level arcane and divine spells), but accomplishes the same goal with a feat rather than a prestige class, so perhaps it wins points for elegance.

Theurgy [General]
Prerequisites: Ability to cast second-level arcane spells, two levels in any divine spellcasting class.
Benefit: Select a divine spellcasting class that you have at least two levels in. When determining which arcane spells you prepare (if you prepare spells) or which ones you know (if you cast spells spontaneously), you can also prepare or learn any divine spells on the list of the class you chose. The level of the spell does not change; thus, to learn a 5th-level divine spell, you must have a 5th-level arcane spell slot available. You still cast the divine spells as divine spells, even though you have prepared them in slots normally reserved for arcane spells.

(Thus, a wizard 4/cleric 2 could take this feat to prepare any 2nd-level cleric spell as a wizard spell.)

It's also nice because it allows bards, and other more equivocal arcane casters, to expand their spell list in an intuitive and balanced way. On the other hand, using this feat is probably a bad idea if you include nonstandard spellcasting classes whose strong class abilities are balanced by a very constrained spell list (like beguilers or duskblades), since this feat greatly expands the spells they have access to. (It is a bad idea to have duskblades who can cast divine favor, or beguilers who can cast flame strike.) I feel pretty confident that the feat is balanced-to-weak for campaigns that only include the PH classes, though.

 

[ValhallaGH]

I find it odd that two levels of Paladin or Ranger fully qualify a character for this feat. Was that intentional or just a side effect of your langauge choice?

 

[comrade raoul]

It was sort of intentional: I thought of it as the lesser of two evils, since I wanted a general requirement (not something quite so bad as "two levels of cleric or druid") and thought requiring second-level divine spells would be too onerous a burden (since the feat, unlike the class, doesn't give characters more spells per day).

It doesn't seem too bad to allow arcane characters to cast paladin or ranger spells if they really want to, but I can certainly see possible abuses (early access to holy sword?), so this could be a real issue. Thanks!

 

[RisnDevil]

Wouldn't an easy fix for that be to require a second level divine caster? The ranger/paladin combo would have to take four levels, but the standard divine users get no punishment.


RisnDevil

 

[smootrk]

I agree with RisnDevil. Make that requirement be Caster Level. I would also tweak it to allow for the primarily divine caster to pick up a couple of arcane levels and make it work:

Prerequisites:
Ability to cast second-level arcane spells & caster level 2 in any divine spellcasting class or...
Ability to cast second-level divine spells & caster level 2 in any arcane spellcasting class.

I think you are on to something here, even if the mechanics are not fully realized yet.

 

[comrade raoul]

I agree with RisnDevil. Make that requirement be Caster Level.

You both are right about caster level. Here's a revised version. (I've also clarified that this still retains a minimum ability score requirement for divine spells, which was what I intended but wasn't clear in the original post.) It uses arcane caster levels, too, which doesn't really change when characters can get the feat (no earlier than 6th level, unless you house-rule it to be a bonus feat for some class or other), but preserves a nicer parallel.

Theurgy [General]
Prerequisites: Arcane caster level 2nd, divine caster level 2nd.
Benefit: Select a divine spellcasting class for which your caster level is at least 2nd. When determining which arcane spells you prepare (if you prepare spells) or which ones you know (if you cast spells spontaneously), you can also prepare or learn any divine spells on the list of the class you chose. The level of the spell does not change; thus, to learn a 5th-level divine spell, you must have a 5th-level arcane spell slot available. You still cast the divine spells as divine spells, even though you have prepared them in slots normally reserved for arcane spells. You use the same ability score for casting divine spells as your divine spellcasting class--thus, a wizard who intends to prepare a 5th-level cleric spell needs a Wisdom of at least 15, and bases the save DC of his spells on his Wisdom modifier.

I would also tweak it to allow for the primarily divine caster to pick up a couple of arcane levels and make it work...

The reason the feat is based on arcane casters, rather than divine casters, is that the (core) arcane casters have fewer class abilities than their divine counterparts. (Bards are an exception, but they get less benefit from this feat, since they cast lower-level spells.) So, as written, this would be a pretty good deal for clerics (they'd lose out on armor, but they'd be able to cast lots of arcane spells while retaining their turning abilities and comparatively solid hitpoints, saving throws, and BAB) and absolutely awesome for druids. The mystic theurge is instructive here: theurges have the BAB, hitpoints, and saves of wizards and sorcerers. You'd need a much more restrictive version of theurgy for divine spells, although it might be possible to design one. (Maybe you'd require the ability to cast at least 2nd level arcane spells, and require that divine casters prepare and cast arcane spells as though they were one level higher than they actually are.)

Another thing to note is that once a character takes Theurgy, she doesn't really become a primarily arcane or divine caster. Sure, her levels are in wizard or sorcerer, but she can learn or prepare as many divine spells as she likes--she might even have higher Wisdom than Intelligence or Charisma, and think of herself as a principally divine caster who retains the use of her favorite arcane spells.