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UA Spell Versatility: A deeper dive
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<blockquote data-quote="Chaosmancer" data-source="post: 7857125" data-attributes="member: 6801228"><p>I understand where most of your concerns come from. There are a few parts I just can't get behind. </p><p></p><p>One of the big ones is the claim in Three: "allowing them to acquire and cast any spell on the sorcerer list, as well as completely rewrite their personal spells known"</p><p></p><p>I just find this doesn't match up with the reality on the ground. And I think an analogy (despite the issues with analogies) will help make this clearer. </p><p></p><p>Let us say you run an ice cream store, but you only have the counter space to sell two flavors of ice cream. What do you sell? Likely Chocolate and Vanilla, the two most popular flavors that everyone expects an ice cream store to have. You have a supplier who can get you any flavor, but if you order a new flavor from them, you will get the same flavor for months. So, while the Pistachio festival might be a great time to sell Pistachio ice cream, knowing that you would still be selling it come Christmas time, you just don't bother switching. After all, you know you can sell chocolate and Vanilla any time of the year, but if you have Pistachio out of season, it is just dead product.</p><p></p><p>Now you get a new supplier, they can get you any flavor, but they can switch flavors on a dime and send you something different every day if you ask them to. </p><p></p><p>This is great, you can sell Pistachio during the festival, maybe try a few days of Olive Hazelnut ice cream just to have something different. </p><p></p><p>But, 9/10, what will you likely have behind the counter? Either Vanilla or Chocolate. Because those are the most popular flavors. They are the staples that every ice cream shop should have. You might end up swapping them away for a little bit, but they are always going to come back. </p><p></p><p></p><p>This is how I see sorcerer spells. They only get a very small number of spells known, so they always pick the best spells they can. Every sorcerer I've ever made has had Chromatic Orb, because it is solid damage until level 11, and it can cover any damage type, so it is a workhorse spell. Always useful to be able to use. </p><p></p><p>With Spell Versatility I could see myself swapping Chromatic Orb for say, Silent Image, another solid spell, but one that I didn't think I could use in every situation. But this specific day I've got a plan for it. And tomorrow? Tomorrow I'm very likely to swap back into Chromatic Orb, because it was my main damage spell and I still need that option. </p><p></p><p>The entire assertion that Sorcerers could change "their entire spell list over a week" presupposes that there is a better spell list that the Sorcerer didn't pick the first time around. But that isn't how sorcerers operate, they can't operate that way, because if they have a specialized list, they start suffering during the course of an adventure. </p><p></p><p>And man, I would be very leery of swapping during an adventure. Unless there is long travel time between your moments of action, the sorcerer will be done swapping into the perfect spell list by the time they are leaving to do something that list may not be suited for. </p><p></p><p>All that being said, I understand your highlighted point. There is the potential that with this rule, when it comes time to solve a problem with a spell, all eyes might turn to the sorcerer. But I don't see how that is an identity problem for the sorcerer. They are about being magic. They live and breath magic that sings in the deepest parts of them. It is so innate to them that they require minimal effort to tap into that well of power. Nothing about that story tells me they should be locked in place, unable to alter the raw magic of their soul into something else. </p><p></p><p>And, the only issue for the wizard, is that if a problem needs a solution <em>later</em> they may not be the only one with that solution. But, does that change a wizard's gameplay decisions? Does the wizard look at their list and say "well, a sorcerer might be able to grab this, so I won't need it?" </p><p></p><p>I don't think it does. Many of the most common "we need a spell to solve this" scenarios are covered by the divine spell list as well. I would say there are very few uniquely Arcane spells that are designed specifically to overcome a challenge that can be delayed anywhere from 24 hours to a week. And that has not harmed them yet.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Chaosmancer, post: 7857125, member: 6801228"] I understand where most of your concerns come from. There are a few parts I just can't get behind. One of the big ones is the claim in Three: "allowing them to acquire and cast any spell on the sorcerer list, as well as completely rewrite their personal spells known" I just find this doesn't match up with the reality on the ground. And I think an analogy (despite the issues with analogies) will help make this clearer. Let us say you run an ice cream store, but you only have the counter space to sell two flavors of ice cream. What do you sell? Likely Chocolate and Vanilla, the two most popular flavors that everyone expects an ice cream store to have. You have a supplier who can get you any flavor, but if you order a new flavor from them, you will get the same flavor for months. So, while the Pistachio festival might be a great time to sell Pistachio ice cream, knowing that you would still be selling it come Christmas time, you just don't bother switching. After all, you know you can sell chocolate and Vanilla any time of the year, but if you have Pistachio out of season, it is just dead product. Now you get a new supplier, they can get you any flavor, but they can switch flavors on a dime and send you something different every day if you ask them to. This is great, you can sell Pistachio during the festival, maybe try a few days of Olive Hazelnut ice cream just to have something different. But, 9/10, what will you likely have behind the counter? Either Vanilla or Chocolate. Because those are the most popular flavors. They are the staples that every ice cream shop should have. You might end up swapping them away for a little bit, but they are always going to come back. This is how I see sorcerer spells. They only get a very small number of spells known, so they always pick the best spells they can. Every sorcerer I've ever made has had Chromatic Orb, because it is solid damage until level 11, and it can cover any damage type, so it is a workhorse spell. Always useful to be able to use. With Spell Versatility I could see myself swapping Chromatic Orb for say, Silent Image, another solid spell, but one that I didn't think I could use in every situation. But this specific day I've got a plan for it. And tomorrow? Tomorrow I'm very likely to swap back into Chromatic Orb, because it was my main damage spell and I still need that option. The entire assertion that Sorcerers could change "their entire spell list over a week" presupposes that there is a better spell list that the Sorcerer didn't pick the first time around. But that isn't how sorcerers operate, they can't operate that way, because if they have a specialized list, they start suffering during the course of an adventure. And man, I would be very leery of swapping during an adventure. Unless there is long travel time between your moments of action, the sorcerer will be done swapping into the perfect spell list by the time they are leaving to do something that list may not be suited for. All that being said, I understand your highlighted point. There is the potential that with this rule, when it comes time to solve a problem with a spell, all eyes might turn to the sorcerer. But I don't see how that is an identity problem for the sorcerer. They are about being magic. They live and breath magic that sings in the deepest parts of them. It is so innate to them that they require minimal effort to tap into that well of power. Nothing about that story tells me they should be locked in place, unable to alter the raw magic of their soul into something else. And, the only issue for the wizard, is that if a problem needs a solution [I]later[/I] they may not be the only one with that solution. But, does that change a wizard's gameplay decisions? Does the wizard look at their list and say "well, a sorcerer might be able to grab this, so I won't need it?" I don't think it does. Many of the most common "we need a spell to solve this" scenarios are covered by the divine spell list as well. I would say there are very few uniquely Arcane spells that are designed specifically to overcome a challenge that can be delayed anywhere from 24 hours to a week. And that has not harmed them yet. [/QUOTE]
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