Versatile Caster

[Garthanos]

I allow wizards and other arcane classes to freely choose the power type at the time they take the power, assuming they get imaginative about how their lightning for instance can cause the same effect as a cold magic (thats an easy example)

Versatile Caster

Any at-will spell you know may deliver the damage type of another spell you know at the time of casting.
At level 11 + you may use this ability with encounter powers and at level 21 or better you may do so with daily powers.

I haven't had a chance to read Arcane Power c2c, is there anything like this.... Does it give too much power ie a wizard with this now messes over vulnerable creatures so bad everyone will take it?

Should it be a wizard only feat to give homage to the original wizards? If I made it an wizard only feat I could still have one called Elementalist for Primal casters that allowed 4 selected damage types. Divine and the Warlocks might be locked in to the effects of their sources.

Is it not worth being a feat... that would be the other end of the stick.

 

[ChristopherA]

My reaction would be that this seems pretty potent. In terms of effect on the game, at paragon level it is similar to the following imaginary psuedo-feat:

"If you are familiar with the type of monster you are fighting, ignore all resistances. Also, your spells deal an additional 5-15 damage against undead".

Seems pretty good to me, two great feats in one. Certainly far better than the paragon feat in Arcane Power that lets one of your powers gain an additional elemental type. But then, that feat strikes me as pitifully underpowered, so this isn't much of a comparison.

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[fissionessence]

I agree with ChristopherA. Perhaps a paragon feat would allow you to be 'versatile' with one daily power. An epic tier feat would allow you to be versatile with one encounter power. You could take the feats multiple times to be able to alter multiple powers. At-wills would probably be out of the question.

Changing a power's type from one to another is one thing, but being able to dynamically have them be whatever you want is pretty crazy stuff. A caster in my game wanted to reflavor the class he was playing, so I told him he could choose one damage type (he chose lightning). Then, all powers he selected that did that type of damage (lightning) would instead be a damage of another type he chose (necrotic).

~

 

[Garthanos]

Restricting it to one spell isnt a lot different than letting any spell do it.
I think maybe we can limit this a little without going whole hog, notice
the Wizard has no at-will level radiant damage.

If versatile wizard was limited to the damage types
of the wizards at wills which they take

force, fire, ice and thunder

No +5 to 15 against undead

That adding a type is lame in my opinion and not likely to be taken.

Versatile Wizard

Any at-will spell you know may deliver the damage type of another at-will, spell you know at the time of casting.
At level 11 + you may deliver the damage type of any at-will you now with encounter powers and at level 21 or better you may do so with daily powers.

Changing damage type of powers is only free when you take the power if you
change it within class energy types... if you go against type it requires some
DM aproval ;p

The idea is if you are good enough to do an energy type in at-will form, you can
already by pass somebodies defense in that rather well...

 

[Garthanos]

If versatile wizard was limited to the damage types
of the wizards at wills which they take

force, fire, ice and thunder

Arcane power opens that up a little with psychic and lightning?

 

[Sadrik]

Garthanos, I see where you are going with this feat. The idea is to get some variance into the powers. However the implementation is not balanced.

Perhaps breaking it up into 3 feats. one for at-wills, encounters and dailies. Additionally I like the idea of splitting it further. Permanently change the damage type of a power with one feat and another could be a "meta-magic" (energy admixture) that allows you to do it on the fly with one of your powers as an encounter power.

If you were really sold on the idea of doing it anytime anywhere perhaps you could add a minor or move action requirement to ad hoc mix it during combat. Another way you could balance it is to have them "prepare" that spell from their spell book in that way. So for instance if they wanted psychic burst instead of scorching burst they would have to ready that spell when they ready their utility and daily spells from their spellbook. I kind of like that limitation best. It offers the variability at the cost of not being able to do it freenilly.

 

[Garthanos]

Garthanos, I see where you are going with this feat. The idea is to get some variance into the powers. However the implementation is not balanced.

Perhaps breaking it up into 3 feats. one for at-wills, encounters and dailies.

That is a possibility.

Additionally I like the idea of splitting it further. Permanently change the damage type of a power with one feat and another could be a "meta-magic" (energy admixture) that allows you to do it on the fly with one of your powers as an encounter power.

If you were really sold on the idea of doing it anytime anywhere perhaps you could add a minor or move action requirement to ad hoc mix it during combat. Another way you could balance it is to have them "prepare" that spell from their spell book in that way. So for instance if they wanted psychic burst instead of scorching burst they would have to ready that spell when they ready their utility and daily spells from their spellbook. I kind of like that limitation best. It offers the variability at the cost of not being able to do it freenilly.

I think you may have convinced me to make it 3 feats...

Hmmm the minor or move action requirement is not a bad idea... that gives a bit of a lets rethink this moment which is flavorful. I like the idea of at - wills being quick too.. hmmmm we could indeed make separate feats so the at wills ones are quicker and the others take a little more effort...

perhaps for the at-will version we get minor/move action which or either?.
perhaps for the encounter version we get book and standard action.
perhaps for dailies it could require a short rest equivalent and the book.(but I might not limit it to energies in your repertoire of at-wills.. you are looking it up after all).

Maybe monster vulnerability/resistance comes in to the picture more often than I thought. Although that could be a campaign specific issue... you could go an awful long time fighting Orcs wargs and hobgobs and drow and whatevers without this ability having any impact whatsoever. I am certain I have played in games where this is true.

 

[Garthanos]

Another way you could balance it is to have them "prepare" that spell from their spell book in that way. So for instance if they wanted psychic burst instead of scorching burst they would have to ready that spell when they ready their utility and daily spells from their spellbook. I kind of like that limitation best. It offers the variability at the cost of not being able to do it freenilly.

I kind of like that well enough it almost feels like it could make a class feature for Wizards. Replace implement mastery with Versatile Spellcraft and ...

Perhaps a Versatile sorceror is more on the fly. ;-).

 

[malcolm_n]

Just to put this out there for people who mentioned the Paragon feat to add an energy type to your attack (Arcane Admixture). With the RAW, this feat pretty much gives you an attack which cannot be resisted unless you happen upon a creature with resistance to BOTH energy types of the attack.

For a creature to resist an attack with multiple energy keywords, that creature must have resistance to each keyword of the attack; and the lower value of resistance is the only one which applies. It's a pretty decent feat which also happens to have a built in option to retrain for free each level.

 

[Garthanos]

Just to put this out there for people who mentioned the Paragon feat to add an energy type to your attack (Arcane Admixture). With the RAW, this feat pretty much gives you an attack which cannot be resisted unless you happen upon a creature with resistance to BOTH energy types of the attack

Right that is a little wierd if the attack is fire and ice the ice part ought to be resisted even if the fire part isnt.. RAW makes that power different than my imagination makes it...

With that power you don't have to even know what types of things creature X are resistant to... (making a single spell probably the wizards most raw useful damage dealer... so it is unlikely to be resisted, isn't really my target but I do see the correspondence.) What it doesn't give me.. is what Sadrik pointed out .. the spell variation.

If you started with that power and changed it to... you can make that 1 spell act as any of the other energy types which the caster knows... it would NOT be more powerful.. and in fact would be dependent on the mage knowing the resistances and limitations of the creature.. ie might actually require research once in a while... an effect I like. For a human with 3 at=wills it is somewhat more likely to fit exactly the creatures vulnerabilities...

I have adjusted the idea to only allow the versatility to be on effects which match the characters at-wills (which for most characters are 2). So you have a fire at will an ice at will... but one of your encounter powers is say radiant... well you cant affect that power at all.